Chapter 27
Not really happy with these chapters becuase I've written them really quickly because I decided to splurge and update a billion and one times. Enjoy and don't forget to vote, fan and comment if you want xo
I was still feeling under the weather when Mum and Dad planned to take me up to Washington State, so the 19-hour drive is a real killer. I try to sleep the whole way but with the bumpy and slippery roads, it made it too hard. All I can do was just sit in the back seat and try not to chunder all over everyone. We stop in at a small motel to get some rest and when I touch stationary land, it’s like heaven on my feet. I go straight to bed when I get there and I welcome a proper sleep instantly.
The next day we have a good breakfast and fix a few things up before getting back on the road, a nine hour drive still left to go. It’s Christmas Eve so my parents try to hurry but it eventually ticks past 11pm with two hours still left to drive. So much for trying to make it to the cabin before Christmas.
I get a text from Noah saying they can’t stay awake to wait for us because they’re too tired. I reply telling him to go to sleep. I look tragic anyway, the last thing I need is someone seeing me like this. It’s just after 1am when we finally pull into the drive way of the cabin. My dad turns around in the seat and smiles at me, “The slopes are just over the hill. They have a mint spot.”
I hold back my laughter at dad using the word mint. I manage to contain it to a smile, “Sounds mint dad.”
He rolls his eyes, “Oh shut up and get out.”
Mum turns around in her seat too, “We’ll unpack tomorrow. Just get what you need and make sure you put some warm clothes on before you get out of the car, it’ll be freezing outside.”
I sigh, “Yes Mum. I know.”
“And wrap a scarf around your neck.”
“Because the cold is really going to hurt my slightly inflamed throat.” I mutter before wrapping a scarf around my neck to make her happy.
I put my coat on and my boots before grabbing my day bag and looking at my parents. "Hey Mum, Dad?"
They turn around, "Yes honey?"
"Merry Christmas." I smile.
They both grin, "Merry Christmas sweetie. This'll be a different Christmas to what we're use to so try and bear with us, okay?"
"Sure thing, no worries."
Mum ruffles my hair, "Perfect."
There's barely any snow covering the driveway so it's an easy walk into the cabin. When I step inside behind my parents, the warmth coming from the fire crackling in the living room engulfs me.
It's a cute cabin, all wood and rugs just like I imagined it to be. Cabins, just like baches, had to be home-y, something you could trudge sand or snow through and it wouldn't matter. Back at home, we had a Bach down at the Mount and it was a rickety old place where everyone chilled, right on the shores of the beach. We had friends whose baches were practically houses. However, despite our wealth, we always managed to have what a Bach was supposed to be - comforting and relevant to where we stayed. There was no use having a four million dollar Bach near the beach if you couldn't trudge sand through it. That's what it felt like with this cabin, I could feel the home-y vibes it was giving off. I shook of my boots and hung my coat on the rack before following my parents through to the lounge.
Larraine is sitting on the rocking chair reading a book when we show ourselves. She gets up to meet us, "Merry Christmas! Lovely to have you here!"
Mum hugs her graciously, "Oh Larraine you didn't have to wait up for us! And yes Merry Christmas to you too."
Larraine hugs my father and me and wishes us a Merry Christmas too. She smiles at me, "You must be tired Ara. Your room is two doors down the hallway on the right.” She turns to my mum. “I hope you don't mind Karen, she'll be sharing with Keaton. It's just that it's a four bedroom place so I have the three oldest boys sharing, Brooke and I sharing and then you both have a room together leaving Keaton and Ara. I would've let Brooke share with Ara but I thought that would be quite awkward on Keaton if he had to share with his mother."
Mum laughs and waves her away, "It's completely fine Larraine. Ara's had worse, we went on a camping trip once and Ara had to share a tent with three of her brother's friends. Keaton is nothing."
I laugh even though the butterflies in my stomach slightly flutter, "Yeah sharing with Keaton should be fine."
Mum frowns, "Although if I had known we were driving you out of your room, I would never have agreed to stay here! The last thing we wanted to do was intrude, it's not too late to rent a motel near at the lodge over the hill."
Larraine rolls her eyes, "Oh nonsense Karen. We wanted to have you here. It's much easier having everyone together, plus with two extra adults in here, it will be much easier keeping the boys in check."
Dad laughs, "I get down with the kids so it's okay."
"Oh god. Please stop, Dad." I groan. "Thank you for having us Larraine. With being away from family this time of year, it's nice to have someone to share Christmas with."
"Anytime dear." She replies warmly. “Anyway as I said, your bedroom is down the hall, second on your right. I expect you're very tired. Each bedroom has a connected bathroom so you'll have to fight Keaton for time in there."
I chuckle, "I can imagine that. I think I'll be going to bed now, you're right, I am really beat. Good night."
They each give me a quick kiss on the cheek and leave me to find my way to the room. It's not completely dark in the room because Keaton has left a small lamp light on. I assume so I could find my way around easily. It's not a big bedroom, with just enough space for a bunk bed and a small desk and chair. The floor space is limited and when my suitcase is brought in, I guess we'll only have about 2 square meters of clear space. I don't bother changing or anything, I just take off my beanie, scarf and gloves and climb into the bottom bunk wearing only my sweatpants and jumper. I'm so tired that the thought of Keaton sleeping on the bed on top of me doesn't even faze me. I'll have time to worry over that in the morning. Right now, sleep is much more important.
