*Last Christmas Chapter before an interesting storyline*
Hardin
"What's with you?!" I ask my soon to be son in law as he storms towards me. He completely ignores me, brushing past my shoulder on the way past. That little shit. He's holding some kind of ticket in his hand, probably the Season one that Emery bought him for Christmas.. so why does he have a face like thunder? Did she get the wrong team? Or is he just being an ungrateful little shitbag? I watch as he makes his way over to my little sister. My little sister who I love dearly, but can hardly trust due to the fact that she's the female equivalent of myself.
I glance around in search for Emery and she is nowhere to be found in the main room. I instead peak my head into the kitchen, where I find her holding my new great niece, while Addy seems to be filling her in on all the gory details of her arrival. Hopefully it puts her off having babies for a while, I mean her getting engaged was too much for my heart to handle. I don't think I can take much more.
I listen in for a moment until I hear the word 'contraction' and with that, I'm out of there. I do not want to relive that. I rejoin the family in the main room who are having a sing along. "Come on Hardin, sing!" My father begs. "No!" I huff, my face like thunder. I don't sing. Tessa gives the puppy dog eyes and I instantly find myself miming the words to Silent bloody Night. I'm not whipped, I'm not whipped.
I place a kiss onto Millers head as the family, who evidently sound like dying cats, belt out the hymn. "You don't how loved you are, blue eyed boy" I whisper to him as I rock him. I'll tell you what this song is missing.. A bit of electric guitar and drum and bass, though, I don't think that would go down well at the church. It wouldn't be a very silent night.
I receive deep glares from the dying cats, when my phone starts to ring obnoxiously loud. I retreat to my fathers room, taking Miller with me to answer it. The name flashes on my screen and for once, I'm looking forward to answering this particular person. My mother.
"Hardin!" She chimes as I pick up the phone. "Merry Christmas, mum" I tell her. "And a merry Christmas to you yanks" she chimes, as loud as ever. "Yanks? Don't make me laugh. I'm a Brit, loud and proud" I scold her. I get a kick out the way she cackles down the phone. "I've got little Miller here with me" I tell her and she kicks up a fuss at how grown up the twins are looking as of late. Of course, she hasn't seen them since they were born but Tessa bombards her with weekly photos of them. "You have no idea how much your gift means to me, Hardin" her voice wobbles and I smirk at how easily she becomes emotional.
For Christmas, I bought my mom and Mike plane tickets to JFK Airport. They arrive on January first and will reside with Tessa, the kids and I for five days. In normal circumstances, Never in a million years would I even consider spending more than a few days at a time with my mother, I love her to pieces but fuck, she's annoying. However.... As of late, I have realised that you only get one mother and it's about time that I started treating mine better. Plus, I want an excuse to boast about my newest achievements. I know that sounds massively arrogant, but I think I have the right to be a little cocky about what I have achieved. When I was a teen, my mum didn't think I'd make it past twenty without getting myself jailed or killed. I can't blame her. I was a total shit.
"Oh how I can't wait to pinch the cheeks of those little twinnies. How I can't wait to meet this Charlie that Emery speaks so fond of" she chimes. Oh fuck... about that. My mother is yet to know that Tessa and I have guardianship of Charlie. She met him briefly, months ago but there was so much happening at the time, you know.. with her and Vance, that she barely got to say Hello. I decide to leave it until she gets here to tell her about the whole Charlie thing. I don't want her flipping out on Christmas Day.
I clear my throat, pretending to cough. "What about your son? The reason that you're coming out here in the first place?!" I scoff, jokingly. "And of course my precious boy. The bestselling author and founder of 'Your Time Will Come'" she squeals. "I still can't believe that you have done something so selfless, so caring. I can't wait for you to show me around the building" she fusses down the line. "Thanks mum.... I think" I begin to laugh. I can't wait to show her around the building either. There's no better feeling than being able to say 'Mum, I made it'.
We talk for a little longer, before Miller begins to kick up a fuss. "I'm going to have to go, but it was nice talking to you, mum" I tell her like she's some kind of stranger. I can't deny that this feels weird. "You too, son. I love you dearly" she adds. I pretend that I don't hear that, but wish a final Merry Christmas before hanging up the phone. "Hey, shh you!" I soothe Miller who is belting out the highest pitched sound. "That was your Nana Trish and she won't stand for your nonsense, Mr" I mock him. He eventually stops his sobfest and I reenter the main room where everyone has congregated.
