“I freakin’ love this!” Aiden exclaimed as he jumped around our tree, pumping his fists. He paused to chest bump Alex and Max, who had the same look of joy on their faces. They were busy hanging ghosts and pumpkins across the tree’s branches. Tiny skeleton lights blinked through the spider webs they’d strung.

I laughed and reached out to tousle his hair. “It was a pretty good idea, huh?” My gaze made its way over to Jacob where he leaned against the far wall, right beside the fireplace.

The roaring fire lit up his face, and I could see the satisfaction there. When he looked up and caught me staring, heat flushed my skin. And when he winked, I wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor.

And then, as if he realized that he’d just winked at me, his face went stony and he dropped his eyes.

My heart plummeted. He really knew how to bolster and then break a girl in a matter of seconds.

When I turned my attention back to the tree, I scolded myself. There was no reason why one look from Jacob should do anything to me. We were never going to work out. I needed to accept that. If he wasn’t going to fight for us, neither would I.

“Here, let me,” I said, stepping forward and grabbing the witch that Max was trying to throw to the top of the tree.

“It’s the star,” he said.

I laughed and placed the witch riding a broomstick where the star would normally go. She had no stand, so she looked as if she were dive-bombing the tree.

“What do you think?” Max asked.

I smiled over at him. “It’s perfect.”

Tracy stepped up from behind Max and snapped a picture. I tried to smile in time, but I think I missed it. Hoping that she didn’t get me making a weird face, I eyed her.

“Tracy,” I said, I really wished she would put the camera down and just join in.

Tracy just glanced at her camera and shrugged.

Mom and Dad walked in, followed by the Stephensons. Their expressions were somber, and they looked as if they were ready to have a talk.

“Kids, can you sit down?” Mrs. Stephenson asked.

I glared at her—I tried not to, but that woman made me really mad.

The others didn’t seem to mind and instantly rushed to fight over who got to sit on the couch. Once they were situated, Mrs. Stephenson glanced over at me. I decided to remain by the tree. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say or if I wanted to hear it.

I was still boycotting their version of Christmas.

Mom rubbed her shoulder as she studied us. “We talked and realized that maybe we might have lost the true meaning of Christmas in all of our competitions. What started out as a silly game has gotten”—she sucked her breath in between her teeth—“out of hand.”

I scoffed. That’s one way to put it. Mom furrowed her brow, but didn’t say anything further.

“We want you to realize that what’s most important is not winning, but the fact that we do these things together.” Mom glanced over at me and gave me a small smile.

I sighed and folded my arms. I really didn’t want to give into them this easily. “So, we get to do what we want?”

Mrs. Stephenson stepped forward and furrowed her brow. “Within reason.” Her comment was so direct, her gaze boring into me, that I raised my eyebrows.

Was she talking about Jacob and me? Was she telling me that we, as a couple, were still off limits?

Great.

Mom clapped her hands and rubbed them together. She told us that after lunch, we were going to decorate the gingerbread houses.

Aiden piped up, “Any way we want?”

A grimace crossed Mom’s face, but then she nodded. “Any way you want, buddy.”

I kept to the back part of the room while everyone piled into the kitchen. I could hear the fridge opening and closing and plates getting set on the counter. I was hungry, but if I were honest with myself, I really didn’t want to spend time with my family.

Not when my heart was broken from the way they were acting toward me and Jacob. The fact that they still saw us as the wrong type of couple made me angry. Jacob was a good kid. Why couldn’t they see that?

When Andrew didn’t head into the kitchen, I zeroed in on him. He kept his gaze on his phone as I stood in front of him, tapping my foot.

“What do you want, Ava?”

I placed my hands on my hips and dipped down so he had to look at me.

He sighed and clicked the power button on his phone and then slipped it into his pocket.

“We need to talk.” I turned, hoping he’d follow me, and headed into the small office next to the stairs. Once we were inside, I shut the doors and turned to face him.

He looked uncomfortable but was trying not to as he awkwardly leaned against the desk. “What do you want?” he asked again. This time without his normal confidence.

