Aaron's p.o.v.
Lia still looks deeply in thoughts when I put her down on her feet. She squeals at the sudden movement, but recovers quickly when she notices all the adults and children in the room. It's crazy how she's even scared of talking in front of them. I mean, they're our parents and she talks to us. Why not them? I wouldn't search the reason too much, Lia is very complicated sometimes. It's best to just give her the time she needs.
"Come on, sweetheart. All the adults are sitting together which leaves the 'kids' together." I tell her quietly.
She nods, walking to take a seat near the end of the table that was placed for us. Clay and Lukas are sitting at the adults' table, though. I mean, Clay is almost 21 and Lukas must be 21 or is soon to be.
I sat on her left as Quinn hurriedly took the seat on my left. I shake my head at her, not being able to keep the smile off my face.
"Are you still mad at me, Aaron? I didn't want you to be angry." She tells me honestly.
"Don't worry, princess. I'm not mad at you anymore." I reply softly.
She gives me a smile before her eyes land on something behind me... or more like someone. I look on my right to see Lia looking blankly in front of her. She doesn't look alright. Something is definitely fucking up with her mind.
I put my attention back on my little sister, leaving Lia to her thoughts. I'll still need to watch after her; her thoughts aren't always the safest.
"She's so pretty. Why am I not pretty like her, Aaron?" Quinn asks with a pout.
"Don't say this Quinnie. You both are gorgeous." I convince her.
She gives me a cheeky smile before entering a conversation with Dylan's sisters and Jay. I direct my attention back to Lia who's now looking down at the table. My eyes follow down her arms to see her right hand scratching her left wrist to the point where it's red. Fuck.
I lean near her ears, catching her attention as my breath hits her skin. "What's bugging you, sweetheart? What are you thinking about so deeply?" I ask her in a hushed tone.
I lean back in my chair as she watches my every movement. I quickly glance at her hand to see it still scratching her skin. I put my hand on hers to keep her from doing it anymore.
She looks at me slightly before glancing away from me. "Just thinking about something the girls told me. Nothing to worry about." She mutters.
I nod, giving up on trying to find the reason for her thinking. I'm still gonna keep a close eye on her, but I won't take too much space as of right now.
Soon, Dyl's mom and some other adults start to bring the food in and we all eat our Christmas meal.
~§~
"Alright, alright! The girls are doing the dishes while all the others go in the family room to open the presents in around 30 minutes! Bring some chairs, by the way, as there won't be enough couch for everyone to sit." Miss Parker tells us.
The girls groan before eventually getting up to do the dishes. Lia, though, she doesn't seem any better. She barely ate anything and just kept on picking at her food. It's weird because she didn't seem bothered when she arrived. The girls really told her something that is sticking in her head, for some reason.
I get up from my seat to take my plate and my sister's before walking to the kitchen. I put the dishes on the counter when the rest of it is and make my way to Lia. I wrap my arms around her waist from behind as she freezes under my touch.
"Did I do something, sweetheart?" I whisper in her ear, very aware of the eyes from the women on us.
She shakes her head as it falls on the floor, probably trying to hide away from the attention. "No, don't worry, Aaron. You didn't do anything bad." She tells me softly.
"Okay. Good luck with all that damn dish." I tease her.
She shakes her head with I bet a smile on her lips as she chuckles. "Yup. Now leave me alone, so I can start working."
"Alright. Just know that if you need to leave, we can go."
She nods one last time before I unwrap my arms to detach myself from her. I make my way out of the kitchen to head to the living room where I notice some guys taking gifts.
I walk up to Dylan who's picking up some little gifts. "What's going on?" I ask him.
"Instead of the living room we'll go downstairs. There's more room and it's more Christmas-party like. My dad's words, not mine." He explains.
I start picking up gifts to help the others then bring them downstairs. Once we're finished, we all crash in the living room of the basement. We did modify the arrangement of the room so there's more space. We moved the couches, so they aren't just in the living room area, but go a little bit in the middle area. We put some chairs a little bit everywhere with all the gifts in one corner of the room. They're all sorted by who bought them, so it'll be easier to give away when it's time.
I sit on a couch with Dylan on my right and Alex on Dyl's right. That couch is pretty big, but we're still pretty stuck. I notice Quinn running around with the rest of the kids while my dad is talking with Dyl's and the twin's.
