Chapter 16 (Christmas day)
Grace's POV:
Christmas day. The only time where I was remotely in a good mood. Well, other than the fact that I got woken up at like 4 am in the morning because my demon siblings wanted me to go with them and open presents. I decided not to be a misery guts since even I was pretty excited to see what I got under the Christmas tree. As I descended the stairs, I saw my mum and dad already in the living room since the door was wide open. I ran down quicker and tackled both of them in a hug.
"Merry Christmas mum, dad." I gave them a squeeze which they returned. I was finally released once Jess and Paul clambered down the stairs and my parents rushed up to them. This was going to be an amazing Christmas.
"You kids go ahead and open your presents. I have to go check on our plans for later." My dad said before grabbing his coat and leaving the house. I looked up at mum inquiringly.
"Do you know about this?" I squinted my eyes at her. She raised her hands up in surrender.
"I can't tell you. You might kill us for what we have planned." Ah, shit. I was now afraid about what they had planned. I don't think it's something horrible per say but it would be pretty bad for me personally. It could be something like petting those evil eight legged creatures everyone called spiders but I called beasts from the darkest depths of hell. They came from the same place my siblings did.
"Hey, Grace?" My head shot up at my brother's call. He was holding a rather large wrapped box.
"Think fast." Paul threw it at me and I barely had enough time to react before I dived for it, catching it in my outstretched arms.
"You're out!" He yelled before bursting out in laughter along with Jess and my mother. Apparently, I couldn't catch a break around here. I brushes myself off before picking myself off the floor. A small sting emanated from my elbow. Just my luck, of course I'd get carpet burn on Christmas. My muttered a few curses and sat crossed legged on the floor I was lying on just seconds ago.
"Who's this from?" I asked. My mum gave me a small smile.
"You're father and I. It's just a little something to take to America. Go ahead, open it." She nodded her head in the direction of the present. Cautiously, I started peeling away the paper trying not to rip it. It revealed an opaque blue box and as I took off the lid, a gasp escaped my mouth. Lying inside it was a Nikon camera, a photo album and about $500 worth of cash.
"Mum... This wasn't necessary." I tried pushing back my tears of joy. Mum also looked like she was on the edge of bursting out crying.
"We know, but we wanted to. It just made me realize how grown up you're actually becoming." The droplets were now free falling down her face. I engulfed her in another hug.
"I love you mum. I know I don't say it often but I hope you know that I'll always love you." That was probably the deepest thing I had said in years. All my friends knew I didn't to affection (hugging, holding hands and those x's people put at the end of their messages) but my family or more specifically, my parents were an exception. Other than that, I was a heartless bitch.
"Honey, everything's set for dinner..." My father said before trailing off after noticing all of us still in the living room. His eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights. Not that you'd find any wild deer in these parts of England.
"I've said too much." And then walked out followed by mum. The rest of the day went by with my siblings and I opening the remainder of our present. In the boxes addressed to me, I received new art supplies, jewellery and more spending money for California. My Christmas was going pretty good so far, I was only dreading whatever “dinner” was going to be.
For lunch, we all ended up going down to the park that had a few people here and there scattered about. I guess that it was because of the holiday that not many people were prepared to go outside. They were all having some quality family bonding the comfort of their homes. In my personal opinion, comfort was overrated. I preferred to be on edge, waiting for a surprise or in this case upholding the family tradition of going to the park and having a game of footy. Dad called over the entire family; my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles- everyone. Let’s say that even after years of following through our tradition, it didn’t make any of the quarrelling lessen. I’m pretty sure all the people in the neighbouring vicinity were able to hear our petty squabbles. They ranged from my teenage male cousins complaining about having the Youngers on their teams, their mothers scolding them for their immaturity, the yelling of the younger ones about who was going to have the last sandwich in the enormous picnic hamper and the loudest and most prominent sound of all; my grandfather blowing his referee whistle. Honestly, the sound was deafening. Everyone winced and clutched their ears in pain.
“Good, now that I have your attention. Since all of you are being babies, all the kids under 10 can go “hang”, did I say that correctly? Whatever, and no-one gets the last sandwich because it’s MINE!” At first I winced at the idea of my grandfather try to be “cool” but then it turned into a grimace after I was forced to witness him eating the stupid sandwich with his mouth wide open. It was a disgusting sight to behold. I don’t think people could get away fast enough. All the kids scattered to the playground, their mothers in tow. Also, a few of my female cousins left to meet their boyfriends. It was sad honestly, the fact that they had boyfriends before me and I was the one with the non-suckish personality. Oh, well. Now that I know I’m gonna die alone at least I can plan my cats names in advance. In the end, only about 13 of my cousins remained and a few of my uncle's alongside my dad and Paul. Altogether, there was 22 of them, enough for two teams. I just sat and watched from the side lines while typing away at my phone. It was times like this that I really hated the holidays. At least in school you'd always be occupied. I scrolled through my Instagram feed only to find people putting up pictures of their presents and their family. So, it was pretty much only me who was having a suckish time.
