Chapter 6: Chapter 6

She'd called Lilly as soon as she realized what Jason had done, but she hadn't answered. Then, she'd called her mom. She was still on the line talking to her when Lilly called. "I've gotta go, Mom. Lilly's calling."

"Okay, honey. If you decide you wanna come home, Aunt Stacy and Uncle Tom will be coming right through there in a couple of hours on their way to Grandma's."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll let you know." She clicked over before Lilly hung up. "Hey, girl. I've got some news."

"Someone stole my car?"

"How did you know?"

"I just got a phone call from the state police that it was broken down on the side of the road near Paducah. I couldn't imagine what you'd be doing there."

"Paducah?" She shook her head. "I guess Jason was taking it home for the holidays. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. My dad's taking me to get it now. We are hoping it's just out of gas. But… what's going on? I'm glad you weren't with him. I mean, I'm assuming not."

"No. We had a huge fight last night and decided it was over. I was intending to leave first thing this morning, but I fell asleep with a pillow over my face to drown out the sound of his buffalo snores, and I guess I didn't hear him get up."

"Gosh, Bree. That stinks. How are you going to get home?"

"Well, he was supposed to be driving me to my house for the holidays after the weekend in the cabin, and then we'd go back together. But my mom said she'd take me back to college. I can get a ride to her house with one of my friends from high school. Or I can catch a ride with my aunt and uncle in a few hours. They're coming through here."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I don't really want to stay here. It's been nice seeing everyone, but I'm so mad at Jason, I don't even want to talk to anyone or have fun." She shook her head, her thoughts going to Trent. Now was her chance, but it just seemed dumb. Besides, he'd avoided her earlier when everyone else was trying to comfort her. She knew he felt like this was his fault.

"What were you fighting about?"

She blew out a hot breath. "It's a long story." She was sitting in a den in the back of the cabin, and she knew everyone was giving her space. She could hear them in the other room, playing a game of cards. It sounded like they were having a lot of fun, but she didn't want to be part of it.

"It seems weird you'd go all the way there to have a fight."

"Well… the fight was about someone who is here."

"Who?"

Bree had never told Lilly about Trent. She'd mentioned him in passing a time or two, but she hadn't told her about the almost kiss, or the fact that she'd had a huge crush on him for as long as she could remember. "There are a couple of guys here who are single. Jason saw me talking to one of them and got the wrong idea. But… he also said some pretty shitty things about me last night, like about me sleeping with him. So, it wasn't just about that."

"You're kidding? Bree, I've been trying to tell you he's a jerk. Sure, he's hot, but you need a nice guy, like that guy who got your guitar back for you. What's his name?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted. "He's in a couple of my classes, but I don't know his name."

"Maybe you need to know his name."

"Maybe." She thought about the blond who'd chased down the thief. He was sweet and kind of cute with his goofy grin. But he wasn't exactly her type. It didn't matter. She’d already made up her mind the night before—for the foreseeable future, she wasn't dating anyone.

"Well, we're almost to my car."

"I'm so sorry about all of that, Lilly. I'll pay you for the gas money it's taking for you to go get it, and for whatever repairs need to be done." She had no idea how she'd afford that. She'd have to be gigging for the rest of her life to make it up to Lilly.

"No, it's fine. My dad's a mechanic. Besides, I'm guessing the moron just forgot to put gas in it. It's not wrecked or anything."

"If you change your mind, let me know. You did such a nice thing in letting us borrow it."

"Okay. I'll keep you posted. Just don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Lilly." She hung up and tried to decide what she should do next.

Christy and Abby knocked on the door and then opened it before she could say anything, like they'd been listening and heard her stop talking. "Hey," Abby said. "We brought you some hot cocoa." She carried it over and set it on the table next to Bree's chair.

"Thanks." She took a sip out of the cup, just to be polite. It was good, but she wasn't thirsty, or hungry, or anything else, except mad and frustrated.

"Soooo, have you decided what you're going to do?" Christy asked, sitting across from her on the coffee table.

"Yeah, I think so. My aunt and uncle will be coming through here soon on their way to my grandma’s house. I think I'm going to let them give me a ride home. I'm sorry. I would love to stay here and spend more time with you guys, but I'm just so angry."

"It's okay. We all understand, I think." Christy gave her a sympathetic smile.

"It's just…." Abby looked at Christy for a second and then back to Bree. "What about… Trent?"

Bree's eyebrows arched. "What about him?"

"Well, the fight was essentially over him, right? You do like him, don't you? I always got the impression in high school that the two of you would figure out that you were meant to be together eventually. But you never did. Now, you're both single for the first time in a long time. Maybe you should take this opportunity to… see where things go."

Bree had thought about that more than once while trying to make her decision. But now didn't seem like a good time to be jumping into a new relationship with anyone, especially not someone she cared about as much as she cared about Trent.

"Yeah, thanks, but I don't think now is a good time." She ran a hand through her long, strawberry-blonde hair. "I guess I'm just going to call Aunt Stacy and have them swing by and pick me up. I think I've had enough drama for one weekend."

"Okay," Christy said, though she looked sad to see that Bree was going to leave. "Maybe we can hang out some other time."

"For sure." Bree smiled reassuringly, and the other two got up and left. She dialed her aunt's number, her mind made up.