t　anything。　“I　haven’t　thought　about　him　since；”　Blair　added；　her　voice　rising　hysterically。

“Bullshit。”　Pete　stood　up　and　paced　the　room。　“You　cheated　and　then　you　kept　it　a　secret。　How　do　I　know　this…　this　love　triangle　isn’t　always　going　to　e　back　to　haunt　you—to　haunt　me？”　Pete　shook　his　head　sadly。　He　looked　awful；　like　a　kid　who’d　just　seen　his　golden　retriever　puppy　get　run　over　by　a　car。　“I’m　going　to　take　a　train　to　Philly　and　stay　with　my　brother　for　a　bit。　I’ll　call　you。”

“Wait；”　Blair　screeched；　gripping　a　handful　of　the　dark　green　duvet。　She　couldn’t　believe　she　was　so　close　to　losing　Pete。　“Are　you　breaking　up　with　me？”

Pete　grabbed　his　small　wheeled　Tumi　suitcase　from　the　floor　and　paused　to　look　at　Blair。　“I　just　need　some　time　to　think；”　he　said；　a　little　bit　more　gently。　With　one　final　look；　he　headed　for　the　door。　As　it　closed　behind　him　with　a　thud；　Blair　collapsed　into　the　goosedown　pillow；　her　body　racked　with　sobs。

They　do　say　the　holidays　can　cause　depression。

d　on　deadline

Turtles　sleep　under　the　mud；　while　our　hearts　break…

Two　zebras　together；　so　separate。

Dan　crumpled　the　piece　of　paper　and　threw　it　onto　the　coffee…stained　tan　rug。　The　room　smelled　like　cigarettes　and　incense；　which　Dan　had　first　started　burning　a　year　ago　to　erase　the　smell　of　Vanessa；　but　hadn’t　broken　the　habit。　The　alarm　clock　he’d　had　since　seventh　grade　read　eleven　thirty…four　in　luminous　green　letters。　For　everyone　else；　it　was　twenty…six　minutes　until　New　Year’s；　but　for　Dan；　it　was　less　than　half　an　hour　until　he　failed　his　poetry　class　and　botched　his　writing　career。

Of　course；　he’d　been　an　idiot　to　even　sign　up　for　a　writing　seminar　called　Poetry　and　Passion　when　there　was　so　little　passion　in　his　life。