Back to You(73)

But there was nothing.
And suddenly she felt a heat lighting in her stomach that made it hard for her to breathe.
How could a mother say that about her own son? What could he have ever possibly done to deserve that?
And why did he have to be stuck in this horrible house with her?
She could feel the heat building, spreading up through her chest and into the back of her throat, making her eyes sting.
Lauren had always prided herself on giving people the benefit of the doubt, on treating people with respect, but she couldn’t find it in her heart to do either for this woman.
“Your son,” she said slowly, giving due weight to every word, “is one of the best people I’ve ever known.” She inhaled a shaking breath. “And I feel sorry for you that you don’t know him.”
With that she turned and headed up the stairs, refusing to look back, even when she heard her mumble something about a stupid, naive girl.
By the time she reached Michael’s door, her hands were shaking. She stopped and closed her eyes, taking a steadying breath and trying to rid her expression of any remaining animosity before she opened the door.
He was ly@">, leing on his bed, one hand behind his head and the other holding the remote, aimlessly flipping through the channels on his television.
When the door opened, he turned his head, smiling when he saw it was her.
“Hey Red,” he said, sitting up. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have family stuff going on?”
“Yeah,” she said, walking in and closing the door behind her. “But I just wanted to stop by and say Merry Christmas.”
Michael tossed the remote on the bed behind him. “You mean your holiday spirit wasn’t sucked right out of you the second you crossed over the threshold?”
Lauren forced a sad smile, dropping her eyes to the floor.
“We don’t really do Christmas here. Obviously.”
Lauren looked up. “Ever?” she asked, and Michael shrugged.
“Not since my brother died.”
“Oh,” Lauren said faintly. A beat of silence passed before she said, “Well, do you want to come over to my house?” Forever? she thought. More than ever, she just wanted to take him and run with him some place far away.
“Nah, that’s okay,” he said. His eyes dropped to the package in her hand. “What’s that?” he asked, quirking his brow as a tiny smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
At his expression, Lauren smiled her first genuine smile since she pulled into his driveway.
“Your present,” she said.
Michael grinned. “Didn’t I tell you not to get me anything?”
“Yes,” she said, crossing the room to sit on the bed beside him, “and by the expression on your face, I can tell you’re really broken up over the fact that I didn’t listen.”
Michael laughed, shifting to face her on the bed as she handed the bag to him.
He dug his hand in the bag like an eager child, and again, Lauren felt a heaviness in her chest as her eyes began to sting for him. She cleared her throat and pushed those feelings away, focusing on the moment.
He pulled the flat, rectangular box out of the bag, and immediately his jaw dropped.
“Get the f*ck out of here,” he said in complete awe, tossing the bag on the floor and holding the box in two hands.
Lauren grinned, and he lifted his eyes to her, completely shocked. “Holy shit, are you kidding me?” he said, and she laughed.
“Do you like it?”
“Jesus Christ, Red, how did you get this?” he asked, turning the box over to read the back.
Lauren had never gotten into video games. Michael had tried a few times to show her how to play, but it was never her thing. But apparently this new game, Metroid Prime, was supposed to be amazing. It was the first 3D game in that series for GameCube, and also boasted a first-person adventure premise. It had gotten all sorts of amazing reviews before it was even released in November, making it essentially impossible to find during the holiday season.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” she lied.
He smirked at her and shook his head. “You are so full of shit.”
Lauren laughed. “I just had to betroth myself to some Arabian prince. Like I said, no big deal.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate. Totally worth it, but unfortunate,” he said, and owleasiLauren leaned over and smacked his chest, causing him to laugh.
“This is…” he looked back at the box, shaking his head before he lifted his eyes to hers. “Whatever you had to do to get this, seriously…thank you.” He leaned over, pulling her into his chest as he hugged her, and Lauren closed her eyes.