"Yo, Grace! Hand me a water bottle." Lee yelled. I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look at the cooler next to me that held all the bottles.
"Hmm, let me think about it... No, get it yourself." I scoffed at him. The game was called half time and all the guys were taking a break.
"C'mon just throw me a bottle. Or else I'll..." He trailed off with a devious smirk on his face. I stared him down, daring him to do his worst. That was very stupid of me since Lee never backed down from a challenge. He walked up to me and engulfed me in a hug. Usually there's nothing wrong with a hug. This one however, was awful since he was all sweaty and smelt terrible. It was a good thing I had dressed down in a hoodie and leggings.
"Ewww! You're gross! Get off me you enormous oaf!" I shoved him off and attempted to brush of the sweat. Lee merely chuckled darkly before picking up a bottle of water and walking to the other side of the field where the rest of his team were. I decide that i had gone through enough of this torture and went for a walk around the giant pond in the middle of the park. The cold air nipped at my legs through the thin material leggings that I donned on my lower body. That was a poor choice on my behalf. The area was eerily quiet. I missed the noise caused by regular visitors and the smell of the fish and chip shop. Just then, I abruptly halted. There was one thing standing in the path of me and my family. The one thing I loathed almost as much as spiders. A mother effin duck. It was one of those typical Mallards. Its ugly green head and clashing yellow beak quacked in my direction and I let out a yelp. It waddled its murky brown body closer to me and I retreated a couple steps back. If anyone else so me in my current state, I'd be the laughing stock of all of London. I wonder if this is what it was like for Will Herondale. I didn't have much to ponder over the idea because the troublesome bird charged at me and I ran as far as my legs could carry me. So basically around the pond twice while all my family laughed at me. I swear i saw Lee pull out his phone and record the whole situation. I was panting for breath after the chase ended because the Mallard had found a scrap of bread on the opposite side of the pond to where I was standing. I lightly jogged over to Lee who shoved his phone back in his pocket in haste and snickered at me.
"Ya ya, that's right. Laugh at my pain. But remember, it will come back to bite you in the ass." I threatened while pointing my finger at him, a scowl etched on my face. He held up his hands in surrender.
"Your fear for ducks is completely irrational. It's positively comical for the rest of us." I shot another glare at him before storming to my mother who had been spectating the entire time. I pouted at her and she engulfed me in a hug.
"Oh, it's OK baby. We'll find you some help." She patted my head while her other arm was wrapped around my back. I sighed. No-one understood. I could NEVER trust a duck. EVER.
By the time dinner time had rolled around, my parents had ordered to go wear a Christmassy outfit. I had no idea why but I wasn't going to complain about getting out of the sweat soaked hoodie and clingy leggings. I showered first for about 10 minutes before getting dressed into my freshly laid clothes. Then I sat at my vanity, applying small amounts of waterproof eyeliner, mascara, blush and my favourite watermelon flavoured lip gloss. The only reason I went the full 9 yards was because I didn't want to look under dressed for whatever wacky situation my father was going to throw me into. After taking a deep sigh, I pulled out a pair of black heels from the pull out draw under my bed that carried all my shoes. It was very handy for storage since I had a limitless amount of footwear and I just seemed to buy more. It was near the door that I actually bothered to put them on my feet and not just carry them around in my hands. i noticed my dad come out of the living room wearing his suit and a red coloured tie that i assumed matched my mother's dress. Everyone seemed to be dressed in their best clothing and that made me slightly suspicious. I hope we weren't going to a posh restaurant because honestly, i wouldn't fit in. I'm one of the most unladylike people in those situations. My table manners flew out the window and I panicked every time the waiter would ask for my order. I sighed at the reminder of when my pitiful self tried to ask for a glass of water and came out being stuttered as "ass for slaughter". Let's just say I got quite a few weirded out looks and judgmental frowns from London's finest diners. I scoffed mentally at the memory. By the time I was done recalling that moment, the rest of my family had come downstairs looking the same way I did- sophisticated. Even Jess who'd rather die than be caught in a dress. It was a little blue number that came up to her knees and made her look elfin. As we left out the front door. I noticed my mother slip out a long strip of black cloth from her purse. If that wasn't suspicious, I didn't know what was. As we were about to enter the car, my mother pulled me aside and ordered me to turn around before my eyesight darkened.
"Mother! Is all this honestly necessary?! It's not like we're going for dinner with the queen!" I exasperated. The material made me feel awkward and whenever I blinked, my eyelashes would hit against the blindfold irritating me to no end. I heard a sigh come from my mother before she guided me into the car and then making her way to the front passenger seat. I felt myself lurch forward as the car set off. I could hear Jess and Paul nattering between themselves and managed to pick up words like "Pretty lights" and "No point". This sparked an intrigue in me.
