It was here.
For days, all I could think about was making it to the final round and in less than an hour, it was about to become my reality. There was no turning back now. We have our passes, we signed the papers, we went through the debriefing, it was official. All that was left was getting mentally prepared for either total victory, or extreme loss.
I didn't want to think about the latter being an option, but naturally, that's all I could think about. As much as I tried to stay positive, for some reason I couldn't stay there long. Maybe it was because I was borderline sleep deprived and my nerves were on edge. With everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours, it was amazing that I was even still standing. Gage knew this too. He tried to distract me from all of this earlier when he took me to see the rest of the competition. And although I will admit the barbecue section was phenomenal, especially the Memphis barbecue, it couldn't erase my nerves completely.
I have told Gage over and over that we will win this and everything will be fine, but that was before I was staring at the finish line. Now, with it being in reach, I started to lose my grip on my confidence. Because now, it finally hit me that losing it all was a very real possibility. And not just the money. I wasn't ready to risk it. I wasn't ready to risk Gage. I could try and pretend that this was just another competition, but it wasn't.
This wasn't a competition for money. This was a competition for Gage's life.
Not to mention if we fail Violet will become—I didn't even want to think about it. I honestly didn't want to think about any of it, but how could I not? I could spend the entire day with Gage, smiling and having a good time when all I could think about was the possibility of failure. My mind was cruel and pretended like we had already lost. It began to travel down a dark path, wondering about all sorts of horrid things. How many more times I could hold Gage's hand? When will be the last time I could kiss him in the morning? How would it feel sleeping in an empty bed every night? What would I do if I could no longer feel him anymore?
He had a whole life ahead of him, but what if that doesn't happen? What if he isn't able to do the things he wanted? What if the items on his list were all for nothing? What if he . . . never becomes a father?
I tried to push away such negative thoughts, but they soon become real questions. It all boiled down to this: Could I survive the consequences of failing all of this?
I looked up to see Gage slipping on his shoes near the doorway. There was nothing special about this little action, but he doesn't have to be doing anything special for me to be entranced by him. Because I am, in every single way, entranced by this man. And to even think that stolen moments such as these could be taken away permanently . . .
That's why I stopped feeling guilty for wanting to defeat the other competitors. I may not know their reason for joining this competition, but I could guarantee that it was not nearly as serious as my reasoning. Even if we don't win first place, anything would be better than nothing. As long as there was some way to help Gage.
Losing was not an option for me.
"Shortcake?" Gage's voice snapped me out of my stormy thoughts and I looked up to see him eyeing me with concern. "Everything okay?"
And just like that, the sun came out from behind the clouds. All it took was the sound of his low, soothing voice. I knew then that I had my answer to my previous question: I really can't do this without him. But I've always known that.
"Yes," I got up from the bed to wrap my arms around his tall frame. "Everything is fine."
This will not be one of the last times I am able to hold him. This I swear.
Moments later when we were both ready we went back downstairs and I felt a sense of déjà vu. It wasn't that long ago today we were doing this exact same thing for the preliminary round. I briefly wondered what we will be like next time we ride the elevator.
As we walked towards the room I couldn't help but notice the sound of soft music coming from the ballroom we would be in soon. It didn't sound like it was something recorded, but like it was . . . live. Was there a concert going on for all of this?
"What are they doing there?" Gage asked eyeing the hoard of people inside the ballroom. I looked at them too noting that thankfully none of them was a particular pair I was avoiding like the plague.
"They said at the debriefing that the finals are going to be open to the public."
"So they are going to be watching us bake the whole time?"
"I guess so. Oh, and speaking of, it's a televised event. But I think you already knew that."
"So even more people will be watching," Gage scoffed. "No pressure."
"I think it's neat. Maybe Lamar and the twins and Violet could watch us."
"Yeah . . . or Jason," he groaned.
I shook my head at him. I don't think I will ever understand their complex relationship. As much as they fight, I knew that they really care about each other. They have such a unique bond with being twisted in this debt together. That had to count for something.
For some reason, I was so caught up in trying to figure Jason and Gage out like a giant puzzle piece that I wasn't watching paying attention to where I was going. Right when I was coming around a corner I ran right someone who smelled a lot like cigarettes. Once I gained my composure back, I looked up at the man and said, "Oh, my goodness! I wasn't paying attention, I'm so—" But my apology died on my lips as soon as I saw who it was.
