Page 57 of The Recovery Coach
“Hazy’s not invited.”
Her muscles froze, but she still glided toward the end of the rink.“Oh.”
“Is that okay?”Valentine asked.
Was it okay?Connor had warned her away from Valentine.The man had never been in a relationship.Long-term, she wanted something serious.Valentine was hot, though.It might be fun to see where things went as she pursued other options.
She pressed a cold hand against her warm cheek and got set on the red line.
“Yeah.I’d like that.”She bent her knees, ready to take off at a second’s notice.
“Great, it’s a date!”Valentine said as he took his place next to her.“Ready, set, go!”
Olivia took off fast, but Valentine beat her to the opposite goal line by a good margin.She placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath and said, “Oh, fuck you,” while he did his victory celebration.
She circled the net and caught a glimpse of Connor sitting on a bench with his leg propped on a chair.He waved her over.She headed his way, and Valentine skated next to her.
“Where are we going to dinner?”she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
Olivia hadn’t been home for Christmas in years.She’d spent the last several years sitting by Lance’s side while he showed her off to his cold, conservative family.
The first year she’d shown up as herself in a sparkly gold sleeveless dress, her hair dyed a festive deep green, septum piercing on full display, excited to meet the family she’d be marrying into.She hadn’t repeated the mistake.By her second Christmas with them Lance had tamed her into a version of herself that his mother found acceptable.
It was a relief to be in Christina’s house for Christmas.Her dad’s house had never been home, and though he lived right next door, Olivia had no plans to visit him.She’d considered it for half a second before she spied him through the guest room window, taking a swig out of a whiskey bottle before getting behind the wheel of the same dilapidated truck he’d been driving since Olivia was eight.Christina and Mark Hale’s house was the closest thing she had to a home.
Regardless of the hominess, Oliviawasintruding on their family holiday.It had taken Connor weeks to convince her to join him for Christmas, and he’d only succeeded by agreeing to keep it secret from everyone, including Jayden.She hated lying to her brother, but dealing with relatives who only had negative things to say to her wasn’t worth her time, and if she told him she’d be around, he would insist on her attending every family event.
They’d gotten in late the night before Christmas Eve and had miraculously snuck in and gotten settled for the evening without waking Christina and Mark.Olivia’s rest didn’t last long.Unable to stop tossing and turning, she abandoned a good night’s sleep and decided to enjoy the atmosphere while she could.She brushed her teeth, tossed her hair into a bun, and slipped into the Christmas pajamas Christina laid out on the guest room bed for her.She didn’t bother to take out her piercings or apply makeup like she would have for Lance’s family.
In the dark, silent hours of the early morning, the glow of the Christmas tree lit the living room.Olivia made herself a cup of Christmas chai and sat cross-legged on the couch.She stared at the tree, allowing peace and happiness to wash over her.
Nobody in her life taught her as much as Christina Hale.As she took in her familiar surroundings, a sense of nostalgia hit her so deep it ached.The tree was decorated with the same ornaments that had adorned it for twenty years.The gifts were all wrapped in shiny red paper with silver bows.A digital picture frame on one end table cycled through photo after photo of the Hale family on Christmas morning, all the way from Christina and Mark holding a tiny baby, to Connor with adorable missing front teeth, to the awkward adolescent years when Jayden and Olivia joined them, to adult Connor sitting on the floor in reindeer pjs grinning up at his mom with sparkles in his eyes.
Olivia sniffled and swiped at stray tears, so lost in her own world she failed to notice when someone joined her.She startled when Christina grabbed her mug from her.She set it on the end table and wrapped an arm around Olivia.Olivia leaned into the embrace and wordlessly snuggled closer, laying her head in Christina’s lap.
The woman Olivia considered her true mother stroked her hair.
“I’ve missed you,” she said.
“I’ve missed you too,” Olivia whispered.
“Christmas without you these last few years has been hard.It’s never complete.”
“Trust me, my last few Christmases have been anything but complete.”Olivia chuckled at the understatement and wiped the last of her tears away, safe and comfortable in Christina’s arms.
“Hmm.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Christina spoke again.“How are you doing, honey?”
Olivia didn’t know how to answer.She wasn’t doing great.But spending time with Connor and his friends made her the happiest she’d been in a long time.
“I’m okay, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Yeah.I’m doing okay emotionally.But logistically, my life is a mess.”
