Right Gift Wrong Day_A Right Text Wrong Number Novella

by Natalie Decker

Ty: Nite

  Even though Tyler has been able to calm me down by talking to me, I’m still angry. I push off my bed and step directly into Juliet’s room. It’s dark, the only sliver of light is coming from her TV screen. There are tiny men on the screen and buildings. Some look torn down. There are abandoned cars, red streaks on the ground. I have no idea what the heck she’s playing but it looks like a war type game of some sort.

  “Juliet,” I say as I take a seat on the edge of her bed near her gaming chair. She continues to tap on the controller. Ignoring me completely. “Juliet!” I yell.

  She pushes a button and shifts with an annoyed expression directed at me. “What? I’m in the middle of something.”

  “I talked to Mom. She said that she’s basically dating some dude to show her clients that she can move on.”

  Juliet sets her controller down and makes her way over to her door. She flips on the light and stares me down while marching back to her chair. She places her hands on her hips and cranes her neck. “Are you sure she said that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe you misunderstood her. That seems like a super bitch move even for Mom.”

  I raise my eyebrow. “You aren’t changing your mind about this, are you? Tell me you aren’t okay with her just dating someone and not telling us until now?”

  She takes a seat in her chair. “I’m not okay with it. I’m just as pissed off as you are. But I’m also saying the reason behind Mom’s decision to date just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I don’t care what makes sense. I don’t want to forget about Dad. It seems like that is what she wants us to do.”

  Juliet frowns. “I know. And maybe she wants to forget but we don’t have to.”

  I nod. “I just hate how dead our house has been for the last two Christmases. I wanted this one to be different. Better.”

  Juliet shrugs. “Yeah. Well, we can’t all have cake, now can we?” She spins around and starts to put her headset on.

  “What’s your problem?”

  “Layla, you can have a different Christmas. You have Tyler. I, on the other hand, have no one.”

  I shake my head. “Maybe you would have someone if you left the house. Maybe you wouldn’t be so hung up over a dipwad like Mark if you actually made more of an effort instead of skipping showers for three days straight.”

  Juliet glares at me. “Get the hell out of my room, Layla.”

  The guilt of my words hit the bottom of my stomach. “I’m sorry, Juls. I really am. I was just lashing out.”

  “I said out!”

  I don’t bother arguing and return to my room. Well, now I’ve officially done it. Two people mad at me in one day. Great. I thought this was supposed to be a joyous time of year?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tyler

  My mom had me up and running errands all day. Four days until her stupid party, and she turns into an even bigger nightmare to deal with. I need to get out of this house.

  I call Layla. Her voicemail answers, “You’ve reached Layla. Leave it at the beep.”

  What the hell?

  I send her a text.

  Me: Hey. Wanna get dinner?

  I wait for five whole minutes but there’s no response. Maybe she’s in the shower or something? I wait a little longer.

  Seriously, time seems to creep on by until finally my phone dings.

  Layla: Sorry. W/ Rach. Call u l8tr. :)

  Well, there goes my plan of having dinner with my girl. I call Jared.

  “Excellent timing,” he says.

  “You know me. Hey, wanna go paintballing or something?”

  Jared grumbles. “Last time I went with you, you had that one girl, whatever her name was, shoot me in my balls.”

  I laugh. I’d totally forgotten about that and her. There was a random group of girls. Austin asked if they wanted to join our group? This cute little redhead named Chels was telling her friends she thought her gun was broken. I went to help her out. She hadn’t locked the ammo container all the way. Her finger was on the trigger, and she squeezed it twice. Two hot purple blots of paint decorated Jared’s crotch. He bent over in pain, and Austin and I were howling with laughter. Everyone was.

  “Dude, it’s been a year,” I say.

  “I don’t care. My nuts still remember. I’m starving. Let’s get a burger or something.”

  “Cool. I’m hungry as hell too.” As soon as I say this my stomach growls. Yeah, I need to feed the tank. I slip on some shoes and grab my coat.

  “God, my dad is being his royal ass self again. Get over here quick.”

