The Variations by Jones M (christmas read aloud txt) 📖

Marie said, prying off her mother's hands. "Let me get started on those things I have to do. Will you mind if I go back to my room?"

"Feel free to do whatever you like," her mother replied before leaving the kitchen. Kate smiled, grabbing her apple before turning to walk towards the stairs in front of her.

The house was a detached house. Its interior and exterior had cemented walls. The two levels provided ample space for Kate's family and whichever guest that may decide to visit. There were two bathrooms, a garage, the usual kitchen and living room, and three bedrooms.

Kate entered her room a few seconds later. It looked the same as the one she had when she was in high school. Pale-green walls surrounded her. There was a white dresser on her right that was positioned next to the closet, and on her left was a desk for her studies. In the middle of the room was her queen-sized bed. Her laptop was on the sheets, placed in the same position she had left it hours ago.

Marie went to her bed, landing on it before turning her laptop on. Her phone soon started ringing with a number she didn't recognize, but she picked it up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Happy New Year!" Gwen yelled, making her flinch away from the phone as she grinned.

"Gwen!"

"Hi, Kate. It's been so long since we've talked. How've you been?"

Marie hesitated before saying, "Good."

"Yeah, I know you are lying," her roommate replied, making her sigh. 

"It's been great! I've had fun with my parents, but we're all leaving today."

"About that..." Gwen trailed off.

"Gwen..." Kate sighed.

"I wouldn't be coming today."

"What? But--"

"It's snowing hard here in New York. But don't worry. I think I'll be there tomorrow if the storm clears up."

"Oh. Well, okay. It's just that I wanted to spend time with you before you can go all boyfriend crazy."

"Boyfriend crazy?" she snorted.

"You and Ben," Kate reminded her.

"Oh, now I get it."

"Mm-hmm," Kate hummed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kate, is there something you haven't been telling me?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said, and she immediately wanted to smack herself for uttering those words.

"Chris called me today," Gwen stated, and Marie stiffened at the name of her crush. She didn't want to think about him, more so talk about him.

"He told me he has been trying to contact you, but you won't answer your phone."

Kate remained silent.

"What happened, Kate?" 

She sighed before going into the details that had caused the lack of communication between her and Chris over the holidays.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Gwen started.

"I didn't want to ruin your mood when you were with Ben. I was embarrassed--"

"That fucking a-hole!" she cut her off, jumping onto another subject. "Oh, when I see him, I'm gonna--"

"Gwen--"

"How could he do that to you? I mean, you're you. That douche is going to see me tearing off his ass when I call him--"

"No!" Marie cut her off in a panic. "No. Don't call him."

"What? But Kate--"

"Don't worry about it. I'll handle it."

"How? The two of you are in the same class, and you are partners for a project that could cost you a good grade."

"Exactly."

"What?" Kate could hear the doubt in Gwen's voice. "Are you going to flunk it on purpose?"

"No!" she yelled in reply. "But I plan to get out of the project without hurting our grades. I'm actually typing an email right now to Mr. Bernard."

"Whoa."

"Yeah," Kate nodded as she rubbed her temples. "It's the only way. I don't want to talk to Chris. I can't face him, Gwen. After what he did, I just can't..."

Tears started blurring her vision, and Kate shook them off.

"I understand," she heard Gwen reply on the other end. "But listen to me. Don't send the email yet."

"Gwen--"

"It could backfire on both of your asses. Wait for me to come tomorrow. We'll talk about it, and if you are completely sure about this, we'll go through with it."

Marie took a moment to go through her friend's words. She realized she was right. The email was an impulsive action on her part. She had not thought about what would happen after she sent it.

"Okay," she relented. 

"I have some stuff to do right now, but I'll talk to you soon."

"K. Bye," Kate ended the call.

She stared at her phone for a while before turning to face the email she had been typing on her Microsoft Word program. It had some editing to be done. 

'Later,' she thought, saving it and closing the window.

**************** ****************** ***************************** ******************

Some hours later, Kate found herself outside of the house with her parents. It was after lunch, and a taxi had arrived for them. Marie's mother had already boarded the taxi, her father was bidding her goodbye.

"I'll miss you my little Kitty-cat," he told her as he embraced her in a hug.

"I'll miss you too," Kate told him.

Kate's father was a man in his forties. He had black hair, and the wrinkles on his round face showed his age. He also had a small belly pushing against his clothes, but it did not deter the energy he had that made him mistaken for a teenager.

"Remember, do not get pregnant in college," he proceeded to tell her as he turned to head inside the taxi.

"Dad!" Kate exclaimed, much to the humor of the taxi driver.

"Love you too, kiddo," he replied with a grin as he closed the door of the vehicle.

"Make sure you lock the house before leaving!" her mother yelled from the taxi.

"Sure will," Kate smiled as the vehicle's engine was started.

"Bye!" they waved as the taxi left her view. Kate waved back until she couldn't see them, watching as the car sped off.

