HER TOY 18+

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas morning with my family meant hot chocolate by the electric fireplace and an out of control round of Uno. For Jason and Kitty's family, it meant an obnoxious mother banging on their bedroom doors.

Unfortunately, I experienced their Christmas rituals first hand.

The banging startled me awake as finally I began to fall into a deep sleep.  One that would give me a break from analyzing Jason's apology.

I knew I needed to sleep so I could be awake to drive away as soon as the sun started peaking through the trees but my mind wandered as I laid in bed.

Nothing could make up for the moments I spent tucked away in the corner of my apartment watching the patrons of Pink Cherry leave with smiles on their faces.

Nothing could erase his carelessness and the pain it caused. I knew that and still, I brought myself to a point where everything seemed so meaningless.

I couldn't put all the blame on him. I couldn't forget how easily I let myself fall into his arms and play into his sadistic game.

I wanted to smother myself with one of the many floral pillows gathered around my head.

Kitty grumbled beside me and stretched in a cat-like manner. Her faded pink locks were knotted at the ends but nothing topped the black smudges under her eyes from leftover mascara.

"Merry Christmas," She mumbled out while rubbing her eyes.

A deep pit of anger, frustration and just a general lack of Christmas spirit swallowed me up.

"Merry fucking Christmas."

Just as the words left my lips Kitty's eyes snapped open.

She slowly pieced something together in her brain, "You're more miserable than you were last night."

"Thanks for pointing it out."

"Something happened."

"Nope." I wasn't ready to tell her Jason apologized because I knew exactly what she'd say.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Positive."

She sighed, "Alright fine, keep your secrets."

Kitty sat up and pulled down her painfully tangled hair. She winced and swore before actually freeing it from the top of her head.

When she finally finished I dragged myself out of bed and followed her down the creaky stairs.

Kitty's mom beat everyone else downstairs and waited on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. When she saw us she smiled, "Good morning, girls."

We mumbled back and she got up to meet us at the bottom of the stairs. That's when she stared at me and my Yoda Christmas pajamas.

"Merry Christmas, Tara."

I looked at Kitty for guidance but she looked just as shaken as I did.

"Merry Christmas," I replied so the awkward tension wouldn't continue. Kitty's mom nodded and then turned her attention to her favorite daughter.

"Katherine," She said while rubbing the mascara off of Kitty's eyes, "You look like a hooker."

Kitty sighed when her mom wandered off into the kitchen.

"She should see your uniform." My comment earned me a swift elbow in the side.

The scent of peppermint floated through the air and was presumably left behind by the candy canes I gnawed down.