  “Awww don’t want some father-son time?” I joke as I head into the garage.

  “Eat me! Quit clowning and get the hell over here.”

  “I’m coming.” I end the call and slide into my Cherokee.

  Jared and I are at Moe’s, this awesome burger joint. Once we are seated, I pick up my menu and try to decide what in the hell I want to eat. As much as my stomach is growling I feel like I should order the whole damn menu.

  A pen clicks, and a voice says, “Hi. I’m Ginger. I’m going to be your server. What can I get you all to drink?”

  I glance up at Ginger. Her standard white top is mostly unbuttoned revealing a large chunk of cleavage. She looks like she might be seventeen, maybe eighteen. But I know she doesn’t go to our school because there are no girls who look like that. Her brown eyes do a once over on me. Normally I’m all for a girl checking me out, but it’s not doing anything for me. It only makes me miss Layla. What am I saying? Ugh. Layla is turning me into a mess.

  “I’ll have a water,” I say.

  “With lemon?”

  I narrow my eyes at her. “Did I ask for a lemon?”

  She blushes. “No.”

  “Then I don’t want a lemon,” I say as if to imply “duh.” Probably shouldn’t be so harsh but seriously, I hate when waitstaff try to correct my order.

  “Okay.” She jots something down and turns to Jared. “And you?”

  Jared smirks. “What do you recommend?”

  “Oh. Well. I hear the milkshakes are great.” She twirls a piece of hair.

  “I just want a Coke with no ice.”

  She nods and walks away, and I notice Jared checks out her ass.

  I snort. “Dude. Thinking about hitting on her?”

  He shrugs. “What? No.”

  “I’m kidding. You know if Austin was here he’d be all over that.” I lean back against the seat. “So, what was your dad yelling about when I picked you up?” I ask.

  Jared glares at his menu. “That asshole is putting together all this footage to send to potential scouts and I have to go through all this game film with him. Something about a great opportunity. I hope someone takes out my freaking knee this upcoming season.”

  “I’d do it for you, buddy, but I’m sure that the entire team and school might kill me. We need ya, man.”

  “Seen Juliet lately?”

  I nod. “She dumped a whole pot of water on Mark the other day.”

  “Why the hell was Mark there?”

  “About being put on blast. Don’t worry, he won’t be coming back.”

  Jared cracks his knuckles right as the waitress comes back with our drinks. “Know what you want yet?” she asks.

  “I want a big boy rodeo burger. I want the popping sauce on the side,” I say.

  “And for you?” she asks Jared.

  He stares at his menu. “Can I get a Moe burger and cheese fries?”

  “All right.”

  As soon as she walks away, Jared snaps, “Why didn’t you call me? I would have gladly pounded that asshole’s face in.”

  “Dude. He’s not worth the trouble.”

  “He should have never got to date her.”

  I shake my head. “Who’s fault is that? If I were you, I’d make sure no other asshole gets the chance to date her. Man up and ask her out. Or watch every other jackass do it. But honestly, the way she’s looking lately, I don’t think
you’ll be having the issue of anyone taking her off the market just yet.”

  “Watch it!” Jared warns.

  I hold up my hands to say, ‘don’t shoot the messenger.’ “Hey. What are you doing the morning of Christmas Eve?”

  Jared smirks. “Why? You wanna take me ice skating and hold hands? I think Layla might be a little jealous. I mean, we are having this lovely lunch date.”

  “Don’t be a douche. No. I need some help with a gift for Layla.”

  “I’m not helping you pick out a gift for your girl, man.”

  I glare at him. “I got all her gifts, ass. I need help decorating her house. I wanna do it on Christmas Eve.”

  “Dude. Isn’t that a little stupid? And why wouldn’t they have it decorated before then?”

  “I don’t know. You get to see Juliet. Maybe talk to her without spilling shit on her.”

  Jared looks out the window. “Thanks for bringing that up, tool.”

  I shrug. “What are friends for?”