"Mum, are Jess and Paul not blindfolded?" I heard shuffling coming from the seat in front of me that my mother occupied. The car screeched to a halt after what seemed like a two minute ride. What the hell was going on? I heard the slamming of doors and suddenly someone tugging on my arm. I was dragged out the back seat and walked somewhere until we all came to a halt.
"can I take the blindfold off now?" I whined. I heard a deep sigh leave the person next to me; I'm pretty sure that it was my father.
"Not yet, as soon as we get inside just so I can lock the door to make sure you don't escape as soon as I give your vision back." OK, that was it. Something was up and was debating between calling the police and running for the hills. I heard someone another person open the door but no words were exchanged- probably so I wouldn't figure out where we were. I was led through the door and heard the clicking of the lock behind me. I gulped audibly and started to whimper. Crap, I've been brought here to be killed or worse... Forced to make kidnapper babies. A warm slightly calloused hand held my own and directed me forward to another room. The walk itself wasn't a straight forward journey. It was quite a few twists and turns probably to avoid us bumping into the furniture. They stopped causing me to bump into their back. Shit, it was now or never. Whoever it was, released my hand and raised it towards my face.I involuntarily shivered as the hand brushed some stray hair out of my face. My eyes squeezed shut as the blindfold loosened from around my head. I wasn't actually afraid of who was standing in front of me but more about what my eye makeup looked like.
"Grace, you can open your eyes. I'm not eat you." Shit, he knew my name! But then again, most kidnappers knew there hostages names. Once my senses kicked back into gear, I had a wonderful light bulb moment. The voice was oddly familiar and my gut was telling me that I was over thinking the whole damn situation. I slowly opened my eyes and was stared down by a pair of green eyes. Hesitantly, I took a step back only to bump into the chest of someone else. I knew it! That chest felt familiar; I mean I'd cuddled up to it enough times during movie to know what it feels like. I took a deep sigh and turned to face the first culprit.
"Caleb Sinclair! How dare you kidnap me?!" I kicked him in the shin and crossed my arms as he yelped and clutched it in pain. He was wearing a black Tux along with a red tie. I wasn't going to lie, he looked absolutely dashing. I spun around so I was facing the other Sinclair sibling. Jared had moved considerable far away from me just in case he received the same fate as Caleb. Smart move on his behalf. I gave him a glare that he returned with a sheepish smile.
"C'mon Gracie, it's not our fault. Your parents brought you here with the blindfold since they thought that you'd run away. I'm sorry." I narrowed my eyes at him. Too right I'd have run away, a whole dinner with those two would drive me round the bend. Jared outstretched his arms inviting me to hug him. I pouted at him and shook my head no. He wasn't getting away with this deception. Caleb, who had recovered from his kick, was getting up off the floor.
"Gosh woman, where'd you learn to kick like that? Whatever, lets go to dinner, mum's waiting." He stalked off into the adjoining dining room. Jared offered me his arm like they would in those 17th century books that I had read and escorted me, following his younger brother's footsteps. The whole table was set up beautifully and included place card and everything. Honestly, the Sinclair went the whole nine yards for a dinner that would last and hour and a half at most. Conveniently, I was sat with Jared and Caleb either side of me (sarcasm). Dinner was gonna be so much now... I lie, somebody kill me now.
It started out uneventful. The starters came and everyone civilly ate them without any arguments. Even Paul and Jess were suspiciously quiet. Our parents were conversing between themselves in hushed tones that made me feel even more awkward. It was only when the turkey was brought out along with the mince pies and other side dishes that everyone suddenly perked up and entered the festive mood. Caleb's mother was a brilliant cook, even better than my own but I'd never say that to her. I actually value my life. I think I was having an off day, my part of turkey was just refusing to be cut into little pieces and the gravy covering it wasn't helping either. As I glared holes into it, I felt a small tap on my arm. I looked up and met Jared's eyes. His mesmerizing green orbs were shining with excitement.
"Need some help there?" His cool breath caressed my ear and neck making me shudder in pleasure. I nodded meekly which only caused him to laugh melodiously. Jared picked up his knife and began cutting at the turkey. From my right side, I heard Caleb scoff. Seriously?! Even on Christmas he was going to act like a PMSing pre-teen? Gosh, an I though I was bad. I thanked him after he was done and began tucking in. My plate was starting to look rather empty so I looked across the table to see the plate with roast potatoes empty. I heard a sigh and then something was placed on my plate. When I looked down, there was a roast potato on it. I turned my head slightly so I could see Caleb.
"What? Don't give me that look. You were staring at the empty platter like a child who just watched their mother take away their favourite toy. I gave it to you out of pity." A small smile appeared on my face. Ever the humble idiot. I gave him a small peck on the cheek and he stiffened.
