Five of Us at Christmas, But They Only Ordered Four Cookies novel · Chapter 2 of 24

Chapter 2: Who Told You

Lacey says Hannah told her in October she was leaving, Chad admits he wrote the note, Hannah ends it with him, and Zelda's phone shows a chat called The Four.

"I never told her," I said. "Not once."

Lacey's face crumpled. She set her half cookie down on a napkin.

"Hannah, it was October," she said. "We were on the back steps with the wine. You said you wanted to be gone by Christmas and you didn't want a big goodbye."

"I didn't say that."

"You did. You said it would be awkward for everyone."

"I have never in my life wanted a goodbye. I haven't even wanted a different apartment."

Lacey put her hand over her mouth. "Oh no. Maybe I misheard you. I'm so sorry. I'd never have told them if I wasn't sure."

She looked sick about it.

I almost went and hugged her.

That is how good she was.

"Okay," Tobias said, and he stood up with both palms out, the way he did at every family argument since I was nine. "Okay. Misunderstanding. Nobody's mad."

"I'm mad," I said.

He blinked.

"Who wrote this?" I held up the slip. "The handwriting at the bottom. Who wrote it?"

Chad looked at the floor. "I did."

"You wrote it."

"The woman on the phone asked if I wanted to add anything to the order. Lacey had told me you were leaving, so I said that. It was easier than explaining a fifth cookie."

"Easier."

"Hannah, I thought you'd be relieved. You hate being photographed. You hate attention."

"I hate being photographed," I said, "when I'm in my scrubs with dog hair on me and nobody asked. That is not the same as wanting to be left out of the picture."

Zelda raised her phone, then lowered it again without pressing anything.

"You always say fine," Tobias said. He sounded honestly confused. "Han, you have said fine to everything for four years. How were we supposed to know something was wrong?"

"You could have asked me."

"We did ask. We asked Lacey."

"Why would you ask Lacey about me?"

Nobody answered that.

I put the slip on the table and smoothed it flat.

"I'm not moving out," I said. "My name is the first one on the lease. It's the only one the landlord has a reference for. I am not going anywhere."

"Nobody's asking you to go," Chad said.

"A bakery was asked to. That's the same thing in a box."

Lacey made a small wet sound. "I only wanted everybody to be comfortable."

"Thank you for the soup," I said to her. "I mean it. Don't do this again."

Then I turned to Chad.

He had pushed his glasses up onto his forehead and he was staring at the ceiling.

"Chad, we're done," I said.

"What?"

"We're done. I'm ending it."

"Over a cookie?"

"No. Over the note. Over you believing it before you called me. Over every time you decided what I felt because it was easier than asking."

"Hannah, come on. That's not fair. I'm the one who bought the cookies."

"You bought four."

Tobias dragged a hand down his face. "Can we please not do this tonight? It's the first Friday of the holidays. Mom is going to ask how Christmas planning is going. What am I supposed to tell her?"

"Tell her the truth."

"Which is what?"

"That your sister is staying, and Friday dinner is over."

He stared at me.

It was the first time in my life I had told him something he couldn't turn into a joke.

"You're being really harsh on Lace," he said at last. "She cried."

"I noticed."

"She made you soup."

"I noticed that too."

"So what is the problem?"

I picked up my bag of groceries.

I would have to put the milk away, because it was my milk.

Zelda's phone lit up on the table beside the box.

She grabbed for it too slowly.

The preview sat on the screen long enough for me to read.

The Four: do NOT let her see this chat.

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