Chloe

December 22nd

Chloe lurked outside the red double doors of Westerly High. She gulped frigid winter air into her lungs as she peered around the icy parking lot to make sure she didn’t see Brady’s SUV. Icicles clung to the bare, frostbitten trees, sending a shiver racing up her spine with each gust of blustery wind.

The weather in upstate New York was unforgiving in December. Chloe always hated this time of year and even though in just a few short hours she’d be able to escape the halls of her high school for winter break, she couldn’t manage to feel hopeful. Not in a tiny town like Pine Island, where she was constantly surrounded by Christmas cheer and happy couples.

A frown hardened her face as she realized perhaps the only two things she had to look forward to this winter break were not seeing Brady and not having to tell her sister they’d broken up.

Margot was three years older than Chloe, but this year was the first the sisters had ever spent apart. Margot had gone to a community college for two years before transferring to a university in New York City.

Chloe missed her like crazy. Margot, Chloe and Brady had been inseparable growing up. And it had only been because of Margot’s meddling that Chloe had even managed to get a date with Brady in the first place. They may have grown up together, but Chloe didn’t run in the same social circles as her popular older sister or her gym class hero crush, Brady.

But by some miracle Margot’s plan of Chloe bringing Brady lemonade while he was cutting the grass at their family tree farm over the summer had actually worked—mostly because Margot kept making Chloe wear her bikini tops when she did so.

Chloe was about six inches shorter than her gorgeous older sister. And though they shared the same hazel eyes and chestnut hair, Chloe always felt like the less pretty version of her glamorous sister. It didn’t help that the six inches that Chloe lacked on Margot in height, she made up for elsewhere—mostly in boobs and butt.

Chloe always said if they were both dancers, Margot would be a ballerina and Chloe would be J-Lo. Of course Margot said she’d kill for Chloe’s curves, but what did she know? She didn’t have to try to shove those curves into all of Margot’s model-sized hand-me-downs. But Chloe had done it, because Margot had said the magic words. ‘Trust me.’ And that was one phrase the sisters didn’t throw around lightly.

So every day last summer, Chloe squeezed herself into Margot’s skimpy bikinis and tight jean shorts and hiked through the rows of Christmas trees to bring Brady an ice cold lemonade while he worked on her parents’ farm. And despite how terribly uncomfortable Chloe felt putting herself out there, Brady must’ve seen something he liked because by the third week of lemonades and flirting he pulled her up onto the tractor and kissed her.

Chloe remembered it all perfectly. How Brady’s lips tasted like cherry chapstick, how she could feel the warmth of his skin against hers for hours afterward and how she’d run back to the house to tell Margot all about it.

But that was all in the past now. Margot had gone away to college and shortly after, Chloe’s summer romance with Brady had crumbled. It’d been three months since she caught her supposed perfect boyfriend making out with the head cheerleader, Maci Martin, but it still hurt like it had been only yesterday.

It didn’t help that Chloe had to watch Brady and Maci making out in the halls of her high school every day since. They were the perfect couple—the basketball star and the cheerleader.

They made much more sense on paper than Chloe and Brady ever had. But even knowing that did little to soothe the pain of having her heart broken. Chloe always thought her first love would be something to look back on fondly, and maybe it could’ve been if she hadn’t been made to feel like such an utter fool by being the one to catch Maci and Brady making out. Everyone had seen them. It was beyond humiliating.

All Chloe wanted to do was cry and call her sister to tell her everything. Margot always knew exactly what to do in a crisis. But catching up with her wasn’t as easy as walking across the hall anymore. Chloe had to catch her sister between classes or sorority parties. And by the time Chloe got Margot on the phone she didn’t feel like dredging up the painful details of Brady’s betrayal anymore. Plus, Margot had news of her own. She’d met a boy!

Chloe could hear the excitement in her sister’s voice when she told her all about Owen Hall and their amazing first date in Manhattan, so when Margot asked about Brady, Chloe hadn’t wanted to dampen her sister’s spirits.

Chloe had stupidly said, “We’re good.”

That was the only lie Chloe could remember ever telling her sister. And though it had started out innocent at first, it had grown over the past few months into an unstoppable monster. Chloe couldn’t believe she’d managed to keep the truth from Margot for this long, but somehow she knew telling her sister what happened would only make it hurt worse.

Chloe’s parents knew she and Brady had broken up, but not the details of how and why. But Margot would want to know it all. Which is what prompted Chloe to keep avoiding the truth. But now, for about the millionth time since her sister left for college, Chloe found herself missing Margot.

Margot wasn’t only her sister, but her best friend. Maybe telling Margot the awful truth about how Brady broke her heart would help Chloe find a way to heal. If anything Margot would certainly find a way to distract Chloe for a while. She always knew how to fix things. Like when Chloe’s bike got stolen in fourth grade or when she didn’t make the cheerleading team in fifth or when her favorite cat ran away in seventh. Margot always made Chloe a piping hot mug of hot cocoa and then spent hours in front of the fireplace with her concocting over-the-top s’more creations with everything they found in the pantry.

When they were done, Margot would say, “Feel better now, Co-Co?”

And she always did.

Chloe smiled at the memory. She didn’t really know which had come first, her love of cocoa or her nickname, but either way both seemed to stick. Just like Margot’s nickname of Go-Go, born out of Chloe’s toddler talk.

Margot was pretty much the only one who still called Chloe, Co-Co. She hadn’t realized how much she missed hearing her nickname until that moment. Chloe’s eyes welled as it fully hit her that this would be the first Christmas she wouldn’t get to spend with her big sister. Margot was going on a trip to Italy with her sorority over winter break. That meant, not only would Chloe not get any sister time this holiday, but she would also be picking up the slack at the family Christmas tree farm all on her own.

She grimaced at the thought as her boots squeaked down the hallway leaving little puddles of melted snow in her wake. Maybe she would just sleep through winter break this year.

Brady

Brady Jones flashed his all-star grin as he jogged past a group of gushing girls. He’d never get used to it—being so popular. Not that he wasn’t before, but this year was a whole new level of awesome. Being the starting quarterback and captain of the basketball team had raised his hall cred tremendously.

Since basketball started two weeks ago it seemed like flirting was the new hazing in the hallways. The girls’ pick up lines hit harder than his linemen.

“Are you gonna ask me out soon or do I need to call ‘delay of game’?” one of the girls called after him, sending the rest of her friends into a fit of giggles.

Brady just smiled. “You know I’m with Maci.”

“For now,” one called back.

“Yeah, you could always Chloe her,” another called. “We won’t tell.”

Inside, Brady cringed, but he gave the girls a salute and continued down the hall. He still felt bad for the way Chloe found out about him and Maci. He hadn’t planned to hurt her. But when Maci Martin kisses you, it’s not like you could say no.

Speaking of Maci . . . Her gorgeous silhouette was leaning against Brady’s locker waiting for him. “Hey, hot shot,” she purred, stretching up on her toes to kiss him. “You ready for the ski trip?”

“You know it,” he replied, sweeping her off her feet.

As she kissed him a group of guys walking by started to applaud. Brady smirked between kisses. Senior year was so awesome.