She turned to head back to the house, starting to think about what she would do once she commenced her journey back to the university. There were a couple of things she had to buy, but she had not finished packing her stuff.

Kate went to her room and spent a half hour loading stuff into her bags for her journey back to TUCD. She paused to do a check for everything in her suitcases when the doorbell rang.

'Strange,' she thought. Her parents had told her that a cousin of theirs would come to stay in the house and act as a tenant while they were away. He was supposed to come in a week, not in a few hours.

The doorbell rang again, and it forced Kate to move out of her room. She walked down the stairs, wondering who it could be at the door. She soon reached for the knob and pulled it back. Whom she saw had her momentarily frozen.

"Kate," Chris called out to her in a soft voice. 

Marie's eyelids widened in surprise at the sight of him. Her form instantly tensed as her eyes observed his form. He looked a little off; his clothes were wrinkled. His spiky hair was out of order, and his eyes looked bloodshot like he had come from crying or rubbing them too hard. 

Still, it did not stop the hurt she had been holding back from taking control of her mind and heart.

Kate's swirling emotions told her she was not ready to face him. She panicked, moving to close the door. However, Chris' hand shot out to stop her from blocking it. He forced it wide open, his expression turning into one of fury.

"We need to talk," he said, glaring as he walked towards her.

'No,' she thought, backing into the house. She tried to put some distance between them, but Chris covered it and then some more.

"What the hell, Kate?"

"How did you find me?" she asked, her eyes showing her shock.

"You told me you would be here for Christmas," he replied. Kate continued moving away from him, but then she found herself backed into a corner.

Literally.

"Why have you been ignoring me, Kate?" he started. "Why have you not been answering your phone? What is it that I did?"

Kate swallowed as she stared at him. She said nothing, and that made him sigh.

"Gwen called me," he told her. Her expression of shock turned into anger. She couldn't believe her roommate had talked to him. But why?

"She had no right to do that," Marie stated.

"But how could I have found out why you've been avoiding me?" Chris countered. "She yelled at me when I answered the phone. I didn't understand her at first, but she told me that I hurt you and used you. She called me an asshole and told me you were thinking about getting out of our project just to avoid being near me. Is that honestly how you feel?"

Kate was infuriated by his clueless expression. Her anger for her friend quickly turned to gratitude. She was glad about the push Gwen had given her because she was done hiding everything she felt around Chris.

"What else was I supposed to think?" she yelled at him. "You kissed me, Chris. You had me naked in front of you. You touched me in a way that I thought meant something, only for you to shove me aside when Tiffany came. So excuse me if I feel used."

Chris sighed before saying, "This is why I wanted to talk to you. But you have been ignoring my texts and calls for weeks."

"How can I talk to someone who planned to treat me like a slut and dump me?" she said, and Chris flinched at her words.

"Oh, fuck," he said, his expression softening. "Is this what it actually is about? I didn't mean to make you feel like that."

"But you did," she stated, feeling tears cloud her vision.

"It was not supposed to happen like that. Believe me, Kate. If I were to use you, I wouldn't have let you play with your cunt in front of me. I would have been impatient and fucked you on that couch. I wouldn't have even let you orgasm," he stated.

"But why did you do it, Chris? Why did you do it, especially after telling me you want someone else?"

Chris seemed to freeze at her words.

"What?" he inquired.

"Tiffany, Chris," Marie explained. 

Chris furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"It's not her."

"Don't try to lie to me!" Kate yelled at him, making him widen his eyes at her outburst. "I know she's the one you have a crush on."

A short moment of silence passed between them before Chris said "What?"

"Damn it, Chris!" Marie shouted, wiping the tears that had escaped her eyes. "Don't you remember the night before your sister's wedding? You told me you have a crush on someone who went to the same high school as you. You told me she is in our college. You also told me that she has black hair and brown eyes. Who else could you have possibly meant?"

Chris looked confused at first. A look of understanding dawned on his face, and then he softened his features.

"Kate--"

"Even after I caught you in bed with someone else," Chris winced at that, "you came to me and told me you are serious about her. You told me and showed how much you wanted her. And when we kissed and you..."

Kate sighed a deep breath.

"I thought it was me," she decided to tell him the truth. "All the time we spent together, you holding my hand and staring into my eyes with a look that makes me feel warm and wanted, and what we did at your place... I thought you meant me."

"Kate--" he was cut off once again.

"But you want Tiffany. I looked at her, and I immediately knew you wanted her. Seeing the two of you together broke my heart. It still hurts to know I can't..."

Kate sighed before saying, "That's why I was typing the email to Mr. Bernard. I just can't handle the image of you being with someone else. I want distance, Chris. And because I have to move on, I have to stay away from you--"

"No," he cut her off with a determined expression.

"What?" Kate furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. "Haven't you heard anything I have just said? I just told you that I have feelings for you--"

"And you