A Pocketful of Miracles

By Lillie Bell, Alicia Blade, and Kaitlyn Fall

Chapter Nine

Chad sighed and slumped in his seat. His thigh was getting a cramp from the too-small seat but he didn't care. He leaned in to press his forehead against the plastic pole. His bangs fell forward, covering his eyes as the ground swam beneath him. He sighed again, his shoulders raising with the inward breath then flopping down as he exhaled. Life sucked.

And he wasn't really a depressed sort of guy. He had a much larger share of good days than bad ones, but today was just plain rotten. His attitude wouldn't have been half so bad if he hadn't spent the last two hours walking through a mall completely populated with couples. Really. First, he gets fired and then Fate decides it would be a great joke to remind him that he wouldn't be spending the rest of the holidays with Raye.

There were all kinds of couples he had seen. An elderly couple walked with their canes in perfect unison, little bags from the designer toy store hanging from their wrists. A married couple arm-in-arm corralled their children. Teenagers with googly eyes and silly grins carefully reached between them to hold hands. Two men flirting over a cup of coffee, discretely touched their calves beneath the high-top table. Twenty-somethings in tattoos with spiked hair in fifteen different colors and matching tongue and eyebrow rings. He'd even passed the Suds 'n' Bubbles, a dog salon, and seen a pair of dogs dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Ugh.

And just what would happen if, while he was gone, a young handsome man came into the shop and swept Raye off of her feet? Chad's heart fluttered. Flakes of gold fell from the pole into his hair as he wrung his hand around it. His teeth grated against each other as his blood pressure rose.

Most people thought he was carefree, lazy, and mellow. And he was, for the most part. But when it was something important—like cookies 'n' cream ice cream or true love—he was anything but. No man was going to stand in the way of his love. He would kidnap Raye if he had to just to be sure she would always be his.

His anger deflated and he fell against the cold plastic neck. He hardly wanted to force Raye into loving him. It was why he had been so patient. He wanted her to love him, not out of pity, but out of genuine feeling. But, though he was loathe to think about it, it appeared that she was less and less interested in him. She hadn't said anything or even looked at him after he was fired. Granted, she was likely as shocked as he was. And he had been glad to take the heat for her, proud to play the hero card for his one and only leading lady. But just where had that gotten him? He certainly wouldn't be able to do it again.

He groaned and moved his hand to press it against his face. It swept over something velvet. He gripped it and pulled the red box out of his pocket. He looked at it like it would tell him what it had been doing sitting in the middle of the wreckage of the china dolls. His ear burned a bit from the memory.

He pressed the box into his palm and pulled the top off. The whole box disappeared in a wink and a small ball popped out onto the floor and went rolling away into the crowd. He hadn't even had a second to see what was inside. He had been hoping maybe it was a piece of candy or a new watch or the cure for cancer or some other similar miracle.

Another sigh was hitching his shoulders when he heard someone fall onto the lion beside him.

"Hey," Serena said softly, sounding just as depressed as he was. She sat side-saddle so that she faced him

"Hey," he answered equally as cheerful.

"Bad day?"

Chad chuckled. It was not a happy sound. "I got fired."

Serena's mouth fell open. Chad hadn't bothered to look at her but he could hear her actions. Her jaw snapped as it fell open. There was a lurch and then the sound of a children's song playing from a music box. Happy, unlike the two of them.

"That's terrible!" The lion rose out of the ground as his unicorn sunk into it. "What are you going to do?"

He shrugged. "Figure it out, I suppose." He began his ascent as she was going down. He decided to take a peek through his shoulder-length hair at her. Her eyes and cheeks were tinged red and a frown was deeply rooted on her lips. It pulled at her forehead. "What's got you so glum?"

She blew air out the side of her mouth. Her bangs fluttered. "Darien's buying a gift for a girl."

"Darien's the guy who picks on you, right?" Chad had to reach into his memory. He tended to tune out whenever Raye talked about other guys. Unless she talked about them in an attractive sense. Then he was quick to point out their flaws or make up some for them. It had kept her from drooling over Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt at least.

Serena nodded.

"But you like him anyway?" Chad guessed and the blush that covered her chapped cheeks spoke volumes.

"You, too," she said by way of taking the attention off of her.

Chad smiled and nodded. "Yeah, me too. Raye isn't all that bad though."

Serena snorted, a teeny smile lifting her lips. "Remember the time she put chili powder in your barbeque sandwich?"

Chad cringed. That had been quite a surprise. Raye's grandpa had thought it hilarious until he was out a full gallon of milk.

"Or that time she asked you to sweep the steps in the rain?"

He shook his head. A laugh bubbled to the surface.

"Or when she asked you to run all the way to the other side of town for an instant organic potato packet knowing that the store down the street sold them."

His head flew up. "She knew?" He had spent an entire day hunting down those stupid little flakes. He had spent numerous quarters calling and asking, over and over, again until he had finally found the exact thing she was looking for. At least it hadn't been raining at the time—it had been snowing.

She laughed, nearly falling off her lion. "Oh, yes, she knew."

Serena expected him to get angry, but his lips pulled into a grin. And she smiled, too. Only someone who loved Raye completely could still laugh at all the mean things she had done to him. She thought of Darien and all the things he had ever said. Her heart warmed her even when the words stung. And she knew that was how Chad felt too. Even if it was negative attention, it was still attention nonetheless.

