After the Snow

Chapter 3 - Answers

Chapter 3

Answers

"Oh my God," I whispered under my breath, my eyes growing wide. Anthony gave me a weak smile, one that made my heart flutter.

"Hey," He whispered. That voice, it hadn't changed, except maybe got a little bit deeper. It was still sweet as chocolate, music to my ears. I hadn't heard it in so long, I didn't know how to react. Instead of responding I let my mouth hang open as I stared at him blankly, raking my mind for why he would be here.

I hadn't seen or heard from him in five years, why would he show up?

"Mackenzie has arrived, you may resume life!" Mackenzie yelled, dropping her bags to the ground. "Holy shit."

"My reaction, exactly," I whispered to her, pushing my hair out of my eyes with trembling hands. There was no explanation for this. Anthony cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting from his spot on the couch. Just then Scott came jogging in. He froze in the doorway to our bedroom, looking around at the uncomfortable scene before him.

"How was shopping?" He asked, jogging over to me. He gave me a peck on the lips, which I only half heartily returned. How could I respond? I was still in shock!

"I think I got some good stuff," I deadpanned, still staring at Anthony. He hadn't taken his eyes off of me the whole time. Gathering whatever courage I somehow found deep within myself, I walked over to the boy who had held so many of my thoughts over the past few years. "Anthony."

"Bree," He curtly nodded his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. I could feel the stares of Mackenzie and my boyfriend on my back, but I was too focused on Anthony. "How has life been?"

I laughed, "Life?! Come here!" I exclaimed, pulling him up and throwing my arms around him. Five years. That was way too long. I hugged him tightly, inhaling the sent I remembered so well. He hadn't changed. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Away," He whispered, squeezing me tighter. I really didn't want to let go, but Scott was in the room, so I forced myself to release and take a step away.

"No s**t Sherlock," I scoffed, "You were supposed to keep contact with me!" He rose an eyebrow, giving me a smirk.

"I promise I didn't mean to lose touch." As much as I wanted to hate his guts for deserting me, I couldn't. He was here now, in time for Christmas. But how long would it last?

"Am I missing something?" Scott asked, oblivious as to what was going on. He stalked over to us, putting his arm protectively around my waist. I chuckled, shaking my head. Of course, I hadn't told him about Anthony, this probably wasn't looking very good.

"This is Anthony, and old...Friend," I said, sending Mackenzie a frantic look. I didn't want this to turn into a war between boyfriend and ex-boyfriend, I just wanted everyone to get along!

"It's a pleasure..." Anthony held out his hand, trailing off when he didn't know my boyfriend's name.

"Scott," He answered, shaking Anthony's hand firmly. Their intense gaze only lasted for a moment before they let go, the tense atmosphere in the room suddenly breaking.

"What're you doing here?" Mackenzie asked, finally walking over to join us. "I haven't seen you in five years!" She gave him a quick hug before turning to Scott, a huge smile on her face. "Nice to see you again."

"Yeah, it's good to have you back. Bree, a word, alone? Please?" By the look on his face, I knew I didn't have an option, so I gulped, nodding my head.

"Can you guys chill for a minute? We'll be right back!" My friends nodded, allowing us to walk out of the room. Mackenzie shot me a look. She had picked up on Scott's weird vibe too. My boyfriend wasn't exactly the jealous type, but he wasn't stupid, either. He knew when something was up.

Scott closed the bedroom door behind us, making sure it was locked. Then he walked straight towards me, wrapping his arms around my waist and planting a hard kiss again my lips. I smiled, kissing him back.

"What was that for?" I whispered when he finally pulled away. He rested his forehead on mine, our noses brushing.

Scott shrugged. "Can't I kiss my girlfriend without a reason?" We were so close his lips brushed against mine when he spoke. Giggling, I nodded, pecking him on the lips one last time before stepping away. "So who's this Anthony guy?"

"I told you, a friend," I explained, sitting down on my bed. This wouldn't turn into another stupid fight, I refused to let it.

