Pure Pain, Excruciating Love

Chapter 27

"Merry Christmas!"

Anna jumped onto me, engulfing me into a tight hug. I was caught by surprise, standing there a few seconds still but finally hugging her back.

"Merry Christmas Anna," I told her as she pulled back.

"Merry Christmas Ash," Anna repeated, now to her brother, as she hugged him as well.

"Merry Christmas Anna. If you're going to greet everyone this way then we'll probably have no one at the table."

Anna narrowed her eyes at her brother, deciding to slap his arm.

"Shut up idiot," and with a huff, she whirled around and left us by the door.

Ashton snickered next to me, ushering me in as he closed the door behind us .We walked into the house and into the kitchen, where we could hear cluttering noises and utensils touching surfaces. It was sort of amusing to watch Carol standing behind the kitchen counter with hundreds of ingredients in front of her and then pans and pots scattered around. She looked under pressure.

"Hey mom," Ashton spoke, making Carol jump.

"Oh honey, you scared me. Merry Christmas," she beamed at her son, wrapping him in a hug. Then she turned to me and opened her arms. Stepping into her embrace, I smiled at how tender and motherly she easily was.

"Merr y Christmas Carol," I murmured.

"Merry Christmas sweetie."

Carol stepped back and got back to chopping whatever it was she was furiously chopping.

"So what's this mom?" Ashton asked, settling in one of the stools and pulling me against him as he wrapped his arms around me.

"This is your dinner so do not tease and mock young man," Carol sternly but amusedly remarked.

Behind me, Ashton chuckled, settling for, "Love you mom." Carol gave him an "mmhmm" and then chuckled.

"I could help if you'd like," I offered, already planning a meal I could whip up.

"Really?" Carol looked at me with wide and gleaming eyes.

"Of course, I've always loved Christmas cooking." I jump up with a grin, making Ashton chuckle behind me.

"Well that's just awesome," Carol clapped her hands, pulling me to her side and shooing Ashton out of the kitchen.

Two hours later and the Weston house was filled with family members. I got to meet Ashton's many cousins and some aunts and uncles. It was nice to see some familiar faces like Liam, AJ, Karen, and Ashton's grandpa. I couldn't believe how huge his family was. He had more than six cousins, and that was something new for me. But nonetheless, I felt content and at ease to know that they accepted me so easily and made sure to include me in almost all conversations.

In the kitchen, the food was almost ready. I ended up cooking a few meals of my own recipes while Carol and her sisters took care of the simple recipes off of Carol's cooking book. Karen and I seemed to know what to do best. As she owned her own restaurant, she had a little knowledge on what to do. We bonded easily and worked together well. It took us a long time to finish the main dishes, but it was done and we were waiting for the oven's times to go off. The women mingled around drinking wine while I sat to the side, smiling and nodding when needed. And just when I thought I was going to seem like an awkward girl in front of these energetic and chatty women, my savour strode in.

"Hey ladies," Anna chirped.

We all turned to face the over-excited, bubbly girl.

"What's up honey?" Carol asked her daughter.