"What's going on with Nycto? She seemed off." I hear Alex ask.
I shrug, actually having no idea. "I asked her if I did something and she replied no. She told me it's just something the other girls said."
Ethan then joins us right as I finish to talk. He brings a chair and puts it in front of the couch so he's facing us. "What are we gentlemen talking about?"
"Nyctophilia." Dylan answers shortly.
A look of realisation crosses Ethan's face. "Yeah, about that bro. Is there something going between the two of you? You both seem so deeply in love, yet I haven't heard anything about it."
Alex and Dyl both chuckle at the question, knowing too well I hate talking about this shit. "I can't hang out with a girl without any of that relationship shit being involved?"
"Not when you've known her for more than a month and haven't fucked her yet and barely kissed." Alex teases.
"I don't fuck around with Brooke and she's my friend." I grumble. They're so annoying I swear to fucking god.
"It's not the same. You're not friends with Nyctophilia. Just admit it, bro. You like the girl so bad." Ethan tells me.
I flip him off. "I don't fucking like her that way. It's just too complicated anyway for us to have any relationship if I had whatever feeling for her." I explain, hurrying to add the last part before they can make any comment about it.
"I'm just saying man, you're totally whipped." Alex adds.
I send him a glare before just looking away. I can't put up with their shit sometimes. It's so annoying.
"WOOHOO! GUESS WHO FINISHED THE DISHES, LADIES AND GENTS!" I hear a familiar voice shout. I look toward the stairs to see Taylor jumping in joy as she walks over to Liam who's discussing with Clay and Lucas.
I stare expectedly at the stairs, waiting for Lia to come down. I finally notice her beauty as she gorgeously walks down the stairs in that black dress of hers with Brooke on her side. She doesn't look as down as earlier, but she's not in her best shape either.
Both of them make their way towards us as they actively talk. Lia's eyes meet mine for a moment and she sends me a soft smile. I stare at her as they stop in front of the couch. They sit on the floor, Lia's gaze not leaving mine. I know she knows I want her to sit with me... it's as if she's doing it on purpose.
I raise an eyebrow at her, asking if she's serious. She just smiles innocently while shrugging. I roll my eyes then look away before I forcefully place her on my lap like earlier.
"You're in for a ride, bro." Dylan whispers in my ear. "She's just as stubborn as you are."
I push his head away from mine, glaring at him as he grins like an idiot.
"So how was doing the dishes?" Ethan asks them with a teasing smirk.
Both girls roll their eyes at his question. "It took so fucking long. Plus, the women wouldn't shut up about life advice about boys and all that shit. Like please, as if I needed help with getting boys and girls." Brooke tells us.
Lia giggles at her answer, but doesn't add anything more. She can probably feel my stare on her because her eyes soon meet mine. I frown confusedly. Why is she defying me like this? Like, come on. I just want her to sit with me.
"At least you didn't need to do two chores! We had to set the dining room and bring the gifts downstairs." Dylan argues with them.
I glance at Alex who hasn't said a thing since the girls came. I only now notice that Gabriella isn't here. "Where's Gabby?" I ask Lia and Brooke.
"Last time we saw her she said she'd go to the bathroom. That was around 5 minutes ago." Brooke answers. "You should probably check up on her, Alex. I think she ate too much or something like that." She then adds.
Alex nods before getting up and hurriedly leaving the basement. He's so whipped it's funny. Ugh, I guess I'm no better with Lia, but at least I have the least self-control... or so I thought.
"Come on, Lia. It can't be that hard to get up to sit on the couch." I tell her under my friend's eyes. I know they're all watching intensely, but at this point I give no care.
She shakes her head as she bites her lip anxiously. I sigh, giving up for real this time. I can't totally force her to do something she doesn't want to do. I believe it's because of how many people there are right now that could see us together. I really have no idea why she cares so much about their opinion. What can they even do about the fact that she's sitting with me? It doesn't mean shit.
"Are we opening the gifts soon? I only come here for them." Brooke sighs, changing the subject to get rid of the tension.
"Hey!" Dylan protests. "That's not nice to say!"
"It's kind of true, though." She shrugs.
"Aaron, Aaron! We're opening the gifts soon!" I hear my little sister's voice shouting from across the room.