The older man flashed a coy, yellow smile that sent shivers down my spine.
"Hello, Alexandria."
My eyes widened. " . . . Finch."
He eyed me a moment longer before adjusting the gloves on his hands. "I've been trying to look for yo—"
But before he could finish his sentence, Gage had him pinned against the wall. Despite the fact that Finch was much taller, Gage clearly had the upper hand. I appeared to be the one more surprised by this than Finch who only frowned.
"Is this really necessary?" his thick accent held a bored tone.
"What are you doing here?" Gage demanded.
"It's none of your concern."
"Like hell it is! I'm sick of you assholes messing with Katy."
"I am not here to mess with her."
"Then I'll ask again, what are you doing here?"
Finch's dark eyes lazily drifted to mine before he let out a sigh. "This is really more troublesome than he said it was going to be."
"Who? Malcolm?"
His eyes snapped back to Gage's and for once I saw real emotion: anger. "You have no right to refer to him by that name! He is Mr. Devenue to vermin like you."
"Actually he is 'piece-of-shit' to me, but it's all the same."
Finch's face turned red. "You bastard."
"Enough!" I jumped in before this could go any more south. Not that I could prevent much, or really wanted to, but there were people nearby eyeing us in concern. "Stop it, you two! We are in the middle of the hall."
"I don't give a damn," Gage growled, his glare never left Finch's.
"Well, I do. Let him go, Gage. This is not the time."
"Not until he tells me why he's here."
"I need my airways in order to do that, mate," Finch glanced down at where Gage had his forearm pressed firmly against his throat.
For a moment I thought Gage didn't get the message until ever so slowly he let go. He definitely didn't look pleased about it though. When his throat was free, Finch rubbed it with a wicked grin on his face. "Still have spunk, I see."
"Answers. Now."
Finch gave a humorless chuckle before turning to me. "Your father wanted me to tell you to make cherry turnovers tonight."
I couldn't hold back my confusion. "What?"
"One of the judges has a sweet spot for them apparently," he pulled out his pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. "He said that if you want to have a shot at winning, go for the cherry turnovers."
I eyed him warily for a moment before, "Why is he telling me this?"
"Why do you think?" he slipped a cigarette between his lips. A woman walking by gawked at him before scurrying off. "Because he loves you."
Without missing a beat Gage busted out laughing to which Finch glared at him. When he calmed down some he looked at the older man and said, "You've got to be shitting me."
"I am not shitting you. He is a loyal father and a good man."
"Loyal father? Good man? How much is he paying you?"
Before Finch could explode on Gage I jumped in once more to say, "Thank you!"
Both men dropped their death glare to look at me in surprise at the same time. "What?" Gage especially looked upset. But I kept my eyes trained on Finch.
"Tell my father I said thank you," his yellow smile twisted up, "however," then dropped, "you can also tell him that his efforts were for nothing. As I have already told my mother, I have no interest in winning in a way that is unfair. You can tell my father the same thing, since it seems he does not want to tell me himself."
Not that I really wanted to see him, but still I wanted to point out one of my father's many flaws. If he could assume the worst about me, so could I.
Next to a very flustered Finch, Gage was beaming at me. I sent him a gentle smile letting him know that we were going to be okay.
"Now if you will excuse us, we have somewhere to be," I nodded towards Finch before turning on my heels to leave. The only regret I have about this was that I couldn't see his reaction. I imagined it was still very shocked, though. A few seconds later Gage was right beside me with a satisfied look on his face. It told me all I needed to know.
+ + +
When we arrived at the room, it was pretty quiet besides the woman who called out our group names when assigning us places in line. I briefly wondered if it was this awkward at the Olympics when you had to share the locker room with all of your competitors. There was no point in trying to be friendly with each other, we all came here with one thing in mind. Well, maybe not everyone. I'm fairly certain this one group came just for the heck of it. Must be nice.
"Alright, is everyone in their correct order?" the woman asked. We all gave varying answers that could be summed up in a "Yes." She gave a nod of approval before looking down at her clipboard. "We have about ten more minutes until we head inside the ballroom. Remember, don't get overwhelmed by the crowd or the camera crew you will see walking around. Just bake like you normally would. If you run into an issue, let one of the volunteers know. Does anyone have any questions before we go?" When nobody said anything she moved along informing us of the small details such as exits and bathrooms.
