Rya's POV;
It's the day before Christmas, and Luke still hasn't been able to get home yet. I didn't think I'd be as upset as I am, yet here we are. No dad, no Luke.
I've been trying not to think about my father. I still don't know why he just up and left. He was so caring, he loved us all to the moon and back and then some. It doesn't make sense for him to just suddenly grow tired of us and pack up his things and flee. Fathers aren't supposed to do that. They're supposed to stay and protect their families.
"Rya, come help clean up," Jack calls, breaking me out of my thoughts. My eyes have been glued to the window, praying that Luke would somehow just appear. But not even Christmas miracles are in our favor this year, I suppose. I let out a quiet sigh and follow Jack into the living room, where mum is tidying up. I go into the kitchen and empty and reload the dishwasher and clean the counters and table. Once we're finished, we all sit on the couch together and talk. Well, Ben and Jack are bubbling about Ben's proposal tomorrow, I'm only half listening.
"Cheer up my love, I don't want my little girl to be sad on Christmas," she says softly, pulling me into a hug. I give her a small smile and scoot closer to her, listening in more efficiently as Jack and Ben discuss Ben and Gracie's future.
"Are you going to buy a house?" Jack questions, sipping his beer.
"Eventually. We're perfectly happy where we are now, so not just yet. When the time is right, I'm sure we'll get a house," Ben replies.
This makes me grin. "Meaning, when you have kids," I butt in, causing Ben to blush.
"Oh, I'd love to have some grandkids," mum gushes, making Ben blush even more.
"Yes, eventually, I can see us with kids," he says with a shy smile.
"How many?" I ask eagerly.
Ben shrugs. "However many come out of the process," he says as he leans back.
I scrunch my nose up and gag. "Ew! I don't need that image in my head!" I shriek, grabbing a pillow and whipping it at my oldest brother.
"Hey! you're the one who asked!" He shouts, throwing the pillow back. I duck out of the way and it hits mum's side, causing Jack and I to laugh.
"No pillow fights, please," she chuckles.
"Yeah, are we five?" I counter to Ben.
"You started it!" He argues back while laughing. "You're the one who's five!"
I sit back smugly and fold my arms over my chest. "Times two plus one," I fire back, making Ben roll his eyes.
"Congratulations, having a mum as a math teacher has served you well," he replies sarcastically.
"At least I'm passing math," I fire back.
Jack widens his eyes and whispers "oohhhhh," while I giggle.
"One time," he huffs, trying not to laugh. "I failed one semester in middle school one time!"
"Alright, it's time for Rya to go to bed," mum says, putting an end to our fake argument. I whine and pout in protest as mum gets up and ushers me down the hall and up the stairs.
"Mum, it's only midnight," I whine, even though my eyes are already starting to droop. "I wanna stay up later," I plead.
"Santa won't come if you stay awake," she coaxes.
I roll my eyes and give her a blank look. "I'm eleven, I know Santa isn't real," I deadpan.
Mum sighs and continues to shoo me up to my room. "You're going to bed anyway, because I say so. Now get some sleep and don't wake me tomorrow morning until eight o'clock or after."
I pout one last time as I reach my bedroom and sigh. "Okay. Goodnight, I love you."
Mum smiles and rests her hands on my shoulders. "I love you too, darling. Merry Christmas," she whispers, kissing my forehead.
"Merry Christmas," I whisper back as I climb into bed. It would be even merrier if Luke were here.
—
I roll over in bed and am met with bright sunlight streaming into my room when I open my eyes. I look over at my alarm clock and the time reads exactly nine, so I throw my covers back and skip into mum's room.
"Wake up! It's Christmas!" I shout, jumping onto her bed and landing on my knees as I shake her. She rolls over and rubs her eyes with a smile, pushing her hair out of her face and sitting up to stretch.
"Good morning," she mumbles sleepily as she slides out of bed. I grab her hand and pull her downstairs, where Ben and Jack are already sitting at the counter sipping their coffee.
"There they are! Merry Christmas!" They cheer as I skip into the kitchen. They both hug me and ruffle my hair, making me pout. You'd think I'd be used to that by now, but I'm not.
"Alright, shall we have some breakfast?" Mum questions as she stands in front of the oven. I feel a slight weight on my shoulder as I realize that one, actually two, but I'm not going to think about that, members of our family are missing.
I nod my head and request a pancake. We never have breakfast before we open presents, mum is only trying to buy time in hopes that Luke will get here soon. I'm praying he does, too. Him not being here just wouldn't be the same.