  Chapter Twenty

  Tyler

  Layla is with Rachel. Jared and I are at Layla’s house standing on her porch ringing the doorbell. Snowflakes sprinkle from the sky. White puffs of air exit Jared’s mouth. “I’m freezing my balls off, man.”

  “Just give it a minute,” I snap. Why the hell hasn’t Juliet or their mom answered the freaking door?

  “Forget it,” I say. Right as we turn to leave, the door opens.

  Juliet has a black shirt on that says, “Does it look like I care?” I laugh. “Um no.”

  She gives me a puzzled look and I point to her shirt. “You don’t look like you care.”

  Juliet narrows her green eyes. “If you’re looking for Layla she isn’t here, lover boy.”

  “I’m not actually. We’ve come to see you.” I pat Jared’s chest and make my way to the door.

  “Uh … I’m not letting you in here,” she says.

  “Sure, you are. You wouldn’t want poor Jared here to freeze his balls off, would you?”

  She looks over at Jared. “I actually don’t care if you both turn into human popsicles. I’m busy. Bu-byeee.” She goes to shut the door, but I jam my foot there to prevent it from closing.

  “Seriously, Juliet. I need your help with a present for Layla. Give me ten minutes and I will be out of your hair.”

  “Five.”

  Jared follows me inside still not saying a word to Juliet. I want to smack him. This is his chance to talk to her and he’s standing there like a statue. My boy needs some skills. Quick.

  I take a seat on the couch. Juliet just stares me down like I shouldn’t get too comfy. Jokes on her. I will totally spread myself out on this sofa.

  “Your time is running short,” Juliet says.

  “How have you been?” Jared finally asks her.

  She shoots him a haughty look. “How do you think I’ve been huh? Just peachy.” She gives me a death stare. “You’ve got three minutes.”

  “I wanna decorate the house. Will you let me in on Christmas Eve?”

  Juliet softens her glare. “You want to decorate the whole house?”

  “I won’t have time to do outside. But Jared and I can definitely get the whole inside done. What time does Layla usually wake up?” I ask.

  “Depends. Yesterday it was tenish. The day before it was around seven because I smacked her in the face with her pillow for singing so loud.”

  Jared laughs. I shoot him a look.

  “Shit. She’s an early riser. That changes things. Is your mom here?” I ask.

  “No. She’s setting up for her stupid couples’ party. Why?”

  “How do you think she’d feel if we were hanging stuff up at three in the morning?”

  Jared groans. “Dude. I said I’d help but that meant like on daylight hours, not some twilight bullshit.”

  “Don’t worry. My mom sleeps through everything, she wouldn’t know you were here. Look, I’ll let you in but that’s because of two things. I love my sister and I love Christmas as much as she does.”

  “But …” I ask.

  She shrugs. “I think the controller you bought is super awesome, but you and your friend here still suck in my book. And because you are both friends with Mark you just drop even lower on that list.”

  “I’m not friends with Mark,” Jared snaps.

  “Bullshit!” she says.

  Jared reminds me of a tea kettle just about to explode. He remains quiet. Stewing. Arms folded across his chest.

  We better go before he says something stupid. I snatch up a notepad from the coffee table and say, “All right I need your digits.”

  She mutters them off. “If you drunk text, or call me in the middle of the night, I will refuse to help you out.”

  I tuck the paper into my pocket. “Got it.”

  We exit the house. As I make my way back to my vehicle Jared snaps, “What the hell?”

  “Calm, bro. All is good.”

  “All is good? She hates the hell out of me. You want me to go back into that house and help you decorate so you can score with her sister or something?”

  I give him a warning look. “Don’t go there. It’s different with Layla. I’m just looking to make her happy.”

  “Jesus, she turned you soft.”

  “Bite me.” I sit in the driver seat. “You’re the one in there turning to mush as soon as you come in contact with Juliet. I don’t even wanna hear your crap right now.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Thanks for helping.”

  He nods. “I wanna see Juliet smile too. We should probably think about picking up a different tree. Did you see that poor excuse thing in the corner? The damn thing isn’t even lit.”