I have only been gone for thirty minutes and the party seems to be at it's peak. Everybody is merry, dancing around the cabin and reciting Christmas songs word for word. I can't help but smile as I clock Smith jiving around the room with Auden. It's crazy to me, because It's like looking at a younger version of myself with Smith. Only, I would never dance in a million years, no matter how many I'd had. "Are you okay?" Landon grabs my attention as he catches me staring into space. "Yeah, I am" I half smile whilst passing Miller to him. He shrugs at the way I stand still, taking in my surroundings before joining Nora on the sofa who is holding Saff. I watch the two of them coo over their niece and nephew. I watch Addy and Austin glare down at baby Ava, completely and utterly besotted with their new arrival. I glance at the love of my life, who is dancing around with our firstborn daughter. There is not a soul in this room who looks unhappy. Apart from Charlie.
I find him slumped on a beanbag in the corner of the room, sulking and holding his chin in his hand. Abby is sat beside him, practically funnelling liquor into his mouth. He doesn't appear to be bothered by it, but it's obvious that he isn't enjoying it. "Hey. Clear off!!" I roar at her on approach, she glares at me in the cockiest way. "I said, clear off!" I warn my sister and with that, she saunters off. I plonk myself on the ground next to Charlie. Waving a hand in the air for him to explain himself.
"I don't know what Emery told you, but I very much doubt that she told you the truth" is the first thing he says. I haven't spoken to Emery in hours, but I decide to play the game. "She told me" I lie through my teeth. He stutters like a bitch and I give him a small slap so that he will spit out his words. "Ouch" he winces whilst rubbing his cheek. I can barely hear his explanation because of our wild surroundings.
"Look. She can't force me to do something that I don't want to do and won't ever change my mind on!" He yells, frustration in his voice. Ok, he's lost me now. "What?! You proposed to her!" I scoff and the look on his face tells me that that's not what he was referring to. "I was talking about the whole baby thing" he sighs. Whole baby thing? What whole baby thing?! I swear to god if he has gotten her pregnant, I will not be responsible for my actions. "Before you flip out. She's not pregnant. But she wants babies and she wants them soon!" He stresses and I instantly bury my head in my hands. "What on Earth gives you that impression?! Just because she was feeling a little broody over Ava, that doesn't mean that she wants them right away. You idiot!" I raise my voice, earning a few turned heads.
"She said she wouldn't want anybody else to raise her kids, she envisions me taking our make believe son to football practice!" He flaps, his voice strained
from the liquor. I can see why that would freak a sixteen year old boy out. If a chick said that to me when I was sixteen, I probably would have ran a mile. "I decided from the minute my parents died that I didn't want kids. Life is so unpredictable and I refuse to make promises to a person who relies on me with all of their being, that I can't keep.. just like my parents did. It's something that I won't ever change my mind on. I want to be with Emery for the rest of my life, just like I promised.. but she needs to know that I don't ever want children" he says without breathing. I glare at him for a brief minute, not quite knowing what to say. Why does it have to be so serious? I mean, who cares if he doesn't want kids? He's a kid!
"For once, I'm agreeing with you over my daughter. You need to appreciate this because it's not often that I will. I don't know whether I'm agreeing because the last thing I want is a teenage pregnancy on my hands.. or if I'm agreeing because you're right. But either way. I'm agreeing" I shrug, not knowing whether I'm making any sense.
"But you need to know this. Tessa and I were a little older than you guys, but Emery is just like her mom. Tessa had everything planned out from a ridiculously young age and thought she knew exactly what she wanted out of life. Every time she brought up the concept of children, I completely disregarded the idea. I couldn't think of anything worse. I genuinely believed that I would never want children, until the chance was taken away from me. I was twenty one years old and Tessa had just been told that she couldn't have children. Until then, I couldn't have cared less about being a father, In fact.. I despised the idea. But when that bombshell was dropped on me, I felt my heart shatter. Something that I had never wanted had been taken away from me. My heart was never really complete until we was blessed with our baby girl. She filled the hole inside my heart that I didn't know I had. That day will come for you too. It's like an awakening" I wrap up my speech while placing a reassuring hand onto his shoulder. He Shakes his head in the most stubborn way, disapproving of everything I just said. I'm right though.
"Charlie" I say as I stand from my seat. "Thank you for not wanting to knock up my daughter" I smile and he smiles back at me, trying to stifle a laugh. I walk away, taking several glances back over to where he is seated. He continues to place his head into his hands and I smirk, as I recall what it was like not being able to handle my booze.
I make my way over to Tessa, for it has been hours since we spoke. I pick up Landon's mistletoe from the counter on the way, with a corny joke in mind. But when I reach my beautiful wife, the only thing that I want to do with it is hang it over our heads and kiss the life out of her. We indulge in a magical moment as that bublè bastard sings "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" through a speaker. "Merry Christmas, baby" I tell her. She pulls away from our kiss but wraps her arms around my waist, snuggling into my chest. "Merry Christmas" she repeats with her eyes closed and the biggest smile on her face.
A/N / Thoughts? Don't forget to comment on your favourite parts my loves. Thank you for your views and your votes and most importantly, your patience. How was your day? It's ridiculously hot here in the UK🥵
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