Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

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laughter and shouts behind her. She sprinted across the street and slowed as she reached the parking lot. Mel

wasn't far ahead.

Ariana hung back, her heartbeat thundering in her ears.

A few blocks from the gas station, Mel crossed the street again, heading down a tiny side street peppered with

small, run-down houses. She unlatched the gate in front of the last house on the street and made her way up

the steps to the front door. Ariana hid behind a tree at the edge of the yard, watching her.

Mel shrugged off her backpack and fished around inside it, pulling out a single key. She wedged her body

between a ripped screen door and the front door, and inserted the key into the lock. Relief enveloped Ariana,

and she sank back against the rough bark of the tree with a small smile.

The girl was alone.

As soon as the screen door slammed shut, Ariana slipped across the yard. Closed her gloved hand around the

rusted doorknob and took a slow, deep breath. There was only one thing that stood between her and Thomas

Pearson. One thing that threatened the happiness she'd found.

She shook her head as she twisted the doorknob slowly. Thomas had left Mel, but she actually believed they

could still be together. Believed that they were meant for each other. She refused to accept the fact that it was

over. That Thomas loved Ariana, wanted her. He had made that clear, but Mel was too blinded by her own

obsession to see it.

Ariana almost felt sorry for the girl.

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The old wooden door creaked slowly as she pushed it open. She bl

inked the moment she stepped into the

entryway, her eyes adjusting to the blackness that wavered in front of her. It closed in on her. She raised her

hand just inches in front of her face, but she couldn't see a thing. Sliding her hands against the wall next to

her, she moved slowly though the foyer.

Suddenly, the door slammed behind her. Ariana's heart surged. She closed her eyes and strained to hear the

sound of Mel's voice. Her footsteps. But she heard nothing except for the low hum of heat filtering through

the radiators. And the sound of her own voice in her head. Willing her body to do what had to be done.

Silently, Ariana pressed her body against the wall, sweat dripping from her face to her neck, down the length

of her body. Blood thundered in her ears, flooding through her veins at high speed. The wall suddenly gave