Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by Myracle, John (good book club books TXT) 📕

I was, and Christina had to give me a little talk afterward. She informed me that in the future, I was not to throw out Starbucks customers just for being heartless bitches.

“Are you saying . . . ” I tried to read Dorrie’s expression. “Are you saying I’m a Chloe?”

“Of course not!” Tegan said. “She’s not saying you’re a Chloe. She’s saying Jeb is a Stuart. Right, Dorrie?”

Dorrie didn’t immediately answer. I knew she had a soft spot for Stuart, because every girl in our grade had a soft spot for Stuart. He was a nice guy. Chloe treated him like dirt. But Dorrie’s protectiveness went even deeper, I think, because Stuart was the other Jewish kid at our school, so he and she sort of had a bond.

I told myself that was the reason she brought Stuart and Chloe up. I told myself she didn’t mean to compare me to Chloe, who, in addition to being a coldhearted bitch, wore red lipstick that was totally the wrong shade for her skin.

“Poor Stuart,” Tegan said. “I wish he’d find someone new. I wish he’d find someone who deserves him.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “I’m all for Stuart finding true love. Go, Stuart. But Dorrie, I ask you again: Are you saying I’m the Chloe in this scenario?”

“No,” Dorrie said. She squeezed shut her eyes and rubbed her forehead, as if she’d developed a headache. She dropped her hand and met my gaze. “Adeline, I love you. I will always love you. But . . . ”

Prickles shot up and down my spine, because any sentence that combined “I love you” and “but” could not be good. “But what?”

“You know you get wrapped up in your own dramas. I mean, we all do, I’m not saying we don’t. But with you it’s practically an art form. And sometimes . . . ”

I rose from the bed, taking the blanket with me. I rewrapped it around my head and clutched it beneath my chin. “Yes?”

“Sometimes you worry more about yourself than you do about others, kind of.”

“Then you are saying I’m a Chloe! You’re saying I’m a heartless, self-absorbed bitch!”

“Not heartless,” Dorrie said quickly. “Never heartless.”

“And not a”—Tegan dropped her voice—“you know. You are not that at all.”

It didn’t escape me that neither of them denied the “self-absorbed” bit. “Oh my God,” I said. “I’m having a crisis, and my best friends gang up and attack me.”

“We’re not attacking you!” Tegan said.

“Sorry, can’t hear you,” I said. “Too busy being self-absorbed.”

“No, you can’t hear us because you have a blanket over your ears,” Dorrie said. She strode over to me. “All I’m saying—”

“La-la-la! Still can’t hear you!”

“—is that I don’t think you should get back together with Jeb unless you’re sure.”

It was insane how fast my heart was going. I was safe in my room with my two best friends, and I was terrified of what one of them was about to say to me.

“Sure of what?” I managed.

Dorrie pulled down my hood. “In your e-mail, you said you’ve changed,” she said carefully. “But I’m just wondering if you really have. If you’ve, you know, looked inside yourself to figure out what you even need to change.”

Spots popped in my brain. It was extremely possible that I was hyperventilating, and I would soon faint and hit my head and die, and the blanket clutched around me would turn red with blood.

“Leave!” I told Dorrie, pointing at the door.

Tegan shrank into herself.

“Addie,” Dorrie said.

“I’m serious—just go. And Jeb and I didn’t get back together, did we? Because he didn’t show up. So who cares if I’ve ‘really’ changed? It doesn’t frickin’ matter!”

Dorrie held her hands up. “You’re right. I suck. That was completely bad timing.”

“You’re telling me. You’re supposed to be my friend!”

“She is your friend,” Tegan said. “Could you stop bickering? Both of you?”

I turned away, and as I did, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in my dresser mirror. For a second I didn’t recognize myself: not my hair, not my scowl, not my anguished eyes. I thought, Who is that crazy girl?

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Addie, I’m sorry,” Dorrie said. “I was talking out of my butt like I always do. I just—”

She broke off, and this time I did not say, “You just what?”

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

I dug my fingers into the fibers of my throw blanket. After several long seconds, I gave a tiny nod. But you still suck, I said in my head, even though I knew she didn’t.

Dorrie squeezed my shoulder, then released me. “We probably should get going, huh, Tegan?”

“I guess,” Tegan said. She fooled with the hem of her T-shirt. “Only I don’t want us to end the night on a bad note. I mean, it’s Christmas.”

“It’s already ending on a bad note,” I muttered.

“No, it’s not,” Dorrie said. “We made up. Right, Addie?”

“I wasn’t talking about that,” I said.

“Stop,” Tegan said. “I have something good to tell y’all—something that has nothing to do with sadness or broken hearts or arguing.” She gave the two of us a pleading look. “Will you listen?”

“Of course,” I said. “Well, I will. Can’t speak for Grinch here.”

“I would love to hear something good,” Dorrie said. “Is it about Gabriel?”

“Gabriel? Who’s Gabriel?” I said. Then I remembered. “Oh! Gabriel!” I didn’t look at Dorrie, because I didn’t want her using this as proof that I thought only about myself or whatever.

“I got the most amazing news right before we came over,” Tegan said. “I just didn’t want to bring it up while we were still dealing with Addie’s crisis.”

“I think we’re done with Addie’s crisis,” Dorrie said. “Addie? Are we done with your crisis?”

We will never be done with my crisis, I thought.

I sat down on the floor and tugged Tegan to make her sit beside me. I even made room for Dorrie. “Tell us your good news,” I said.

“My news is about Gabriel,” Tegan said. She smiled. “He’s coming home tomorrow!”

Chapter Five

“I have his bed all set up,” Tegan said.