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CHAPTER 46: The Decision
Veröffentlichungsdatum:
10.03.2026 16:22:33
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The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 53: The Voicemail
**SLOANE**The wine bottle was empty.I stared at it. Tried to remember when I'd opened it. After I got home from Murphy's maybe. After I'd driven away like a coward.My phone was in my hand. Had been for the last hour.2:13 AM.I should go to bed. Sleep. Stop thinking about Jackson sitting in that bar looking broken.Instead I hit call.It rang. Once. Twice. Three times.Voicemail.His voice. Recorded. Professional."You've reached Jackson. Leave a message."The beep came too fast. I wasn't ready."Hi. It's me. Sloane. Obviously you know that. Caller ID. I'm rambling. Sorry."I took a breath. Tried to focus. Failed."I'm calling because I saw you tonight. At Murphy's. I was outside. In my car. Peter told me to come and I came but I couldn't go in. I sat there for twenty minutes like an idiot and then I left. And now I'm home and I'm drunk and I'm calling you at two in the morning because apparently I make terrible decisions."My voice cracked. I kept going."I'm sorry. For everything
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 52: Three Days Until Australia
**JACKSON**"To new beginnings!"Dean raised his glass. Everyone else followed. Beer sloshing. Voices too loud.I lifted mine. Forced a smile. Drank.The whiskey burned going down. Good. I wanted it to burn."Can't believe you're actually doing this," Mike said. He was on his third beer. Maybe fourth. I'd lost count."Doing what?""Going back. After everything."After everything. Yeah. That about summed it up.The bar was packed. Friday night in Chicago. Everyone celebrating the weekend. The holidays. Life.I was celebrating leaving.Dean ordered another round. I didn't argue. Just kept drinking."Australia's lucky to have you back," someone said. One of the other golfers. I couldn't remember his name."Thanks.""You're going to kill it on that tour.""That's the plan."My phone sat on the table. Screen dark. Silent.I checked it anyway.Nothing.No calls. No texts. No Sloane.Three days. I was leaving in three days and she hadn't said a word.Not that I expected her to. Three weeks o
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 51: Coward
gl**SLOANE**"Get to Murphy's. Now."Peter's voice came through the phone sharp. Angry. The kind of angry he saved for when I was being particularly stupid."I can't.""Yes you can. You're getting in your car and you're driving here."I was already in my pajamas. Already settled on the couch with a blanket and Netflix I wasn't watching."Peter, I don't think...""He's leaving in five days, Sloane. FIVE DAYS. You have five days to fix this or you regret it for the rest of your life."My chest tightened. Five days. That's what Mike's text had said. December twentieth."What am I supposed to say to him?""I don't know. Start with sorry. Start with anything. Just get here.""He doesn't want to see me.""He's sitting in a bar alone looking miserable because of you. Pretty sure he wants to see you.""Then why hasn't he called?""Why haven't you?"I didn't have an answer for that.Peter's sigh came through the phone."Murphy's. Twenty minutes. If you're not here, I'm coming to drag you out m
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 50: Five Days Until His Flight
**JACKSON**"You're really doing this."Caroline stood in my bedroom doorway. Watching me fold shirts into my suitcase."Yeah.""You're leaving in five days.""I know what day it is."She walked in. Sat on the edge of my bed. The one I hadn't slept in for weeks."Are you sure about this?"I kept folding. Blue shirt. Gray shirt. Black shirt. Everything looked the same."No.""Then why are you going?""Because there's nothing keeping me here.""That's not true."I stopped folding. Looked at her."She hasn't called. Hasn't texted. Hasn't even looked at me in three weeks. What am I supposed to do? Keep waiting forever?""She's scared.""So am I. Difference is I'm not running.""Aren't you?"The words hit harder than they should have.I shoved another shirt in the suitcase. Didn't bother folding it.Caroline picked up a photo frame from my nightstand. The one from Easter. Me and Sloane at her parents' house. Her laughing at something. My arm around her.We looked happy. We were happy."She
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 49: December Blues
**SLOANE**"That'll be forty-three fifty."The cashier smiled at me. I didn't smile back. Just handed her my card.The sweater for my dad sat in the bag. Blue. Cashmere. Expensive. He'd never wear it.I didn't care. Shopping was something to do. Better than sitting in my apartment staring at Jackson's golf clubs.The mall was packed. Families. Couples. People who looked happy.I hated all of them.A woman bumped into me. Didn't apologize. Just kept walking with her boyfriend's hand in hers.They were laughing about something. His arm around her shoulders. Her leaning into him.I wanted to scream.Instead I walked to the next store. Bath and Body Works. Maya loved their candles.The smell hit me immediately. Cinnamon. Pine. All the Christmas scents.Last year I'd been here with Jackson. He'd made fun of every single candle."Who wants their house to smell like a fake tree?""People who don't have real trees.""Then get a real tree.""I live in an apartment.""So do I. Doesn't stop me."
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 48: Thanksgiving Apart
**JACKSON**"You're not eating."My mum, Caroline set another plate in front of me. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Stuffing. All of it looked like cardboard."I'm not hungry.""You're never hungry anymore."She sat across from me at her small dining table. Just the two of us. First Thanksgiving in years it'd been just us.First Thanksgiving without Sloane."Eat anyway," she said. "You're wasting away."I picked up my fork. Moved food around the plate. Put the fork down.My phone sat next to my napkin. Screen dark. Silent."Have you heard from her?" Caroline asked."No.""Have you tried calling?""She doesn't want to talk to me.""Did she say that?""She ran away from me at the diner. That's pretty clear."Caroline cut her turkey. Chewed slowly. The silence stretched."You know what today is?" she asked finally."Thanksgiving.""It's the first holiday you've missed. Since the pact."The pact. God. That felt like a lifetime ago.New Year's. Valentine's. Easter. Memorial Day. We'd done them al
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 11: Emergency Session at Mel's
I threw on jeans and the first sweater I could find, not bothering with makeup. Twenty minutes after Jackson's call, I was sliding into our booth at Mel's. He looked terrible. Hair sticking up like he'd been running his hands through it. Eyes red-rimmed. Coffee cup already half-empty. "Tell me eve
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 10: The Woman From Australia
**JACKSON** The golf course parking lot was empty at seven AM. Cold air burned my lungs as I grabbed my clubs from the trunk. Then I saw her. A woman leaning against a black rental car, arms crossed, watching me. Blonde hair pulled back in a perfect ponytail. Designer workout clothes that probabl
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 9: The Morning After (The Arrangement)
I woke up to my phone vibrating itself off the nightstand. Noon. I'd slept through half the day. Forty-seven unread messages. I scrolled through them with one eye open, still half-asleep. Mom: *He's wonderful! When can we see you both again?* Mom: *Your father won't stop talking about him.* Mom
The Holidate Pact CHAPTER 8: New Year's Eve - The Debut
I changed my outfit three times before settling on the black dress. Classic. Safe. The kind of thing that says "I'm a functioning adult" without trying too hard. When the knock came at seven sharp, I checked my reflection one last time and hated that my hands were shaking. I opened the door. Jack
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