"Thank you." I said simply before eating the single potato. I savoured the taste of it. It was shortly lived since Jared and Caleb decided to start World War 3 while I was sitting in between them. FML. The two of them began hurling insults back and forth causing me to cower down in my seat. As if sensing my discomfort, their mother silenced them.
"Enough! You two will both shut up before all the other neighbours complain about how loud you're being. And no dessert for the pair of you." She snapped. They both bowed their heads and muttered their apologies. I couldn't help but smirk at their submissive stances. I guess no matter how old you get you'll always be afraid of your mother.The rest of dinner was uneventful more to the chagrin of Jess and Paul. They were dying of boredom. After dinner was over, we all headed for the garden with our plates of dessert in hand. Apparently, the parents had a surprise planned for all of us. I sat on the deck and watched as my father fiddled with something that was obscured by his back. The piece of chocolate fudge cake that I had on my lap remained completely uneaten. To be fair, it was my second slice so that much was granted. I felt a presence sit down next to me.
"Hey." I smiled wistfully at his simple greeting. Jared looked refreshed. He was still dressed in his suit but his green tie hung loosely from his neck. I looked down at the cake and then stuck it out towards him.
"I'm only giving this to you because I feel guilty that your mum yelled at you. It doesn't mean I've gone soft." I said with an 'as a matter of fact' tone. Jared merely smirked and accepted the plate. The cool outside breeze brushed against the nape of my neck. All I could hear was the soft sound of him eating and my father's quiet grumblings. I sighed and laid my head down on his shoulder. The calm environment was making me sleepy. From behind where we were sitting, I heard the French doors open. Turning my head slightly, I looked at the person joining us. Caleb. Unlike his brother, he had changed out of his suit and was now wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I patted the empty spot beside me on the step for him to sit down. He complied and stared straight ahead at whatever it was my dad was doing. Just like that, I fell into an awkward silence again. These boys were ridiculous. Whatever was going on between them needed to be resolved right now or I was probably going to suffocate to death because of the tension.
"Ok, THAT'S IT! I can't take this anymore. Will both of you just apologize to each other before I pitch myself off the edge of a cliff because you can't act civilized towards each other?" I threw my hands in the air to get across my anger. Caleb rolled his eyes but did as I said.
"I'm sorry for acting like a dick. You just annoy me so much I feel like strangling you." I raised an eyebrow at him. Well, it was as close to an apology as I was going to get. I then whirled around to face Jared.
"I'm sorry too." When I gave him a glare for his curt reparation, he just shrugged it off and resumed eating his cake. At least the stiffness had disappeared and was replaced by a comfortable silence. However, everyone soon decided to join us on the deck to spectate whatever dad was up to. He took a step back to admire his handiwork. On a plinth, was a rocket launcher. And I mean the firework type of rocket not the actual rocket that NASA send into space. We all counted down from 3 and when the first one was set off, we all applauded before sitting back and enjoying the rest of them. My head remained on Jared's shoulder but at some point throughout the entire night, my hand seemed to have become entwined with Caleb's. Feeling sleep overcome me, I whispered to the both of them;
"I love you guys." Then my eyes closed.
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Alison's POV:
Christmas day was probably the most tiring day of my entire life and I was glad it only came once a year. There was only so many yells of happiness and excitement I could take before wanting to shoot myself between the eyes. Especially when they came from my stuck up cousins who felt the need to share what presents they got with the whole world and post pictures on instagram. It was honestly disgusting. It was tradition for us to all gather at my Grandparents house the night before and sleepover. There were definitely enough rooms for the whole family considering the lived in a house with about 9 rooms (what could I say, they live in the mega rich part of London.) It wasn't that I didn't love my family- because I did unconditionally. The thing was my parents kinda forgot I was teenager who liked having my own space and time alone. They bought me the whole collection of Disney movies for my last birthday for crying out loud! Actually, that present I enjoyed; no matter how old I'd get, Disney would always have my back no matter how pretentious and unrealistic the stories actually were. The journey to my grandparents house was about half an hour including traffic. My siblings were a pain in the ass as usual and I plugged in my earphones for most of the ride. Another thing that was completely weird about me, I didn't have a specific taste in music. My play list varied from R&B to boy bands and Rap to Indie. It was all over the place. In my opinion if a singer was good, they deserved a place on my phone. I only managed to get 11 songs in before my dad pulled into the driveway. Ugh, time to be social I guess. I grabbed my duffle bag that carried my pajamas and my outfit for tomorrow along with my wash and makeup bags. I slung it over my shoulder and walked toward the door where my grandmother greeted us all with a kiss on the cheek apart from my father whom she just gave a hug to. These were my mum's parents and according to her; my grandparents seem to dislike my father. Something about him not being good enough for mum