The worst Christmas dinner
1189 Words
Selene POV
The Christmas dinner was almost becoming the longest meal of my life.
I sat between my mother and Louis, gripping my fork a little tighter than necessary while trying hard not to look across the table.
Unfortunately, my eyes had developed a mind of their own and kept drifting up. Straight to Edward.
Big mistake.
The moment our eyes met, my whole body felt like it was suddenly being electrocuted. Damn!
He looked away first and reached for his drink like this was a perfectly normal family dinner.
Like he wasn't the same man I'd spent my worse night with in bed.
Like he hadn't walked through my mother's front door thirty minutes ago carrying flowers and completely destroying my peace of mind.
How was he acting so normal?
Was I the only one losing my mind here?
Tell me I'm not.
“Honestly, I still can't believe it.”
My mother's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I looked up.
She was smiling from ear to ear as she glanced between Louis and me.
“What do you mean?” Louis asked politely.
“The fact that you two already know each other before now.”
“Mom.” I groaned.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“It's just a coincidence.”
“A very interesting one.”
Louis smiled slightly. “I was surprised too.”
“See?” Mum pointed at him. “Even Louis agrees with me.”
“I only said I was surprised.”
“It’s the same thing.”
Louis only smiled.
“Jesus Christ.” I buried my face into my palms.
This was a disaster.
A total disaster.
My mother laughed.
“Oh, come on. Let me enjoy this.”
“Enjoy what exactly?” I asked.
“The fact that my daughter finally has a ‘male’ friend.”
“Mom!”
Everyone at the table laughed.
Including Edward.
Goodness.
The sound hit me harder than it should have.
It was the first time I'd heard him laugh since walking into the house.
I hated that I took note of that immediately.
“Actually,” Mum continued, turning back to Louis, “how did the two of you meet?”
I immediately sat up.
“Mum.”
“What?”
“You already know the story.”
“I want to hear his version.”
Louis glanced at me briefly before looking back at her.
“There isn't much to tell.”
“I'm sure there is.”
He shook his head.
“Not really.”
“Louis.”
A smile swept across his lips.
“She got locked out of her apartment one night.”
I blinked.
That was all?
Mum frowned.
“That's it?”
“She looked like she'd had a difficult day,” he said simply. “I couldn't exactly leave her sitting out there alone.”
The memory made my chest tighten.
Louis continued calmly.
“So I gave her my hoodie and stayed with her until maintenance arrived.”
“Aww.”
“Mum,” I warned.
“What?” she laughed. “That was sweet.”
Louis looked genuinely uncomfortable with the attention.
“It wasn't a big deal.”
“You're so cool, Louis.” Mum replied with a smile.
Thankfully, she didn't ask further questions. If only she knew how much I wanted to disappear from that table, maybe she would be kind enough to stop talking about me. How could she have known? Poor woman.
The conversation moved on after that.
Work.
Christmas plans.
Vacation stories.
I barely contributed.
Mostly because every time I started relaxing, I'd remember Edward was sitting directly across from me.
Then my pulse would suddenly start racing all over again. You need to calm down, Selene!
“Selene.” Mum called out.
“Huh?”
She frowned. “Are you okay?”
What?
My heart jumped.
“Yeah, I'm fine.”
“Are you sure? You seem distracted.”
I snapped my eyes shut for a while and exhaled.
Why wouldn't I?
When the man I had a one-night stand is sitting opposite me discussing Christmas with my mum. I couldn't say that.
“I'm fine.” I said instead.
She studied me for another second before nodding. “If you say so.”
I released a quiet breath.
Crisis avoided.
For now.
A few minutes later, mum reached for her glass.
Then she looked toward Edward's.
“Oh.”
“What?” he asked.
“Your juice is almost finished.”
I glanced up.
Sure enough, his glass was nearly empty.
“I'll get it,” mum offered and stretched her hand toward the pitcher.
“Oh…” She paused.
The pitcher was sitting closer to me.
Way closer.
No.
No no no.
“Selene, honey?”
I blinked rapidly. “Yeah?”
“Can you refill Edward's glass for me?”
My fingers froze around my fork.
Refill his glass?
A memory of that night flashed through my mind.
The club.
The dim lighting.
The bottle in Edward's hand.
‘Want another?’
I remembered him pouring vodka into my glass.
Remembered thanking him.
Remembered—
“Selene?”
I gasped.
“What?”
“The juice.”
“Oh.” Heat rushed into my cheeks. “Right.”
I set down my fork and reached for the pitcher.
Why was my heart beating so fast?
It was juice.
Just juice.
Nothing else.
I grabbed Edward's glass and tilted the pitcher to pour the juice.
It flowed in smoothly at first, until my thoughts betrayed me again.
I remembered his hand brushing against mine that night.
The way he'd looked at me and asked if I was okay.
And suddenly—
The glass shifted and the juice splashed over the rim, straight onto Edward.
“Oh my God!”
The entire table went silent.
I stared in horror as orange juice spread across the front of his shirt.
“Selene!” My mom gasped.
I immediately set the pitcher down. “I'm so sorry.”
My face burned from embarrassment.
“I'm so, so sorry.”
What is wrong with me?
How can someone mess up pouring a drink?
“I've got it,” Edward said calmly.
I grabbed a napkin regardless. “I'm sorry.”
“It's fine.”
“It's not fine."
I kept blotting at his shirt.
“Selene.”
I froze.
That was the first time he had said my name all evening.
“It's okay,” he added.
Slowly, I lowered the napkin.
My mother was already rushing toward the kitchen. “I need wipes.”
“I’m fine, Hilda.” He reassured her.
“No, you're not.”
She disappeared around the corner and returned after a while with enough cleaning supplies to handle a national emergency. I just wanted the ground to swallow me whole at that point.
How could I be that silly?
Through it all, one thought kept repeating itself in my head.
Christmas dinner had barely started.
How on earth was I supposed to survive the rest of the night?
- Writer