  I chuckle as I pull out of the drive. “Yep. That’s definitely on the list.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Layla

  Tyler hasn’t called or texted me for a few days. Well, he’s not completely ignoring me because he shoots me simple texts that say, “Can’t talk. Family crap.” “Missed you. Sorry I’ve been busy.” And the last was, “Sweet dreams, princess.”

  Is he punishing me because I hung out with Rachel instead of going out on a date with him? No. That would be something Adam would have done. Ty isn’t like Adam.

  I didn’t think I would care about a few days without seeing Ty, but I do.

  I pick up my phone, about to shoot him a text and then I stop myself. Ugh. I’m not turning into one of those girls who constantly needs to be around their boyfriend.

  I glance over at the pile of wrapped packages near my nightstand. Tyler’s gifts seem so meh. I can hear Rachel’s voice in my head, “The way to win over a guy’s heart …” oh, that’s it. Tyler said his favorite dessert ever is cookies. The problem with this is I can’t bake to save my life. The whole measuring correctly does it for me. And the last time I attempted to bake something I burnt to a crisp for setting the oven too high. I could easily go to the store and buy some but that seems like such a cop-out.

  I dart out of my room and into Juliet’s.

  She’s snuggled up in her bed and I should let her sleep, but Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and I need her help. She makes the most amazing cookies ever and puts all store bought and even some bakeries to shame.

  “Juliet … Juliet.”

  “If you like your face you’ll leave the room,” Juliet grumbles.

  “Hey. Are you making cookies for Santa this year?”

  She pops open an eye and snarls, “No. Aren’t we too old for that? Go away.”

  “Please. Please. Please.” I drop to my knees making me practically eye level with my sister. “I’ll do anything.”

  The side of my face blossoms with sharp pain and warmth as her palm connects with my cheek. She turns over and mutters, “I wanna sleep.”

  I should pounce on her bed and hit her back. “But I need to know what to buy at the store,” I whine. Yeah. I really need to tone it down before she rips out my hair. Juliet is a scrapper when it comes to figh
ting.

  She grumbles into her pillow and then glares at me. “You’re so getting coal.”

  “I’m sorry. I need your help making desserts.”

  “It’s eight in the morning. You couldn’t wait until ten?”

  I frown. “You know how busy stores are so close to Christmas. Mom is always complaining about it. I figured if we go in early to get the stuff you can come back and nap.”

  She shakes her head. “You’re still getting coal.” She gets out of bed and makes her way over to her closet.

  I’m about to ask her to get a shower but I don’t want to push my luck. I should be happy she’s willing to help. She stalks out of her room. “What kind did you want to make?”

  “His favorite is white chocolate chip, but I also wanted to make some other with white chocolate chips in it. Like cranberry oatmeal cookies, and ohhhh peanut butter,” I answer while following her downstairs.

  That earns me a stern glare. “Who’s favorite? Oh, for crying out loud, you woke me up to make cookies for Tyler? You’re really pushing your luck.”

  I pout, and she gives me the side eye. “Quit making that puppy dog face.” She walks over to the pantry. I stand by the door, and she wrinkles her nose. “Ugh fine. You win. I know a few recipes you can make.”

  “Thanks, Juliet! You’re the best.” I go to hug her but then rethink it and give her shoulder a little pat.

  “I don’t know why you’re thanking me. You’re baking them.”

  My jaw drops. “What? Come on. Juliet, your cookies are freaking awesome. Please.”

  “He’s your boyfriend. If you think you’re going to screw up so much just buy some from the bakery.”

  “Juliet, I need your cookies. Not some bakery. Pleeaaassee. When have I ever asked you for anything?”

  She holds up her hand and tilts her head. “Hmmm let me see. There was the trash you blatantly forgot to take out and I covered for you so many times it wasn’t funny. Then there was the time I covered for you and pretended to be you when you purposely left your phone to go hang out with Adam.” She sneers. “Let’s not forget the time you had me make all this crap for your stupid cheerleading bake sale freshman year and claimed to the entire football team how you made it all—” And she goes to tick off another.