"Something tells me he's more than a friend," Scott said sternly, making me sigh. He sat down next to me, cupping my head in his hands. "Is there something I need to know?" He actually looked hurt, like I had done something wrong.

"No!" I exclaimed defensively, jumping away. If he was going to jump to conclusions and accuse me of cheating just like that he had another thing coming. I had done nothing wrong!

"We're not doing this," Scott growled, clenching his fists. "Ever since we moved in together our relationship has been bi-polar-"

"You've got that right," I chuckled, crossing my arms. It was tiring at times, and Scott pissed me off, but I loved him to dang much to end it.

"Look, I'm sorry if you thought I was accusing you of something because I wasn't." I sighed, scooting closer to him. "Just tell me the truth." Scott grabbed both of my legs, pulling me onto his lap before nuzzling his head into my neck.

"Anthony is a friend," I finally said, trying to decide how to say this. "Five years ago he was...Kind of my boyfriend." I felt Scott tense up, so I quickly explained. "But he disappeared and I haven't seen him since."

"And you invited him in with open arms?" Scott questioned. His warm breath made me shiver, I had a hard time not giggling.

I nodded. "I guess I want an explanation." There was silence for a few minutes, both of us thinking. Nothing needed to be said, we just needed to be in each others company. Taking a deep breath, Scott pulled back, looking me in the eye.

"If you need answers fine, I'll help you get them." I smiled, leaning forward for a kiss, but he stopped me. "But only if there's no chance he'll steal you form me. I can't lose you." Rolling my eyes, I planted my lips onto his, putting as much passion into it as I could.

"Trust me, no danger of that." He smiled, his eyes lighting up. I loved it when he looked so happy. Leaning forward, he kissed my nose, making me giggle. "Oh hey, I got the stuff to make meatloaf today."

"Yes!" Scott exclaimed, fist pumping in the air. Meatloaf was his favorite meal I cooked him. I'm not sure why because I'm not exactly a great chef. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Hm, yes, but I love hearing it." I laughed, standing up and walking into the living room. There was still some unfinished business to attend to. "How's it going, guys?"

"Fine," Mackenzie said, but it was a bit too quick. I rose an eyebrow at her questioningly. She and Anthony had been locked in, what looked like, a pretty serious conversation. "Are you cooking dinner, because I'm starving!" Typical Mackenzie, always thinking of her stomach.

"Yes, I am," I sighed, looking over at Anthony. He was already staring at me, his gaze made my heart flutter. What the hell?! No, he can't affect me that way anymore! "Will you be staying for dinner?" I gulped, waiting for his answer. Secretly, I needed him to say yes. If he left after only being back for ten minutes, I would lose it.

"If that's an invitation, then yes." He smiled, making me smile back. There was just something about him, just his presence, that made me happier then I had been in a long time.

"Good," I said, turning around and heading into the kitchen. It was nothing to fancy, just a small room that had decent counter space a stove, refrigerator, microwave; the usual things a kitchen has. I walked to the refrigerator, pulling out the ingredients I needed.

"Scott?" I called, sticking my head farther into the refrigerator. The barbecue sauce was nowhere to be found. That meant I had forgotten it when I went to the store.

"Yeah, babe?" Scott called back, jogging into the kitchen. I grinned up, giving him my best innocent face. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "What did you forget?"

I giggled. "The barbecue sauce..." He knew I couldn't make meatloaf without my special sauce, so he hung his head, grabbing his keys from the counter.

"I'll be back in twenty," He said, kissing my cheek.

"Get a cake too," I added as an afterthought. Usually, I tried not to have sweets in the apartment, but since we had guests, I thought it would be okay.

"Sure," I heard him say before the front door closed, leaving me alone in the apartment with Mackenzie and Anthony. Yay.

Humming to myself, I pulled the ground beef from the freezer, sticking it in the microwave to thaw. After preheating the oven I walked back into the living room, sitting on the chair across from Anthony and Mackenzie.

