Zara got out before I did so that she could pick out my clothes after getting ready and she knew I'd take a bit longer to get ready than she would. Although it's Christmas, we didn't wanna over do the outfits we wore. It was only gonna be a few people from the night before and my family so It wasn't any pressure to look like a million bucks. I dried off and put on lotion after the shower. I came out into the room to see Zara putting in her new earrings- heart drop made of sapphire and gold. I looked over to the bed to see an outfit laid out. Assuming it was mine since she's already wearing her outfit, which if I might add, is looking amazing on her, I go over to the bed. She laid out a pair of low waisted corduroy pants. Kind of a lighter tan color. She matched it with a white button up cropped cardigan and a pair of white sneakers in front of the bed that I had never seen before, but, they were very nice. She however took a darker approach to her clothes; as she always did. She had on a black turtleneck tucked into a pair of grey pants held up by a black belt. She had a matching grey jacket hanging on the back of her chair and I figured that was a part of her look for the day.

     "Do you like it?" She asked looking at me from the mirror infront of her.

     "Yes." I looked back down and put my towel down before getting dressed.

After we got dressed we waited until jas was ready to leave. We packed the car full of presents and headed out to my parent's. Imogen told us in the car that my parents invited her family to spend the day with us so It was gonna be a bit more crowded than we had initially thought. Once we got out of the car we grabbed the presents and headed inside to greet my family. My mother was making sure all the presents looked nice and organized under the tree while my dad was still upstairs putting his suit on and probably taking a few business calls. My mother hates when he takes calls on holidays, but, it never stopped him from doing it behind her back. We greeted my mom and set the presents down next to her so that she could organize them to her liking before everyone got there.

As guests arrived, we took our places on the leather couch so that we had somewhere comfortable to sit while everyone else mingled. I sat with Zara, trying to be as close as possible without making it obvious- although, I doubt anyone was paying attention to anything but her. The very few of my family's friends that came kissed up to her so much that even if I wanted to sneak something in, I wouldn't have been able to sneak in the time. They didn't ask any rude questions really- rather invasive in some instances, but, nothing overly private. Damien came down and joined us, sitting on the arm of the couch and taking sips here and there of some sort of beverage he came down with in a cup.

My mother forced all of us to get up and take pictures infront of the tree- even Zara and Jasmine. It's been about 30 minutes of pictures alone and I'm looking for literally any excuse to get out of it. Suddenly, the doorbell rings as its my turn to take pictures with the family. I pretend to be overly eager about who could be at the door on my way towards it as if anything could prepare me for what I had seen when I opened it seconds ago. Lynx. My smile quickly drops and I can feel my face grow cold and the colors rush from out of my cheeks. Holy shit, what is he doing here?

"Aren't you gonna invite me in?" His smug demeanor throws me off as he lifts a few presents from the ground and lets himself in.

"Lynx!" My father says, holding his cup of whiskey in the air and holding his arms out. "How are you, son?"

"Can't complain, where should I set these down, sir?" He asked referring to the presents.

"Honey, close the door." My mother says to me. "You're gonna let all the heat out."

I snap out of my daze and shut it slowly. I walked back to everyone at the tree as my father and Lynx engaged in the most boring conversations about how he's been doing in college. He is the ideal guy my father wants me to be with. I knew that that's why he still stayed around even when I wasn't here. He looked at me for a moment and once our eyes connected I could feel his intentions with just the glare.

"Who's that?" Zara whispers to me.

"My ex." I whispered back even quieter.

I could feel her immediate change in emotion as soon as I said that. She was angry. I don't think at me, just at the fact that right now she can't do anything about him being here, around me. She's for the most part a calm and collected person, but, when it came to her emotions- especially her anger towards things that affected me in a negative way, things could get out of hand. Like the party during our vacation awhile back, when she pulled a knife out on the guy. I had never seen someone so filled with rage.

Jasmine took an obvious note of the sudden change in Zara's stance. She grabbed her shoulders and steered her towards the kitchen. "Let's go grab a drink." She said.