I tried to pay attention, but my mind was still whirling from what happened a few minutes ago. It was upsetting no matter how you looked at it, but if I was being honest with myself, what really upset me the most was the fact that for a split second I almost considered his advice. I wanted nothing more than to for Gage to continue living, and the key to that being possible may lay in this competition. But at the same time, I don't want to win because of my father. He will have even more power over me if that happens. Still, I couldn't deny that the temptation was there. If there was a guaranteed way to win, I would want to go for it. But I knew it wasn't right. I sincerely hoped that we could still do this without my father's influence.
"Alright everyone it's time to start!" the woman announced excitedly. "Please make sure you are in your correct spot so that they can announce your group properly. Remember everything I said earlier! Good luck!"
After giving us a thumbs up she opened the door, and a wave of anxiety came crashing over me. I don't know why it decided to show up now after everything that has happened, but it did. Apparently, I wasn't good at hiding it either because when I felt Gage tug on my hand a little I looked up to see his concerned expression.
"You okay, Shortcake?" he whispered.
I gave him my most sincere smile. "I will be."
He looked at me a moment longer before bending down to press his lips against my forehead. "We will get through this. Even if . . . this doesn't work. We will get through this."
I noted that "this" could mean multiple things, some good some bad. Mostly bad. But ultimately, I just wanted to find a happy ending in any of them.
Before we walked out, another volunteer went around handing us aprons which Gage accepted with a groan. It wasn't as bad as the last one. It was solid white and read "Katy Cakes" in thick, cursive letters with a small cupcake underneath. Still, he didn't put it on until the last minute when we left.
Again I could hear the sound of music pouring out from the ballroom. I was fairly certain that it was a band playing a cover of Lionel Richie's "All Night Long", which I wasn't sure how appropriate that was, but it was quickly masked by the thunderous noise of the crowd's cheering.
"Damn," Gage mumbled next to me. "They are almost as bad as the crowd at the matches."
I wanted to ask him more about what it was like, but I figured this wouldn't be the time. That and they were about to announce our name.
"And for the next group who won the judges over with their southern peach cobbler, The Cooling Rack!" I recognized Bo's voice from inside the room.
The pair in front of us walked inside with massive smiles on their face as the crowd cheered wildly and cameras flashed. It was absolutely incredible and nerve-wracking just watching them. When Gage and I stepped up to be announced, my heart pounded roughly in my chest, from excitement or nerves I wasn't sure. But I didn't have time to figure it out.
"Next up we have a dynamic duo that really has a skill for making molten lava cakes, please help us welcome, Katy Cakes!"
I'm not sure if Gage was smiling, but I definitely was as we walked in. And not just because the cameras were on us. Although I'm fairly certain my parents were probably in the room watching with sneers on their faces and I felt completely on edge, I soaked in the moment as we walked towards our station. For that one short moment, everything was okay and I could allow myself to mentally check off an item from my list I made with Gage a while back: feel like a celebrity.
When we arrived at our station I noticed a few changes from the last ballroom, besides the crowd, such as the multiple tables lined throughout the room that had different bakery names on them. I found ours near the middle between Dough Knot and Disco Danish. Before I could debate on what they were for, an area near the corner of the ballroom caught my attention and held it.
It looked like a make-shift kitchen filled with products and tools I assumed we could use. I remembered at the debriefing the lady announced that the finals would be a themed contest, so maybe that meant no more mystery ingredients. The kitchen was all for us. That seemed promising. The station was the only thing that was really kept the same. It was still small, but it would suffice.
"We actually made it," Gage said next to me as he looked around the room in amazement. "You got us here, Shortcake."
"We both did," I sent him a smile. "Team Kage all the way."
At that, he smiled back. "You have to admit we make a pretty odd team."
"Then so be it."
Before he could say anything else, the music started to die down signaling what we were all anxiously waiting for. It was officially time.
"Welcome back, everyone!" a familiar, cheerful voice rang throughout the crowd.
Both Gage and I looked up at the stage to see Bo dressed in another eccentric tailored suit that went along with his bold glasses. Although he was flashy and interesting to look at, my eyes immediately went to the people sitting behind him. I did even see them come in. They must be the judges, which meant one of them had a soft spot for cherry turnovers. I don't know why I felt so guilty for knowing this. But before I could dwell on it any further, Bo brought my attention back.
