14 Chapter 14

Neither of them moved to open the gifts, they just sat snuggled close together and looked at the tree. More needles had fallen off it in the two days they’d had it—maybe it would have helped if they’d put water in the bucket?—and the branches looked sadder than ever, as if the popcorn strings were too heavy and on the verge of breaking the tree’s spine.

“So, who’s going first?” Ellis asked after they’d enjoyed the holiday spirit in silence for a few minutes.

“Me.” Casey leaned forward and snagged the envelope before struggling out of Ellis’s embrace. He turned around so they faced each other. “It’s not much.” Casey wrinkled his forehead and looked down on the floor. Then he took a deep breath and looked up again. “It’s not much,” he repeated, “but I hope you’ll like it.” He gave Ellis the gift with a shaky smile.