A Christmas Storm Read online

  A Christmas Storm

  PUBLISHED BY Elle Harte

  Copyright © Cover design Elle Harte 2017

  Copyright © ELLE HARTE 2017

  Amazon Edition

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  © 2016 Elle Harte

  CONTENT PAGE

  SPECIAL THANKS

  The Boy

  Imagine there’s a boy.

  Imagine that boy is everything you’ve ever wanted.

  His smile is the cure for your darkness and his sadness feels like a blizzard in the middle of spring. When his eyes are looking at you, you are the most special thing in existence because you know that look will never waver. It will always be for you and no one else. You might love that boy more than you love anything in this world, and you know that boy loves you just as much.

  Imagine that boy growing up with you and going with you to college.

  Imagine the two of you walking hand in hand under the stars on a cold winter night, and you feel the warmth of god’s heaven because you share this love with him. The kind of love no one can understand, and no one can take away.

  Imagine the two of you in bed, intertwined, and clawing at each other in moments of intense passion that never seemed to fade. Imagine the hottest sex you can imagine, and then multiply it by ten. Imagine yourself being in this romance novel, where every day is bliss and every night is hot, crazy sex, the only kind you can get off on.

  Imagine that boy taking you to New York, making all your dreams a reality.

  And then imagine that boy breaking your heart.

  Please Come Home for Christmas

  I used to be a fan of Christmas.

  I come from the small town of Blizzard, VA where Christmas is always white Christmas and the snow never leaves once it arrives. It’s a quaint old town in the middle of nowhere but I love it. It has so many good memories for me. I earned my college degree from Virginia State and came back here to open up a jewelry store because I couldn’t stand to be in the big city anymore. It reminded me too much of Callum. I’m Jessica Miles by the way. And although I’m only thirty-one I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime being an adult. Maybe it’s just me but sometimes it’s impossible to not feel overwhelmed for no apparent reason.

  But that’s why I’m in Blizzard.

  Because nothing in Blizzard is overwhelming and that’s liberating.

  I guess you could say that I exist in a kind of a personal bubble; a fort no one can breach, a boundary no one can cross. Even if they tried they wouldn’t get anywhere because I won’t let them. All the doors that lead to me have been barricaded shut. Why, you ask? To tell you that story, would be to tell you everything that happened. Which is my intention here, but it’s not time for that story. Right now, it’s time for another. And somewhere along the way those two stories will come together, as most life-changing stories do.

  As I was saying, I don’t allow anyone to get past that barrier, so imagine my surprise when one fateful day, I see him walking down a side street.

  Callum Matheson.

  He was there, and I wasn’t imagining things.

  I knew I wasn’t making a mistake, because I knew it was him before he stopped and turned to look at me; I knew because of the way my heart stopped. I knew it was him when he barely smiled and seemed just as shocked to see me, as I was to see him. I knew it was him because even though he hadn’t formed that world-famous smile, I could see the beginnings of it. He was standing next to what used to be our favorite breakfast place.

  But what was he doing here? The town of Blizzard had barely seen the sight of Callum since we broke up. He was supposed to be in New York, working for some ad firm as a copywriter. It was the only reason I could breathe while still living in this town. How could I continue to do so with him in such close proximity?

  As he stepped onto the curb, his knee-length wool coat blew just a little and that same smile was there on his face once again, the one that used to melt away my fears as though they didn’t exist. Everything about him said perfect; from the blue-gray eyes that always seemed a shade lighter every time I gazed into them, to the wavy hair set in place by a healthy serving of hair product. Me, on the other hand, I must have looked hideous—my long brown hair was piled heavily on top of my head and I hadn’t even bothered to wear lipstick that morning because I was just too lazy. I mean, that’s the kind of moment you dread when you break up with someone; seeing them all flawless and happy while you’re nothing short of a mess. But maybe I’m putting too much emphasis on appearances. Aren’t people supposed to love you for you? When I fell in love with Callum he was a wiry kid with pimples. He wasn’t even the smartest or the most popular, in fact he was a bit of a nerd. But puberty hit and in high school, he changed.

  Matheson became something of a legend because he could play the guitar and wear contacts. Women loved him. Which was great. And then, he started loving women. Which wasn’t that great. At the time, we weren’t dating, so it’s not as though he was cheating on me, but it still bothered me when I saw him with other girls in my school and some who I didn’t even know. I don’t quite know how he managed it. I guess he was experimenting at the time, and so was I, so we only dated casually this one time during sophomore year. I never told him this, but I lost my virginity to him. No matter who I was with, Callum never truly vacated my heart. Until we started dating again, in senior year, he was always there and I always felt envious of the girls he dated.

