{{Dedicated to @WanderBooks she's a genius *wink*, a great writer and a genuinely nice person}}
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
A week after Rhea had walked out on Floyd, she sat in the same corner booth with a strawberry milkshake in her hands. The seat across from her was occupied by Willa this time, who was sipping at her own glass of chocolate flavored goodness. As much as she loved the food that was served in this little burger joint, Rhea was disappointed in them for serving the drinks before the food, because now they both had half empty drinks and no food in sight.
They'd been silent ever since their drinks had arrived. Rhea watched the people that passed by the window they sat near while Willa busied herself with her phone.
A moment later, Willa put down her phone and asked, "So, did they break up?"
Rhea was startled out of her daydreaming by the question that came out of nowhere.
"Who?"
"Caleb and Yasmine," Willa clarified in a voice that said duh. "Didn't he say last week that they had a fight?"
"Well, yeah. But they've been together for years; they're not going to break up over some stupid fight."
"It didn't sound stupid. It sounded pretty serious and it's always downhill after the college talk."
At that moment, their food arrived and Rhea refrained from mentioning how Willa and Wade had had the college talk too. But then again, they'd had it almost a year ago and decided that they'd apply to all the same colleges and go to the same one. After much prompting and coaxing, they'd convinced Rhea to do the same, too. After all, she didn't have any other attachments that might keep her around or pull her away somewhere else. At least, not at the time.
"What do you want me to say?" she asked instead, growing irritated though it was directed very little at Willa and a lot more at the sticky situation she'd been in for weeks.
"I don't know. Will you swoop in to get Caleb if they do break up?"
"I don't know. I don't want anyone to think I've been waiting in the sidelines for him to become available."
"Which is totally what you've been doing." She pointed at Rhea with a French fry.
"That's not the point. Wait...do you honestly think I've only been Caleb's friend all this time so I could snatch him the minute he's single?"
"No, Ree, of course not. I'm sorry, I was joking."
"I know you were, I'm sorry too. It's just that...it's been really hard for me these past couple of weeks, y'know. First with Floyd, then with Caleb, then Floyd again. It's just such a mess."
"I know. Everything will be alright though, don't worry."
Rhea wanted to believe in her friend's words, but she just wasn't sure if anything would ever be alright again. Ever since the whole soulmate thing had started, her whole life had gotten a whole lot more complicated. She'd always had it so easy until one day everything had spiraled out of control and she'd found herself in the middle of this mess. So instead of replying to Willa's words, she forced a smile and changed the subject.
"Anyway, you're still coming over for dinner next week, right?"
Willa immediately brightened at her words and gave her a devilish grin. "Yeah, and I'm bringing Magic Mike."
"You know I think that movie is disgusting, right?" She shook her head and let out a chuckle.
"Yeah well, it has Channing Tatum's butt, so suck it up."
***
Thanksgiving was a fairly quiet affair in the Myers household. Her mother would cook an exquisite meal—complete with turkey gravy, cranberry sauce and all the works—and they'd all sit together and have dinner. No awkward distant relatives were present, which made Rhea the most thankful. Not even her grandparents came around for the occasion; Stephen's parents had passed away a couple years after one another when Rhea was a kid and Emily's parents would visit her brother on Thanksgiving and come over to theirs on Christmas. This year, their table was set for four for the first time in as long as Rhea could remember.
"Hey mom, where are the napkins?" Rhea called to her mother.
"Check the top drawer," she answered as she kept on busying herself with work.
An old folk ballad could be heard from the direction of the kitchen and Rhea could picture her mother sway slightly to it as she stirred the cranberry sauce, the swishing sounds being drowned by the music. She'd always been a happy cook unlike Willa's mother, who was an over-stresser. Willa had made her relief at not having to put up with it this year around pretty clear when she'd first been offered to have Thanksgiving with them. Now, Willa neatly placed the cutlery on the table as Rhea fumbled around for napkins. She always loved having Willa around; being an only child had left her trying to fill in for a sibling and Willa was as close as she'd got to having a sister.
When they were finished with setting the table, they plopped down to the couch next to each other. They weren't needed in the kitchen, nor were they particularly wanted—preparing Thanksgiving dinner had always been a private affair for Rhea's parents, something they loved to do every year by themselves. She knew most of her friends' fathers wouldn't even help set the table, which made her admire her father even more. He'd always help out in the kitchen and he made a mean dish of sweet potatoes.
"Want to watch that movie I brought?" Willa asked, wiggling her brows at her.
Rhea made a disgusted face at her. "I'd rather keep my appetite, thank you very much."
So they lounged on the couch for a while, flipping through channels on TV to finally settle on some trashy reality TV. It was a thing they loved to do—watching bad quality shows and mocking them.