and how she could do so much better. I kinda zoned out when she was explaining it all to me, my brother and sister. As soon as I took my first step into the house, I instantly regretted it. My cousins were everywhere... And I mean everywhere. The younger children were running about the house with tinsel hanging from their necks chasing each other. The older ones were supposed to be supervising as the pre-teens decorated the tree but they were all typing away on their phones to even notice the tree itself was leaning to one side because of the sheer weight of all the baubles being on one side. I quickly ran to the enormous living room, dropped my bag and steadied the tree not before shooting a glare at everyone. God, they were all so useless. I managed to get all the baubles off and after chasing away all my relatives, I placed them on the tree in a chaotic organized way. Then I wrapped some tinsel around it and places the star on the top. I stepped back and admired my handy work and then the clock on the wall. The hands showed 7:30 signalling dinner time. In the time that I had decorated the tree, my parents had ordered pizza along with chips. Since no-one felt like cooking, we ordered takeaway. We all milled into the dining room that was big enough to seat 60 people. Normally, I would have had to battle it out with my cousins to even get one slice of pizza but because everyone was so exhausted all I had to do was wait for the maid to reach me with an open box. I plucked out two slices of Margarita and grabbed a handful of chips to put on the side. A butler came round and poured some coke into my glass. Then we all tucked in. I didn't care if I was eating like a pig- I was famished and there was a plate of food in front of me. You do the equation. After I had finished scoffing my food down, I offered to help tidy up the table but after a glare from my Grandmother, I was forced to go upstairs and "do whatever youngsters did for fun these days" as she so eloquently put it. I felt really awkward walking across the room and past all my cousins since they were all staring daggers into my head after the parents forced the to help clean up and do the washing. Shame on you idiots! I walked upstairs to the allocated room I was going to be sharing with my sister and a pair of my twin cousins who I didn't hate as much as the others. From my duffle, I pulled out my wash bag and walked into the en-suite bathroom. Pulling out my toothbrush, I applied toothpaste on it and began moving it back and forward in my mouth and then up and down until all my teeth were squeaky clean. I spat out the toothpaste and rinsed out my moth before cleaning my face with my night time face wash. I stared at my reflection for a moment before pulling a funny face and skipping out with my bag in hand. Walking to the mirror, I pulled my hair into a messy bun before changing into my pajamas. I folded my clothes neatly before putting them in my duffle and pulling out my copy of How To Kill A Mockingbird. It was my all time favourite novel. At some point I must've nodded off because my last thought were about the injustice inflicted in the book.
On Christmas day, I woke up when I heard a shrill shriek come from downstairs. Hastily, I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs wearing just a vest top and the matching pajama bottoms. Under normal circumstances, I would have been yelled at for my indecency but since everyone else seemed to be in the same state as me, it wasn't brought up. All the parents were groggy-eyed but the kids looked like they were drugged up on caffeine. I was surprised that they weren't bouncing off the walls yet. I looked near the tree and almost fell down the stairs because I was so shocked at what I saw. At the foot of the Christmas tree, was one of the twins. That wasn't was surprised me though. It was the fact that a small, blue eyed husky with pure white fur was running circles around her. I released a sigh of relief and clambered down the rest of the stairs. As I reached the tree, the dog began sniffing at my feet and suddenly jumped at me. I squealed in shock and fell on my backside. Its tongue began licking my face and I giggled hysterically. "No! Stop, that tickles!" I grabbed the tiny puppy and carefully removed it off my face. Everyone was now standing in the living room watching my debacle. They all had smiles on their faces so I knew I didn't do anything wrong. The puppy itself was wagging its tail happily in my arms despite the uncomfortable looking bow on the top of its head. My Grandma spoke up; "The puppy is for all of you kids. I'm really proud of all of you behaving this year and this is my way of saying thank you. Now before you say anything about who gets to keep him, let me tell you this. The puppy will stay right here in this house so none of you argue." After her stern warning, all the people in the room attacked the presents that were labelled for them. I was glad that I wasn't the one who had to tidy up all the wrapping paper because there was a lot of it. I didn't receive anything that significant: a pair of straighteners, some art supplies, spending money for California and some jewellery. All that time, our new puppy had laid down on the floor with this head on its front paws staring at all of us inquisitively. He needed a name. I mean, we couldn't keep calling him it or puppy. I looked into his blue eyes and it suddenly hit me. "Oh my God, I have the perfect name for the dog. We should call him Cobalt because of his eyes." I said gleefully. Cobalt barked twice as if to say he liked the name before licking my face. I gave a small smile before stroking his head lovingly. After all the gifts were exchanged, Grandma ordered us all to go upstairs and get changed for breakfast. As I trailed up the stairs, Cobalt followed after me playfully nipping at my heels. I had asked Grandma whether he was house