"So, so, glad to be back and see all of your wonderful smiling faces," he continued on. "I hope you have all enjoyed the Orlando Cook-Off competition so far. I checked out the grilling section earlier and I have to say, I'm surprised I could even fit in this suit tonight," he patted his flat stomach. Next to me Gage scoffed. "Anyway, just to recap a few things, this is the final round for the baking section so congrats to you all," Bo paused when the crowd started cheering. "It's pretty amazing, I agree. Moving on, out of the ten groups we have today, only three will go home with a prize. However, there will be honorable mentions on our website so don't forget to check that out before you leave tomorrow. Now, moving along I have some important announcements for you all. As you may already know, this round will be different from the one earlier because you not only have to impress the judges behind me," Called it, "but the members of the crowd as well. Just like with the other food sections today, you will be making samples for everyone in this room. This is going to be a little more challenging since you not only have to make sure your product tastes good, but also that you have enough for everyone."
"Damn," Gage mumbled. "With this tiny space?"
"We can make it work."
I hoped.
While Bo was introducing all of the judges and giving a speech about all of their successes I was trying to think of different desserts to make that would be quick and easy yet taste good. On top of that, it had to really impress the judges and fit the theme they have yet to announce. This did not help my anxiety. And when I looked around the room I could see the other contestants didn't look at ease either.
"Alright, thank you to all our wonderful judges with us tonight! Another round of applause for them!" the room was filled with the sound of hands clapping for a few seconds. "Okay, moving right along now, as you might have guessed, the area in the corner is for the contestants to use. Anything there is fair game. Even if you don't see something you need, please tell a volunteer and they will find something for you. Likewise, if you run out, let them know and they will restock it. With all that being said, let's get to what I am sure you are all interested hearing: the competition's theme."
Finally. I was ready and not ready to hear this all at the same time. Sort of like the seconds leading up to a teacher passing out an important test.
"Although the round will not have mystery ingredients for you to bake with, you will still be on a time limit and will still have to get creative," Bo adjusted his glasses. "Your dessert must fit the theme that I am about to announce. If the judges believe that it was not given the proper amount of thought and attention, you will lose points. This contest is all about time, creativity, and taste. Now, with that being said, are my contestants ready?"
"Yes!" we all cried.
"Are my members from the crowd ready?"
They all cheered wildly.
"How about the judges?" he turned around to look at them who either gave a thumbs up or a smile. Bo turned back to the crowd.
"And lastly, are my lovely sponsors ready?"
My heart dropped when I heard a few cheers from the side of the room. Gage turned to look in the direction their cheering was coming from with a frown, but I didn't look. I couldn't.
"Fantastic! Here we go," Bo cleared his throat before beginning. "For this year's theme, we want to go with something a little simplistic and personal. As you know, the holidays are right around the corner. And as you also know, desserts and holidays go hand-in-hand. For many, we can say that making desserts together for the holidays is a family tradition. Therefore, we are asking that you and your partner create a dessert that symbolizes that family holiday tradition," my smile dropped and I looked at Gage worriedly. This was not good.
"Essentially, when we bite into your desserts, we want to taste that warm, loving feeling you get from making something together. It is a special treat, and now you can share it with us all tonight," he smiled. "So whip out those old recipes Grandma gave you or think back to something that reminds you of those precious holiday memories. Something that is filled to the brim with love in each and every bite. For this round," he pressed a button until the number 60:00 appeared behind him on the screen, "you will have a slightly longer time to make your dessert. Remember, you must have enough for everyone, and the kitchen area is for you to use. Are there any questions before we begin?"
I had about a million, but I remained quiet as my mind twisted around the fact that we were probably going to lose.
"In that case, ready!" The screen behind him turned red.
"Set!" then yellow.
And right when it turned green, the whole crowd yelled along with him, "Bake!"
The timer began.
Gage immediately turned to me with a flustered expression. "Okay, so clearly the owners of all this had a happy, sparkly childhood to make up this theme."
"Well, it does make sense for this time of the year. Holidays with your family are typically supposed to produce happy memories."
"Yeah, but not for everyone. And we don't all have some sort of happy dessert making tradition."
"Did you?" I asked hopefully, although I already knew the answer.
