Page 33 of A Shot at Love
“It’s stupid, I…”
”It’s not stupid, not if it’s making you this upset.”
Jules swallowed and looked down, her lip trembling a little again. “Cam went to Miami for a few days and for the first time since my…since the accident…I’ll be alone for Christmas.”
Frankie’s heart broke again as the confession settled between them and, as if her body had a mind of its own, her desire to care for someone who had quickly become an important person in her life despite the mess she’d made of their friendship, Frankie pulled Jules against her body for a second time.
“I’m fine,” Jules sniffled. “Really, it’s…it’s okay…”
But it wasn’t okay and shestarted crying again.
Frankie held her a little tighter this time, wanting Jules to know, tofeel, that she wasn’t alone. She had Frankie, and Frankie wasn't going anywhere. She’d tried her best to walk away once and she wasn’t going to do it again.
There was nothing Frankie could say to make the loss go away. She couldn’t give Jules what she so desperately wanted – her family – but she could let her cry, let her work through the suffocating emotion of missing something you know you can never have again.
And sometimes, just being there for someone meant more than anything else could, so that’s what Frankie did. She stood strong, let Jules cling to her, and decided that this was a relationship they both deserved, one they both needed.
Life is hard, so why force yourself to go through it alone when someone is willing to walk alongside you?
“Spend Christmas with me.”
Frankie didn’t know where the suggestion had come from but it made so much sense to her and it hung in the air between them for a moment. Christmas with Jules, Christmas together, not being alone, it sounded so nice.
With a shuddered breath and a sniffle, Jules lifted her head to meet Frankie’s gaze. A small smile played at the edge of her mouth and for the first time since she’d started to cry, Frankie could see the faintest hint of hope on her face.
“What about your family?”
Frankie shrugged. What about them? It had been over a decade since her parents even called her on her birthday. Christmas with them was out of the question and right now there was only one person she wanted to spend her time with.
“They’re across the country and I’m here. So will you? Spend Christmas with me?”
Wiping away one last stray tear, Jules nodded and her smile grew into a bright, full grin that suited her so much more than the sadness on her face moments earlier.
“I would love to spend Christmas with you.”
Chapter 18
From barely speaking to each other for two months to sitting on the comfortable, oversized couch in Frankie’s condo together was not something Jules expected yet there she was, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, her blonde hair hanging loose past her shoulders as Frankie paid for their Christmas Eve Chinese food at her door.
She didn’t know what had gotten into her in the gym a few hours earlier, what compelled her to completely break down the way she had, her tears flowing freely, heart breaking open in a way it hadn't in a very long time but something triggered it.
Maybe it was the way Frankie was so concerned, the way she’d taken hold of her Jules' to tug her back, to make her stay so she could explain, the look on her face when Jules told her there were no rules, nothing to keep them from being in each other's lives.
Or maybe it was the way she could see her parents' faces when she admitted how lonely she’d felt for years, how hard it was to be an accessory to someone else’s life.
It wasn’t Cam’s fault, she couldn’t blame him for the way she felt, but he was one of the reasons for why it hurt so much even if he had no idea. That was just the simple honest truth.
The decision to leave for Christmas was his to make and maybe if Jules had taken better control of her own life a long time ago, had done a better job at becoming more than just his sister, then she wouldn’t feel as alone in her life when he was gone.
His position in the league, his stature and his name – it was more important now than ever before and he didn’t need her as much.
But nobody else needed her either and with her parents gone, the isolation was suffocating. As mortifying as it had been to break down in front of Frankie without warning, part of her was glad that her resolve had crumbled.
She felt like she could breathe easier now and the feeling of Frankie’s strong arms around her, the hand gently stroking her back and her hushed words of comfort, the way Jules had been allowed to exist in her grief without judgment, was something she would forever be grateful for.
Which is why spending Christmas with Frankie was an easy choice to make when Frankie had said she would also be alone over the holidays.
There was more to the story when it came to her family than Frankie had let on but Jules didn't press. If Frankie wanted to tell her then she would. Everyone has corners of their life they leave in the shadows until they feel comfortable enough to shine a light on it for someone else.