"I'm not thirsty." Zara's eyes still stuck with Lynx and back at me.

"Well I am, lets cool you down with some Ice." Jasmine turns her around and makes sure she sticks with her.

I watched as Jasmine calmed her down, pouring the both of them a drink. I reminded Imogen quietly about the incident at the mansion and she agreed that we needed to do our best to keep everything here at bay. Any time Lynx tried to make any advances towards me, Imogen would jump in and I would try to escape to Zara's side before anything could escalate.

And that's what we did the rest of the day and into the night. He kept trying to approach me, even got a few flirty lines in- lucky enough the people around were distracting Zara enough that she didn't notice for the most part. She kept her eyes on me for the majority of the party though. Not that she didn't trust me. She didn't trust him around me- or anyone else really.

The second I got a chance to talk to my mom, I did. "What's he doing here?"

"Who?" She asks, preparing the next round of alcoholic beverages for my father's colleagues to enjoy.

"Lynx." I groan quietly under my breath.

"Oh, honey, you know your father loves that boy. He thinks thats the one for you. Plus, with all of his successes- the money, the college, the paths he could lead you on-"

"You know who I'm with, mom." I move closer so that no one hears.

"But your father doesn't." Her voice and stance becomes stern and aggravated. "And you were the one who wanted to keep it that way."

I rolled my eyes. She was right. I did want it that way, but, that doesn't mean invite my ex to MY home on Christmas. i walked away from the conversation. Is this why he was so okay with me coming home for the holidays? To get me back together with Lynx? God, I hope not. I stood with Imogen while we watched everyone converse, Jasmine joined us a few moments after and we kept in a huddle away from the rest of the people. Damien went to his room to talk to his girlfriend on the phone for a bit. It was almost 9 so it was almost time to separate the presents for everyone to take home. We used to just open them all together, but, that got too messy and confusing for everyone so now we just separate and send thank you messages online.

     My mother instructed me and called down Damien to stand together for presents separation. Each member of one of the families stand in a spot to get their gifts together while the rest get to do another activity- this year was secret Santa but for the much older folks. My dad hosted it in the other living room so it was just a group of us awkwardly standing with each other while my mother passes out the presents to each family. Jasmine and Zara sat across the room with Imogen and since they were brand new guests they really didn't have a place to be other than with us.

     "Hey." I hear a familiar voice whisper above me.

    I looked up to Lynx. My nerves grew as I knew Zara could see us in plain sight, but, I didn't react. Not yet. Damien looked over at him and turned his head to I'm assuming Zara. He straightened his posture.

    "What do you want?" I asked, looking straight forward trying not to connect eyes with Zara.

    "I got you something." He says as he pulls out a long box from his suit pocket and hands it to me.

     I can't help but look up to see Zara's reaction to me holding this box in my hand. She's staring. Doesn't even look away when we make eye contact. Eyebrow raised, blank expression on her face, but, her jaw isn't clenched and the cup in her hand is still in tact so that's a good sign. I swallow hard and open the box. My jaw drops at what is revealed.

     "Lynx.. Is that a real diamond?" I ask, practically feeling how close my jaw is to the ground.

    "Yeah," He shrugs, trying to play it cool as if he really could. The complacent expression on his face wouldn't dare hide for anything or anyone. "Just something to show you I want you."

      I breathe in deeply and look over to Zara. Jaw's clenched, cup is now in Jasmine's hand as she moves it out of her hand and onto the table beside her. She looks over at us with a worried expression so I react.

     I exhaled. "You know, Lynx. I just.. I can't take this." I close the necklace box and hand it back to him. "I'm sorry, but, I broke up with you for a reason."

     He overly gestures with his hands as he speaks to me. "I've changed! And besides, we were perfect together right? I"

     "Wrong."

     "Listen. I care for you. I can take care of you. I can give you everything you need for life. Your parents love me, we could be a power couple again. Why not?"

    "I'm seeing someone, Lynx." I finally say.

