Blame It On The Secret Santa

What to get someone you hate for Christmas...

That's not something I would typically look up online, but drawing my ex's name in our company's Secret Santa exchange left me no choice.

For twelve long years, I was free of him after he broke my heart and moved away. But now he's back, and thanks to small-town life, he's everywhere I go.

I tried to shake it off when he first started working at Waldon's. It's a big store, and there aren't a ton of employment options in Sugarplum Falls. Not only did we somehow draw each other's names in the so-called "Secret" Santa exchange, but we're constantly being thrown together and being forced to spend time with each other.

As old memories rise to the surface, I'm reminded of the pain and heartache he's capable of, but it's hard to focus on that when he's constantly going out of his way to do nice things for me. They say people change and that forgiveness is healing, but they don't know the damage he did the last time I allowed myself to love him.

It seems there's a thin line between love and hate, and suddenly, I'm teetering right over it. No matter how much my heart wants to love him again, it can't undo the pain he caused all those years ago.