Chapter 62: As In Cinderella?

Jackson lay by Emma as she talked with her mom on the phone. He was finally starting to get the whole phone call routine down. No wonder she had a billion ringtones. If he had that many people calling him, there's no way he'd be able to keep it straight. He could sense that there was still something off, though. It'd been a couple weeks since Thanksgiving, and something had changed for her that day. Jackson had tried to talk more about it, but she'd always put him off or changed the subject. He wished she wouldn't shut him out.

The smile that lit up her face was the first he'd seen in those weeks. She put the phone on the bedside table and said, "Everyone decided against Chicago for Christmas. They're all heading to Mom and Dad's."

"And..." he figured he was missing the point.

"And, that means I'm going home. I was so worried I wouldn't see them because I wasn't going to Parker's. With the limited space at his house, everyone just decided that it was best to have it at home."