Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

205

HARDEST THING

An hour later they stood together at the corner of the main intersection in downtown Easton. The streets were

blanketed in darkness, save for the tiny orbs of light from the streetlamps on every corner. Ariana leaned

against the cold iron base of one of the lampposts, staring numbly past Thomas to the other side of the street.

The boutiques had closed hours ago. Mannequins frozen in unnatural poses gaped at her from the other side of

darkened windows. She shivered as a sharp wind whipped around the corner, carrying gusts of powdered

snow with it."Say something," Thomas pleaded, kicking at the dirty ice that had accumulated along the edge

of the brick-lined sidewalk. He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, peering worriedly at her from under his

wool hat.

"What do you want me to say?" Ariana couldn't bring herself to look at him. Did he want her to say that she

wasn't ready for this? That

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she wanted just one more night with him before she had to leave? That the thought of going to Vermont to be

with Daniel made her chest feel so tight she thought she might explode? She'd said all of those things. But she

was still standing at the corner, her bag slung over her shoulder, the minutes they had left together slipping

past her like the wind. She had to remind herself that wha

t they had planned was worth it.

They had talked everything through as they'd made the trek downtown. Trains were running again because it

had finally stopped snowing, and already several inches had melted off. Even though she hated the cold,

Ariana would have stayed snowed in forever if it meant being with Thomas. But they had to stick to the plan.

If Ariana were to break up with Daniel now and start seeing Thomas, it would raise suspicions. Especially in

Paige, who would undoubtedly spend most of break grilling Ariana about exactly where she'd been and what

she'd done. So Thomas had decided-well, they had decided together, really-to let all this mess with Sergei

die down. They could still sneak around this year, but she'd have to wait until the summer to break up with

Daniel. Then she and Thomas could be together in September. Daniel and Paige would be gone, and they

could just start dating, like it was brand-new. They would spend their senior year together, as a real couple.

Just her and Thomas.

"I don't know what I want you to say. Anything, I guess." Thomas reached out to touch her face, and she

started as his fingertips grazed her cheek. Her skin felt raw. The cold was like sandpaper, scraping away her