"Not really. Paxton just ordered a pizza on Christmas."
"Oh," I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Well, that's nice."
We're doomed.
He was quiet for a second before he said, "Did . . . you by chance have any sort of—?"
"No," I shook my head. "Ms. Katherine had the holidays off, so there was nobody there to share good memories with."
"I see," Gage looked past me and I didn't have to guess who he was glaring at. Before it could turn into what happened between him and Finch earlier I tried to get us back on track.
"Well . . . there has to be something."
"Yeah," he looked back down at our station. "I mean . . . I guess in a way . . . we do have one option."
"We do? What op—? Wait . . ." my eyes widened when I realized what he meant. "No. That is definitely not an option."
"Yeah, I know," he let out a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Sorry, I was just . . . trying to throw something out there."
"I know. I understand. But we are not going down that path. Even if we did, it only guarantees the vote from one judge. If anything we can just . . . make something up," I offered.
"Yeah. You're right. It's not like the judges will know if it's a tradition or not anyway. It's all subjective."
"It is," I agreed, hating that the issue to all of this was that our childhoods weren't the best. I looked past Gage to see the other contestants rummaging through the kitchen with gleeful expressions. They definitely didn't open presents alone on Christmas morning like I did. I wasn't upset with them for it, but I couldn't deny I was jealous. Especially since it gave them a head start. "We should probably go to the kitchen and start getting ingredients."
"For what?"
"Anything. As long as we have something, we will be fine."
"Yeah. Okay. Let's go," he nodded then together we walked towards the kitchen.
We probably should have had some sort of game plan, but I figured anything that was holiday-ish would work. We went for a sort of divide-and-conquer tactic and avoided the others gathered around the spices. I didn't want them to see what we were using, although even I didn't know what we were using. While I was rummaging around for cinnamon, nutmeg, and peppermint the band from earlier started playing again. At first it stressed me out because it made me start to lose concentration, but then when I heard the low thrumming of a cello in a tune I have heard several times before, I relaxed.
"Listen, baby!
Ain't no mountain high,
ain't no valley low,
ain't no river wide enough, baby!"
I nearly dropped the items in my hand at the familiar song. For a second I thought that maybe I was being delusional from lack of sleep, but right then the woman came in to sing her part.
"If you need me call me,
No matter where you are,
No matter how far."
I'm not sure how it happened, but as they continued singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" images and memories started pouring into my head. But not just any images, ones of Lamar and I singing to this song after a long shift. Images of the twins dancing along with me. Images of Gage's scowl when he heard the song although he later listened to it in his spare time. But the images didn't stop there. Laughter. Tears. Warmth. Love. They all came flooding into me and that's when I remembered, this was my family.
Blood is not that creator of a true family. A family is with the people who require you in their lives. It is with the people who see your scars and accept them. It is with the people who would do anything to protect you from harm. It is with the people who forgive you every time you make a mistake. It is with the people who give you strength on your weakest days.
My family was never with my parents. My family was with the ones who loved me.
Ms. Katherine.
Lamar.
Deborah.
Ellie.
Kellie.
Mr. Phillips.
Gage.
Violet.
This was my family. This was my strength. This was my answer.
"Oh my God," I could hardly speak above a whisper I was hit so hard by my epiphany. I knew exactly what dessert was at the heart of it all.
Gage was immediately by my side. "What? What is it?"
"I've got it."
"Got what?"
I met his confused expression with a massive smile. "How do you feel about making more cocoa cappuccino cookies?"
It only took three seconds for my meaning to register with Gage before he was running around the kitchen collecting ingredients. I laughed at his behavior before helping him carry everything to our station. We made two more trips before we had everything. And once we did, we went to work.
It was nothing like working in the kitchen although we did have some music to listen to. The twins weren't here to bicker and Lamar wasn't off somewhere prepping, but it would do. Especially with Gage by my side. Just as they had said earlier, cameras came around to check out what we were baking, so that wasn't exactly ideal, but I didn't let it get to me. We put every ounce of energy into each batch making sure they were absolutely perfect. Since it was cookies there was plenty for everyone to eat, and I knew they tasted good. It was a simple recipe, but sometimes you need a little simplicity in your life. Not cherry turnovers.
