Page 31 of The Scrooge Effect

Until that stupid letter from the lawyer.

Sure, he never liked Christmas, but it was never as bad as this. Now, I might as well burn the tree and tear down all the decorations. I doubted we’d ever put them up again.

“Harper,” Edu croaked out as he stood in the doorway.

Panic filled his eyes as he watched me pack his stuff.

“I’m so sorry. I flipped out. I know I was being an ass, and all you were trying to do was make things good for us… Please don’t make me leave,” he whispered.

“Edu—”

He rushed forward, grabbing the shirt I was folding out of my hands and tossing it on the bed. Sinking to his knees, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, resting his head against my stomach. It broke my heart to see him so panicked. That was not my intention.

But how much longer was I going to have to deal with this?

“I swear to you. I’ll be better. I won’t lose my shit anymore, and I’ll enjoy Christmas!”

“Edu—”

“I can’t take it if you leave me. Not now. It nearly killed me the last time I lost you.”

“I’m not kicking you out,” I sighed. “Get up.”

“But—”

“You’re leaving on a trip, remember?”

Slowly, he rose to his feet, staring at the bag in confusion. “You’re…not making me leave?”

“Even though I’m really pissed at you right now, no, I’m not making you leave.”

Relief filled his face as he finally looked into my eyes. I could see the terror still lingering, and I didn’t want that for him.

“Edu, I’m not… I would never ask you to leave.”

“I would,” he muttered.

“It would take a lot,” I reassured him.

“You mean, like yelling at you and accusing you of getting pregnant on purpose?”

That brought a smile to my face. Not that it was a particularly good memory, but we’d come so far since then. We just had to figure out a way to get back on track.

“Look, I’ll try to tone down the Christmas cheer, but I need you to stop blowing up every time things get overwhelming. Just…talk to me. Tell me what you need.”

Huffing out a laugh, he sank down on the bed beside me, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m not very good at that.”

“I’m aware.”

“It’s just this whole thing with my dad…”

“I know. Trust me, I know you better than you think. And I want to help you through it, but I can’t if you won’t talk to me.”

Even as we sat there, he didn’t open up to me. I didn’t know what more I could do. “Well, I should finish packing your bag.”

“First, let’s go outside. The lights are up.”

I smiled, but really, I wasn’t in the mood for it. “How about tomorrow? I just want to go to bed.”