trained and you wouldn't believe the relief in my voice when she said he was. I didn't plan on scooping up his poop if he had an accident in he house since nobody else would. Carefully, I pull Cobalt on the bed and told him to stay while I took my clothes out my duffle. My outfit consisted of a thick black and white cardigan and a white blouse with lace at the hem paired with my dark blue jeans and brown boots. I accessorized with a gold necklace I spun around in front of Cobalt. "How do I look?" The dog barked once in approval. I smiled and ruffled the top of his head. I then proceeded to do my hair leaving it in its usual waves. Since I was going to brush my teeth after breakfast, I decided it would be best if I left my makeup for later. I picked up Cobalt in my arms and carried him downstairs like a baby. A few of the adults like my parents and my grandparents were already at the table with a few of my aunts who were in the kitchen fixing up the food. I sat down at the table after I placed our puppy in his basket with a bone chew toy. I needed to buy him a collar. A plated of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream was placed in front of me by my mum. I gave her a grateful smile before tucking in using my knife and fork. The waffles were so fluffy that they just melted away in my mouth and the strawberries added to the sweetness. It was like heaven in my mouth. Just then, my phone began vibrating in my boot. My food was finished anyway, so I just excused myself from the table. It was still ringing once I got to the basement which was converted into a home cinema/games room. It was empty and I closed the door behind me so no-one else could enter. Pulling out the phone, I looked at the screen. It showed an unknown number but my curiosity eventually won out. I pressed the accept button. "Hello?" My voice slightly wavered show casing my nervousness to whoever was on the other side of the line. "Hey, is this Alison?" Fudge! How the hell did he get my number. Not that I was complaining, I loved hearing his voice. "Um yeah, how are you Austin?" I sounded really awkward and uncomfortable. Who wouldn't be in that situation. "I'm good. I actually have something to ask you. Are you free right now? Like your not busy with your family or anything?" Crap, was he asking me out? Going on a date with him would awesome but... Yeah. "No, I'm not doing anything. Did you have something in mind?" I sat down on one of the cinema seats and stretched out my legs. I could make plans since my family wouldn't really care if I left as long as I was back in time for dinner. In the background, I could here him shuffling about wherever he was and then a thump followed by numerous cuss words. A small smile appeared on my face. "Sorry about that. How about I pick you up and then I'll explain on the way?" Oh yeah, I forgot he was a college student who could drive. I gave him my grandparents address and he said that he'd be here in about 15 minutes and then cut the call. I sighed in relief again before slumping in my chair. Then I shot up on to my feet in a hurry. fudge, he was going to be here in 15 minutes and I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet. I ran to the door and pulled it open then ran up the stairs to get my face ready. My wash bag was already on my bed so I picked it up and hurried to the bathroom. Once again I did my ritual of brushing my teeth up and down and then left to right. After rinsing my mouth, I ran back to my room for my makeup bag and stood at the vanity. First, I pulled out my eyeliner and carefully outlined my aqua eyes and followed it by applying concealer instead of foundation because my face actually looked quite clear. The to top it off, I used some passion fruit flavoured lip balm. The whole reason I didn't put on any mascara was because my eyelashes were naturally quite long. Now to tell the parentals. Damn, I was going to need a lot of good luck. I tried putting up a fake smile so I could charm my way through it. It sort of worked. By sort of I mean that the smile I put on my face was more of a grimace than anything else. Once I approached the dining table, everyone still seemed to be eating breakfast. "Mum, dad, can I go out with a friend? I promise I'll be back in time for dinner." I put on my puppy face. Cobalt who had gotten out of his basket and was not sitting at my feet joined me. Honestly, there was too much cuteness emitting from that dog. "I don't know. It's Christmas, you should be here with your family." My father said. I pouted a little more hoping he would give in but apparently, I didn't need to. "Oh pish posh, it's not like we had anything planned apart from watching those trashy Christmas movies that they play every year. You go ahead sweetheart, just make sure you're back in time for dinner." My grandmother gave my father a glare. I gave her a peck on the cheek and jogged out the door. "Make sure to take a coat!" I heard my mother yell. I chuckled at her over protectiveness and took my snow white military designed coat of the rack. My phone buzzed, showing a text from Austin. It said that he was outside the the house. This was it. I looked myself over in the mirror that hung off the wall and then opened the front door before walking out. He had the car parked a few meters down the street since the pavement was full of cars since everyone was celebrating the festive season. His car was a red Audi and I noticed him checking himself in the rear view mirror. Austin looked like he was giving himself a pep talk and I coulnd't help but chuckle mentally. I slowly approached the car and since his windows were rolled down, I stuck my head in and he jumped violently. "Bloody hell! You scared the shit out of me. Crap, sorry. I'm gonna shut up now." he had a faint tint of red on his cheeks that made him look adorable. I laughed and promised that I wouldn't make fun of him