"Is Gracie coming over today?" I ask in between bites of my pancake. Ben blushes and nods, trying and failing to hide the huge smile that spreads across his face.
"I can't wait to see her reaction," I say excitedly, grinning widely. Jack pats Ben on the back and he just continues to smile.
Gracie comes over at eleven, and there's still no sign of Luke. We haven't even been able to contact him. I'm trying not to dream up a thousand different scenarios that could have happened to the boys.
"Hi Gracie!" I chirp, running over and giving her a hug. "Merry Christmas."
Grace grins and hugs me back tightly. "Aw merry Christmas to you too Rya!" She cheers. Gracie is very pretty, she's about medium height with brown hair and hazel eyes. She's wearing simple jeans and a red sweater today with comfy boots and her long brown hair is in a messy bun. I've secretly always wanted to be as pretty as she is.
"Alright," mum sighs, clapping her hands meekly, "I guess we should get started."
We all nod and silently walk over to the tree. I can tell everyone knows it's not the same without Luke here. Stupid American snow.
"Rya, how about you open the first present," mum says, sitting on the couch. I nod and search for one with my name on it. Just as I'm about to rip the paper off, an all too familiar voice sounds behind us.
"You're going to start without me?"
I turn around and see a very tired and flustered looking Luke standing at the edge of the living room. He's wearing the usual black ripped skinnies and a wrinkled band tee, but his hair is extremely messy and un-orderly.
"Luke!" I shriek, jumping to my feet and tackling him in a hug. He catches me as I wrap myself around him like a koala and squeeze the life out of him. Everyone else, even Gracie, joins in on the huge group hug and we all gush about how much we missed him.
"Come on, let's open presents!" Luke exclaims once he's finally free from our grasp. I rush over to the tree and find my present to him, shoving it in his face excitedly.
"This is from me," I say eagerly, grinning as he opens it. Mum has her camera ready and snaps pictures of us.
"Holy . . ." Luke trails off as he pulls the guitar pick necklace out of the box and stares at me.
"Ta da," I say, waving my hands in the air.
"Oh my god, thank you!" Luke exclaims, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.
"Here, open mine," Luke says shyly. I grab the box and rip the wrapping paper off, revealing a shiny silver picture frame with a picture of Luke, Jack, Ben, mum and I inside. On the bottom of the frame reads, "Family is Forever."
"It's beautiful," I breathe, tracing over the letters etched onto the frame. Everyone gushes over how gorgeous it is and I set it on the table for now, staring at it every once in a while.
"Okay," Ben clears his throat, clapping his hands together once all the presents have been opened. "Gracie, I have one more present for you," he announces. Gracie smiles and Luke looks over at Jack and I as we silently squeal. Luke looks lost; I forgot he doesn't know what Ben is about to do.
"Gracie, we've known each other pretty much our entire lives, so you should know I'm not a very sappy guy. However, when it comes to you, I'll do anything, including be sappy like I am right now." Gracie giggles as Ben continues.
"So, I think it's pretty obvious how much we love each other, considering you've known me for so long and you haven't ran away screaming yet."
He gets down on one knee and pulls the satin box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal the most beautiful ring. Gracie's hands fly to her mouth and she gasps.
"Gracelynn Katerina Garrett, will you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife?"
Gracie stands frozen, her hands still over her mouth and her eyes starting to water. "Say yes," I whisper with a giggle, and Gracie slowly nods.
"Yes," she whispers, extending her hand. Ben slides the ring onto her ring finger and pulls her in for a deep and passionate kiss.
Luke pulls me into his lap and covers my eyes, making me laugh. "I missed you," he says. I wiggle away from him and giggle. "I missed you too," I say, glancing at the picture frame on the table.
Luke has been the key through it all. Just like his song says, he's the safety pin holding my broken pieces together.
I don't know what I'd do without him. Without Luke, I don't think I'd have been able to get through the summer. He was there when everything fell apart. When mum and dad split, when I almost died, when Willow did die. It certainly wasn't easy, but having him there made it bearable, at least. It's been one heck of a wild ride.
I smile as I look at the picture frame that holds a picture of mum, Luke, Ben, Jack and I at my 11th birthday party. Written on the bottom it says, 'Family is Forever.'
And I couldn't agree more.
A/N - THE END!! ITS OVER! OH MY FRICKEN GOODNESS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I seriously loved writing this book more than words can say, and I hope you enjoyed this wild journey! I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO MUCH!
Xoxo - Em 😍💙