    He's obviously taken aback. "Who is he? Do I know him? What's he do for a living." he bombards me with questions immediately, not letting me get a single word in.

    "Who i date is none of your business. This is over. For good."

     I ask Damien to stay with the presents while I go over to Zara. He agrees and as I'm making my way over Imogen and Jas pretend like they weren't watching the whole thing. Zara however couldn't care less if I knew or not.

     "What was he saying?" she asked immediately.

     " He wants to get back together." I answer honestly. She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "I said no. And I told him I was seeing someone."

     "And the necklace?"

     "I gave it back. No one, especially him, could ever make me wanna leave you, you know?" I try to say as quietly as I can.

     "Good." She grins and then mouths. "I Love you."

Trigger warning:SA, homophobia, graphic?

    Once the presents are separated we keep them there for the last hour of the party, everyone just kind of remembers which present is theirs. I left Imogen and Jasmine downstairs to go up to my room to lay on my bed since they were enjoying some of the random ass party games my mom set out for everyone. I've never been one to socially interact this much in one day. I've been an introvert my whole life. That with the isolating depression I've suffered with since I was young, i really had to separate myself for a few moments. I shut the door behind me and faced the window as I laid in bed. I scrolled through my phone for a few moments until I heard the door behind me open and shut. I look and to my disappointing surprise, It was Lynx. I sat up and turned to him completely.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked, "get out."

"I figured it out. It's her."

"What's her? Who?" Angry at his unwillingness to listen, I stand up.

"Zara." The sound of her name in his voice sent shivers down my spine. My anger turns to anxiety. "You're seeing her. I didn't get it at first, but, I remember seeing those paparazzi pictures everywhere. Her with a girlfriend? You can't miss them, I mean I gotta hand it to you, she's untouchable, everyone wants her.So When I saw those pictures of her with a girl i thought to myself, 'wow, finally!' Ya know. But I looked back and I finally put it together when I saw her just now downstairs, and thought 'no fucking way... my girl?'" He starts to walk closer to me in my frozen state. "So what are you now? A lesbian? Were you just using me? Surely not, right?"

"I'm not your girl."

"You were mine first." He towers over me, looking down at me with an intense stare. "Answer me. Are you some fucking lesbian?"

     "Why is it your business what the fuck I am?"

    He grabs my wrist as I try to walk away from him and turns me back around to be met with eyes practically glowing red at this point. "You will not make a fool out of me. You think you like girls? That's not what you thought when we were together." He puts his hand on my waist and holds me as close to him as possible. I try to move away but, he's bigger and stronger than me.

    "Let go of me!" I struggle to escape from his grasp.

     "Maybe I'll just have to show you what you are." he leans down to kiss me but I move my head away and spit in his face.

    He pauses for a moment as spit drips from his face and once he wipes it clean he pulls me in even closer, forcing a kiss on to me as I try to push him off. "Stop." I muffled against him.

    In a blink of an eye, as his hold on me became tighter and more hostile, he releases all together. I open my eyes to see Zara's arm pushed against his neck and Imogen rushing towards me to hold me.

     "Are you fucking kidding me?" Zara starts. "Were you not just begging to have her back?"

    "She was already mine in the first place."  His head pushes forward, Zara pushing down harder on his neck.

     "She's not anymore."

    "Yeah because you went and turned her. She doesn't know what she wants, she wanted me and now what? A fucking bitch like you? Please." He shouts at her.

     "Obviously if she wanted you she would've gone back to you. Get your pathetic ego checked. Wait til people hear about what a piece of shit you are. Sexually harassing a girl you claim to love? How sad can one man baby be? She's not yours! You don't own her!"

     "And you do?" He questions.

     We both knew the real answer to that. She does, she really does. But that's between me and her. It wasn't his business to know. A silence filled the room.

     You could see Zara's demeanor change as she tried to calm herself down and takes a breath. "If you ever touch her again, I will kill you."

    He scoffs and laughs. "Please." He stood taller than her yet his shadow coward in fear under hers under the light emitting from my lamp.

