Haven never expected to start receiving gifts twelve days before Christmas. They seemed to appear out of nowhere right when she needed them most. She wanted to figure out who was sending her these gifts, but the notes left with them didn't give anyt...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Against my better judgment, I have decided to come with Jake, Amy, and Hartley to the Valley View Theater today. After my argument and kiss with Jake yesterday, I have no idea why I agreed to them earlier to come here. Maybe it's because they appeared with tickets to the see the Nutcracker ballet being put on here at the theater. Maybe it's because Hartley was the one to talk to me earlier, who actually talked to me instead of ignoring me. Whatever it was, I'm now standing here in front of the theater with Hartley and Amy on either side of me and Jake next to Amy.
"Aren't you so excited, Haven?" Hartley asks me. She grasps my hand in her own gloved one and gives it a squeeze. I'm not sure why she's suddenly so happy to talk to me again, but I don't want to tell her to stop because I did miss her. "I'm so excited."
"Yeah, I am," I say softly, looking up at the sign that advertises the show for the Nutcracker. It has always been my favorite dance to watch and listen to, and this is my first time watching it.
Jake leads us inside, not really saying a word to the rest of us. He hasn't said anything to me ever since our argument last night. I'm not sure if he even wants to be here right now, but he's the one who's buying our snacks for the show, so I'm not really complaining right now. Not yet, at least. If he ended up talking to me -- or worse, if he ended up sitting next to me -- I'm not sure what I'll do. But that's in the future for right now. We have to fight through this crowd of excited people first.
Suddenly, my phone buzzes in my pocket, so I quickly pull it out and see that Melissa's calling me. "I have to take this call," I say, pointing to my phone. As I lift it up to my face, I tell Hartley, "Go and find our seats for me. I'll be inside in just a second."
She doesn't have time to answer me as I take a few steps through the crowded people toward the door. I fight my way through the happy and healthy children and their excited parents and make it to the door, so I step outside into the cold air, answering the call. I pause for a moment before saying, "Hello?"
"Haven!" Melissa says happily. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay. I'm about to watch the Nutcracker performance, though, so what's up?"
"Oh, you're at the Valley View Theater?" Melissa asks, envy apparent in her voice.
"Yes, I am," I tell her.
"That's nice," she says. "Haven't you always wanted to see that?"
"Yeah, I have."
"I'm glad you're seeing it."
"Me, too, Melissa. Remember the dance? It's starting very soon."
"Oh, right," she says, laughing in my ear. "The bake sale for the hospital is in two days." I nearly groan when I realize that I totally forgot about it, but I hide that away so Melissa doesn't think that I'm not excited for this when I actually am. I just don't know if I'll have enough time to help with everything going on in my life right now. "Are you able to bake some cupcakes? The kids would love it if you did. They keep asking about you, too. You haven't come by in a few days."
