Before Christmas Comes Knocking

~Audrey~ “Drey…you're gonna freak out, but don't freak out, okay?” Clara's panicked voice filled my ear immediately I picked up the call. I froze, the whirring of the bean grinder stopping, leaving just the sound of customers’ murmurs in the coffee shop. “Clara, what happened?” There was a hiss of pain at her end before she spoke again. “I, uh…lost my footing and fell from the ladder while painting that mural,” she said, hissing again. “My leg is busted. It's definitely broken. Or twisted. Or broken.” My breath snagged into my throat. “Oh my God! Clara! You should have called immediately.” “I'm fine…” she said, struggling to assure me as she always did. “It's busy hours. I didn't want you dropping everything in the middle.” “Too late, sillyhead,” I pulled the apron over my head and hung it, grabbing my jacket and looping my knitted shawl around my neck. “Which hospital? Which room?” She sighed. “Highland General. Fourth floor. Room 401. And Drey…bring snacks and a latte, please. They want to starve me here.” I found myself releasing a small breath of laughter despite the panic. “I’ll soon be there. Don’t move.” “My leg definitely can’t,” she muttered. After the call ended, my chest tightened with worry. Clara was more than a best friend. She was a sister and everything. Seeing her hurt wasn’t something I handled well. I told Tina, my employee, to take over the shop and packed some snacks and coffee in a paper bag before I dashed out. The cold air hit my face the moment I stepped out, the snow falling lazily on the ground. WinterBrook Heights has been glowing in the holiday decorations for some days now. Lights curled around streetlights, wreaths hung on almost every door and kids ran around with steaming cups of hot chocolate drink, singing along to the soft carols that floated from speakers. It should have comforted me. But it felt heavy today. The drive to the hospital was a blur to me. I barely noticed the holiday banners on street poles or the sidewalks filled with snow. Clara was all I could think about right now. And her silly self is probably trying to joke her way out of pain right now. As I arrived at the hospital, its sterile smell hit instantly, sharp and cold. My boots tapped against the polished floors as I made my way toward the elevator, clutching the paper bag on my jacket tighter around me. Room 401. She’s fine. Yeah she is. I repeated it time after time, even though my pulse disagreed with me. When I arrived in the room, I knocked. “Clara?” “Come in!” She chirped. Too excited for someone who should be in pain. I stopped the moment I pushed the door open and stepped in. A tall figure putting on a dark coat and holding a wrapped gift was standing before Clara, who had a cast on her left leg. It was familiar. Too familiar. He turned, and my heart skipped, my pulse surging as instant heat ran down my neck and I pressed the paper bag tighter. It was Nicholas. Nicholas Rowan. My ex. The man who broke my heart six years ago and left me shattered for months. The man who I struggled to forget and let go of. A man who after years I still pretended I never…missed. “Audrey?” He said with a soft and tentative voice. My heart raced, tightening shortly. He had changed. He looked older and more put-together. And he still looked strikingly handsome, no doubt. Especially in that dark coat that framed his figure perfectly. His dark brown eyes hadn't changed. It shone like before. For a second, the world felt like it had gone back in time to drag old memories back into the room. “Hi… Nicholas,” I stuttered, my voice betraying me. Clara's eyes turned to me. “Woah,” she muttered and raised her palms up. “Okay, nobody warned me the past would show up with a gift today.” I exhaled loudly and carried my feet inside. His eyes never left me the whole way. “Didn't know you came. What brought you here?” He cleared his throat and put the gift down on the bedside table. “I came to visit Ben,” he gestured to the old man by the window with a cast on his arm, who smiled warmly at me. “He's a family friend. Took a slip on ice last week. Didn't expect to see Clara.” I nodded slowly as I reached, my thoughts spinning fast and wide. Of course, he wasn't here for me. Why would he be? “And as you can see, I fell too,” Clara pointed at her cast. “So, maybe falling is the current trend right now.” I forced a shaky smile and sat by the bed edge. “How's the leg?” “Oh, it hurts,” she admitted. “But I'm surviving. Bored but surviving.” I laughed, grateful for something familiar. But the air in the room still felt tense with Nicholas around. He shifted his weight. “I should…probably head out. Give you two some time.” He gave the old man a sign and pointed towards the exit. The old man nodded in return and Nicholas started towards the door. He stopped by the door, leaving his hands on the handle and glanced back. “Good to see you again, Audrey,” his lips curved into a smile. My chest tightened. “You too… Nicholas.” He hesitated more, looking as if he wanted to say something else but didn't know how to. And just like that, he left, leaving the air thick. As soon as the door closed, Clara raised an eyebrow. “Girl…that was something. Why didn't you tell me that Nicholas Rowan still looks like the lead actor in some Christmas movie?” I pressed my hands together. “How would I have known? I'm just seeing him for the first time in six years.” “Clearly,” she smirked. “Well, the way he looked at you…” she wiggled her eyebrows. I shot her a look. “Don't start, Clara.” She raised her palms up in surrender, then let out a dramatic gasp. “I already started,” she said proudly, and I groaned. I shifted from my position and stared at the ceiling. I didn't want Nicholas to be in my mind. Not after everything. Not after ending things with me, leaving me to figure out what I had done wrong. I was here for my friend, Clara. Here to make her feel okay, and not for the man I once thought I knew. “You looked like someone unplugged your brain. You still look that way,” Clara giggled. "Thanks," I muttered, but she wasn't wrong though. I wouldn't deny that seeing him felt like opening a box I had buried underground and swore not to ever touch. A box still warm. I tried to steady my breathing. “I’m completely over him. That was a long time ago.” “Uh,” Clara said, uninterested in my lie. “He looks good.” “I noticed,” I said before I could stop myself. “Oh,” she nodded slowly, smirking. “Clara, please,” I said, almost breathless. She laughed and winced, shifting her cast leg. That was the punishment for teasing me to find out what I felt for Nicholas. We spent the next few minutes discussing her fall, the guy she saw in the lobby upon arrival, the nurses she'd befriended and her fear of not meeting the painting deadline before Christmas. But my mind was still filled with thoughts of Nicholas in any pause we made. Why was he back in Winterbrook Heights? Did it matter? It kind of actually did. ‘Cause I felt as though something inside me wanted him to be here for me. After our little chitchats late in the afternoon, Clara fell asleep, and I left her room to go get her favorite chocolate bar before she woke up. The hallway felt colder than when I arrived. I hugged my arms around me, rubbing them and exhaled a long shaky breath as I hurried to wait for the elevator. “Audrey?” There came the familiar soft voice of the man that has been in my thoughts since today.