Festive Fake

6 - Would getting a bunch of candy help?

The bedroom Granny always saved for me was exactly as I remembered it, bright and clean with the soft scent of fresh linens. For the holiday season, a red and white reindeer-patterned quilt covered the full size mattress, and matching throw pillows sat in the chairs on either side of the large window overlooking the backyard.

Nate and I stretched out on the bed with our legs hanging off opposite sides and our heads together in the middle. Inhaling for the count of ten, I shoved my anger and frustration down deep into the pit of my stomach.

It would have to wait until I had time to cry and recover from the puffiness. There was no way I'd let Briar see that anything she did bothered me.

"I'm so embarrassed, but thank you, Nate. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't walked in when you did."

"There's no reason to thank me."

He shifted, and although I knew he was looking at me, I closed my eyes.

"Your Dad seems nice, Joby too."

"They are. This would be easy if it was them and Granny."

"You know the way the rest of them behave has nothing to do with you, right?" He reached around to rub my temple gently with his thumb.

"I'm sorry my mother was rude to you. I thought she'd be more friendly if I brought a boyfriend, but I guess I'm on her shitlist until a ring is involved. And Briar, there's no telling what her problem is. When we were kids, we were best friends, and then suddenly, she was like this."

He leaned his head against mine, and kept moving his thumb in soft circles. His silence was comforting, it made me want to vent about all my problems, but I wouldn't. If I started, I might not stop, and I'd definitely cry.

Changing the subject was easier. "When we were little, Joby and I would spend most of our school vacations here while our parents worked. Summer was the best. Dad and Mother would come and go from Savannah, but we got to stay. Briar was usually with us then.

"For two entire months, we helped Granny in the garden and with her charity work. The Humane Society was my favorite, even if cleaning out the cages was gross. Outside of that, we spent every hour we could at the beach. Granny said we swam through the waves like fish, and tanned like peanuts."

"Cute." Nate chuckled. "Do you and Joby talk much now?"

"Not really. We were close until he left for college, and then he didn't have time for me anymore." I sat up and grabbed the water bottles Granny had set on the nightstand, passing one to Nate before opening mine and taking a long drink.

"That's not cool."

"I understood for a while. He was becoming an adult, and I was a couple of years behind him. But we're adults now, and there's no reason we can't be friends. I'm not sure what I did. He lives within forty minutes of me and I have to come all the way to Wayden to see him. It's nuts."

"If you guys work it out, at least he'll be close." Nate replaced the cap on his bottle and set it on the nightstand. "Does he live in Atlanta?"

"Midtown. He's the manager for the Peachtree and Kings Resort Hotel, and he lives there. Have you heard of it? There's only one location, but it's huge."

"No. It sounds ultra high end, though."

"It is. I couldn't afford to eat in their fancy-pants restaurant, let alone stay the night."

"And your brother lives there. That must be nice."

"He seems to like it but says the hours are super long. That's probably why he's still single. It'd have to be hard on a relationship."