Snow in California

iv. last christmas

Adyson ends up spending the entire afternoon with Adam—who should be working his shifts at The Daily Roast—enjoying the rare occurrence that is snowfall in their town. Which, considering the fact they barely ever talked to each other before their short conversation earlier this morning, should feel extremely awkward. But Adam was a surprisingly fun person to be with, and she really enjoyed being in his company.

By the time Adyson gets home, the snow haven't melted yet, but her cheeks feel oddly warm and she is slightly worn-out from everything they did under the falling snow. Adam had showed her all the wintry fun she'd missed all her life—they had a snowball fight, even though the snow was barely two inches thick, and they had a blast pretending that they were kids again. Once she enters her vanilla-scented bedroom, she throws herself on her bed.

As Adyson inhales the misty winter scent coming from her knitted scarf, she can't help but think about how Adam unexpectedly opened the present and wrapped the scarf around her when he noticed that she was cold. She knows that Adam was just being a really good friend—if she can actually consider him as a friend after the short two hours she'd spent with him—but she can't help but feel like she should be slightly annoyed at him for ruining her surprise for Chris.

But she can't. Adam was simply just too sweet.

Adyson doesn't know how can Adam, this weird boy that just a few moments ago had been a complete stranger to her (despite the fact that they attend the same school and even have a few classes together), be able to put a smile on her face. She feels as if she needs to repay his kindness. 

As she buries her nose in her scarf once more, Adyson's gaze drifts to an old photograph sitting on her bedside table. It was taken during last Christmas, when Chris took her to a supposedly snow-themed holiday festival in a shopping mall downtown. The air inside the room was purposefully made to mirror those of winters in colder places, and there were ice sculptures and fake snowmen and all the like. Even though it was obviously a knockoff designed so that the residents of Oceanshore can experience the so-called "white Christmas", she'd told Chris during their ride home that she thought it was beautiful. 

Now that she'd encountered real, actual snow with Adam, the experience she'd had last year seems to pale in comparison. 

All of a sudden, Adyson remembers that she needs to call Adam just to make sure that he will be home tomorrow morning. She reaches out her phone and starts dialing Chris's number. 

Spending the Christmas Eve afternoon with a (sort-of) friend doesn't necessarily mean that she's cheating on her boyfriend.  

"Hello?" a husky female voice, which obviously isn't Adam's, answers the phone. Adyson frowns. "Who the hell are you?"

Adyson feels that she should be the one asking who the hell this strange woman is. "I'm Chris's, uh, how do you put it--girlfriend? What are you doing on Chris's phone, anyway?"

The other side of the phone remains silent. After a few seconds, Adyson can hear the same voice shouting from a distance, "Chris! Who the fuck is this Adyson girl?"

Something, Adyson realizes, is wrong. Very wrong.

"She's no one," a voice, which Adyson immediately recognizes as Chris's, answers loudly. "Carmen, babe, what are you talking about?"

"There's this girl on your phone--" Carmen replies before cutting her words short. She then returns to the phone to say, "Uh. I'm sorry about that," before hanging out.

After the call ends, Adyson can feel her body going cold, and it isn't because of the weather outside. A tear runs down her left cheek.

Adyson is left appaled by the discovery that Chris Sweetwater, her nice, loyal boyfriend of three years, has been cheating on her. Which is why he can't make it home this year.