Between batches Gage and I watched as others happily munched on the cookies, some asking for more. I didn't see any other judge light up like they did when trying our cookies, and I think the others knew it when they kept glaring at our station. It felt good, it felt really good. So much so that I snuck a peek at where my parents should be, but when I looked they weren't there. Maybe it was too much for them to handle.
Before I knew it, Bo called time. It definitely did not feel like fifty-five minutes had gone by, but I still felt good about it. Much better than last time. We put our heart and soul into those cookies, and that was all you could really do.
Bo informed that the award ceremony will be held in the same ballroom but they had to get it cleaned up first. We were free to go back to our room but before Gage and I could do that we were bombarded by cameras asking for interviews. I had to admit, it was pretty cool. The only thing is their eyes sort of glossed over after a while because I tend to ramble sometimes, and one reporter took an interest in Gage that I wasn't too fond of. But I knew there was nothing to be upset about. Still, I held on to his hand a little firmly and called the reporter unfriendly names in my head.
Once that was finished up, I checked my phone to see the twins and Violet blowing it up with calls and texts. Violet and Ellie were sending me a lot of positive vibes and telling me how they knew we would win whereas Kellie kept sending different edited photos of Gage in an apron. She even made him into a meme. Great.
"What's that?" Gage asked coming up from behind me. I quickly put my phone away before he could see it.
"Nothing! Just uh . . . Violet saying she's proud of you."
"She's watching?"
"Of course she is."
"I figured she was studying for finals or something."
"Oh . . . well, I think supporting her brother is more important."
"I guess. But would be nice to see that support."
I frowned. "She hasn't texted you?"
He opened up his phone to show me his messages. I smiled when I found one, "Jason sent you a message!" But my smile quickly dropped when Gage showed me what the message said. "Oh . . . that's um . . . a lot of expletives. And suggestions."
"He just misses me," Gage said, putting his phone back in his pants with a smug grin.
I swear I will never understand their relationship.
It didn't take long before the ballroom was transformed once more and chairs were available for everyone. Gage and I made our way towards the front near the stage. His excuse was that we wanted more leg room, I just wanted to be ready in case our name gets called.
From this proximity, I could see the three different trophies sitting on the small table near the center of the stage. I eyed them all wishing it would tell me who would be the owner of them tonight. At this point, even if we got second or third I would be okay because the cash prize was still a good amount. It wouldn't completely pay off the debt, but it would certainly help. Anything will do, but preferably first. Because Gage's nightmare needs to end now. Not to mention I'd love to see my parent's reaction.
When half the room was settled in, the lights began to dim down and Bo made his appearance on the stage again once again. This time, the judges were not with him. After the cheering settled down some he began to talk into the microphone.
"Welcome back, everyone! I hope you had a nice little break. It was all fun and games earlier but everything leads to this point right now. The award ceremony," he had to take a long pause when the crowd started cheering wildly again. "We had a lot of tasty desserts tonight, a lot that definitely brought in the holiday spirit. I am pretty sure our ingredients from the kitchen did not include 'nostalgia' but I am almost certain that is what you put in there. I felt like a little boy all over again, I swear. But anyway," he cleared his throat, "we would like to remind you all that although there can only be three winners, you all were absolutely fantastic. I would give you all an award if I could, it was just that spectacular. Also, don't forget that you will be featured on our website later on tonight. The web address is on your pamphlet if anyone needs it.
"Switching gears a little, I think one of the great things about this competition is that it highlights not only our love for baking, but love of baking as well. You all certainly have that gifted trait in your blood and I am honored to have been a witness to your talent. It makes me want to bake something now although I am not a decent cook at all. Oh, excuse me, baker. There is a difference, I learned."
Once he was finished Bo reached into his jacket to pull out ivory colored envelopes and place them on the podium in front of him. "As you may have already noticed, behind me are the trophies awarded to the winners I have in these envelopes. They exemplify everything or almost everything the judges were looking for tonight. I am very proud to be able to announce them tonight, so without further ado, let's get on to the awards, shall we?" he looked up the smile at the crowd and the camera that was on him this whole time.
As soon as he finished that sentence my hand found Gage's and I held on tightly. This was it. Everything has been leading up to this moment. I didn't know if I wanted to cry, throw up, scream, or cheer. Maybe everything all at once. But before I could decide, Bo began.
"For the third place prize earning a score of seven out of ten . . . the award goes to," Bo reached behind him to pick up the trophy before returning to say, "Dough Knot, with peppermint bark cheesecake!"
