It's All Relative(91)
A couple of hours later, the foursome pulled into the parking lot of the ski lodge where Harmony had booked their rooms. Kai had luckily found a room in the same lodge, although, not on the same floor. Jessie was happy there would be some distance between them. A little space was good right now.
After stepping out of the car, Jessie watched Kai get out. A huge smile on his face, he closed his eyes and inhaled the crisp air. He laughed as light flakes fell on his face, immediately melting onto his skin. Watching him was mesmerizing. She was so used to snow, so the beauty of it really didn’t faze her anymore. It was heartwarming and refreshing to see someone so enchanted by it.
As Jessie stared at Kai with a dopey smile on her face, she heard heated whispers coming from the front of the car. Looking over she saw Harmony and April engrossed in a lively discussion. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told Jessie the discussion was about her.
Harmony had red splotches on her cheeks, and it wasn’t from the nip in the air. The flaming spots showed themselves whenever she was angry. April looked just as peeved. Great. They’d only just gotten here and there was already trouble brewing. April suddenly jerked her thumb at Jessie, then pointed over to Kai. The ominous sensation in Jessie’s gut hardened into a tight knot of apprehension. What the hell was April up to?
Feeling like she was about to walk into the line of fire, Jessie hesitantly began walking their way. “Everything okay?” she asked, her gaze flicking between April and Harmony. April had her chin up and her arms crossed in a position of defense and defiance. Harmony looked frustrated and trapped, like she was dealing with a crazy person, and she didn’t know what to do.
Tossing her hands up in the air, Harmony told Jessie, “She’s being completely unreasonable.”
April scoffed at her. “I am not. I’m being practical. There are three of us crammed into one tiny room, while Kai has a room all to himself. I’m just saying we should make the rooms even. How is that being unreasonable? And since Jessie is the one who decided to drag him along at the last minute, she should be the one to stay with him. It’s only fair,” she said with a haughty shrug.
Jessie was so shocked at April’s suggestion that it took her a few tries to spit out a response. When she did, it wasn’t what she really wanted to say, but it was the first thing that made it past her lips. “I thought you and Kai were still friends? Why are you sore that I brought him along?”
April turned her eyes to Jessie; they were ice-cold, but there was a lingering pain behind the wall of anger. This wasn’t about Kai joining them on their girl’s weekend, this was about Jessie’s unfortunate comment about April acting like a slut. “I’m not mad he’s here.” Returning her eyes to Harmony, April shrugged and said, “It makes sense, Harmony. Why be packed like sardines if we can all be comfortable. And besides, we’ll be spending most of our time on the slopes or in the lodge. Does it really matter if we don’t all sleep together?”
Harmony bit her lip, and Jessie knew April was convincing her. Jessie felt like the frigid air was freezing her lungs. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t room with Kai, but if Harmony saw April’s side of things, how could Jessie argue against it? Because in a way, April was right…if this was any other situation, they would be more comfortable two to a room.
Knowing this was her only chance, Jessie put a hand on Harmony’s arm. Her pale eyes were conflicted. “Harm…I want to stay with you guys. I know I messed up girl’s weekend by inviting Kai, but my grandmother insisted. It doesn’t mean I don’t still want to spend as much time with you two as possible though. I want to be in the same room as you guys.” And I can’t sleep in the same room with Kai. I just can’t.
Harmony opened her mouth, but April was the one who spoke first. “Look, I didn’t want to be a complete and total bitch, but you’re not really leaving me a choice. I understand from Kai that you were just trying to protect me...or whatever…but I call bullshit on that. You basically called me a whore who wasn’t good enough for your family. If it was really about protecting me from his past, you could have pulled me aside and told me Kai was hung up on someone else. You didn’t, so obviously it had nothing to do with sparing my feelings. You just didn’t want me with your cousin for some reason.”
For a minute, Jessie was too dazed to respond. He’d told her he was hung up on someone else? When she recovered, she immediately shook her head, but April held her hands up. “Save it. I thought I could do this, I thought I could mend us, but seeing you and Kai together just reminds me of that whole night, and I can’t do it. If you don’t room with him tonight, then I’m going home. I can’t sleep in the same room as you. Sleeping in the same house is bad enough.”
With that, she turned and stormed toward the lodge. “April!” Jessie yelled, but she ignored her. Kai finally noticed something was going on, and had a concerned expression on his face as he alternated his gaze between Jessie and April.
Jessie let out a frustrated grunt as Harmony put a hand on her shoulder. Her cheeks were still muddled, but she looked calmer. “I’m sorry, Jess. She’s just…hurt, I think. She values your opinion, and you were pretty…rough on her.” Harmony’s brows drew together, like she was wondering why.
Before she could ask, Jessie spat out, “What am I supposed to do, Harm?”