Christmas with the Leclerc's

20

~Out of love ~
December 20

A tall, white, lavish looking, door stretches out in front of me. A little sign to my left tells me I've gone to the right house. The Leclerc's. My mother follows closely behind me, a wide grin spread across her face.

With my mothers suitcase in my hand, my own being inside the house, since I never even got it back from the skiing trip, I nervously stare at the front door.

A gold door knocker hangs right in front of me, daring me on. My lips stretched thin with anxiety, I lift up my hand. Breathe Carolina. I exhale, before I finally knock on the door.

The sound rumbles through the house, footsteps inside closely following. My head aches with jet lag, and overwhelming nerves.

The door creaks open. Out steps Arthur, quickly letting us in, shushing us with a finger against his lips.

This is already bad enough, but for Charles, let alone anyone, to not know we're coming is even worse. Arthur quietly shuts the door behind us, taking the suitcase from my hand with a smile.

From where we stand, I can hear the sweet laughter from Julius somewhere in the distance. I smile, the sound slightly making my heart come to ease.

If everything goes wrong, at least it'll be worth something because I got to see Julius again, or one final time...

Arthur gestures for us to follow him inside the house, his white socks sliding against the wood floorboards.

"Everyone is in the living room" Arthur tells us in a quiet tone, shining a slight smile at my mother. I can tell he's nervous as well. "Oh sorry, I'm Arthur!" Arthur exclaims in a whisper putting out his hand for my mother.

"I'm Ana" My mother replies, unexpectedly pulling him into a hug as she introduces herself. Arthur looks over at me with widened eyes as they hug, probably caught of by the sudden intimacy.

I shake my head with a quiet laugh, covering my face in my hands. "I'm so happy you wrote that letter, it really means a lot to Caroli-" My mother starts rambling to Arthur, definitely failing to keep her voice low.

"That's enough Mãe" I quickly interrupt, shutting her up before she begins to embarrass me. Arthur hides his laugh, as he continues to lead us further inside the house.

Once I get the chance to actually look around, I'm immediately amazed. It's gorgeous. The furniture, Christmas decorations... Everything looks incredibly expensive, yet feels so... homey.

Arthur stops in front of a door, the chatter inside the closed of room suddenly coming to my attention. Everyone's in there. God, do none of them know I'm here?

"Carla knows you're here.. but besides that it's a surprise" Arthur whispers, like he's reading my thoughts. He tries to send me a warming smile, but it fails as he notices my expression.

I'm so fucking nervous...

He nods his head at me with an questioning look, asking me if I'm ready. I take in a deep breath. No I'm not ready, but will I ever be?

Probably not. I nod at Arthur, pressing my lips together as his hand grabs onto the door handle. My mother gives my hand a quick squeeze, before I take a step forward. Here we go.

Either this is going to be a disaster, or it could turn into a miracle. My head tells me it'll be the first option, but with the way my heart pumps, my gut tells me it'll be the second...

"Hey everyone!" Arthur exclaims, opening the door wide open, suddenly turning all the attention over to us.

Pascale, Carla, Lorenzo, Charlotte, Julius... All familiar faces shining my way, shock written over them. I look around the room. Before I can breathe I have to find one person...