Never Safe ✔︎

Chapter Nineteen

"Christmas isn't going to be the same this year. Without my dad and all the presents," I voice as I take a bite of French toast and smile at the familiar taste.

"Well, I can't do anything about your dad. But when my mom heard you and Ari were coming, she went out and bought you guys many gifts I hear."

"Seriously? That's so sweet and unnecessary. She didn't have to do that," I say with a big smile on my face.

"There's nothing I could have said to stop her. Once she has her mind set on something, there isn't anything that will stop her," Cade responds as he eats his breakfast.

"I cannot be more excited to go over there."

"Geez, they're just presents."

"Not to get the presents silly. To meet your parents. Well, the presents too," I laugh.

"Well, they won't disappoint. My parents are real characters," Cade answers. I like this side of Cade. When he opens up a little and actually talks to me. It almost him attractive. I quickly rid my mind of the idea. I mean how cliché would that be? Me falling in love with my bodyguard. We finish up the breakfast and Cade clears our plates while I go and wake everyone up.

"Ari wake up," I say as I shake her awake.

"What time is it?" she groans while slowly standing up from the couch she had slept on with Carter.

"7:04 A.M. and Merry Christmas," I gleam. That instantly put a smile on her face as she remembers the day.

"Is that French toast I smell?" Ari gasps. I laugh and nod my head, telling her how Cade and myself made breakfast. She goes to the kitchen while I wake the rest of the guys up.

"Jason, wake up," I say slightly loud while shaking him awake. He easily gets up and I wake the rest of the boys. They go to their rooms to change then join Cade in the gym while I go meet Ari in the kitchen.

"These are really good," Ari says with a mouthful of food.

I laugh, "I'll make sure to tell Cade. Oh, and guess what? Cade told me that their mom bought us presents, so we'll get to open more than one thing later."

"Awesome. This Christmas might not turn out so bad," she answers, eating more French toast.

"For real, and Cade said we can call dad later."

"Really?" Ari ask excitedly.

I nod my head in confirmation, "How is it being around Ryder 24/7?"

"It was kind of awkward at first, but now I'm more comfortable around him," she answers.

"That's good, we don't know how long we'll be here for, so we should get used to it," I respond. Ari finishes her breakfast soon after and we return to the living room to watch cartoons. At around 8:00 the boys slowly return all sweaty from working out. Once Cade arrives, I meet him at the bottom of the steps.

"I need to shower and replace my wrap," I tell him referring to my foot. I slowly follow him up the stairs and to his room.

"Alright, but I need to shower first. You can just stay on my bed in the meantime," he says as he tosses the remote beside me on the bed. As he walks into the bathroom, I turn the cartoons back on to keep myself occupied.

After only 15 minutes, Cade returns in a towel telling me to wait for him in the bathroom. I shut the tv off and make my way into the bathroom before hoisting myself up onto the counter as per usual. About two minutes later, Cade returns fully dressed and helps me unwrap my ankle.

"Your ankle looks slightly swollen," Cade informs me before helping me make my way to the shower. My dumb ankle is probably swollen from kicking him in my sleep, I mean how embarrassing. Once I reach the shower, I use the rail to balance while Cade grabs a towel from the cabinets and hangs it on the empty railing next to the shower. He exits the bathroom as I close the shower door and strip, throwing my clothes to the side of the shower. I shave then wash my hair and body, making sure to do it quickly. I normally love taking showers and spending unnecessary time in them, but it's not nearly as fun when you're balancing on one leg. After I finish, I reach out and grab the towel to quickly dry off. I really need to start bringing the clean clothes for after I shower. It really sucks having to deal with a broken ankle. At least the wrap and crutches should be gone in a week.

"Cade, I'm done," I yell out. He must have been in his room, because within seconds he opens the door and walks towards me. He helps me walk to the counter, me being careful that the towel that's wrapped around me doesn't slip. He lifts me onto the counter and braces my ankle with a fresh wrap. Once it's securely on my ankle, Cade gently sets me back on the ground. He helps me to my room like he did yesterday, and I quickly change into a tank top and skinny jeans with fuzzy socks. I make my way back to Cade's room and knock on his door. He yells 'come in' so I push the door open and enter.

"Can I go into your closet?" I ask, making him look up from his laptop.

"Um... sure? Why?" Cade questions.

"No reason," I say as I walk towards the door leading to the closet. Cade follows me like he doesn't trust me or something. I walk into his bare closet and worry he might not have what I'm looking for. My worry disappears when I look to the back of the closet and in the corner, I see the perfect thing. A big, ugly, Christmas sweater. I grab it off the hanger and put it on with little struggle from the crutches. It fit huge on me, but it looked cute oversized.

"That was a white elephant gifted from my mom a few years ago," Cade says with a small laugh.

"It's okay to wear it, right?" I ask as I walk to the exit of the closet.

"Yeah, it's fine. I've never even worn it before."

"Perfect! What's Christmas without a Christmas sweater?" I question flashing a smile. Cade just laughs as I make my way back to my own room. I play Christmas music on my phone as I slowly and careful go down the stairs to the fireplace that rests under the tv in the living room. I get the remote and turn it on, so a little fire instantly sparks in front of me. I log into my kindle app on my phone and open the book I had been reading before everything happened. The fire quickly warms up and the vibe in the room is perfect for Christmas.

Time flies and soon enough Cade walks down the stairs telling me it's time to go. I excitedly shut the music and fireplace off, putting my phone in my pocket. I get off the couch and grab the pair of boots I bought from the mud room. I sit on the bench as I gently put the boot on my injured ankle. Once my shoes and jacket were on, I make my way back to the couch and sit down to wait for everyone else. After 2 minutes everyone is in the living, discussing driving arrangements. In the end, I'm riding with Cade, of course, and Carter.

"Don't forget our presents," I remind Cade who quickly runs back up the stairs for them with Luke and James following. They all return with wrapped presents in their hands and we make our way to the cars. I get in the passenger seat of Cade's car as he sets the presents in the back, next to Carter. Cade then gets into the drivers' seat and is the first car to pull out of the driveway and onto the icy road. I beg Cade to let me turn on the Christmas music and he reluctantly agrees. The next 20 minutes consist of me and Carter singing along to the Christmas songs and annoying Cade. We pull into the driveway of a gorgeous brick house. It was fairly big, but not as big as the base we've been staying at. I get out of the car right as James and Ryder both pull into the driveway with everyone else. We all quickly enter the house to get out of the cold and when I walk in, I'm met with a warm homely feeling house. There were so many decorations everywhere, on the stairs railing, in the kitchen, all over the living room. I was amazed at how cute the house was.