Where The Lines Overlap [CTH]

[36] Sparks

Hmm...what could be inside this?

Could this be from...?

"What are you doing?" Calum asked, as he stood behind me, a rag on his hand.

"What's this?" I exclaim, before spinning around to face him with widened eyes.

"It's a present." He raised his eyebrows, before awkwardly scooping the present I was indicating off the floor. "For you."

Remembering not having bought him a present, I make a face at him, before letting out a: "W-what? Why?"

"It's not Christmas yet, so you can't open it." Calum explains, like a little boy, before putting it back under the tree.

Pursing my lips together, I hear my own voice admit aloud: "B-but...I didn't get you anything."

It was true.

Having not anticipating us being together for the holidays and being too busy with work and enjoying his company from his surprise, I completely forgot to get him a present. On our first Christmas together.

"You don't have to." He reassured me. His voice was gentle as he spoke.

"But, you flew all the way out here. To see me. I...I feel like the shittiest girlfriend in the world." A knot began to form in my stomach.

"Shut up. No, you're not." Calum replies, before quickly disappearing off to the kitchen to put away the rag. When he came back to the room, he knelt down on the carpet and sat next to me by the tree.

Slowly, he rolls up the sleeves of his sweater before picking up the small box and putting it on my lap. "You're the best girlfriend in the world and I know you're gonna say: "Calum, that's so not true." Well you are. To me. Now open this."

"But, it's not Christmas yet." I reason out, to which he shakes his head and points at the clock.

"Alexia, it's been Christmas for a good minute now." He grins, before tapping the box. "Go on. You're allowed to open it now."

"I swear to God, if you got me something more than a pound..." I could feel the tears beginning to form from the corner of my eyes as I watched Calum stare back at me.

Carefully, the sound of wrapping paper being ripped apart and the light crackling in the fireplace was all that resonated in the living room. When I lifted the lid of the brown box open, I was greeted by layers and layers of tissue paper and confetti.

Confused, I looked up at Calum but he merely urges me to dig down and see what's hiding inside. When I placed my hand inside the box and reached down for something, I was expecting to feel an object of some sort. To my surprise, my hand never did meet a bulky object.

"Um...there's nothing in here." I say to him simply upon realization.

"You've got to dig deeper." He winks mischievously.

Taking his word of advice, I search through the layers until I reach the bottom of the box, to which there laid just an envelope.

"You got me...a card?" I asked, trying my best not to say that in a manner that would offend him.

"I don't know." He shrugs his shoulders and lets out a laugh, before motioning me to open it.

"This better not be money, Hood." I muttered.

When I opened the envelope, I pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Still thinking it was a card, I thought to myself: