The Secret Admirer Next Door (Love Next Door Series Book 1) *Editing*

Chapter 37

Valerie knew she had spent at least twenty minutes staring at the ceiling. She could hear the creaks of the steps against the hard wood letting her know that the house had awakened. It was Christmas Eve and they were expecting the Christmas Eve breakfast. She took in a heavy breath and willed herself to move, but couldn't manage. She didn't know what happened to her Christmas spirit, she just wasn't in the mood for it today. If she could spend the say wallowing in her own one person pity party for the rest of the day, she could muscle through the night and then Christmas morning.

There was a knock at her door and she just rolled over and shoved her face in the pillow. She thought of Melanie. When Mel didn't want to take a part of something she would hop out her window and run over to see Shaggs. Valerie thought she spent more time over there than she did at her own house.

She couldn't run over there. For one Melanie had the roof under her window, and her parents room was in the back of the house. A two story drop that would probably send her to the emergency room. It wasn't like Valerie could go over to the Goodwin house for any reason, she just wanted to vanish for a few hours. Forget it was Christmas Eve, forget she could never look at her neighbor the same way again. It wasn't like you ever did in the first place, an internal voice said.

The door swung open. "Wakey, wakey, Mommy."

A softness in her heart cause her to sit up, to see Kayla holding a tray of food. A part of her wanted to be proud that she had been able to navigate the tray up the stairs, the other half wanted to be mad at the girls for letting Kayla walk up the stairs by herself, but she assumed the girls may have been near by.

The potent scent of burnt pastries, ginger, and cinnamon filled the hair causing her stomach to twitch.

"Morning baby."

Aunt Mel and me, made Christmas breakfast."

Valerie felt her eyebrow, "Really?" She looked over the green and red colored eggs and the pancakes with a cookie cutter cut of a gingerbread in it. Icing slathered over it as well as a mosh pit of red and green colored sugar, red hots, and gum drops. She tensed her face to keep it from spasming into a gagging face. She picked up a fork and stabbed at the little man cut into her pancakes. "Mmm! It looks...yummy!" The blatant lie, made her taste the bile coming up from her throat.

She sat on the edge of the bed with wide eyes, as if waiting for her to take a bake. Valerie to take a bite, so she cut a small chunk out of the pancakes getting as little of the sugaring frosting as possible. She slipped it in her mouth to a few quick chews and swallowed passed her gag reflex. She smiled.

"Aunt Mel she likes it!" Kayla screamed out causing Valerie to flinch.

She sighed,"Why don't you go down stairs and thank Aunt Mel for me."

"Okay, Mommy." She skipped out of the room. Valerie debated whether she wanted to go down stairs and actually make everyone a real breakfast, or let Melanie and Kayla bask in their attempt.

Either way, the look of the culinary disaster was too upsetting for words. She walked into the bathroom, she dumped her meal into the trash can, tied up the bag and threw it under the sink. Not the most sanitary but she's was ready to throw up, the little dinner she did eat last night. She studied her face again. He face puffy and a mess.

Her phone began to ring on her night stand.

"Hello?"

"Let me speak to, Kayla."

Just the sound of her voice was enough to make her skin crawl. "Hi Valerie, how are you? How are the kids?"

She heard the frustration in his breath. She even heard the woman's voice in the background. Everything in her told her to just end the call. "This again." What again. "Look I just called to talk to my daughter on Christmas, Valerie."