"We're both hopeless you know." They shared a knowing smile.

"Absolutely."

They clasped hands between their animals. Hers in fuzzy mittens, his flecked in gold. Two people on the same crazy journey to love.

And also at the end of their carousel ride. The attendant, a boy who looked about thirteen, coughed loudly into his hand. A band of curious children stood behind him.

"Sir, Ma'am, the ride is over. If you would please exit to the right of the carousel."

Chad and Serena jumped. They laughed a little, their cheeks rosy from embarrassment. They left the food court and headed deeper into the mall, looking every bit the awkward teenage couple.

From across the food court, Raye could see them laughing at each other as they strolled passed a jewelry kiosk. A bitter taste filled her mouth watching them, and she had to remind herself that they were both her friends. She knew them both very well. She had known Chad for four years when her grandpa dragged him home in the rain. He had been sleeping in a subway tunnel for a few months. Serena she had known for much longer, though they hadn't become good friends until after Raye's mother died. She knew what their favorite colors, foods, and animals were. She knew they were both idealists and happy-go-lucky kind of people. She knew that Serena was completely in love with Darien—would have known even if the blonde hadn't come out and told them. And Chad had made it clear from the beginning he was in love with her.

But even knowing that neither of them had any interest for the other, she could not stop the anger that welled inside of her. How dare she, Raye seethed. She took some deep breaths and closed her eyes. There was no calm center for her to focus on. Her heart writhed in fierce betrayal. Her hands were tight fists, the dry skin breaking at her knuckles. Jealousy consumed her.

"Uh." The clerk behind her wasn't sure if he wanted to disturb her. Even with her back turned, he could see how tense her muscles were. He almost swore the air around her was warmer than the rest of the office. She looked like a snake about to strike, and if she had had a tail he could promise that it would have been rattling right then.

"Ma'am?" He squeaked when she rounded on him. He huddled behind the brown paper bag, holding it in front of him as some kind of shield. He had only caught a glimpse of her piercing eyes as she spun, but that had been enough to strike terror in his soul.

Raye yanked the bag from his grasp and stomped out into the mall. The glass door swung on its hinges as she exited. The man cringed as it fell back against the stoppers. The glass rattled and the hinges creaked. The air was chill after she had left, but he suddenly found it ten times easier to breath.

"Stop being stupid," Raye whispered to herself, barely able to refrain from screaming. She tried to ignore the way the hallway, brimming with shoppers, parted seamlessly for her. The desk clerk's utterly terrified expression came to mind. But she was trying her best to rein in her temper. Her hands were itching to do something destructive. She gritted her teeth.

The antique store came into view in its corner tucked away from the main drag. The bag crunched under her grip. It had been enough that the china dolls were destroyed. Raye swerved right just before the store. She slid her card through the reader and swung open the door. A long hallway greeted her. The drywall had been partially painted white, but she had no interest in it as she walked between the stores. The hallway deadended into another and that one ran behind all the shops on her corner of the mall. Along its length were various doors to the stockrooms of the different stores.

Raye came to the T but didn't stop. She channeled her anger and let both hands fly out in front of her as she slammed into the wall. It probably wasn't the best way to let loose her anger. And she felt sorry for the dents left in the wall. But her anger was severely dampened.

"This is something Lita would do," she admitted to the drywall. She sighed, pressing her hand into her bangs. She turned and slid down the wall until her bottom met the floor. Her shoulders started to shake.

"Some Christmas miracle," she growled. A small part of her had believed that something amazing was going to happen. Instead, she got a china doll fiasco and raging jealousy over a guy she wasn't even interested in. She felt cold tears dripping down her cheeks. They gently fell down her high cheekbones, traced the corners of her mouth, collected at her pointed chin, and dripped into her lap. She dabbed at them, hoping her mascara wasn't running. She was not going to explain her crying to anyone.

Mostly because she didn't understand it herself. But she had an inkling it had nothing to do with the broken china dolls.

She had never felt jealous, never had a reason to, before. Chad had never shown any interest in anyone else ever. Not that he was showing interest now. But at the moment, reason didn't matter. It didn't matter that it was impossible for Serena to like Chad or Chad to like her. The only thing she could feel was her blood boiling as she closed her eyes and pictured them together. Smiling with secret knowledge. Quite nearly holding hands.

But why would she care? She frowned. She shook her head, unwilling to hear the answer.

She cracked her knuckles, her joints stiff. Her hands dug into her bangs, the fingertips touching the silk folds of the flower on her head band. She sniffled as the tears slowed. Raye exhaled, swallowing down the stale saliva that had pooled in her mouth. She rubbed her nose. Her fingers tapped the corners of her eyes as she looked up into the fluorescent lights. She took a few more deep breaths, focusing on her breathing and desperately trying not to picture anything in her mind.

It was foolish to get this worked up over Chad, she thought. Raye shook her head loose of any more tears and thoughts and worries. Jim would start to wonder where she was if she took any longer. She licked her lips and stood. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand one last time. The bag hung loose at her thigh.

Christmas music greeted her as she stepped into the shop. For a moment, she was happy for its cheeriness. It helped dry the last bits of tears. She breathed it in, let it wrap around her, and then expelled all the bad in her with the air in her lungs. She wasn't going to let the world bother her. She had a store to run.

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