Oh,Brother! (Complete)

30: A Step in the Right Direction

Christmas was around the corner and I had taken a few days off work beforehand to help my mom and dad get everything ready. Normally we would spend Christmas with the Agreste's one year and we would have it in our house the next. This year it was at ours, so we had a lot of preparing to do. As far as I was concerned it was still going ahead, no one had said otherwise.

I was glad for these few days off. It meant that I didn't have to bump into Jason at work. I didn't know if I could face seeing him without breaking down. I just hoped Liz gave him a chance to explain and talk things through. And I didn't want to be in the way of that so thought it best to stay at home.

It also gave me some time to reflect on what I wanted to do and what my future plans were. Everyone in the office suspected there was something going on between Jason and I and they seemed to be okay with it but I still didn't feel comfortable about people knowing. I had been thinking for a while about doing a postgraduate course in . Something I had always wanted to do when I was younger was be a teacher and the perfect opportunity had now presented itself. This was my chance to chase my dream and the more I thought about it the more excited I was getting. There was just a lot of research and paperwork to do before I committed to anything.

I spoke to my parents about it and they were happy with the decision of me pursuing further education. At least without Jason and Liz in my life this would keep me preoccupied. My heart broke thinking about losing my best friends but I suppose there wasn't much that could be done. I would eventually move on but knew that would take some time.

Today had been a productive day which helped keep my mind occupied. I had baked cookies and cupcakes and had tidied up my room. I'd even helped my mom pick out the Christmas decorations to display around the house. It had been a very busy day for sure.

Jason had tried to call me a few times, but I messaged him back telling him I needed some space which he seemed to understand. He didn't mention anything about Liz, I just hoped that their relationship was back on track.

Once I was done with everything, I flopped down on the couch sighing in contentment as I looked around at my handy work. I was pretty pleased with myself and thought I deserved a little break. I took the remote and switched on the television hoping to numb my mind. I groaned as I flicked through the television struggling to settle on anything.

I didn't pay attention when the doorbell rang, knowing my mom would get it. I could hear her make her way to the door and there were muffled noises in the hallway as she greeted the guest. I didn't even bother to think who it could be assuming it would be one of the neighbours asking to borrow something.

My mom walked into the room and without taking my eyes off the television I asked "Who was it? Was it Deirdre asking for some flour again for her baking?". When I didn't get a response, I turned to look at my mom. But instead of seeing my mom I gasped as Liz stood in my living room, flecks of snow covering her jacket.

"I haven't come to borrow flour, but I have come to give you this" She said handing me a beautifully wrapped gift. I was in too much shock to take the present from her. I just gawped at her, my jaw almost dropping to the floor. She was the last person I was expecting to see here. Since I hadn't heard from Liz since I last went up to apologise, I assumed she longer wanted anything to do with me. But here she was in the flesh. My mind was still comprehending this as she sat down beside me, leaving the present on the table.

"What are you doing here?" I finally asked dumbfounded, not really knowing what else to see.

Liz gave a small chuckle "I've come to give you your present dummy, what else does it look like?"

My mouth opened and closed like a fish, trying to think of something sensible to say, but I just couldn't get the words out. Liz could see this and laughed.