She runs towards us with that childish smile she always wears. How I wish I had that kind of innocence again. She slows down once she gets near the couch, the smile not leaving her face. She then climbs on the couch to sit at Alex's place. She frowns when she sees the girls sitting on the floor.
"What are you two dummies doing there?" She asks them.
I scoff. "See? That's what I said. Lia should sit with me instead of the floor, right princess."
"Yes! But it's too late now because we're opening the gifts!" She exclaims as her eyes are fixed on Miss Parker who's sitting near the mountain of gifts.
Quinn jolts out of her seat to join the circle of people gathering nearer the gifts. We do the same as we get up to walk towards the rest of the 'family'. I hurry to take Lia's hand now that she's distracted. I pull her gently to me as she squeals. I put my arm around her shoulder to bring her closer to my body, the need to feel her near me getting urgent.
The couches now all being taken by the oldest, the teenagers need to sit on the floor with the children. I sit at a reasonable distance from the gifts. I then cross my legs to pull Lia down. She sits in between my legs, squirming around to get comfortable. Oh how I hate when she does this. It's such a fucking turn on and I wish she'd just stop doing that.
I put my hands on her hips to stop her from moving anymore. She relaxes in my touch and eventually leans her back on my front. I put my chin on her shoulder as she takes my hand to draw random shapes on it.
"Was it so hard to sit with me?" I ask her quietly.
She shakes her head, yet doesn't pronounce the least word. I peck the skin right under her ear as she shivers just like usual. I smirk to myself, content of the effect I have on her.
"Listen up, guys!" Dyl's dad shouts for us to all shut up. "Okay, so as usual we'll open the gift swap first, then we'll do the children first then teenagers then the adults. So, who's starting for the swap?"
Dylan raises his hand as he gets up to pick up a gift. He walks over to Liam and hands it to him. "I picked Liam, so here's your gift man." He says as he hands the package that isn't bigger than a watermelon.
Liam unwraps the paper and grins when he sees the content. He takes the gift out and we can all clearly see three sports shorts. "Thank you, Dyl. I was starting to run out of these." He puts them away before getting up to get a gift. "I got Jack, but sadly he isn't here. I'll give it to him next time I see him."
"Perfect. So, Jack told me he got Aaron." Dylan continues as he takes the gift that Jack bought for me.
I can suddenly feel Lia's heartbeat picking up its pace as everyone's eyes fall on us. Her hands slightly shakes under the pressure, so she stops drawing shapes on my hands to cross them in her lap.
Dylan hands me the gift and I unwrap it while I look over Lia's shoulder. "Oh, there's a piece of paper that comes with it." Dylan adds.
As I'm too busy unwrapping my present, Lia takes the paper. I look in her hands to see the little note. 'Keep it wrapped.' Is what's written on it. "Fuck me." I mumble as I look at the gift that's around one decimetres high and half a decimetres large. "I'll open it later, Dyl." I say in an annoyed tone. I can't open this here with all the kids around.
I notice Alex and Ethan both snickering while Dylan smirked evilly. I guess they somehow knew or they guessed it. Assholes.
"I picked Taylor. The gift is right there." I indicate Dylan as I can't really take the gift by myself.
Dylan takes the gift and hands it to Taylor. It's funny how everyone is so quiet, the suspense dominating the room every time someone is about to open a gift.
Taylor gets rid of paper and smiles when she sees what's inside the small rectangular box. "Thank you! I couldn't even take pictures with my Instax anymore!" She says, the smile spreading on her face as she looks at what I guess is a pack of films. "Okay, moving on. I got the one and only Nyctophilia." She tells us as she gets up to get the gift. She then hands it to Lia. "I had no idea what you liked, so if you don't like it just tell me and we'll go shopping together." She rambles.
Lia looks at what seems like a jewelry box. Her tiny hands are slightly shaking, keeping her from being able to untie the knot. I take the box from her hands and use both of mine to help her. Once the knot is untied, she opens the box cautiously. I peek over her shoulder to see what's inside.
Lia gasps when she sees the moon shaped necklace that lies in the box. I notice a little star on the end of the moon. The chain is a shiny golden colour and somehow I know it'll fit perfectly with Lia!s hair and skin colour.
