Chapter 6

6

Millie

A s soon as I hear the knock on my door, my eyes fly open. Shoot. I forgot to put the peanut butter cup under my pillow before I went to bed. Actually, that’s not true. I did put one under my pillow, but I ended up eating it as I was lying there thinking about my little sister and how to handle all this Christmas nonsense—whether I should really be feeding it or not. I didn’t want to get out of my nice, warm bed so I told myself I’d get a replacement in the morning. But my little Santa police is already here, ready to bust my door down.

“Hold on a sec, Laney. Just let me put some clothes on and then you can come in.” I scurry off the bed and rush to my closet, grabbing a little chocolate cup and my robe before rushing back to my bed. I lift my pillow to place it underneath, nearly shrieking and jumping back when I see something hidden under the place where I kept my head all night. Not just something. It’s a long, thick purple rabbit, an exact replica of the sex toy I imagined.

“Are you dressed yet? I’m waiting. And why do you sleep naked anyway? It’s weird.”

Her little voice barely registers through the chaos in my head. I don’t wear clothes because they make me feel claustrophobic under the covers. Holy shit. Why the hell is there a dildo under my pillow? I lift the thing again, peeking underneath slowly, and sure enough, I’m not imagining it. It is very much there. A long purple dildo with a red ribbon tied around the middle. This so cannot be happening.

I reach for it, needing to feel if my mind is playing tricks on me. But it’s not. The toy is hard. Thick. And…as I push the button on the side, it starts rotating around in circles, while the little ears start fluttering away. My heart now fluttering along with it. This can’t be real. There’s no way. I didn’t speak my wish out loud. It was a mere thought. How the hell is this even possible?

“Ready or not, I’m coming in.” My door bursts open and I quickly stash the thing under my comforter, my heart about to freaking beat out of my chest. “Is it there? Is the chocolate cup there?” Laney looks to my pillow and then back at me. “It is, isn’t it? You’re in shock. You’re freaking out. Show me.” She bounces up onto my bed, scooting toward me. “Show me, Millie.”

I reach forward, seeing the shake in my hand as I lift my pillow again. The chocolate cup is sitting where I dropped it in my panic. Meanwhile, the purple toy, which I had nothing to do with and have never seen before in my life is tucked under my comforter. Where in the heck did the rabbit come from? There’s no way Santa exists. It’s absolutely impossible. Yet…I made the wish just like Laney told me to, and— voila!— the thing magically appeared.

My mind can’t comprehend any of this right now. I must still be dreaming. But when Laney practically launches herself onto my lap, shouting how Santa is real, it’s hard to imagine I’m still asleep. And when Margot’s voice comes from down the hall, saying that the pancakes are ready, I struggle to catch my breath. I’m very much awake and all of this is really happening.

“Come on, Millie! Pancakes!” Laney climbs off the bed. “I can’t wait to tell Mom and Dad that Santa came last night just like he promised and now you believe.”

I’m shaking my head, but it’s doing nothing to shake my nerves. I need her to leave my room so I can reconcile exactly what is going on right now. “You go ahead downstairs. I need to get dressed and brush my teeth.”

“Okay!” she practically cheers. “Santa Claus is coming to…” Her singing trails off as my door closes. I quickly jump off my bed and lock it. Then rush back. Slowly reaching for my comforter. Inching the thing back as if a snake is going to jump out and attack. When the purple dildo is revealed, I launch backwards, shock rocking through me again. There has to be a logical explanation for this. Maybe I teasingly told one of my friends I wanted one of these, and they decided to leave me an early present. Only, I really don’t have any friends here. And my ex-boyfriend doesn’t live in this state. He’s all the way in Florida. And my dad definitely wouldn’t have given me something like this.

I know! Margot must own one. And in my sleep, I walked into her room and got it from her drawer. Only, I’ve never sleepwalked in my life, and I know my dad keeps his bedroom door locked to ensure Laney doesn’t come sneaking into their bed at night. Talk about putting a crimp on his sex life with his young wife. And talk about scarring my poor sweet sister. But if I didn’t get the thing from Margot’s room, then where the hell did it come from?

I scramble off the bed, rushing to the bathroom. I splash my face with freezing cold water but decide it’s not enough, so I turn on the shower, strip out of my robe, and hop in. The icy chill has me rushing through my wash, but I definitely feel awake now, and I know that when I exit this bathroom, I’ll realize that I was hallucinating. It was all just my mind playing a trick on me.

But when I go back out to my bed and pull back the cover again, it’s still there. Still wrapped in a red bow just like a Christmas present. And the only explanation I have for it is the one that couldn’t possibly be true. I need to go back to the mall. I need to have a talk with the man who couldn’t possibly be Santa Claus. His eyes and face looked way too young. Besides, the mythical man who can deliver millions of presents in one night, riding a sleigh of flying reindeer doesn’t exist. He’s a freaking fairy-tale character.