in bed with me, and then I could have spoiled him with pancakes and eggs and breakfast in bed, but once he’d told me no days off, I’d refused to argue or try to convince him otherwise. Mac needed to feel like he was giving baseball all of his time and energy, and as much as I wanted some of it as well, I was weirdly okay with taking a backseat.
It wasn’t like he had blown me off for another girl or anything. Hayley’s face flashed in my mind, and I felt sick to my stomach, wondering if she had waited for him to get back to the baseball house all night long or not. The idea of her being anywhere near him made me violently angry, especially after learning what she’d done. I wasn’t the type of person who usually walked around, hating on other girls, but this one deserved it. She’d humiliated someone I cared about. And even if I hadn’t known Mac, what she had done was still horrible.
My phone rang, and my stomach flipped as I wondered if it was him, hoping it was. Disappointment panged for a second when I realized that it was only my mom. I walked back into my room and pulled open the curtains to let light flood in.
Plopping back down on my bed, I answered, my lips instantly curving into a smile when I heard the dogs barking in the background. I wasn’t sure why, but my mom’s self-imposed chaos always made me laugh.
“You really don’t have to save every dog, you know?”
“If I don’t, who will? Plus, Sun, you should see them! Oh my gosh, I have the fluffiest, waggiest Labs here right now,” she said in a funny voice, and I knew she was probably smooshing their faces while she talked.
“You’re going to drive Dad to drink.”
“Your father loves me. And he basically asked me to become a crazy pet person when he opened up a vet clinic! I mean, what does he expect? I’m only so strong,” she explained, and I decided that I couldn’t argue with her logic even if I wanted to. There would be no point.
“So, what’s up?” I asked, reminding her that she’d called me.
“Oh. Chloe! Get out of the sink! Seriously! Out, out!” she yelled, and I heard things clatter in the background.
“Mom!” I shouted, wanting to get her attention.
“Maybe I did bring too many home,” she said in a hushed whisper. “I don’t want them to hear me and get their feelings hurt.”
Slapping my palm to my head, I dragged my hand across my face and waited for her to tell me whatever it was that she’d called for. At this rate, we’d be on the phone until dinner.
“Mom!”
“Sorry, sorry. Okay. I was calling about Thanksgiving.”
“What?” I shook my head because it was still well over a month away. “It’s not even Halloween yet.”
“I just wanted to make sure you were planning on coming home still.”
“Where else would I go?” I asked because I hadn’t missed a single Thanksgiving at home since moving out. I even brought Danika home with me every year. It had become a tradition of sorts between us.
“I don’t know. Maybe Danika’s? I was just asking since you two used to always come here and you always called it your holiday,” she reminded me.
Danika and I’d started claiming the day as ours freshman year. No boys, no boyfriends—including her ex, Jared—and no other friends. Just us. And we looked forward to it each year. I hadn’t even thought about it yet because it was still so early, but I was sure once November 1 rolled around, I’d have gone through withdrawals or something.
“Oh, well …” It hadn’t occurred to me that I could go somewhere else … not actually go to my parents’ for a holiday. But now that she’d brought up Danika’s name, I wondered if seeing her was even possible. That would be awesome, and now, it was all I wanted to do.
“Oh, what?” my mom snarked, calling me out.
“I don’t know, but now that you mention it, I kinda want to go see her.”
“I knew it,” she snapped, making a clicking sound over the line.
“You brought it up!” I shouted playfully. “And it’s not like I won’t be home for Christmas. I’d never miss Christmas.”
“I know you wouldn’t. And that’s why I wanted to ask. Because if you go to Danika’s and your sister goes to Todd’s, I might convince your father to take