***
"Daddy! Merry Christmas!" Austin jumped on the bed beside me, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Hey man." I grabbed him and pulled him down to tickle him. "Why you gotta wake me up like that? Scared the hell out of me."
"No, it didn't." He wrestled me with all his might. He was full of energy. "Did you know that Santa came and ate all the cookies me and Bailey made last night?"
"I saw that when I came in this morning. Looked like he put your presents under the tree too." I lifted an eyebrow as he shrugged. "You totally saw it already, didn't you?"
"Yes! And guess what?"
"What's that?" I glanced toward the door, half-expecting Bailey to walk in any minute.
"This means that I'm not on the naughty list." He poked me in the chest over and over with his forefingers on each hand. "You were wrong! You were wrong-o!"
I laughed and pushed him off of me before rolling over and getting up. "Where is Bailey?"
"Um, I don't know." He got off the bed and shrugged his shoulders. "She laid down with me last night, but she wasn't in my bed when I got up."
"Hm. Well, you go check out your presents, and I'm going to solve the case of the missing girlfriend."
"Oh wow. She's your girlfriend now?" His eyes widened. "Dad. You know that girls have cooties."
"No, not when they get older. They slough those off like a snake does his skin." I gave him a knowing look and shook my head ‘yes’ at him.
"Really?" His eyes got wider. "Can you actually see it? The cootie skin?"
"Yep." I turned him around and sent him down the hallway with a head full of lies. "Bailey? Where you at, baby?"
Nothing. After checking every room in the house, I stopped in the kitchen and found a note by the coffee pot with my name on it. My stomach sank. Why would she leave a note and not stay to celebrate Christmas with us? We'd made plans to spend the whole damn day together.
I opened it and held my breath.
Merry Christmas Jer,
Just wanted to leave you a note to thank you for letting me spend the evening with Austin. We had a great time. I'm going to spend Christmas with Ellen and her folks. I know we made plans, but you enjoy your holiday with your sister and your mom. I have some thinking to do. I've been trying to talk to you about it for a little while now, but I never can figure out how to start the conversation.
It's just that you have a really bright future. You have a great family and an incredible career. You're older and just really well put together. You are set up to do some crazy awesome things. I think you should stop pushing against the grain and just accept the money that your father left for you, though it's none of my business. It would help you not to have to work so hard, and maybe you and Austin could take some trips together. He would love that!
Anyway. I'll catch up with you soon, and we can talk. I just think that maybe instead of settling for a plain girl like me who doesn't have her shit together and comes from nowhere that you should aim higher.
So, enjoy your Christmas, and I'll see you around.
Bailey
"No. No, no, no, no." The tear stains on the paper were still fresh. "Goddamnit no."
"Dad?" Austin came around the corner and skidded into the kitchen. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Horror raced through me. My stomach soured immediately, and with the lack of sleep I was running on, I wasn't going to be able to hold down my dinner.
"You sure?" He called after me as I jogged down the hallway and slammed the door to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet before I knelt and threw up everything inside of me.
No. No fucking way I was losing again. It wasn't happening. I didn't give a fuck what I had to do. There was no way Bailey was walking away from me. Not for the reasons she said on that piece of paper.
"Jeremy?" My sister's voice filled up the room as she knocked loudly on the door. "You okay? What's going on? We just got here, and Austin said you were sick."
I wiped my mouth and jerked the door open. Anger burned through me like never before. "What happened last night?"
My sister lifted her hands and took a step back. "I have no clue."
"What's going on?" My mother walked down the hallway.
"Bedroom. Now!" I yelled in a deep voice and walked to my room.
"Who?" Nina called after me.
"My. Mother." I walked into my room and pressed my hands to my stomach. A mixture of fury and disgust had me wanting to bend over again.
"What is the meaning of this?" She walked in and closed the door behind her.
I whirled around and lifted my fingers at her. "How dare you. You did this, didn't you? You did something to Bailey that has her running away from my goddamn life as fast as she can."
Mom lifted her hands and gave me a chastising look. "Now, Jeremy. You know as well as I do that she's just a rebound."
"No, the fuck she isn't," I barked and stood my ground. I wanted to cross the room and get in her face, but there was no way I was going to offend or hurt my own mother. I wasn't that kind of man. She'd pulled this same shit with Laila.
"Watch your language."
"You're going to find her, and you're going to apologize for being the meanest, black-hearted woman in the whole goddamn city. And you're going to do it right now, or catch this... you're going to leave this house, and me and Austin won't be a part of your life again. I've followed your silly rules and dating the series of sluts you sent me on dates with to make you happy." I locked my jaw as I shook in anger. "How dare you take away the only woman I can see me and Austin healing with. Do you hate me?"
"What? Of course not." She pressed her hands to her lips and let out a sob. "Why are you yelling at me?"
"What did you say to Bailey?" I forced myself to calm down just a little.
"I just told her the truth, son."
I pulled at my hair and let out a feral growl. "And what truth would that be?"
"That you're on the rebound." She lifted her hands toward me as I let out another deep, dark sound. "Jeremy. Stop that."
"You have two choices." I let out a long sigh and let my shoulders roll in. "My heart is breaking inside my chest like the day I stood at Laila's grave, and you've caused this. You can go fix it, or get out of my life. Forever."
"You're being-"
"Forever!" I screamed so loud the walls shook around me.
She took a step back and nodded. "I'll fix it. I'm sorry. I was only trying to do what was best for you."
"I'm thirty-two years old. You have no clue what's best for me." I ran my hands down my face. "You have until lunchtime today. I'm going to spend the morning with my son and my sister. Until this is righted, you're not welcomed in my house.
"Fine." She turned, flung my door open and marched back down the hallway. I had expected to hear her cry, but it wasn't her style. She barked something at Nina, spoke sweetly to Austin and I heard another door slam.
I sat down on the edge of my bed and pressed my face into my hands. I had to pull myself together. It was Christmas, and whether or not my mom did her part of setting things right - I would later that day.
I was in love with my best friend's baby sister, and she wasn't getting away from me that easily.
Not if I had something to say about it.