Chapter 68
\nThree Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 68<\/p>\n
Bonnie had stopped going to blind dates, and Lawrence hadn\u2019t reached out again.<\/p>\n
The long holiday was almost here, and everyone at work seemed a little extra happy. Even the usual slackers were hustling, racing to finish up their tasks so they wouldn\u2019t get stuck working through the break.<\/p>\n
With the Graystone Phase II project off her plate, Bonnie only had the Meadows School job and a few odd tasks left. She wrapped everything up before it was time to head out, sent her files to Jim, and got an \u201cOK\u201d in return. He dropped a message in the group chat, wishing the team a happy holiday and telling them to get some real rest.<\/p>\n
Bonnie joined in, sending a meme like everyone else. One by one, she saved her documents and sat back, waiting for the clock to hit quitting time.<\/p>\n
Helen\u2019s message popped up. It was a screenshot of her online shopping cart. [My entire holiday bonus, three thousand bucks, already gone.]<\/p>\n
Bonnie opened the image and had to smile. Most of the stuff was gifts for Helen\u2019s relatives.<\/p>\n
Helen sent another message. [So, what are you doing for the holiday?]<\/p>\n
Bonnie paused to think. For the last three years, she usually either went for solo walks or just stayed at her campus rental. If the break was long, she sometimes traveled out of town for a change of scene. This year, the two holidays were just two weeks apart, and she hadn\u2019t made any travel plans. She\u2019d probably just stick around at home.<\/p>\n
[I\u2019ve been working so much overtime lately, I think I\u2019ll just stay in and catch up on sleep.]<\/p>\n
Helen: [Come to my place instead. We\u2019re celebrating with Ned\u2019s family this year. Big group, and his younger cousins are a blast. You should come play escape room with us.]<\/p>\n
That got a smile out of Bonnie. [You know me, I\u2019m awkward around strangers.]<\/p>\n
Helen replied with a sticker of a kid rolling their eyes. While Bonnie was scrolling through her handful of reaction gifs, a new message came in.<\/p>\n
[Just go home for the holiday. Your mom keeps sending you soup and food, she\u2019s basically begging you to come back. The welcome mat\u2019s out. What are you waiting for?]<\/p>\n
[Seriously, what\u2019s the point of arguing with your own parents? The older generation always wants to save face, but we\u2019re the kids here. Just let your pride go, act cute, it\u2019ll all be fine.]<\/p>\n
Bonnie pressed her lips together. She wasn\u2019t actually angry at her parents. She was just scared. The look of disappointment in their eyes haunted her, especially around family holidays like this. She absolutely dreaded facing all those relatives, their pointed questions and judgment. She didn\u2019t want her mom to feel embarrassed or have to listen to gossip about her either.<\/p>\n
She waited, nervous, watching the minutes crawl by. Six o\u2019clock came and the chat was still silent.<\/p>\n
A heavy feeling settled over her.<\/p>\n
She texted Helen to see if she could leave, but Helen wrote back that she was stuck working late. So Bonnie shut down her computer, grabbed the company\u2019s gift box of mooncakes, a box of prepared food, and her holiday gift card, and started getting ready to head out on her own.<\/p>\n
Just then, her phone lit up.<\/p>\n
She grabbed it fast. It was the family chat, finally. Her eyes stung with sudden tears.<\/p>\n
Mom: [No, you don\u2019t need to bring anything.]<\/p>\n
Relief swept through Bonnie. She typed back \u201cOkay,\u201d and all at once, her whole mood lifted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-736","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}