"Thank you so much." She whispers, her eyes not leaving the necklace. She looks amazed by it.
"Who did you have, sweetheart? For the gift swap." I ask her.
She points towards Brooke with her usual soft smile. Dylan gets the gift for her and hands it to Brooke. The latest opens it with a questioning look when she notices the envelope shape of her gift. "Holy sh- cow!" She exclaims, correcting herself to not swear in front of the kids. "Thank you, Nycto! My nails were so due!" She thanks Lia. "Oh also, I got Xander." She adds as she stands up to get Alex's gift.
She gives it to him, but I don't follow on the conversation as my attention is drawn back to Lia. She's still observing the necklace Taylor got her.
"Do you want to put it on?" I ask her.
She nods at my question then proceeds to hand me the necklace so I can help her. She takes a hold of her hair in one hand to free her neck. I put the chain around her neck and clip it. I take her hair from her hand to put it back like it was before.
"It's really pretty." I whisper in her ear.
"Mhm." She hums. "I have earrings that my mom got me when I was younger and they are similar to the necklace. It brings back memories." She explains to me.
It's the first whole sentence she's pronounced in a while and god it's a relief to know she's not too sad or bothered to shut down from me.
~§~
It's currently around midnight and the survivors are all in the living room upstairs. The youngest went to bed in a guest room as they were practically falling asleep on their feet. We just put Quinn and Jay in Octavia's room while Livia went to hers. She didn't look that tired, but she was definitely bored out of her mind. Taylor's parents left with her brother around an hour ago, but she stayed with us. Lia's dad and brother also left without her. She said she wanted to stay for a little while longer. As this house is a fucking mansion, there's enough room for the rest of us to sleep here for the night.
My eyes find their way to Lia's tiny figure on the couch in front of me. She fell asleep about 15 minutes ago on the couch with her head on Gabby's shoulder. I should probably carry her to a room to let her sleep, but that part of me just wants to leave her sleeping peacefully on the couch as her face is relaxed like she doesn't have any more problems in her dreams. She looks... cute? I don't know, but I most definitely don't want to look away from her.
"You're whipped." I hear someone whisper in my ear. I look on my left to see Ethan grinning like an idiot.
"Am not."
"You so are. Just by the way you look at her, anyone can tell. Just admit it to yourself already; you like her." He tries to convince me.
I shake my head. "I don't. I just feel very... protective over her." I try to explain. It's a weird feeling. It feels like I have to protect her for some reason. Like if I don't do it, then I risk something worthy. I don't want to hurt her, but I know I'll do it anyway. I can't like her because I need to protect her and I'd only hurt her. I need to protect her from me.
"Whatever man. Just keep her near. I know she makes you happy, even if you try to deny it." He tells me before getting up from the couch.
I look at his retreating figure until I can't see him anymore. I then focus back on Lia who's starting to wake up. She stirs, looking quite confused about her surroundings. I copy her eyes and look around the room. The night is less agitated. Gab is talking with Brooke and Taylor while the boys are talking among themselves. The adults are chatting about boring stuff, much quieter than before.
After we finished opening the presents, we drank some more alcohol before doing some classic Christmas games. It was funny then we started to get tired so we just all crashed in the living room. There were snacks, healthy and not healthy ones at all, and we just talked for a while. I got presents from almost everyone. Lia didn't give mine. She said she'd give it later as she didn't like the attention she had when giving presents.
"Aaron?" A sleepy voice calls for me.
I look straight forward to notice Nycto looking at me tiredly. "Yes?"
"I want to give you your present before going to bed." She says as she walks out of the living room.
I jolt out of my seat to follow her lead. She doesn't head to the entrance like I thought she'd do as the present is in Gabby's car, though. I frown as I follow her until we stop in front of a bathroom. Ah. She enters it before closing the door behind her quickly. I chuckle at her behaviour as I lean on the wall, waiting for her to come out.
Minutes later, the door opens to reveal a grumpy Lia. She mumbles some inaudible things before making her way to the main entrance of the house. She puts her shoes on and I do the same. We then walk out of the house towards Gab's car.
Once we're near the car, Lia uses the keys to unlock it. She bends her body in the front seat to get a squared package. It must be as big as my hand. She gets out then closes the door as she locks the car.
