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Nick laughs. “No one gets out of the Christmas party. Not even the president of the United States if he was invited.”
Natalie rolls her eyes, waving the dress at me. “Well?”
There’s a reason she’s my best friend, and it’s because she’s as crazy as I am. I hadn’t thought about that dress hanging in my childhood bedroom for years, but she had thought of grabbing it.
I smile, grabbing the bottle of lighter fluid. “Let’s burn it.”
Jingle Bells, Jared Smells
“Perhaps I should kill myself; then I don’t have to attend this,” I mutter, then drink the rest of my champagne and hand the empty flute to Nick. A bit of liquid courage always settles my nerves, but I usually cut myself off after two drinks because I am the type who get loose lips the more I drink.
He laughs. “I wouldn’t put necromancy past our mother.”
A smile twitches on my face, and I admire my dress in the mirror again. I’ve avoided any interactions with my family for the past month, even after multiple threats of disownment from my mother. Not that I care about my inheritance, but it made it easier to start over without worry. I make enough from my job to live comfortably, and I never realized how much Jared spent out of our joint bank account. I’ve been watching my money grow significantly. It only adds the word leech to his never ending repertoire.
After the run-in with Jared at my office, I’ve been allowed to work from home. My small sanctuary hasn’t been leaked to anyone. But I couldn’t skip the annual Christmas party, not only because we’re known for the extravagant event and my absence would be well noted, but also because some of the best networking happens on this night, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Sometimes you need favors to bury things overnight; not bodies, but rumors.
“Jenica, Nicholas. So nice of you to join us. I wasn’t sure you’d show considering you’ve skipped family breakfast,” my mother says as she walks up to us with a saccharine smile. Speak of the devil and she shall appear.
I exchange a glance with my brother, unaware that he’s been skipping family breakfast as well. And if it was in solidarity for me, I love him even more for it.
Grabbing another drink from a nearby tray, I stare at her, unsure what to say. A part of me hopes for an apology.
She smiles at passing guests before stepping closer and lowering her voice. “Behave yourselves.”
With that parting threat, she leaves us. My heart pounds in my ear, and my hands tremble as I clutch my drink to my chest.
Nick grabs my elbow, pulling me in the shadows of the hallway and away from the main room. “Breathe.”
“She’s a fucking bitch!” I cry out. “Do my feelings not matter to her? I don’t understand why she doesn’t care!”
His arms wrap around me, and I press my face into the warmth of his chest. He strokes down back, shushing the threatening sobs building in my throat. “Don’t ruin your makeup. You need to go out there and show everyone the badass, strong woman that you are.”
“Maybe I need to go out there and show everyone that I’m fucking done with them all,” I retort back.
He barks out a laugh and his shoulders shake as he tries to contain his amusement. “We won’t be doing that.”
Exhaling, I step away from my brother and sip the not strong enough alcohol. “I just want to leave. Any connections I can make from tonight are not worth being reminded that my parents chose her and him. “
Nick sighs and nods once. “Alright. Let’s go say goodbye to some of the usuals or they’ll claim you were never here.”
He doesn’t leave my side as we chat with people we’ve grown up around. The majority of our parent's friends are decent people, who are genuinely happy for our successes and sad for our misfortunes.
When the faint sound of clinking against glass silences the room, I check the time and realize we’ve stayed longer than I wanted. Everyone draws in for the evening speech before we’re supposed to move into the separate dining room, where they have food set out in a buffet style for everyone to pick at.
My parents stand at the bottom of the stairs, wide smiles on their faces. “We would like to thank everyone for coming. As always, this party is one of our most anticipated events…”
I zone out of my father's speech, glancing at the couple standing closer to them. Within the safety of the gathered crowd, I can stare at them relentlessly. Jared and Amber are huddled close together, their clasped hands making me want to hit something. Or puke up all the alcohol warming my belly.
He’s watching my father with intense concentration while my sister’s face is tilted down and she picks at her gown around her waist. I hate that they stand there, in the exact spot that Jared and I stood for years. I wonder how long my sister stood next to me, laughing behind my back while she was fucking my fiancé.
“We actually have one more piece of news to share.” My father beams, waving for Jared to step up.
Nerves hum under my skin, and my palms are clammy.
My ex clears his throat, staring at Amber with a soft smile. It makes me sick.
“I know wedding invitations were just sent out, but we may have to move the date up. We just found out that we’re pregnant,” he says. The pure joy on his face has bile rising in my throat.