“Spill,” I said.

His face paled as he glanced toward the bookshelves on one side of the room and then squinted toward the open window on the other side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I groaned as I glared at him. “We are best friends. We tell each other everything. There is something going on in this house that you aren’t talking about, and it’s killing any hope I have to be with Jacob.” Just as the words left my lips, tears formed on my lids. My heart was hemorrhaging in my chest. I was a fool to think that I could just move on from Jacob unscathed.

And now that he was back from his grandmother’s and coming to school in a few weeks, I was screwed. There was no way I could go to the same school as him. See him in the halls—most likely flirting with other girls—and be okay. And it was so selfish of my brother to inflict that on me.

He sighed. “You don’t get it.” He paused, and I could see the internal conflict in his eyes. “There’s nothing to tell. Last summer happened the way the judge said it did. There’s nothing that can be done.” He winced as he met my gaze. “You’re better than him, Ava. Move on.” He looked at the floor. “Please?”

I studied him. Sure, my brother was trying to appear sincere, but I knew him better than he gave me credit for. He was lying. I could see it in his snaky gaze. And it made my blood boil. My brother saw my misery, and yet he still wasn’t being honest with me. He could fix this problem, but he wouldn’t.

But I couldn’t force him to tell the truth, so I sighed and slumped against the wall. “Fine. Suit yourself.” After a moment to compose myself, I glared over at him. “But if you think I’ll ever have your back after this, think again.” I paused, just to let that sink in, and then opened the office door and made my way out.

I ignored the look Jacob gave me as I passed by him and entered the kitchen, sitting down next to Aiden and Alex. I was ready to start celebrating Christmas. I was done with both of those ridiculous boys. They could keep their stupid secrets and their misery. I was ready to move on.

“Hey, Ava,” Aiden said grinning over at me, exposing the blue frosting that he’d just squeezed into his mouth.

I shot him a disgusted look but then laughed. And it felt good. Like, really good. I needed to feel free. After being under the suffocating weight of the competition and the burden of whatever Jacob and Andrew were carrying, I was ready to let my hair down and just have fun.

Tracy, Aiden, Alex, and Max were chatting at the table as we assembled the gingerbread houses. Aiden and Alex wanted to continue with the Halloween theme and create zombies and skeletons with Christmas hats with the leftover gingerbread dough. I saw the internal battle going on as the parents bit back their protests and just let it happen.

A few times, Tracy got up and snapped some pictures. We laughed. We talked. We listened to Christmas music. And for the first time this vacation, I was happy.

Jacob and Andrew didn’t come into the room, and I was okay with that. The air felt lighter when they weren’t around.

After the gingerbread houses were decorated and sitting on the counter to dry, I grinned at the boys and asked them if they wanted to have a snowball fight. They cheered and scrambled to be the first to get their snow gear on.

Thankfully, Mom and Mrs. Stephenson looked as if they were ready for a break, so they helped me dress the hooligans.

Tracy came down the stairs in her snow gear just as I pulled my gloves onto my hands. I eyed her. “Coming?” I asked.

She nodded and then pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’ve got to document everything, right?”

I smiled as I pulled open the front door and released the spastic boys. “You do know you’re entering a war zone. All is fair out here,” I said as I bounded down the front steps.

She followed after me. “I’m counting on it.”

Thirty minutes later, I was hiding behind a tree, trying my hardest to get a good stockpile of snowballs. We’d divided into groups. Aiden and I were against Alex and Max. Tracy was the damsel we were trying to save from the forest beast and the opposing team.

It was an elaborate story that the boys came up with. Since I didn’t want to go back inside, I’d agreed to play along. Now, it was out of desperation to stay alive. One thing was for certain, these boys didn’t play around. They meant business.

Voices drew my attention over toward the trees. They were low and angry, and they definitely didn’t sound like ten-year-old boys. I paused, trying to catch what was being said.

“This has to end.”

Wait. Was that Jacob?