Half an hour later, just as Rhea was beginning to think she'd starve to death right there on the couch, dinner was served.
One other thing they did at Thanksgiving dinner was listing all the things they felt thankful for and she'd always loved that. She wasn't necessarily the religious type and she didn't pray that often, but looking back at the year they'd all had and appreciating all the good things that had happened to them was a remarkable experience in her eyes.
Halfway into dinner, her father cleared his throat and spoke. "Another year has passed so quickly and I'm thankful I got to spend it with the two beautiful women in my life. Emily, I've loved you since the day I met you and Rhea, I've loved you even before I did." He looked at her with a proud smile. "You've grown into such a beautiful young woman and I'm thankful I was here to witness it all."
Rhea felt tears starting to brim in her eyes as she realized once more how lucky she really was to have the family she did. She gave her father a watery smile, who returned it with one of his own.
Then, her mother spoke up, talking about how grateful she was to have the most amazing husband and daughter she could ever have asked for and to have had an amazing year at work as well. She also said how grateful she was that her daughter was a good judge of character that she'd made a friend as good as Willa. The compliment made Willa smile warmly at Rhea's mother, while it made Rhea think about other times when she hadn't been that good of a judge of character. She swallowed the bitter chuckle that threatened to slip from her lips and spoke up.
"I'm thankful that I have parents who love and support me, as well as each other, no matter what. I'm thankful that I have amazing friends who've stood by me no matter what. I'm thankful that even when I went through bad things, I managed to somehow come out of them stronger. Finally, I'm thankful that I've figured out that love works in mysterious ways—often in ways you wouldn't expect."
Despite being in a constant bad mood for weeks, it felt good to remember she had things to be thankful for after all.
***
After dinner they retreated upstairs to Rhea's room. Rhea plopped down on her bed and clasped her hands together behind her neck while Willa retrieved Rhea's computer from its usual place on the desk and opened it.
"So, have you talked to Floyd since...you know?" she asked without looking up from the screen.
"We always talk about me," Rhea whined. "Is there nothing going on in your life?"
"Please, I've been dating the same guy for two years, we already know we'll stay together after high school; we're basically a married couple, which is why I'm trying to live an exciting teenage life vicariously through you."
"My life isn't exciting—it's a train wreck."
"You say that now, but it'll be one hell of a story to tell your kids when you and Caleb have been married for two decades."
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen."
"Rhea's it's literally been happening in your family for generations. Have a little faith." She set the computer between them and Rhea saw it was paused at the opening credits. "So, have you told your parents?"
"I gave them a very brief summary, I'm pretty sure my mom is constantly having to pinch herself to stop from prying any further. Anyway, I'll eventually have to tell them their daughter was a moron who couldn't see what was right in front of her."
"Hey now, don't be so hard on yourself. It was comp—"
"Wills, I appreciate you trying to comfort me, but could you leave me to my self-deprecation just this once?"
"Alright, alright. Ready for CT's butt?"
She laughed. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Willa hit play and Rhea was immediately sucked into a world of male strippers and crude dance moves.
***
Returning to school after Thanksgiving break was pretty hard for Rhea. Taking a break from all the drama, from Floyd and most importantly from Caleb had been exactly what she needed and she was once again thrown to the middle of it. Luckily, their last interaction seemed to put Floyd off from talking to her for good. He went back to sullenly watch her table during lunch.
Caleb, however, was around as often as he'd been pre-Thanksgiving. He came to sit with them during lunch, he was always present at Chemistry and he talked to her on the hallways when they bumped into each other.
Even since she'd realized her feelings for Caleb had been developing further than a mere attraction it'd become harder and harder to be around him. When he'd told her that he and Yasmine had made up for the time being, she'd been overcome by a very strong urge to punch him in the face, simply because there was no one who'd be a rightful target for all the frustration she'd felt and Caleb was the next best thing. Instead, she focused on the promising "for the time being". She was too good of a person to actively try and break Caleb and Yasmine up, but she'd realized lately she wasn't above wishing for the day they'd be over.
Besides, Caleb and Yasmine being over wouldn't mark the end of all her problems; he still wouldn't be feeling the same way that she did. Even if he did, would he even be willing to start something with her after he'd just ended a three year long relationship? No matter how it would end, three years was a lot to get over.
The complications were endless and they were running Rhea ragged.
***
Two weeks before Christmas, Rhea walked out of school, ready to walk home by herself since Willa had to get to her dentist appointment right after school. She didn't mind; even though the weather was pretty cold at this point, she liked to walk by herself, to be able to see her breaths fog up and listen to her own footsteps against the sidewalks.
When she saw a familiar figure that didn't really belong there leaning against a tree right by the entrance, she did a double take. Yep, it was him alright.
