Zeke

Torn from a nightmare, Zeke lurched forward in bed.

In his dream, he'd been trying to escape his penthouse apartment in the city, but he kept hitting dead ends. He was trapped, with no way out, and it was the last place in the world he wanted to be...

But now, as he blinked and returned to reality, he thought that Winter Grove came in a close second place.

He ran his hand over his face and squeezed his eyes shut. A pair of dark doe eyes rose in the darkness in his memory.

Alicia.

Her threat from last night rang out in his head.

"...And who's going to make me?"

"Me."

If he were to try to tell someone, say it aloud, it would sound ridiculous. My little sister's best friend is threatening me to spend time with my sister's deadbeat boyfriend. It was ridiculous. But for some reason, he couldn't shake the worry that had taken root in his stomach. But there was something about the fierceness he'd seen in Alicia's eyes last night that haunted him.

Her threat, as ridiculous as it was, was credible.

Alicia was going to be trouble, he was sure of it.

He threw off the covers and got out of bed, shaking out his tense muscles, wound tight from his bad dream. He tried to talk sense to his worries. This problem was not insurmountable. He had no idea what Alicia might be planning for him, but whatever it was, he was sure he could find some way to get out of it.

She may be stubborn, but so was he.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand. He reached for it. A new message was waiting for him on the screen. It was from his mom in the family group chat.

MOM: Are you up?

DAD: He better be at this hour.

Zeke shook his head and tapped out a quick reply.

ZEKE: I'm up.

MOM: Good. We're out for brunch at the diner down the street. We'd appreciate it if you came and joined us. We need to talk about last night.

Zeke groaned and fell back onto the bed. The fluffy duvet puffed up around him as though he was floating on a heavenly cloud, but this place felt more like somewhere much lower.

For a minute, he was worried that this sinister brunch was somehow Alicia's doing, but he quickly dismissed the idea. That was giving her too much credit. She couldn't work that fast.

Could she?

His head throbbed. He was still slightly hungover from last night. After being turned out of The Snowball's Chance and with the hotel bar still closed for a private event, he ended up back in his room, raiding the mini-bar. It would likely cost him a small fortune, but he could afford it.

His phone buzzed in his hand. He glanced at it.

MOM: Zeke? Are you coming?

Zeke sighed and mashed out a single thumbs up before tossing his phone back into the fluff of his king-sized bed.

He couldn't force himself to move. He could only stare up at the lavish paneled ceiling and wonder how he'd landed here, in the middle of nowhere, alone for Christmas.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

For one thing, she had supposed to come with him.

Would it have all been different if she had?

Would she have backed him up?

Helped him talk sense into his sister?

Would she have been able to smooth everything over like she always did?

Everything, except...

Suddenly, Zeke's nightmare washed over him, and he was back in the familiar halls of his penthouse. Only he wasn't lost this time. He knew where he was going. He was following voices echoing down the hall...

He shook the vision from his head.

It hadn't been a dream, but it was still a nightmare.

The pain between his ribs motivated him to push himself out of bed.

At least the sun was shining, though it didn't help Zeke's hangover. He shielded his eyes as he dodged through the full sidewalks of cheery shoppers, gawking tourists, and scattered volunteers preparing for the opening of the Winter Grove's Christmas Tree Festival. Zeke had no idea it drew in such a big fanatic crowd.

And he thought his Christmas-crazed family was bad.

Thinking of his family made him wince. He was not looking forward to the 'talk' his parents were asking for at the diner. But as he spotted the sign ahead, on the next block, he knew there was no avoiding it.

He crossed the street and went for the diner door.

Inside the diner, it was a whole different Christmas vibe. The place was a time capsule of mid-century design, right down to the waitresses' peppermint-striped uniforms and the aluminum Christmas tree in the corner. He was surprised to find himself liking the retro vibe. His only complaint was the humming fluorescents overhead that made his still-suffering head throb—

"What can I get you, hun?" asked the peppermint waitress who approached the counter. "To-go or a table?"

"Uh—"

"Zeke! Over here!"

Zeke turned to follow the voice. He spotted his mother sticking her head out of a booth, waving him over.

"Table, I guess," he said, and he went.

As he reached the table, his stomach fell.

His parents were seated on one side of the booth, Celeste on the other. And sitting right next to his sister...

