The next day, Wynter was up early as she had trouble sleeping. She went downstairs to the kitchen and boiled a pot of Destiny's Winter tea just for the smell. She set up her camera and laptop at the breakfast nook and started editing the pictures she took. She then reactivated her social media accounts. After she exposed her ex Michael, she deactivated all her social media accounts to avoid the backlash over her actions. Wynter felt something was off between her and Michael when she moved to Austin to be with him, but Michael made it seem like it was all in her head. She wasn't proud of her actions, but she did install a keylogger on his Macbook. Within a week she had proof of his affair with her stepsister Denise: she had chats, emails, and photo proof of their relationship going back at least 6 months.
Wynter, feeling equally devastated and furious, screenshot everything and posted it on her Facebook tagging Michael, Denise, her dad, his wife Lisa, and Michael's parents and siblings. Every vile text, sext, and email was made public and Wynter simply captioned it: YOU TWO BITCHES DESERVE EACH OTHER. In less than an hour, her phone was blowing up. She received calls and texts from everyone: Michael pleading to talk to her, Denise demanding she delete the post, Lisa begging for her to do the same, her cousins simultaneously wanting to know if she was ok and to fuck Michael and Denise up, and her "friends" asking for details of what was going on. She didn't respond to anyone but her dad. His call was the only one she answered. The first thing he said to her was that legal action could be taken against her for what she posted online.
She thought the affair devastated her, but her dad's words broke something in her. She sat and listened to his legal jargon and threats for less than 5 minutes before hanging up. She knew her dad didn't make idle threats, so she immediately deleted her post and deactivated all her social media accounts. She packed up her belongings and drove straight to Lucky. Once she got there, she blocked all their numbers. After a month of still getting phone calls and texts from random numbers, she changed her number. Her dad's parents still lived in Lucky, so she had no doubt they knew where she was. She hadn't heard from any of them since.
Having her social media accounts restored made her anxious about any of them trying to reach out, but she figured they moved on by now. She privated her profile and quickly blocked Michael's and Denise's accounts and removed anyone from her friends or followers who were mutual friends with them. Feeling that her accounts were secure, she began uploading the photos from the past week on her profiles. She was sending the edited photos to guests from the tree trimming party who asked for them when Amira joined her in the kitchen.
"Why did I think you were down here cooking or cleaning?" Amira asked.
"I have no idea. You know me better than that." Wynter deadpanned.
"Don't I child. You're struggling to make tea? That ain't how you make it!" Amira said, turning off the stove.
"I know. It's for the smell. Doesn't it smell like winter in here?" Wynter asked, suggestively.
"It smells like no food. What do you want to eat?" Amira responded.
After breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, Wynter got ready to meet Liberty at the recreation center. A Christmas Arts and Crafts event was happening and Liberty asked for Wynter to stop by and take photos of the event. Wynter agreed without hesitation- she still wanted to change people's perceptions of her. What better way than taking adorable pictures of their kids and offering digital copies for free?
Wynter got dressed and met Liberty at the town square where the recreational center was. Wynter went into one of the meeting rooms that was set up for the event. Multiple tables were set with children making ornaments, decorating Santa hats and stockings, or painting handmade woodcrafts. She spotted Jack right away, he was with a woman and 2 kids painting ornaments. Liberty greeted her and quickly told her that was Jack's brother's wife and kids, but Wynter gave no reaction. She promptly ignored him and focused on the event. It was a jovial mess and after a couple of hours of taking pictures and crafting with Liberty's older brother RJ and his kids, Wynter was covered in glitter. She had to take a break to clean up and start organizing photos to show parents before the event ended.
She found a quiet corner in the lobby with an empty table and set her computer up. It wasn't until she sat down that she realized a girl was underneath the table, crocheting what looked like a scarf.
"Oh! Hi, I didn't see you there." Wynter said, scooting back to observe her.
"That's ok. Nobody does." She shrugged, looking up at her briefly. "You're pretty."
"Thank you, so are you! I love your glasses." Wynter complimented her purple-rimmed glasses.
"I made a case for them!" The girl said, raising her arm to show her a purple crochet pouch clipped to her jeans.
"That is genius. You made that?" Wynter said, impressed.
"Yes, 2 years ago. I had to fix it 'cause my brother ripped it, but I attached a clip to it. See?"
"I see. I hate that your brother broke it, but the clip is everything. If you don't have pockets and don't want to carry a bag, that's a lifesaver." Wynter commented.
"I don't think it'll save anyone's life, but I like it." The girl remarked, bluntly.
Wynter smiled. "True. What's your name?"
"Ellie."
"Nice to meet you Ellie. I'm Wynter. Is it OK if I work here?"
"Yes. Your name is Winter? Like the season?"
"Yes, with a Y instead of an I."
"Why?"
Wynter chuckled. "Because my mom loved winter and I was born on winter solstice."
"What's that?"
"It's the first day of Winter. It's when our part of the world is the farthest from the sun, so it has the shortest daylight and the longest night." Wynter explained.
"That's cool. I was just born on April 4th."
"That's pretty cool too. A spring birthday sounds fun. I always thought an Alice in Wonderland garden theme party would be amazing."
"What's Alice in Wonderland?"
"A Disney classic movie, based on a book about a girl who falls into a rabbit hole."
"That sounds weird. I love weird stuff."
"Same." Wynter agreed.
Ellie worked on her crochet, periodically popping up to look at what Wynter was doing. She even helped Wynter with the names of kids and grouped the photos. When Wynter told her she was going to take more photos, Ellie put her yarn down to follow her.
"You don't want to make an ornament or paint?" Wynter asked Ellie as they walked into the craft room.
"No, too messy."
"Right, I'm gonna have glitter on me for weeks. Can I take a picture of you with the art?"
"No." She answered bluntly, making Wynter grin. She wasn't sure about Ellie's age, she looked older than she acted, but Wynter loved her honest energy. She hoped she never outgrew it. "Can I take a picture?" Ellie requested.
Wynter showed her the camera and instructed her how it worked. She was taking a picture when someone called Ellie's name.
"Ellie, there you are!" A woman's voice called from behind them.
Wynter turned around to see Jack and a woman walking towards them. Jack was holding a toddler who was maybe 2 or 3. He was casually dressed, but still fashionable in a navy hoodie, matching sweatpants, a beige jacket, and tan Yeezys Boost. The only jewelry she could see were diamond studs in his ears. She just knew his wardrobe was immaculate and would have looked forward to seeing his outfits, if she wasn't trying to avoid him.
"Mom! I want a camera and the Alice in Wonderland book added to my Christmas list." Ellie said brightly as they joined them.
"And I wanted you to stay with your sister! Your uncle was scared you were lost when he didn't see you." Ellie's mom admonished her.
"Ezekiel, you were scared?" Ellie smiled, deviously.
Jack smiled at her. "Naw, I ain't never scared. I knew you would come out eventually."
"Stop lying. You were texting me for 10 minutes back to back." Ellie's mother nudged him playfully.
"I told you I have the best hiding spots." Ellie turned to Wynter. "Don't tell him about my spot."
"What spot?" Wynter winked at her.
"Where you found me hiding," Ellie told her matter-of-factly, causing them all to laugh.
"Oh, right. I won't say a thing." Wynter put her finger over her lips.
"I'm Elena, Ellie's mom. Thank you for keeping an eye on her. I asked my brother-in-law here to babysit for 5 minutes."
"Mom, I'm 12, I don't need a babysitter! Evelyn does!" Ellie protested.