"Before you open it, just know that it didn't cost as much as you think it could." She rushes out, handing the present to me.
I frown, slightly confused, but still unwrap the package. As I see the box that was hiding behind the paper, I sigh. She did not.
"Lia, this can't-"
"Shut up. I swear it didn't cost as much as you would think. Just believe me on this one." She tells me.
I search her eyes for any uncertainty, but I don't see anything except honesty. I finish unwrapping the present, freeing the box totally. I search for a tag that can tell me the price, nonetheless I can't find any. I glance at Lia to see her smirking.
"I didn't make the same mistake twice." She shrugs.
I swear, this girl. If she took the tag then it must be because it cost somewhat a lot. I roll my eyes as I look at the watch's box. I can't believe she bought me a fucking watch. Plus, she somehow took one that I definitely like and I don't wear jewelry in life.
"Are you going to take it out of its box or you're just going to look at it forever?" She asks me in a sarcastic tone.
I scoff, yet still open the box of the watch. I carefully take it out to observe it. It's all black with the watch hands in a golden colour. The strap is also made of a black light metal. There's no number, just golden lines to read the time. I can see 'Quartz' written on it. I look at Lia, glaring at her. "Quartz isn't fucking free, that's for sure. Now how much did it cost?"
She crosses her arms over her chest, glaring back at me. "I swear on my dad's head that it didn't cost much. It was one of their last ones in stock and it had been there for a while, so it was like half price. The shop was about to do a restock, but they couldn't until this one left, so I just took it. It looks like people didn't want it, but I surely thought you'd like it." She explains slightly on edge from me not believing her.
I nod, giving up. This girl is extra stubborn and it's horribly annoying. Even though I'm not any better...
I unclip the watch, so I can then put it on. I struggle a bit and Lia decides to help me. I look at it proudly as I grin like an idiot. It really is looking nice.
My eyes rais up to meet Lia's happy ones. She looks so happy that I like the gift. It's as if I'd hate her if I didn't think the gift was awesome. "Thank you, sweetheart." I tell her as I take her hand to pull her flush to me. She understands the gesture and wraps her arms around my neck to hug me as I do the same around her waist.
"You can thank your dad too as he paid a good part of it." She mumbles in my neck.
"So it did cost a lot." I state.
She shakes her head. "Believe me, it did not. Your dad just wanted to help when I asked him if you'd like to have a watch. Quinn also helped me to choose it. You know the day I borrowed her? Well it was to shop for Christmas presents."
"Then she knew that you bought her a Barbie?"
She chuckles, the air hitting on my neck. "Nah she didn't. She's a kid, you know. It was easy to lie and hide it from her."
We finally break the hug away after a minute or two. She sends me a little smile as I look deeply into her eyes. This girl really doesn't know how worthy and awesome she is. She doesn't realize how much peace she brings within me and how easy it is to be around her. I shake my head, chuckling at my own thoughts.
"I also have a present for you, but it hasn't arrived yet. I had to order it, but you should have it in a week or so." I tell her.
She nods hesitantly. "You don't have to give me anything." She sighs.
"Too late. You'll have a present from me whether you like it or not." I argue.
I did buy her a present. I almost threw a tantrum when the guy told me two day ago that it could take 10 to 14 days to arrive. It's a simple bracelet with 'Lia' graved on it, but it would definitely fit her. It's cute and reserved, just like her.
Lia raises an eyebrow at me with her arms crossed, yet again. I chuckle at her childish behaviour before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. I pull her with me back to the house.
We soon enter back and immediately take our shoes off. Nycto yawns tiredly as we join back in the living room. I notice my dad grinning at me as he notices the watch on my left wrist. Rolling my eyes, I direct Lia and I towards him and the twins' dad who's talking with mine. He chuckles when he notices my glare. He knows I don't want presents at Christmas yet he always buys one.
"Don't blame it on me, son. She's the one who asked my opinion. I just contributed to paying for the watch." He tells me innocently.
"It's still too much." I mumble. "But thank you. I like it." I admit.
"I knew you'd do." He grins.
I just roll my eyes at him before turning around with a smiling Lia and heading towards our friends.
"Hey!" Dylan greets us. "We were just talking about the rooms and who sleeps with who. Liam and Taylor together, obviously. Same with Alex and Gabby? Unless Gabby sleeps with Nycto?" He adds the last part confusedly.