Alicia.

When she looked up to meet his eye, she gave him a suspiciously sweet smile.

Maybe she could work that fast...

"Morning, son," his dad said, sliding deeper into the booth to make room for him. "How'd you sleep?"

His mother, on the other hand, got out of the booth to let him in.

He immediately understood. He had to sit between his parents, trapped so he couldn't escape, like a naughty child.

"How'd I sleep?" he echoed the question. He didn't have the strength to fight it, so he slid into the seat without objection. "Like crap."

"That's too bad," his mother said as she took her spot on his other side. "But you're lucky—we already ordered you a coffee."

Zeke was at least thankful for that. He spotted the cup waiting for him in the middle of the table, and his mouth watered immediately. He snatched it up and gulped it back like it was the only water in the middle of the desert.

His mother frowned. "You weren't out late drinking, were you?"

Zeke almost spat out his drink as he snorted.

"Out late? Hardly. There's nowhere in this town you can even be out late."

"Yes there is," Celeste piped up. "There's The Snowball's—"

But she stopped herself as she realized what she was saying. Her gaze dropped to the Formica tabletop, her lip trembling. Alicia reached over and patted her shoulder.

Zeke felt a pang of regret. He hated seeing his little sister like this and hated even more that he was—sort of—the cause of it. But it didn't change the facts, and the fact was—

His father cleared his throat. "Drinking aside, we asked you here—"

Zeke grimaced and downed the rest of his coffee, wishing it was something stronger.

"—because we wanted to talk about last night," his father continued. "Last night was..."

His father faltered and looked to his wife for help.

"I'll just say it," his mother said, throwing up her hands. "Last night was a disaster, and that can't happen again. We need to put it behind us. We're a family and we are better than this."

Across the table, Celeste just sighed.

Zeke leaned on the table. "And what exactly does 'better' look like?"

"For starters," his dad said. "No fighting in public."

"That, but also, we would like everyone to try and get along. Be nice to each other—no bickering and no arguing."

Zeke blew out a breath. He knew it would go like this—anything to preserve the so-called 'magic' of Christmas.

"So you want me to lie."

Celeste gave an even bigger sigh.

Alicia shot him a glare, but Zeke didn't shrink back. He just wondered what she was up to...

"You don't need to lie," his mother replied, exasperated. "I want you to be civil. Just while we're all together. We never get a chance to be like this anymore, together as a family. I want it to be nice."

"You want it swept under the rug, then?" Zeke challenged.

"Yeah, maybe we do," his dad said, his tone sharper than usual. "Until after Christmas, at least. Then after, if we need to, we can continue this conversation later."

"Yes," his mom added, nodding to the rest of the restaurant. "And in private."

Zeke was too tired and hungover to put up much more of an argument. He didn't even really want to fight.

If he had to, though...

"Fine," he grumbled. "Fine! I'll be... civil. For now."

His dad let out a huff. "That's all we ask, son."

Though his parents relaxed, satisfied with the resolution, Celeste still looked defeated. She finally pulled her gaze from the table and looked at him. Her bright green eyes were pleading. He could see her wish for him to give Sterling his approval was just as strong.

But Zeke couldn't give what he didn't have...

He didn't get it.

What did Celeste see in Sterling that was so special?

He glanced at Alicia as if she might be willing to give up the answer. But she was staring at him, and the spark was back in the depths of her eyes. Once again, she gave him that suspiciously sweet smile...

Trouble.

Alicia turned to his parents. "Maybe what we need is to have some fun," she suggested, her voice high and clear. "We should all go to the festival!"

Celeste looked at her friend, confused.

Alicia gave her a heartening smile back. "We clear the air and spend some time together and, you know," her eyes met Zeke's once more, "get to know each other."

Not this again. Zeke opened his mouth to object—

"That's a great idea!" his father cheered. "We wanted to go anyway! Why not go all together, as a family?" He slapped Zeke on the back.

"You'll be coming, too, won't you dear?" his mother asked Alicia.

Alicia giggled. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

Zeke watched her as she smiled. For a moment, her smile was warm and genuine, like it had been at the bar before the disastrous dinner. But it iced over as she shot him one last daring look.

"This is going to be so fun."

Zeke swallowed.

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