  “Jess,” Callum said and all I could think, was how his voice was even more beautiful than him. He was standing right in front of me and I had no idea when that even happened. I had expected this moment, dreaded it, but it still seemed to have come without warning. I had speculated what I would say, prophesied how he would respond. But now my head was just blank. All I did was stare and that must have made me look like a crazy person. Fortunately, I was beyond caring. How could I worry about such trivial matters like the way I looked when all of this was happening? So close to Christmas nonetheless?

  It was almost like a miracle. Now to figure out if it was a good one.

  “Callum,” I said, when my heart finally remembered its beating rhythm.

  He smiled properly this time, baring a set of perfect teeth. A dimple formed on the left side of his face and deepened as he continued to smile. “I was hoping I’d run into you.”

  You were? “I mean,” he stammered, trying to get the words out. “I know this place is your favorite.” “Our favorite,” I corrected him. Did you say that out loud? What the hell is wrong with you! For a good ten minutes or so, we stood there looking at each other until he broke the trance by speaking first. “Can we go inside?” he asked. “That is, if you don’t mind. You still like coffee?”

  I was still staring and needed to stop, so I forced myself to look at the café door. “Sure,” I said as my heart skipped yet another beat.

  The Boy in the Castle

  As a kid, I was always dreaming.

  Unicorns, dragons, hidden treasures, and about the boy. That imaginary figure everyone wants not only to find someone who fits, but someone who fills the gaps. I called him The Boy in the Castle.

  The thing about The Boy in the Castle was that he was a perfect reflection of me. And that’s true in life. We make soul mates who are like us, who we think might fill the void, and complete us.

  We might be wrong, because first impr
essions aren’t always reliable, but once in a while, the universe gives you a miracle.

  I was around thirteen, when I saw Callum arguing with his dad. It wasn’t a new incident, they were always fighting, the whole neighborhood knew, but Callum had no privacy from me, because the window in his room opened to mine, a few feet across. It was past midnight, and I was about to go to bed, it was a school night, when I saw Callum, sitting on the bed, looking sad. I’ll never forget the way he looked, his eyes were teary but he wasn’t crying, and I wanted badly to help him. So, when he saw me instead of ignoring him, I waved. At first, he seemed a little surprised. But then waved back and gave me a smile. He really did have a gorgeous smile.

  Before I could do anything, I saw him gesturing that he wanted to come over.

  It wasn’t the first time he would do it, but it was the first time he would do it that late. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, because my parents could wake up and they weren’t okay with him hanging out in my room, not even during day, and this was much worse. But I couldn’t say no after the sadness I saw in his eyes.

  A moment later, Callum Matheson was grabbing a tree branch, that led straight to my room, and climbing it.

  “Hey,” he said, a little loud and I gestured for him to keep his voice down. He smiled. “You’re such a wimp, Jess.”

  “I’m not! I let you come, didn’t I?”

  He continued to grin. “Your Dad doesn’t like me.”

  “He doesn’t like boys who might jump into my room in the middle of the night.”

  The look he gave me, was something that I’d never seen before. Not from Callum another from any other guy. It frightened me, and it dawned on me that he was a boy in my room and I was a girl. I realized the distinction. Suddenly, he wasn’t just some guy I hung around with since I was a kid. Is this what it felt like when Eve noticed her nakedness? I must have started to blush, and I hated it. I didn’t want things to change. Regardless how I felt inside, I didn’t have a clue what to do with his newfound interest.

  “Well, then he will like me even less after tonight,” Callum said, and inched closer.

  “Why’s that?” I asked, my body shaking for some ridiculous reason.

  He placed his hands on both my arms, and looked right at me. “Because I’m about to do this.” He grabbed my face and started kissing me.

  It felt strange.

  Wet and sloppy, and not the kind of thing that should have been good, but it was. For some reason, when he broke off, I felt new feelings, new sensations hadn’t before. It felt like being woken up from a deep sleep.

  “Have you ever been kissed before?” He asked. I shook my head no. He was suddenly concerned. “It was okay that I did that, right?”

  I nodded, still unable to speak. My brain was overwhelmed with so many emotions. I couldn’t decide what to do. “You like me, don’t you, Jess?”

  I didn’t know how to answer. And before I could, Callum noticed that a light in his house was turned on. One of his parents must be awake. Suddenly, he was in a hurry to leave.

  I wished he would stay. I didn’t know why, or what I wanted from him, but I did.

  “You know how he gets,” Callum said, talking about his father.

  I nodded again. What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I muster up a few words? Was my brain not working or something? I knew this wasn’t how you react to a kiss.

  Before I knew it, before I could do something about it, Callum was gone.

  My stupid useless brain still hadn’t uttered a word. I saw him climb back into his room, and then he disappeared in the dark. And I was left wondering if the whole thing wasn’t just my imagination.

  There was nothing I could do that night, so I went back to bed and tried to sleep, but my brain was a mess. I couldn’t get it to stop going around in circles. When I finally did manage to calm down, it was by conjuring up The Boy in the Castle.