    "No I'm serious. I will slit your throat and watch the life leave your body with joy." She responds coldly. "Because for her, I would do anything. And if that means taking the life of a pathetic, no good piece of shit like you, I would gladly do it. In the blink of an eye. And that's what sets us apart. You may be a man physically, but, mentally.. you're a spoiled little boy searching for the validation you will never get and by doing what?"

He tries to move her arm away from his throat but she presses down even harder as soon as he tries. His voice shakes a bit, trying to hide his fear, he speaks through it."Are you seriously gonna lecture me? What do you know about how to handle a person?"

She kicks the back of his knee and forces him to fall to the ground on his knees. "You're the one who's on his knees. Why don't you tell me?"

"Whatever, you have no proof." He stands back up, dusting off his suit as if he was brushing the situation off from him.

"That's not true." Imogen's hand reveals her phone, playing back a video of his insulting and homophobic words as well as him not denying the actions from tonight.

"You wouldn't." He tries to grab it out of her hand. Zara grabs his arm and hits his head back against the wall behind him.

"Even if she wouldn't, I would." She reaches for the phone and sends the video to herself handing it back and playing it on her phone once more, cutting off at the part where he says 'And you do?'

He took a minute, "You wouldn't let them do this to me, would you baby?" He turned to me and tried to get me to empathize. I couldn't, though. He deserves what's coming for him.

"They do what they have to do." I respond.

"Surely we can work something out." He still tries to keep a cool demeanor but i can feel him cowering at the threat.

"Get out." I say to him.

"Blair I-"

"Out." I say once more holding back tears.

He finally obliges after a Moment of standing there in silence. I have no idea if he fully left the party or just went downstairs pretending like everything was amazing- as he does best. As soon as the door shut behind him, Zara came to my side. Making sure I was okay looking at a bruise in his hand size that was left on my wrist.

"We should go." She says. "Do you wanna leave?"

I wiped a few tears that streamed down my face. "Can I see your phone Imogen?"

"Yeah, of course." She pulls it from her back pocket. "What for?"

I take it in my hand and think for a moment. Am I ready to do this? For something like this, to get him out of my life for good? "I'm showing this to my dad."

"You know showing him the video is gonna... you know.. us?" Zara questions, "Are you ready for this?"

I sigh, knowing that the result would bring me into an odd state especially with my family. I tell them to grab Jas and wait for me in the car because I didn't want him to have a chance to pin this on anyone around me, especially Zara. I looked around for my father in the crowd, and once my eyes laid on him, I went through the people and asked to speak to him with my mother. We went into their bedroom, I shut the door. My mother sat on the edge of the bed while my father stood with one hand on his belt.

"What's so important you had to drag us out of the party sweetheart?" He asks, genuine concern in his tone, but, not in his words.

I play the video for them. It was a black screen, but, you could hear the audio perfectly. After it stopped playing, they both went silent. He rubbed his chin and my mother was only waiting for his response.

"That woman.. You're with her?"

"Jefferey." My mother calls him. She never calls him by his name unless she's really serious. "Our daughter comes to us about a boy harassing her and you're worried about who she dates."

He fires back in anger. "And I will deal with that. I will. His parents will be reached, but, I can deal with this now! You're seeing her?" He turns back to me.

I swallow hard, the weight of my body begins to feel heavy as I respond. "Yes."

"What- what are you? No, look. You're just confused, honey. I mean seriously. A woman? No." He begins, but, I know it's not over. "You're supposed to get married to a man, have children. Live a normal life-"

"This is normal, my dear." My mom uses her gentle voice hoping not to further aggravate him.

"You support this?! It's a phase! That's all it is. Experimenting in college. I mean, you'll come to your senses one day. Believe me." My father states.

The words he utters shatters me. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach the more he went on. I could feel the sympathy my mother was exuding, but, it wasn't enough. At the end of the day, she will choose him.

"Okay, look." My mom chimes in, trying to