December 20th, 2022

Five years later.

"Marley," Victoria's shrill voice rings through the office. Time has dragged on painstakingly slow today, and it was all because my boss was supposed to leave over an hour ago. It wasn't rare for her to keep me here well after I was supposed to leave, but it'd been almost two hours now. All the other editors had left early, ready to get out of our office and enjoy a much-needed break.

    That should be me too, but instead, I sat behind my desk, watching the minutes pass by.

    "Yes, Miss Priestley," I rush up from my desk, moving from my tiny workspace into my boss' massive office. Victoria's office was lined with shelves, filled to the brim with all the books she'd published. Her office smelt strongly of the Chanel perfume she'd made me buy for her, if I hadn't grown so used to the scent, I'd have a headache. She sat at her desk in the middle of the room, clicking away at buttons on her laptop with an impatient scowl. One that I, unfortunately, know all too well.

    In movies and TV, the heads of companies are always stereotyped to be rude and ignorant, and while that might not always be the case, Victoria Priestley proved all the stereotypes to be true. She was impatient, arrogant, and judgemental, using her power to make everyone at the office's life a nightmare.

    I'd started interning at Priestley Publishing as soon as I graduated two years ago, with a creative writing degree from NYU. At first, all I did was get coffee and make copies of things. I didn't expect to get a job straight out of university; it was going to take a lot of work to achieve my dreams of becoming a published author.

    I was content with being an unpaid intern waiting for her turn.

    That was until Victoria's assistant broke down crying at her desk one afternoon. Victoria has never been very aware of other people's feelings, and she has less patience than a little kid, resulting in her running through assistants like no one else. I'd been working at the copy machine as the girl packed her bags, claiming she couldn't take it any longer and quit. It was apparent that her quitting only made Victoria even angrier. It was rare people quit, she always fired them before they got the chance. In retaliation, Victoria set to prove to the girl just how replaceable she was, saying that any person would love to be her assistant.

    Then, she pointed at me. I wasn't sure how to feel in the moment, while getting a promotion was exciting, Victoria wasn't exactly the kindest woman. I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as well. 

    Since then, I've been upgraded from unpaid intern to paid assistant. Victoria's old assistant marched out that day, wishing me luck on her way out. She hadn't been mad or annoyed that she'd been replaced so easily. She seemed relieved.

    And I get why, Victoria was a lot to handle and loved making my life a living hell on the daily, but she was also one of the most well-known publishers in New York. Victoria was powerful and had published tons of her employee's manuscripts in the past. If I stuck around long enough, maybe she'd read mine and consider publishing them too.

     "Have you purchased that watch for Hyacinth yet?" She asked, glancing up at me out of the top of her glasses impatiently. Victoria's greying hair was cropped into a fashionable style,

    "Watch?" I question, my naturally thick brows knitting together in confusion. I did all of Victoria's Christmas shopping this year and got every single item on her kids' extremely long lists. There was no watch on there.

    Victoria let out a breath of annoyance as if I was taking up far too much of her time, "Yes, the apple watch Hyacinth asked for."

    An apple watch? What eight-year-old wants an apple watch?

    "Oh, um," I shake my head at Victoria, awkwardly wringing my hands together, "that wasn't on Hyacinth's list actually..."

     A loud sigh escaped Victoria's lips, "well," I try my best not to flinch as she slams her laptop shut, "it is now."

     "Okay," I force a smile onto my lips. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that when Victoria Priestley wants something, she gets it, "Well, I'll order one right away... Is there anything else you need?

     "Order one?" She ignores my question, raising her voice as if I just said the most absurd thing she's ever heard, "Christmas is in less than a week. I need this delivered to my house now."

    Of course, she does...

   "So, you want me to..." I drag off, waiting for her to give me a clue of what she wants from me. Victoria does this a lot. First, she tells you something but never tells you exactly how she wants it done. And then, she gets irritated about it being done wrong, even though she's the one who gave zero instructions.

    "Go." She flicks her wrist, gesturing towards the door impatiently, "and then, once you've got it, deliver it straight to the penthouse."

    "I can do that," I nod my head rapidly, "and then..."

    Unsurprisingly, Victoria sighs again. "Do I have to spell everything out for you?" She asks, her eyes rolling in annoyance. "It's Christmas. Go home."

    I try my best not to act shocked by her words. This is the nicest thing Victoria has ever said to me. I fully expected her to have another task lined up for me after this one. She always does.

    "Oh," I nod, repressing my smile, the thought of finally going home sent excited butterflies fluttering through my stomach. "Thank you. Well, Merry Christmas."

    Victoria is already on her phone again, typing away at her screen with a scowl. I take her faint hum as a response and leave, gently shutting her office door behind me.

    I am out of the office as soon I've got my bag and collected everything I need from my desk, wishing the custodial team that is still waiting for Victoria to leave a Merry Christmas on my way out.

    Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I connect it to my Bluetooth earpiece, pressing my sister's contact once I'm outside. It rings a few times before my sister answers, her voice greeting me excitedly. "Marley, hi." Lizzie greets me, her tone laced with excitement, "are you almost here?"

    Before I could respond, another voice chimed in, "Is that Marley?" Skye asked. Skye was a newer addition to the Chamber family. Mom and dad began fostering her shortly after I'd moved to the city. They'd never intended on adopting her, but we all fell in love with the little girl. The now six-year-old felt like the missing puzzle piece to our family.