Now I was intrigued. I set down the snowball I was forming and scooted toward a nearby tree, crouching down behind the trunk. I peeked around to find Jacob standing in the snow with only a jacket on—of course. Andrew was standing in front of him with his hands buried in the front pocket of his sweatshirt. His hood was over his head, and his gaze turned toward the snow.

“Why? It’s over. Can’t you people just move on?” He raised his face toward the sky and let his breath out slowly.

“I didn’t care before. What happened, happened. But now, things have changed.”

My heart skipped a beat as I shifted so I could read Jacob’s face. His eyes were narrowed, and there was a pained expression there.

“You mean, Ava?” Andrew scoffed. “Come on, you always said she was my dorky younger sister. She’s just a conquest for you. Someone you can’t have.” I could see Andrew’s face grow frustrated as he met Jacob’s gaze. “You can’t tell me that this has anything to do with her. All you wanted was for your parents to send you to your grandmother’s. That was the deal.” He pulled off his hoodie. “Things not work out with Michelle?”

My stomach, which had lightened from Jacob’s words, suddenly felt like a lead weight had dropped inside of it. Who was Michelle? Why hadn’t Jacob said anything about her?

My hands shook inside of my gloves as I clung to the tree trunk for support. I felt so mad and betrayed I could barely keep myself upright. I wanted to confront them, but this was the most truth I’d heard from either of them, so I waited.

“She’s gone. We’re done.” Jacob blew into his hands and then shoved them into his front pockets.

“And you think moving on with my kid sister is a good idea? Geez, Jacob. That’s the stupidest idea I’ve heard from you in a long time.”

Great. Now I was his kid sister. A dork. A knife felt like it was slicing through my stomach at his words. Sure, Jacob wasn’t saying those things, but he wasn’t defending me either.

It was really eye-opening to stand in the shadows and hear what they thought about me. Here, I’d allowed myself to believe that Jacob cared about me and that my brother respected me. And yet, I had been completely wrong. And it hurt. So bad.

“Enough. I don’t need your permission or our parents’ permission. I’m just ready for the truth to be told.” Jacob met Andrew’s gaze, and I could see the annoyance written all over his face.

Andrew scoffed. “Too late. That was part of the deal. You’d take the fall for me and get shipped off to grandma’s house. I get off and keep my scholarship. I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you, but they’re working out for me.”

I stared at Andrew. Jacob took the fall for him?

Jacob let out a growl. “What you asked wasn’t right. You were the one who stole, not me. You knew I was mad at my parents, and I was ready to do just about anything to get out from under them.” Jacob flexed his hands as if he were trying to get some feeling back in them. “You were supposed to be my friend.”

Andrew shrugged. “Well, I can’t rewrite the past.” He dropped his head and turned. “Sorry it didn’t work out for you.” His boots crunched in the snow as he started back toward the house.

I wasn’t going to let him get away this easy, I chased after him.

When I caught up to Andrew, I could barely keep my tears at bay. “So that was the truth?” I asked.

So much was happening in such a short period of time, and I was struggling to keep my emotions in check.

Andrew turned, his eyes wide. “What?” He glanced behind me. “Were you eavesdropping?”

I glared at him. “You let Jacob go down for the gas station thing? It was you all along?”

Andrew’s face paled, and his gaze turned desperate. “You don’t understand.” He scrubbed his face with his hand. “Mom and Dad put so much stress on me to perform. To be perfect at everything.” He stepped closer to me. “You get it. They do the same to you.”

I stepped back, not wanting to be that close to him. “Yeah, but I don’t steal stuff and then make my best friend take the fall for me. And…” Despite my best effort, a sob escaped my lips. I composed myself and tried again. “And you looked me in the eye and told me that what the judge said was true. You knew I was hurting, and you could have fixed it, but you didn’t.”

For the first time, I truly felt betrayed by my brother. He was supposed to be my ally. My best friend. And beyond that, he was my family. Family didn’t do this to each other.

“What are you going to do?” he asked. His voice was low.

I glared at him. “What you should have done a long time ago.” I walked past him toward the house. “Tell the truth.”