The pair sitting next to us shot up out of their chair shouting happily at their victory. I clapped along politely although I had a small sinking feeling about them taking third place. Only two more chances left.
"Congrats," Bo smiled as he handed them their trophy and posed in a picture with them. "Alright, awesome job. Now . . . for second place earning a score of nine out of ten, very close to first place, we have . . . Bake Away, with gingerbread cupcakes!"
"Yes!" an older lady nearby cried out in joy. Her partner didn't look as enthusiastic although you could tell she was excited unlike me, who was now getting extremely worried. This next prize was it, either we made it or we didn't. It was the turning point of it all. Gage wrapped his arm around me pulling me in close which I was very grateful for.
"And now, for the first place winner. The pair that went above and beyond expectations, the pair who made us excited for the holidays, the pair with a ten out of ten score . . . the award goes to . . ."
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
"Mad Batter, with their version of Christmas cherry turnovers!"
The crowd cheered. The cameras flashed everywhere. The group cried joyfully. It was a cacophony of one unanimous celebration.
And one massive defeat.
My hand that once clung to Gage's slipped and fell to my side. I thought that his support would help me even in the bad times, but I was almost certain nothing could make this okay. I don't even remember what happened after the group collected their items and posed for several different photos. I think Bo made an announcement, and he probably said something nice about the whole event, but I was too numb to listen.
It was over. We were back to the very beginning with nothing but an honorable mention. All efforts, all confidence, all positivity, it was all for nothing.
Such childish views will not get you far, Alexandria, my mother's emotionless voice echoed throughout my mind. I bet she was laughing at me right now. I bet they were both laughing. I really thought that I could do this . . . but I failed.
"Katy . . ." I heard Gage's soft voice next to mine, but I couldn't say anything. He knew as well as I did what all of this meant.
When I could find my voice all I said was, "Let's go," not even caring if the ceremony was over. I couldn't sit here anymore drowning in the realization of what was to come. If I couldn't wake up from this nightmare I will try to leave in some sort of way.
Gage followed right behind me as I practically ran to the elevator. I stopped though when I realized that if I went in an elevator it would only give me unneeded time to think. I needed to move. So I turned around to head up the stairs not caring that our level was high up. That wasn't the issue right now.
"Katy, wait!" Gage called after me. "Where are you going?"
"To pack our things."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for—"
"No!" I huffed as I made it towards our level. "I just want . . . to get out. There is no point, Gage. We lost, it's over, now we go home."
There was a pause before I heard him say, "We can still look at other options."
"We will," I reached for the door to our level. "Once we are home."
I couldn't hear his reply I was already too far ahead. I was seconds away from falling apart and I didn't want it to happen here in the middle of the hallway, so I ran to our room. I had every intention of storming into our bedroom to pack everything up immediately but when the door was open I came to a halt.
Once I could catch my breath, I warily called out, "Gage? What is this?"
A few seconds later I heard the sound of footsteps and huffing come up from behind me. Gage eyed the red and white flower arrangement sitting on our table with a puzzled expression that matched my own.
"I don't know. Did Lamar order these?"
"I'm not sure," I felt the petals to assure their authenticity. "How did these even get in here?"
"There's a card," he pointed to the small envelope sticking out.
I plucked it from the bouquet and read the cursive handwriting on the front: Alexandria.
My blood went cold.
I should have just tossed the whole thing out. I should have just ignored it and went ahead with my plan to pack everything up. But for some unknown reason, I kept opening and unfolding the envelope until I could read the rest of the note. I immediately regretted it.
We are sorry to hear about your loss. The cookies were delightful. If you ever wish to change your mind, you know where to find us. We will be waiting, Alexandria.
--Papa
I only made it halfway through the phone number they listed before my knees gave out and I dropped to the floor in complete and utter defeat. I couldn't count on my parents for much. But I could always count on them for ruining my happiness.
"Katy!" Gage called out as he dove for me. But it didn't matter. Nothing he could say or do could change any of this.
We had lost . . . and it was all because of me.
_____________________________________________________________
Don't hurt me ❤️
+Chapter Song: "Moving Mountains" by The Brevet
+Questions: What happens now?
+Fun Fact: This chapter took me over twenty four hours to write and edit. And I'm still probably going to edit it some more.