    "Ask her where she is?" Harper adds, sounding just as excited as my other two sisters. 

    "Hold on," Lizzie mumbles, "okay, you're on speaker now."

     "Marley," I smile as a bunch of voices sing my name in unison.

      "Dude, where are you?" James, my brother-in-law, calls out, in a mock dramatic tone, "Liz says we can't make cookies until you get here."

    "I'm in the city still," I frown, even though they can't see me, quickening my pace as I make my way to the apple store in times square. Luckily, it wasn't a particularly freezing day in the city, making my walk outside bearable. "Victoria had some last-minute shopping for me to do."

    "Of course, she did," Harper scoffed in an annoyed tone, "I pray I never have to meet that woman. She seems like such a-"

    I heard a grunt before Lizzie continued speaking. She most likely elbowed our younger sister to shut up, "So when will you be home?"

    "After dinner, most likely." Once again, despite them not being able to see me, I shrug my shoulders, "I'm free to go once I drop this gift off at Victoria's."

    "So that means we have to wait until after dinner to hear the secret mom and dad are hiding from us?" My youngest sister whines, complaining.

    "There's a secret?" I question, turning the corner. The closer I got to times square, the busier it became. Everyone is out doing their last-minute Christmas shopping.

     "Yeah, mom and dad said they have something they want to tell us," Harper explains, "but they won't tell anyone until you're home."

    "They haven't even told me," Lizzie informs me in a somewhat offended manner. As the eldest daughter, Lizzie's the first to know almost everything. It was unusual for mom and dad to keep a secret from her.

    "Or me." James chimes in.

     "Maybe we're getting that dog Skye's always asking for?" I suggest, although the chances of that seem slim to none. Despite all of us sisters asking at one point, my parents always say no. 

    Skye hummed, taking my idea into consideration, "I don't think so. It seems bigger than a dog."

    "Well, we'll figure it out tonight," I reassure her, my eyes scanning times square for the large apple store. Once I found it, I sighed. The line outside was massive, "listen, I've gotta go. I'll see you guys tonight, though."

    "Bye, Marles." Once again, my family all sang in unison before hanging up the phone.

      I shoved my Bluetooth earpiece back into my purse as I joined the line-up. Silently praying that it will move quickly so I could get this task over with and head home. I miss my family, and now, I'm even more eager to get home. What secret could mom and dad possibly be hiding from the four of us? And how is it bigger than a dog?

    I pushed away the thoughts running through my mind about whatever secret my parents were keeping, deciding to take in my surroundings instead. Growing up in a small town, I'd always loved the idea of living in the city, a place so big, where you can be anyone you want. New York City felt like a place of reinvention. In Cold Springs, I'd always be known as nerdy, awkward Marley Chamber, the girl who never seemed to stand out quite like her older and younger sister.    

    Here, I could be whoever I wanted to be; it felt like a blank slate—a fresh start.

    Despite the city being abuzz, with various conversations happening all around me at once, I could hear a girl loudly shriek. I turned my attention away from the city around me and over to her. A teenage girl, no younger than Harper, stood a few feet away, her arm extended to point at one of the many billboards around us. "And make sure you tag him. Rumor has it he's coming to the city for Christmas."

    I couldn't help but follow to where she was pointing, my gaze finally landing on a billboard of a movie poster. I rolled my eyes as soon as I saw the reason the young girls were squealing and taking selfies with the movie poster up above.

    The boy that stood in the center of the poster wore a suit of armor, holding a sword as he looked to the side, showing off his chiselled jaw. To the girls a few feet away from me, he was a boy they longed to know but never would. He was a fantasy.

    My heart clenched, my stomach twisting into a knot. I guess In a way, the boy up there was a stranger to me too.

    Wyatt had felt like a stranger for a long time. This boy on the poster wasn't the boy I used to spend Christmases with or have all-nighter movie marathons with as a teenager. He's a distant memory, one I hardly look back at now. I used to think about him a lot, every time I'd see an ad for one of his movies or his face on the cover of a magazine, but as time moved on, so did I.

    Wyatt Oliver was no longer the boy I once considered my best friend, and while losing him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through, I wouldn't change it. Without Wyatt, I learned not to depend on others for anything. I no longer had Wyatt pushing me to do things that scared me.

    Instead, I had to learn how to do all that independently. I had to push myself to start doing things that scared me, until eventually, it became easy.

   When he didn't come that first Christmas, I remember my sisters saying I was better off without him, and it took me a while to realize it, but they were right. I am so much better off.

Now, I live in the city alone, working towards my dream job. The Marley that Wyatt once knew would never have been able to move out here by herself and do all the things I do each day.

    "Ma'am," the woman behind me gently touched my shoulder, breaking me away from my thoughts. I finally tore my gaze away from the city. I hadn't realized just how quickly the line had moved until I looked back over at it. The people that once stood in front of me were now in the store. Finally, it was my turn "it's your turn." 

    I smiled at her apologetically, pushing my thoughts of the past away as I walked up to the employee who's waiting to help me. I had work to do, and then I could finally go home and see my family. I'm not going to allow thoughts of the past to distract me from that.