Back To You | Ricky Garcia

Chapter Eighteen

"Denial is such a sad thing."

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I grabbed the bags and presents from the trunk, the weight pulling on my arms. I could've sworn they were going to fall off any second now. My parents walked behind me, bringing the endless plates of cookies. I rung the door bell quickly, still managing to hold the presents on my other hand. When the door swung open, I expected to see one of the twins but, to my surprise, the person who opened the door wasn't either of them.

"Mrs. Garcia?" I dropped the bags in shock. She was wearing an elegant black dress and some red heels, fashionable as usual. She grinned at me, and pulled me into her arms without a word. I hugged her back tightly, still surprised that she's actually here. I haven't seen her in a long time. Whenever I come over, she's usually half way across the country.

She pulled away and examined me with a smile on her face.

"You're so grown up and gorgeous. I could still remember you as a little girl with Ricky and Francesca on the playground." She said nostalgicly. I smiled at her, and moved past to let my parents catch up with her.

I looked over to the living room to see Mr. Garcia sitting on the couch with either of his arms on Ricky and Francesca's shoulders. He looked over to me, and stood up with a silly look on his face. I laughed and walked over to give him a big hug.

"I haven't seen you in forever, clumsy." He said, trying to ruffle my hair. Before he could, I swatted his hand from above my head, laughing. I clearly got that nickname from all the times he had to pick me up when I fell in their house.

"I missed you too, Mr. Garcia." I rolled my eyes. I consider Mr. and Mrs. Garcia my second parents. Our families are the closest out of all of us, and we're all so comfortable with eachother, it's kind of weird if you see us all together.

Ricky crept up behind his dad and gave him a few pats on the back. A smirk rose to his lips as he diverted his gaze to me. I looked at him, enjoying the view of him in his green sweater with a collar peeking out. It was crazy how much he resembled a Calvin Klein model.

"That's enough, Dad. We all know it's my job to annoy her." Ricky said, giving me a wink.

"Atta Boy." Mr. Garcia gave him a pat on the back as well, and they both looked at me with smug grins.

Like Father, like Son.

They walked over to greet my parents, leaving me in the living room. I trotted over to sit next to Francesca, who never moved from the couch. She was focused on her phone, probably busy texting Jon.

I plopped down next to her, and pushed her slightly. She turned to me and gave me a small smile.

"Thanks for saving me over there." I said mockingly, slapping her arm. I bet if my parents weren't here, I would've already been tackled with tickles by those two. Then again, my parents would probably join in just to annoy me.

Parents, you gotta love 'em.

"Sorry, it's just that Jon and Evan are going to be over in just about-" The doorbell rung, cutting her off.

"Now." Francesca finished, getting up to answer the door. My parents and her parents just finished placing the presents and the food we brought in their designated places, and were now catching up on the couch.

The Klaasens and The Winters entered the house, which now seemed to just look like a sea of people. We all greeted eachother with hugs and kisses, and everyone was content and filled with joy. I couldn't help but tug a smile on my lips at our reunion.

Maybe this would actually be a normal Christmas.

Or so I thought.

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