anymore then got into his car. As cheesy as it sounds, the car smelt like him, well his cologne anyway. The smell was so enticing, I hadn't even realized Austin had started the car. I attempted to make conversation. "So, where are we going?" I asked while we were at a red light. Austin's hand stretched out to turn down the stereo. "I have this tradition that I've been doing for quite some time. I like going to this orphanage and giving them a Christmas they deserve. They shouldn't feel left out just because they don't have a family. Every year I got, I have cookies and other treats that I've baked with help from my mum. I go and play with them and stuff like that." Just like that, I fell in love with him. Austin was such a sweetheart. Hanging out with unfortunate kids on Christmas day was such an admirable thing to do. He was the nicest guy I've ever met. I gave him a smile that caused him to blush and clear his through before he drove off when the light changed to green. The ride itself was about 15 minutes from my Grandparents house but it probably took him longer from his place. The car slowly pulled up in front of a large welcoming building. At least the kids had a nice warm environment to live in. The walls were a a bright yellow that would've usually made me cringe, filled me with cordiality. Austin rushed out of the car door so he could open the passenger side for me. He outstretched his hand and pulled me out gently. My hand was in his as we walked to the front door. He stepped up and rang the doorbell. We were only standing for a few seconds before the door swung open revealing a girl who wasn't that much younger than I was. She was probably one of the residents. "Austin! We've been waiting for you since forever. Hurry up!" She ran off ahead of us and expected us to follow. I raised an eyebrow and directed it to the boy standing next to me. Austin merely shrugged before leading me through the hallway and into the room that the girl had entered just moments before we did. All the residents had gathered here and were opening the little presents that they had. The scene made me grateful for having a loving family who could provide for me, giving into all my little whims. "Guys, look who I brought with me." The girl spoke to her house mates. They all turned their heads synchronously towards the door where me and Austin were standing. All their eyes widened in recognition. "Austin!" They all abruptly jumped out of their seats and rushed towards us... Or more specifically the brown eyed guy standing next to me. In the blur of the moment, I hadn't realized that I'd been roughly shoved aside, my elbow and forehead painfully coming in contact with the wall. I held in my scream and instead put my fist in my mouth, whimpering in agony. I slipped out the door and into the hallway when I was positive that no-one was paying attention to me. Once the door was firmly shut behind me, I finally released my scream of pain. "Arrggghh! Fudge fudge fudge fudge! Eso duele como una perra! Why does this always happen to me? Why, why why?! Ow! My elbow, my head, my foot!" As i was yelling about it always happening to me, I might have gotten a little carried away and began kicking the wall with my foot causing a sharp pain to shoot up it. So in the space of two minutes, I had managed to hurt three of my body parts. what made this situation worse was the fact that while I was having my little melt down, Austin decided it would be a good time to look for me and he was currently standing by the door along with all the people that had been surrounding him just minutes before, their jaws slacked in surprise and/or shock. I blushed under their scrutinizing gaze. I gulped. "Um, hi. I was just, uh..." I was cut off by the same girl who opened the front door when we first arrived. I really needed to learn her name. "We all saw what you were doing. Do you want some ice for your foot? I'm ppretty sure it started to swell from that second kick." She said smugly. I lowered my head in embarrassment and simply stared at my boots. I heard snickers emit from the crowd. "Guys, shut up. Cut her some slack. Alison, let's go get you some ice." Austin said, acknowledging me for the first time since we'd got here. he took my hand and gently dragged me through the home to what I assumed was the kitchen. It was a large spacious area and was currently only inhabited by a middle aged lady who was busking around trying to prepare for lunch. "Ava, you shouldn't be working so hard at your age." She turned around and her eyes lit up at the sight of Austin. That seemed to be a trend in this place. Sighing, I sat down on a stool that was at the counter since my foot was starting to hurt. Ava engulfed him a tight hug and chatted to him for a few moments until here gaze drifted to me. I suddenly sat up a bit straighter so I didn't look like a slob. Austin pulled away and followed Ava's eyes to see what she was looking at. When he realized it was me, he perked up. "Ava, this is Alison. I brought her with me today to me you all." Ava looked me up and down until her line of sight was directed at my incredibly swollen foot. "Austin, you didn't happen to come into the kitchen for ice did you?" His eyes calm brown eyes widened in remembrance. He rushed to the freezer and began checking through its contents in a flurry till he found a small bag of ice cubes. I removed my boot and the sock on that foot before placing the ice bag down., I mentally praised myself for painting my nails the day before so my toes didn't look off putting. I hissed as the bag came in contact but as the feeling eased, I felt more relaxed. The bag was already working wonders since the swelling had reduced by a considerate amount. Austin and Ava were watching me carefully. "Thanks Austin. It already feels better." I gave him a smile which he returned showcasing his dimples once again. It was only a