The raging Christmas break fraternity party was the last place that Maddy wanted to be. Tucked away near the exit, she sipped from her red Solo cup, her beer as flat as her disposition. She averted her eyes from the drunken frat boys in Santa hats making out with naughty sorority girl elves beneath sprigs of plastic mistletoe.

That old, familiar feeling crept in. The same feeling she'd experienced when she was six years old watching the birthday party kids frolicking in the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese. They said it would be fun but it sure didn't look like fun. When she felt like an outsider, her dad would often comfort her with one of his dad-isms. "So who wants to be a cliché? You're different. That's a good thing." Maddy wasn't so sure.

The pounding music shook the walls so hard, a cheap Christmas garland came loose and plopped onto Maddy's shoulder like a plastic snake. She batted it away, taking a wide step to her right. She adjusted her reindeer antler headband then checked her phone for the millionth time. 11:27. She exhaled a long sigh. "You got three more minutes," she grumbled.

"Hey! Rudolph!" A cute guy with a binge-drinking blush playfully nudged her more forcefully than intended. "I hate it when they don't let reindeer babes join in any reindeer games."

See offered a tepid smile. "You actually said, reindeer babes?" At least that what she thought he said, his words mashed together.

"What happened to your shiny nose?" He struggled to keep himself and his sparkly Christmas tree hat vertical. "You could even say it grows."

"Glows."

"What?"

"Glows not grows," she said. "You're thinking of Pinocchio."

"Pinocchio wasn't a reindeer. C'mon!"

"Not even gonna argue with that."

He gulped from his cup before turning his beer-glazed eyes back at her. "Hey. You're in one of my..." He squeezed his eyes tight. "Intro to Psych, am I right?"

"I'm a Senior," she said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." He leaned back, raising his elbow to lean on a counter that wasn't there, and stumbled backward, catching his balance.

She pointed to herself. "Senior. No intro classes. Never took Psych."

"Anyway. So you wanna maybe get out of here? Maybe get some shicken nuggets?"

"Shicken?"

"Nuggets. You know."

"Tempting. But I'm waiting for my boyfriend." She checked her phone again.

His hat toppled, bouncing off his shoulder on its way to the floor. When he reached for his hat, he spilled his beer and dropped unsteadily onto one knee. "Gonna get another beer. If I can get up."

Noticing Nathan shouldering his way through the crowd she said, "Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence."

Shicken Nugget Guy slurred, "Sucks to be you, dude," then proceeded to topple forward, face-planting into a puddle of beer.

As Nathan approached, he felt Maddy's burning glare. He hung his head and fidgeted with one of the tassels on his sweater, the ugliest of ugly Christmas sweaters.

"You said nine-thirty," she snarled.

With downcast eyes, he replied, "And you've probably been here since nine."

"And loving every damn minute of it!" she hollered over the music. "The only reason I even came to this stupid party was because you talked me into it." She pushed past, forging a path toward the front door.

Nathan reached for her arm. She pulled free. "Don't be mad," he shouted.

Maddy yanked the reindeer antlers from her head and flung them at him. She stomped out onto the snow-packed sidewalk with Nathan trotting after her.

He wheezed. "I fell asleep. That's no excuse, I know. I'm an idiot."

"No. I'm the idiot," she grumbled. "You do this to me over and over and over again—"

"Maddy, I'm really sorry."

"You're always sorry. And I'm always forgiving. And so we have this." She shook half from anger, half from the cold.

Nathan resorted to his cutest puppy dog expression. "Come on. One more chance. Please. It's Christmas."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Meet me at Rigolleto's," he pleaded. "Tomorrow at eight, okay? My treat. Your favorite cupcake's on me."

"I'm counting my calories." She shoved her hands inside the pouch of her hoodie.

He grinned. "Rigolleto's makes an awesome tofu cupcake with quin-noah icing."

"What icing?!"

"Q-U-I-N-"

"Keenwah!" Maddy shouted.

"I've heard both pronunciations," Nathan shrugged. She winced. He pressed. "Rigolleto's at eight. C'mon. Please?" She refused to crack a smile.

"Look." He scuffed the toe of his sneaker through the snow. "If I'm late you never have to see this pathetic face again."

"It's not your face that's pathetic," she grumbled.

He leaned in for a kiss but she wasn't having it. She shuffled toward her dorm. When she glanced back over her shoulder he called through the drifting snowflakes, "You forgot your antlers!" 

"Consider them a Christmas present," she hollered without breaking stride.

In her dorm room, Maddy wriggled out of her hoodie and flung it onto the floor. She couldn't get under the covers fast enough. She turned off her desk lamp and burrowed into bed, warming her red knuckles with her breath. "Quin-noah," she whispered through gritted teeth. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to put Nathan out of her thoughts.

Her ringing phone startled her. Caller ID: MOM. 

Mom calling at 11:45?!

She sat up. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"It's your dad, Madison." Her mom's voice trembled. "He's had a heart attack."

"What?!" Maddy leaped from her bed.

"Come home, baby."

In one motion, Maddy stuffed her arms into her hoodie, grabbed her car keys from the desk, and bolted out of the room.

After four hours of nighttime driving at breakneck speeds on treacherous wintry roads, she steered her car into the first available space in the hospital parking lot. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she pushed open the door, slung her bag over her shoulder, and jogged across the glistening asphalt toward the entrance.

With car keys in his hand, an exhausted young man with a red nose and matching red ears, warned, "Be careful of..." Before he could complete his sentence, Maddy's feet shot out from beneath her. She landed on her butt on the icy pavement, sliding to an ungraceful stop.

"You okay?" he called as he approached.

"To the untrained eye that probably looked a little clumsy." She got to her feet and brushed the slush from her pants.

"A little." He slowed his pace. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Actually, this could be the least okay day of my entire life. But thanks for asking." 

He nodded, heading toward his car.

"I didn't mean to snap at you," she said, then gestured toward the hospital. "My dad--"

"I get it," he said with an empathetic smile.

She resumed her journey toward the hospital, taking quick, short steps.

Maddy rode the elevator to the third floor. She didn't know what to expect upon seeing her dad. Would she melt into a puddle of tears or would she find the strength to keep it together and be the supportive daughter he and her mom desperately needed?

She checked the room numbers. "327... 329... 331!" When she saw her mom standing outside of room 335, Maddy rushed her, arms wide.

"Madison." Her mom hugged tightly.

"How's he doing?"

Her mom shook her head. "He's the worst patient in the history of medicine."

Maddy entered the hospital room where she found her dad in bed. Monitors beeped. She went to the bedside and gently hugged her father. "Oh, Dad." Her voice cracked.

"Could've been too much eggnog," her dad fumed. "They're making a big deal out of nothing."

"A heart attack is not nothing."

"The doctor said mild heart attack."

His wife replied, "It didn't look so mild last night when they carried you out on that stretcher."

He sighed. "So now my Carol is taking their side." 

"There are no sides, Reggie. You suffered a heart attack."

"What did the doctor say?" Maddy faced her mom.

"I gotta rest here for a couple of days." Her dad groaned. "Take some medicine. That's all."

"They need to do some tests," added Maddy's mom.

"Sure, they gotta run up the bill, don't they?" He grimaced when he tried to sit up.

"Reggie, would you lie still for ten seconds?" His wife placed her hand on his chest. "Honestly."

"You just rest, Dad. I can help out." Maddy offered a reassuring smile. "At home or at the shop. Whatever you need."