  I finally thought I could relax.

  But instead, I was even more distracted.

  Because the random looking dream figure now had a different face.

  It was Callum Matheson’s.

  Playing on a Loop

  Baby Please Come Home was playing when we found our favorite booth empty by some happy twist of fate.

  They’re singing deck the Halls

  But it’s not like Christmas at all

  I remember when you were here

  And all the fun we had last year

  “I love this song,” Callum said and I stopped myself from saying I did too. We played these songs all the time every Christmas without fail, and we never got tired of listening to them over and over. I hadn’t heard them in years, but suddenly they were a good thing. Suddenly, everything was—from our lattes to the decked-up Christmas tree I could see in the distance, glimmering through the all-glass walls of the coffee shop.

  They started playing the song on a loop.

  It made us laugh.

  “Looks like they can’t get enough of that one,” Callum said, sipping his latte.

  It had been a while since we laughed together. But it seemed right. Not out of place, it fit right in with everything that was happening. I was enjoying every moment of our time together. But there was a part of me that kept warning me, telling me it was a passing fantasy, because there was no way Callum was about to spend the holidays here in Blizzard. He always came here to visit, for a day or two, and then went back to New York. I knew because for the past two years I had been in touch with his sister Stephanie. I never purposely asked her, but maybe because she had always been a fan of us both, and because we got along she would tell me where Callum was and what he was doing without my having to ask. It saved me the trouble of having to run into him, because once I knew he was around, I didn’t even open the shop. For some reason, she neglected to mention he was coming this year.

  Pretty lights on the tree

  I'm watching 'em shine

  You should be here with me

  Baby please come home

  “Some things don’t change,” Callum said.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “This place. I mean, you know me, it’s not my favorite, but whenever I come here I’m hit with this…nostalgia. Like everything’s falling into place, the way it should be. It’s strange, but I feel the same way about you.”

  I didn’t know what to tell him.

  This was new territory for me too.

  He must have noticed. “Look, if this makes you uncomfortable, I’ll stop. Right now, I’d rather be with you and enjoy our time without any expectations.”

  “I honestly don’t know how I feel yet.”

  It was the truth.

  The church bells in town

  They're ringing a song

  What a happy sound

  “So how’s New York?” I asked for a change of subject matter. He smiled. “Just the way you left it,” he said. So much for a change of subject matter. “And you know New York, it’s an unkind mistress. It never leaves and it never makes your life easier. You just get used to it hanging around. Career wise, I’m trying to get somewhere at this point and it’s going to take a while to get where I want to be. But at least I know I’m on the right path,” he paused, “what about you?”

  “Well, my life’s pretty boring. I’ve been running the store for a while now. I get by.”

  “I’m happy for you,” he said that with so much sincerity it was hard to focus on anything else. I looked up. “I’m happy for you too, Callum.”

  Those eyes. God. I could drown in them and never resurface, if I wasn’t careful.

  “So, Steph tells me you got a new car,” I said, to get to a lighter conversation.

  “You still talk to her, huh?” he didn’t seem surprised, I’m sure he knew already. He was trying to find something to talk about just like I was; something that didn’t involve us or whatever happened between us.

  “It’s a small town. Hard to avoid someone.”

  “And yet you ma
naged to do it the last two times I was here,” Callum said, and I realized he had been holding on to it.

  “Callum,” I began, but didn’t finish.

  “Look,” he said. “I get it. I do. It’s just, it would have been nice to see you after the way things ended.”

  So much for not talking about us.

  Why was I failing so miserably at this?

  The song started again and gave me a reason to get up. “We should probably go.”

  Callum stood and paid for the lattes despite my constant disapproval, and we came outside. We stood there waiting for a long time. Neither of us wanted to go home. And then he found something for us to do. “Is it okay if we walk around a bit?”

  It was better than standing there and it was better than going home so I agreed and we started walking. Only a few Christmases ago we had walked just like this, my arm looped through his, holding on to him for warmth and comfort while we took everything in. This was the reason I loved Christmas, because of this, because it always brought us closer. No matter how many fights we got into the whole year, when the lovey-dovey Hallmark movies started playing and the air started smelling of peppermint candies, we knew how to make the most of it.

  “Are you dating anyone?” he asked out of nowhere.

  “Doesn’t Stephanie keep you updated?”

  “Believe it or not, she’s more friends with you than her own brother. I think she only likes me because she’s supposed to, but you she really adores.” Stephanie was a couple of years younger than us but we had always been good friends ever since I started hanging out with Callum in elementary school. “To answer your question, no. Stephanie does not keep me updated.”

  “I’m single now,” I said, as though it was a recent event because a truthful response would have been something hard to handle for us both. I wanted to keep this as light as possible. I knew he was leaving and it would be impossible for me to live with it if I did something that dumb.