His Secret Santa: A Phoenix Club novella

Chapter 11

Holden sat on the picnic table in the middle of the park, unmindful of the bitter chill pressing through his clothes and into his skin. So, what if he froze to death? Who would notice or give a damn? Other than Jamie.

His head sank into his hands, and he closed his eyes as warm tears continued to slip from beneath his lashes and trickle down his cold cheeks. Since he fled the party, he'd been struggling to make sense of everything. But nothing fit. How could Lincoln...

The sound of a car interrupted his thoughts. He didn't look up. He didn't need to. Holden knew the sound of Jamie's car. If he was cruising the park, then he was looking for Holden. But why? How would he know something was wrong? Because you didn't answer his calls. Of course, Jamie would come looking for him because Holden always answered his calls.

His friend would press him to share, but Holden didn't want to talk... not about this. He wanted to run away before Jamie spotted him, but it was too late as his friend parked at the curb behind Holden's car. Jamie and Abby climbed out. He'd forgotten Jamie was with Abby tonight.

I can't talk to them. Holden stepped off the table and started walking in the opposite direction, chilled hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket.

"Holden!" Jamie called. "Wait!" His footsteps crunched the frozen grass as he broke into a jog.

Holden didn't slow down but rather walked faster.

"Hey." Jamie caught up and fell in beside him. "Talk to me." When Holden kept walking, Jamie grabbed his arm, halting him. "Come on, it's me. You know you can talk to me."

Holden stared at the ground and shook his head, fresh tears welling.

Jamie shifted and his voice softened. "I know you went to the party," he murmured. "McKenna and her group came into the pizza parlor. They told us."

Holden slowly raised watery eyes. "Told you what?" he rasped.

"That you were at Lincoln's house and..." He faltered. "... and that you ruined the birthday party."

Holden's throat worked, eyes filling. "I ruined it." He sniffed, chin trembling. "Yeah," he whispered bitterly. "That's what happened."

"What did happen?" Jamie asked. "They didn't give us any details, just that you overreacted to a joke. I know that isn't true. Their jokes aren't funny. What did they do to you, Holden?"

Turning away, Holden lowered his eyes as more tears ran down his face. "It doesn't matter," he mumbled. "After my birthday... I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Jamie frowned. "You mean leaving, leaving?"

"Yes."

"Well... what about graduation?"

Holden sniffed and shrugged. "I don't care about that. I'm not going back to school. A high school diploma isn't worth shit, anyway."

"Holden... what happened?"

With a soft huff, Holden faced him. "You want to know what happened? I saw the light. I learned something tonight, Jamie. I learned that life is a lie. Nothing is what it seems. Maybe keep that in mind as you go forward with the cheerleader because people are fake. They'll go to great lengths to fool you... just for a fucking joke." Holden trembled, eyes darting back toward Abby who stood by the picnic table. "Be careful who you trust with your heart."

Jamie frowned uncertainly, glancing at Abby. He shook his head. "Abby's cool. She's not like McKenna and the others."

"Maybe," Holden mumbled. "For your sake, I hope you're right. But don't ask me to put faith in her goodness. You're the only one I'll ever trust. No one else, never again."