Lia shakes her head at him. "Liam and Tay together, Alex and Gabby, Dylan in your room with Ethan, Brooke you have the joy to be alone and I'll take a room with... Aaron?" She finishes hesitantly.
I just know she feels embarrassed saying that she'll sleep with me, but it wouldn't be the first time. Plus, it's not as if we were fucking.
"I agree only if we have the room downstairs." I add. No way that I'm sleeping upstairs. It's already crystal clear that two couples are fucking tonight and I don't plan on hearing my mates moaning.
Dylan nods. "Perfect then. It's all set." He finishes as he claps his hands.
Lia yawns yet once again on my right. "I- I think I'll go to bed." She says shyly.
The others nod, agreeing with her as it's soon to be 1am. "Goodnight." She tells them as they all reply with their goodnights.
I leave with her, but no before hearing Alex shouting, "Don't forget Jack's gift, man!" Which earns him a punch on his shoulder from Gabriella.
I shake my head, chuckling. "What was Jack's gift?" Lia asks from my side as we go downstairs.
"A box of condoms."
Her nose scrunches in disgust as I laugh at her reaction. We soon enter the same bedroom as last time. Lia sits on the bed while I get some clothes from the drawers. I take sweats for me, boxers and a t-shirt for her. I turn around to let her change and she does the same when it's my turn. I put the sweats on and take the shirt off.
"I just need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in 2 minutes." She tells me softly.
I nod then she leaves the room. I open the lamp on the nightstand then proceed to close the main lights. I get in bed, waiting for her to come back.
She enters the room a minute after, still dressed in the clothes that I keep here. She jumps on the bed before getting under the covers. Instead of her laying on me, I decide that today is my turn. I roll on my side to wrap an arm around her waist while my head lay in the crook of her neck, slightly on her chest. She brings her hand to my hair and starts to brush it in a very relaxing way. God how I fucking love when she does this.
"How was your night?" I ask her in a whisper.
She doesn't answer right away, probably thinking about what to say. "It was... hard." She admits, her voice shaking a bit.
"How come?"
I feel her sigh as she keeps on playing with my hair. I slide my hand under her tee slowly to make sure she doesn't jump by the motion. I then draw patterns on her stomach as she shivers. "I- I don't know. People kept on glancing at my wrists and it's the first real Christmas that I've had since my mother passed. It's kind of overwhelming. It's as if I'm trapped with my emotions. I can't breathe properly because of the emotional pound on my heart."
"How do you feel, then? What emotions are overwhelming you?" I ask, still tracing shapes with my fingers on her soft skin to try and soothe her.
"I don't know, it's confusing. I'm feeling sad, but happy at the same time. Anxious and... I don't know. It's a mix of multiple emotions a- and I hate it. I'm not used to feeling a lot of emotions... even less happiness. It's just overwhelming." She explains, her voice breaking at some point.
I lift my head from her chest to look at her watery eyes. A lonely tear escapes her left eye and I wipe it away with my free hand. "It's okay. No one's pressuring you into always being fine. It's normal to be overwhelmed or confused sometimes. Just give yourself time and soon it'll all be cleared up."
She nods, her eyes not leaving mine. She sniffles before shyly smiling. "Can we... you know, sleep like usual?"
I smirk, knowing she wants to cuddle, but is just too embarrassed to say it out loud. This girl is innocent in every way, goddamn. Cuddling isn't a crime either. Plus, I'll never admit it out loud, but I love cuddling with her.
"What do you mean, sweetheart? What do you want to do?"
She groans her hand leaving my hair to cover her face. "You know what I mean. Please, Aaron." She whines desperately.
"Alright, we can cuddle. I liked it though when you played with my hair." I say while pouting.
"Too bad. Perhaps you'll wake up to me playing with your hair. You'll need to sleep to find out though."
I roll my eyes as I position myself in the bed, so she can snuzzle in my chest. Once we're all set, I slide my hand under her tee once again. She chuckles at my action.
Eventually, we both fall asleep in each other's arms like an old married couple.
———
Hi! I'm so thankful for every single one of you who are reading my book! Don't forget to perhaps vote, comment and follow me to get a notification when I post something in the conversation! Thanks again!
Xox -R.