Member-only story
Cass Reagan and the Loneliest Christmas
It’s just another holiday season in Bellhollow…
Amy called me at the last minute and said she wouldn’t be able to meet up at our favorite coffee shop haunt on Christmas morning.
“Sorry,” she said, her voice a little breathless. “I decided to go back to campus. I’ll tell you all the details later, Cass, okay?”
I was still trying to formulate a reply when she hung up, and all I could do was stare at my cell phone as if it had personally betrayed me.
“What’s up?” Mom asked, clearly noticing my distress the moment it crossed my face. But I shut down my feelings and tried to fake the best smile I could.
“Nothing,” I said. “Amy just had to cancel. Guess we’re not getting our peppermint mocha fix till next year.”
“It’ll only be a few days. She’s off from school for a few more weeks, yeah?”
“I think so,” I responded. But it still bothered me that my own best friend couldn’t bother to let me in the know about her big Christmas plans. I hoped she would at least tell me if it were an emergency of some kind.
But whatever. I’d go and do all our Christmas traditions without her — like walking around downtown Bellhollow and checking out all the new decorations the shop owners had…
