The Thousand Words We Spoke (A Novella)

Chapter Eight

The first of the holidays went by, and when midnight arrived, her phone remained mute. She'd remained awake to see if Adam would call or message as he always had, but neither ever occurred. It was only further confirmation that she'd kissed her Adam, fallen asleep, and awoke to a different one in his place. It was a bitter despair, and one that only encouraged the decision she thought was uncertain.

Much of her apartment was now stowed away in boxes and had been since the week after Thanksgiving. Where her boxes would end up, she didn't know. Applications were out across the country and it was exhilarating; the first feeling of elation she'd had since kissing Adam. It was her second chance and now that Christmas Eve was here; she knew her decision was right.

All she had to do was break it to her family. The car ride there was silent. Her parents employed a driver to pick her up for the party and drop her off the following afternoon. Mia had almost come up with an excuse not to go, but not knowing where she'd be next Christmas, she owed it to spend this one with them, just as she would spend her last New Year's with her friends.

Her parents' house was decked out as it was every year, the most festive looking one on the block. And the interior was no different. Garland, twinkle lights and stockings hung on the walls, music was playing, and they arranged flowers in vases on every end table. As customary, people from the neighborhood and from her father's business were there.

With her red dress, she blended in with the crowd that had already developed. Some stopped her to wish her a 'Merry Christmas', while others just announced they were delighted she could make it. All of them just went back to the conversations they were having before they noticed her. Not being in the family business or being home often, there wasn't much else to say.

So Mia went in pursuit of a refreshment of the alcohol variety, which didn't take long as there was a tray by half the corners of every room, hors d'oeuvres set up on the other half. It was only champagne, but if she drank enough of it, it would do the trick.

"We should talk," a voice on the other side of the doorway spoke.

Mia didn't have to turn around to know who was there, who the voice belonged to. The voice was just as smooth as it had ever been, but no longer soothed her. Instead, it made her body go rigid. "I don't see why. I figured you said all you needed to say over a month ago."

"I'd planned it differently in my head."

Those words meant nothing to her. All they were all hollow and entirely meaningless. "I guess there's no good way of breaking someone's heart, is there?"

"No, there isn't. But that wasn't what I was trying to do."

"Well, too bad," Mia spoke with an evasive laugh before taking a drink from her glass, "because that's what you did."

"Which is why we should talk."

Mia took another drink. She wasn't prepared to run into him so immediately and expected to have a buzz going by then. No such luck, it would seem. "Which is why we shouldn't," she told him. "I've been playing that conversation in my head for over a month, Adam. You wanted distance, and that's what you'll get. More than you'll know what to do with."

Adam came around the side of the doorway. "I just need it for a while, Mia. Just some time to figure out how we can be us again."

He thought distance was temporary.

"You honestly think we can ever be 'us' again after what you said? Not just what you said, but how you said it?" His poker face faltered then, seeming to recognize the significance of the conversation that still plagued her.