Sunday, December 20th. 5 days 'till Christmas...
After getting home from the Christmas concert at the church, Ariel's family all went upstairs to their rooms for the night. Eric started upstairs, as well, but Ariel stopped him.
"Eric, I think we need to talk."
"Sure. What about?"
"This whole time my family has been here, it's like you're somewhere else completely. Every time we do anything, it feels like you'd rather be anywhere than with us. I mean, you ditched us at the party yesterday and then didn't even show up at the tree lighting."
"I'm sorry. I just needed a little breather."
Ariel frowned. "From my family or from me?"
"What?"
"It hasn't just been this last week, Eric; you've been withdrawn for a while now. It feels like you've stopped caring about me and our relationship."
"How can you say I don't care about you? I've completely given up my Christmas to be with you and your family. And I didn't even want them to come in the first place."
"Why didn't you just say something?" Ariel snapped.
"I did! I told you I wanted to go on that trip with John and spend Christmas with his family; but, you told me spending Christmas with family is more important than spending Christmas with friends."
"It is!"
"John and his family are my family, Ariel. How, after all this time together, do you still not get that?"
"They're not your real family, Eric! I'm your girlfriend and this is my real family; if you actually cared about me, this should be more important to you than some stupid skiing trip."
"Snowboarding," Eric corrected. "And I have been bending over backwards to accommodate your family and your plans- and you're still not happy."
"How can I be when it's so obvious you don't give a shit?"
Eric let out a frustrated groan. "I have been nothing but a good sport. You have taken over my house and my Christmas and I haven't complained or said a word about it. What else do you want from me?"
"I want you to care about me even half as much as you care about your stupid snowboarding trip! But, you don't, do you?" Ariel shook her head. "No, of course not. Because everything else in your life is more important to you than I am. And, honestly, I don't think you even love me anymore." Her blue eyes filled with tears and she walked away.
Eric watched her go upstairs and winced when he heard her slam their bedroom door. He put his boots back on and stormed outside, slamming the front door behind him. He grabbed a handful of snow off the railing and angrily heaved it at the street as hard as he could.
"Everything all right?"
Eric jumped at the sudden voice. He thought he had been alone out here. He saw John standing next to his car in the driveway, twirling his keys in his hand. He must have just gotten home from the concert.
"Everything's fine."
John glanced at where the snowball had landed in the street. "Yeah, it seems like it."
"I should get back inside."
"Why don't you come over?" John offered. "I'm not all that great at comforting people or giving advice; but, I'm a good listener and I have peppermint bark."
Eric arched an eyebrow at his best friend. John didn't like peppermint bark; he hated white chocolate.
John watched Eric expectantly. "Are you going to make a decision soon? It's cold out here."
If Eric chose to go over to John's instead of going back inside to comfort Ariel and work things out, he'd only be proving her point further. Eric knew going to Ariel was what he should do, but all he wanted to do was spend some time with John.
Eric turned away from his door and walked over to John's house. The two of them went inside and took off their winter gear. Eric sat down on the couch while John turned on the Christmas lights in the living room. Even though the lights were the only Christmas decorations, it still felt like Christmas in John's house.
John went into the kitchen and came back out with a Tiana's Bakery box. He sat down next to Eric and handed him the box. It was filled with peppermint bark.
"Did your mom decide to shake it up and bring you some peppermint bark instead of cookies?" Eric asked, opening the box.
"No, I bought it."
"You don't like peppermint bark."
"But, you do. I figured I'd keep some in stock for you in case you ever had a chance to escape over here for a little bit."
Eric looked down at the pieces of peppermint bark in the box, but didn't eat any.
"What's wrong?" John asked.
Eric looked up at him. "I'm sorry I had to cancel our trip. I wish we were in Colorado right now."
"Me, too."
Eric set the box down. "Ariel and I got in a fight."
"Was it about you not going to the tree lighting? 'Cause I can tell her that was my idea."
Eric shook his head. "She accused me of not caring about our relationship and not loving her anymore."
"She's just upset. Of course she knows you love her."
Eric leaned forward and pushed his hands through his hair. "I don't think I do," he whispered.
John was quiet for a moment before asking, "What happened?"
"It wasn't one specific thing. She and I just aren't on the same page about anything and we don't understand each other."
"Are you going to break up with her?"
Eric leaned back with a sigh. "No. It's five days before Christmas; I can't do that to her."
"But, you're unhappy?"
"Just because I'm unhappy, doesn't mean I should ruin her Christmas and make her miserable. Besides, maybe I'm wrong about I feel about her. Maybe all the stress lately has been clouding my head and I'm not thinking clearly." Eric stood up. "I should go back home and try to smooth things over with her."
John got to his feet and walked Eric to the door. Eric started to leave, but John stopped him. "At the risk of sounding cheesy: you're my best friend and I want you to be happy. So, if you're not happy with Ariel, I don't think you should try to force it just because you think you should or because you don't want to hurt her."
"To be honest: I don't even know what I want or what would make me happy. So, why not just try to make it work with Ariel, ya know?"
John didn't say anything, but he looked inexplicably sad.
"Hey, don't worry about me," Eric told him. "I'll be fine."