"Xander, what are you doing here?" she asked, approaching him. "Are you waiting for Caleb?"
"Nope," he popped the last sound. "I came to take you out for coffee."
Her shoulders slumped almost immediately; she'd had it with insistent boys and their inability to take a cue. "I told you that was a bad idea," she said with a stern look on her face. "I'm not looking to date anyone."
He grinned at her. "I never said it was a date. I was hoping you'd come Christmas shopping with me after coffee. Help me pick out presents?"
"I do love Christmas shopping, you got me there." She thought about it for a while. He did seem to be sincere about the non-date thing and she could use a distraction. Finally making up her mind she said, "Alright, who are we shopping for?"
He beamed at her before he answered, "Basically all the people you met at Halloween."
"You need my help to get presents for your childhood friends?" She scoffed.
"Well, I've been buying most of them Christmas presents since the fourth grade, and believe it or not, it gets harder every year. And, I might want to get a little quality time out of it with you" —when she shot him a warning look, he added quickly—"as friends, of course."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, tone down the flirting and let's go."
He gave her a grin and gestured towards the gates, offering her his arm in an exaggerated gesture. She rolled her eyes again and ignoring his arm, walked off towards the gates. They walked outside in silence to where Xander had parked his car.
"Hold up," Rhea said disbelievingly. "You drive a Mercedes?"
He looked uncomfortable for a moment as he shuffled on his feet, avoiding eye contact and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, my family's kinda loaded."
"You know what..." she said coyly, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers and looking up at Xander through her lashes. "About that date you asked me on..."
"Oh wow, another gold digger. You break my heart." They both chuckled.
Xander opened the door for Rhea and she got in. The soft leather of the passenger seat felt cool against her bare thighs and she thought she'd wear skirts every single day if she ever owned this kind of car.
"Where to?" she asked as she smoothed the imaginary wrinkles in her skirt.
"I'm thinking Starbucks," he responded without taking his eyes off the road.
"Seriously? I did not have you pegged as a Starbucks guy."
"Well, let's just say I have a new-found appreciation for pumpkin spiced lattes." The corner of his lips curled up in a secretive smile, like he knew something that she didn't.
"I sense a story there." She raised both eyebrows and gave him a look to prompt him to talk about it.
"If you're good, I'll tell you later." He winked at her. The guy had game and he knew it, though his jabs were more friendly and less flirty compared to the last time they'd seen each other. Perhaps he'd really taken her request at being just friends at heart—unlike some people she knew—or perhaps the story involved a girl. She was restless with curiosity, but decided not to let her impatience show. Even though she didn't know him very well, she had a feeling Xander would torture her all day if he knew how intrigued she was.
After stopping at Starbucks briefly where Xander told her the story behind his pumpkin spiced latte comment that involved a girl named Alice, that very Starbucks and—surprisingly—a punch in the face, they went to the mall. Now that she knew there was a girl involved—a girl Xander seemed quiet taken with, judging by the way he'd talked about her—she felt a lot more relaxed about being here with him. She'd enjoyed Xander's company from the moment she'd met him and with any sort of expectations of anything more out of the way, they had a lot of fun. Rhea refrained from asking Xander what his budget was, his car and the comment he'd made about his family afterwards answered that particular question for him.
They browsed through various stores in search of the perfect gifts. They bought Scott a rather pricy leather baseball glove, Luke a wool sweater, Hayley and Anne silver necklaces, Yasmine a green silk scarf and Caleb a new jacket. They were all from the pricier stores in the mall, certainly above Rhea's budget for any present she'd ever gotten. Apparently, Xander was one of those people who went all out with the Christmas present whereas Rhea was one for small yet meaningful things.
She hadn't thought about getting a present for Caleb for two reasons. One, she sucked at buying presents so she tended to keep the number of presents she bought to a minimum and two, she didn't want to find herself in yet another awkward situation with him in case Caleb hadn't thought to get her something. She knew people always talked about how it wasn't important to get something in return, how the point of buying a present was to make the other person happy, but to Rhea that was complete bullshit. People bought each other presents either because they wanted the other person to feel obliged to get them something in return, or they felt obliged themselves. Still, when she saw the perfect present for Caleb as they were browsing stores, she just couldn't help herself.
"I think I'll get this for Caleb." Xander turned around to examine the item Rhea was holding up. "Do you think he'll like it?"
"I think he might."
***
A/N: Hey guys!
Thank you for 100K reads, I still can't believe we've come so far!
Remember that THE spin-off I was talking about? Well if you were interested in that, you should go to my profile and check out the book To Touch A Soul. It's Xander's story! Let's see if we can get the summary to a hundred votes, yeah?
Don't forget to VOTE and/or COMMENT.
May we meet again,
-Safiye