"Hey, Bree?" Mackenzie mumbled, standing up and stretching her arms. "Can I take a shower? I feel all grimy from traveling all day." I but my lip, letting my eyes flick to Anthony. If she took a shower we would be alone together. Actually, that's probably why she was doing it. But how could I say no? She was living here for the next few weeks, after all.

"Of course," I finally answered, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice, "This is your home too, for now, you can take a shower whenever you like."

"Thanks," She smirked, mouthing the words 'good luck' before dragging her suitcase into my bedroom and closing the door.

As soon as she was gone an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Don't get me wrong, I wanted him there more than anything, and I wanted to talk with him, but I had no clue what to say and frankly, my head was just a hurricane of mixed emotions.

"I'm sorry," I finally heard him mutter when Mackenzie started her shower. You could hear the water running. "I'm sorry for leaving and not coming back."

Suddenly, a small flare of anger sparked inside of me. It was the first time I had ever felt any kind of resentment towards him, so I gripped onto it, hoping it wouldn't fizzle out. I had a right to be mad at him, after all.

"Sorry doesn't change anything, Anthony," I whispered, playing with my hands. Mentally, I screamed at myself. That little burst of anger must've been really, really small.

"I know that- I just" He sighed, roughly running a hand through his hair. "I don't even know Bree, okay? But I know you have a lot of questions, I can tell by the way your eyebrow keeps twitching." I froze, forcing my face into a scowl. If I glared at him, maybe my eyebrow wouldn't twitch.

"You would be correct, I do have a lot of questions." He sighed, leaning back in the chair, motioning for me to continue. "That night when you gave me that necklace, there was...This is going to sound so stupid." He would probably think I had gone insane. Even I was starting to think I had imagined it.

"Santa's slay?" Anthony asked, saying it like it was the most natural thing in the world. My jaw dropped and my head spun. What the hell? It had actually happened? "Let's just leave that one alone for the moment."

"But-"

"No buts, next question." He said, giving me a warning look. Well, guess I better not ask again...I huffed, crossing my arms. If he wouldn't answer that one why would he answer any of the others?! In my mind, that was the easiest one.

"Why did you leave?" I whispered, tears filling my eyes. All the hurt came back. Every last broken piece somehow came flying back to me. I thought I had healed, but just having him here was making it more and more obvious that I hadn't

"I had to," He whimpered, obviously hurting as much as I was. It was painful to hear his voice like that. All I wanted to do was run into his arms and cry along with him.

"Why?" My voice was barely audible. My hands were shaking as I wiped away a stray tear that had made its way past the barrier I had tried so hard to put up.

"Family issues," That was a lame excuse, but it was probably true. I mean, just look at my family. We had lots of issues.

I ran a hand through my hair. "But you didn't come back." As soon as the words left my mouth I sucked in a breath. That was the first time I had actually said them out loud. For all those years I thought actually speaking them would make it hurt worse, but I still felt the same, dull ache in my chest.

"I-I couldn't," He stuttered, biting his lip. I stared him down, hoping to make him squirm. But he didn't, he just stared back with the same amount of intensity, if not more. "My dad wouldn't let me." I narrowed my eyes, frowning. He had been eighteen, his father couldn't control him. If he really wanted to come for me, he could have. "Please, Bree, I'm so sorry."

Tears shone in his eyes, pulling at my heartstrings. I felt like I had been punched in the gut; all the air had been sucked from my lungs. More then anything I wanted to tell him I forgave him, but I just couldn't. You can't make up for five years with a simple 'I'm sorry.'

I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say, but there was no response to my mind deemed suitable. I probably looked like a damn fish.

Suddenly, the microwave beeped, reminding me I was in the process of cooking, and the meat was officially defrosted. Thanking the Lord for the perfect timing, I stood up and wiped my face, making sure to get rid of any and all tear tracks.

"I've got to go cook dinner."