matter of 10 minutes before I was up and running once more. I offered to help Ava with cooking lunch while Austin kept an eye on all the home residents. I pulled out my phone and we jammed out to my play list. During lunch, I was asked many questions about my life; if I had any siblings, who my best friends were, if I had a boyfriend. The latter of the three questions almost had me choking on my glass of water but Austin was on hand to pat my back. "Um, no. I don't have a boyfriend." And just like that, the subject was dropped. Again, I helped Ava with cleaning the dishes even though she said it was fine. I insisted, saying that it was my way of thanking her for her hospitality and finally she gave in. Cleaning up was a lot of fun, especially when we talked about her past life. I was completely taken by her story of how she was an orphan and that was what led her to opening this place. She also went over how she knew Austin- it turned out she and his grandmother were very good friends and that's how they met. After all the plates were scrubbed clean, we proceeded to make cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate for everyone depending on their preferences. I was amazed at how Ava could memorize everything when I still had trouble remembering what came after P in the alphabet without going through all of it. I helped her carry the trays in the living room where they were all seated. Ava had labelled all the mugs for me so all I had to do was say their name and whoever responded, I gave them the said mug. While we were doing this, Austin had jogged to his car with another boy and brought in the baked goods he was telling me about earlier. My jaw dropped. When he said he had baked some stuff, I hadn't imagined that it was this much. All the goodies covered the entire table and varied from cookies to giant cakes. My eyes landed on some red velvet cupcakes. Oooo, they looked good! I needed to have one. "Hey Austin, will you sing us a song?" I tore my head away and met Austin's pleading eyes. No, don't look them. I knew what he wanted but I wanted to eat a cupcake. I looked back at the cupcakes, there was only 4 left. I bit my lip, as long as it was a quick song I suppose I could. Sighing, I nodded at him which caused him to light up before rushing out of the room only to return with a guitar in his arms. Oh Gosh, this was going to end terribly. I sat down on an unoccupied couch and I stood by his side. "Any requests?" A hand immediately shot up. I raised an eyebrow while crossing my arms. "I will never let you down by Rita Ora." I nodded in approval. the kid had OK taste. I turned Austin and asked whether he knew the chords and when he said he did, I was even more surprised. I'd have to question him about that later. He began strumming at it slowly to the tune and nodded at me when I had to come in.
Tell me baby, what we're gonna do? I'll make it easy, got a lot to lose Watch the sunlight coming through Open the window, let it shine on you.
I was slowly getting into the song. At the beginning of the chorus, I had perched myself on one of the arm rests of Austin's couch and playfully nudged him so he would join me with the words.
When you say you've had enough And you might just give it up, oh oh I will never let you down When you're feeling low on love I'll be what you're dreaming of, oh oh I will never let you down
Austin had an amazing voice and I didn't understand why he wouldn't sing by himself. We progressed through the rest of the song. The mood was so uplifting that everyone eventually joined in with us. After it ended, there was a massive round of applause and a lot of cheering. Soon, there were all sorts of song demands that both Austin and I agreed to. It was about 5pm when the excitement had died down since most of the residents had fallen asleep. I sat on the couch while Austin went to put the guitar back where ever it was he found it. Once he returned, we said our goodbyes to Ava and headed out. However, before we got in the the car, Austin stopped me by grabbing hold of my wrist. "So, did you enjoy today?" He asked. I thought back on the day. A smile grew on my face and I nodded. He seemed pleased with my answer. "I have something for you." From behind his back he pulled out... A red velvet cupcake! In the excitement of our little concert, I had completely forgotton about the delicious cake that made my mouth water. I squealed and hugged him carefully trying not to squash the cupcake. I took it out of his hand and thanked him profusely. Going onto my tip toes, I gave him a slight peck on his left cheek. For a second he froze but then he shrugged it off and said that it was no problem before walking to the drivers side of the car. I noticed a pink tint across his cheeks. Aww, he was blushing again! All in all, this shaped up to be a pretty good Christmas. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~
Bloody hell! This chapter is soo damn overdue it's actually ridiculous. Man, I was going to do more POV's but honestly, I couldn't be bothered so I just settled for Grace and Alison since their Christmas story line seemed the most interesting. I hope I didn't hurt any of your feelings by leaving out a character but at least the chapter was finally done. Also, I'm sorry if the whole Christmas setting is a bit iffy; I don't celebrate it so I had to inquire from a couple of friends. If you guys wanna talk to me, feel free to PM me. I'd love to talk to all my readers and your criticism is something that will help me grow as a writer. I'm so proud of having this chapter finally out- over 9000 words people. can someone say accomplishment?! I mean 9000?! Vote and Comment- you guys know the drill. PS: If any of you guys are teenagers from California, could like PM me? I'm gonna need a lot of help with the up coming chapters since there's only so much google can teach you.
Love ya all,
Afsara
XOXO