Burn // NH

54. Can I Tell You a Secret

"Ellie?" My mom called out, pulling her phone away from her ear. She then smiled. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We come baring gifts!" I grinned back and gave her a hug, trying my best to keep my voice and actions strong and bold.

"Mona," Niall politely greeted with a smile and gave her a small hug as well.

"I'm on the phone with the DMV for your sister's driving test, but I'll be in the house in just a moment. There's lunch on the stove if you're hungry." Nodding, Niall placed his hand on my lower back and helped guide me into the house where we stopped to take off our shoes before practically being mulled to death by my hundreds of siblings.

"Mom didn't tell us you were coming!" Ophelia squealed and yanked my hand forward. "Oh my gosh, I wanna see the ring!"

I chuckled, leaving my hand suspended in her face as she and my other two sisters completely analyzed the ring in awe. "It's the same one that I had, it just has another piece connected to it."

"Is this really made of all real diamonds?" Tinley gasped, looking over at Niall who had managed to squeeze his way into the kitchen. We had just ate but of course he was already digging into my mom's homemade chili.

"Sure is," he replied, flashing me a subtle wink to pair with his smirk.

Lightly rolling my eyes, I pulled my hand away and walked past my sisters to place the cardboard, Build-a-Bear box on the counter.

"What's that for?" Ev went to peek inside, but I was quick to tap her hands away.

"Mom. It's for her birthday...kind of."

"You got her a build-a-bear?" She started to mockingly laugh. "Besides, her birthday's not for, like, two weeks or something."

"Listen, okay? You can all see it when she opens it. Until then, don't touch, please."

I noticed Ophelia give me a knowing look out the corner of her eye as she picked up on what was going on. However, I gave her a warning one in return, telling her to keep her mouth shut. She just smiled so I figured that she got the hint.

A sudden yank on my oversized, navy sweatshirt slightly startled me as it pulled me back. I glanced up to see Niall looking down at me from above before he tilted his head to press a small kiss to my cheek. "Did you want any more to eat, love?"

"No, I'm good." However, contradicting my words, I was already turning to dig through the refrigerator. I managed to pull out a Kosher Dill pickle slice along with the carton of orange juice. I didn't normally like the kind with pulp in it, and especially not extra pulp, however, this was as good as I was getting this morning. Niall playfully scoffed. He then made his way to the table and took a seat.

My mother came in moments later, Anna trailing hot on her heels with plastic grocery bags covering her arms. I quickly stepped over to help, getting a satisfied sigh and 'thanks' in return. We placed the bags on the counter and instantly dug in to get them put away.

"Did you want any chili, Ellie– before I put it away?" I glanced over to the stove and shook my head at my mom.

"No, thank you; we just ate before we got here."

She placed the lid overtop of the pot and brought it to the fridge. "How was the drive?"

"Not bad, actually," Niall spoke up. "The traffic was pretty decent for once."

I noticed Anna stare at him for a moment longer than necessary and good Lord, I was so ready to reveal what was in that box. Call me a bitch, it's cool, but I couldn't wait to see the look on her face.