--
In the morning, I'm woken up by a strong smell of hot chocolate near my nose. I open my eyes slowly to see Keaton grinning at me, a mug in hand, waving it in front of my nose. I get a small fright which makes him chuckle. He pulls back slightly, "Merry Christmas sleepyhead. We were going to let you wake up on your own but it is now 11 o'clock and breakfast is being served."
I stretch out and let a smile find its way to my face, "Merry Christmas Keaton."
I sit up and take the mug from him. He gestures to the corner of the room, "I took the liberty of bringing your suitcase in. So do whatever you have to do and come out into the living room for breakfast."
I nod, "Thanks." It's then that I notice what he's wearing. I tug slightly on his sweater sleeve that's sporting a very nice array of little reindeer. "I like this. It's very … Christmas-y."
He blushes, "Yeah my mum makes me wear it every year. When I grow out of it, she buys me a new one. Same with Drew and Wes, it's kind of like a Christmas tradition."
"It's cute." I admit.
He laughs, "No it's embarrassing. I'll see you out there anyway."
With that he leaves me be, shutting the door behind him. I drag myself out of bed and put the mug down so I can make myself presentable. I quickly run my brush through my hair and tie it up into a messy bun. I straighten the hoodie and sweatpants I'm already wearing and rummage through my suitcase to find my ugg boots. I wrap my scarf around my neck, grab my mug and make my way to the living room. Everyone is sitting around with plates of food that have an assortment of hot food on them. The smell of bacon makes my tummy growl. I smile at everyone, "Merry Christmas."
I get the same warm greetings back before being directed into the kitchen. I say good morning to the parents and am about to grab a plate off Larraine when Mum stops me by handing me a pot of yoghurt and some fruit puree. I groan. “You’ve got to be kidding me. They’re having bacon!”
Mum laughs and makes me hold the two pots. “I’m sorry Ara but it’s Doctors orders, you’re still on liquefied food. You can eat proper food tomorrow.”
“But my throat is fine!” I protest.
She isn’t having any of it. She even hands me two pills to show she’s serious, “And don’t forget to take these.”
“I hate those; they make me drowsy and even more tired than before.” I moan.
“I’m sorry honey but it’s only two more days.”
“Yeah whatever.” I grumble frustrated, before taking the pills and pots into the lounge with a spoon.
The parents stay in the kitchen to eat because it's easier, I don't think they'd want to sit on the floor like I end up doing. I lean against the base of the couch Keaton and Wes are sitting on. I plonk myself angrily between their legs and slurp annoyingly at my yoghurt. I sigh and lap up the entire yogurt despite the nice smelling bacon wafting my way from everyone’s plates. I keep sighing and mumbling to myself before finally Keaton just shoves a piece of bacon in front of my face, “Gosh Arabelle. Just take the damn bacon and shut up.”
I chuckle and bite it straight from his hands, “Oh my god this tastes so good.”
I keep biting and moaning in delight as I take the bacon from Keaton’s hand like a dog until Noah groans, “Okay no need to be so orgasmic.”
I bite the last piece and poke my tongue at my brother. “Don’t be such a hater okay, it’s some good bacon.”
He laughs and shakes his head, “I honestly wonder if we’re actually related sometimes.”
I let the comment slide because it’s Christmas and eat my fruit puree in silence. After everyone is eaten, we’re commanded to get dressed ready for the day. Apparently, we’re going to be making snowmen and snow angels and all that shizzam because it’s a Stromberg tradition. Then after that, we relax a while, have the Christmas dinner then finally open presents. I’m pretty happy with the presents I got for everyone while they were travelling up here and I was stuck at home. I had circled what I wanted to get for everyone in a catalogue and Mum had gone and bought it. Anything to keep me bed ridden. I even got presents for Larraine and Brooke, it was the least I could do after they invited us to stay at their cabin.
I make my way to my room and Keaton’s already in there rummaging through his suitcase. God, I forgot we were going to be sharing for the next week. I clear my throat awkwardly, “I’ll um get changed in the bathroom and you get changed in here?”
He nods, “Sounds good. Hey Arabelle, you don’t think it’ll be awkward us rooming together right?”
“Nah it’ll be sweet as Keats, I’m not hard to live with.”
He laughs, “Okay cool. We’ll just try and keep out of each other’s way when it comes to showering and getting dressed.”
“No we’re going to watch each other do it Keaton.” He blushes and I can’t help but laugh. “I was being sarcastic baby.”
He frowns, “Yeah I knew that. Just hurry u p and get out so I can get dressed.”
I grab a bunch of clothes to wear for the day and make my way to the connected bathroom. I pull the door shut and start getting dressed. In the end, I settle on black skinny jeans, a black turtleneck with my union Jack pullover. I put a grey scarf on and let my hair out to fall naturally. I put my Obey beanie on and set my gloves and green Parker down while I wash my face and brush my teeth. I don't bother with make-up and put my seeing glasses on. After gathering up my belongings, I chuck them in my suitcase and put my Parker and gloves on. I slip my brown boots on and make my way outside to where everyone is. I haven't even taken two steps when I get pelted with a snowball. I squeal out in surprise and instantly scan the snow for the culprit. The parents and Brooke are standing around looking innocent while four boys cackle away about 10 meters off. I narrow my eyes, "You'll pay for that."
Wes laughs, "There's four of us and one of you."
Brooke chuckles and stands beside me as the parents follow suit, "Actually there are five of us and four of you. Bring it on baby bro."
That’s how the war starts. Snowballs fly everywhere and every time I’m hit, I have to refrain from yelling because the sound scratches at my throat. I get Noah ga couple times but Wes and Drew are too good for me so I miss them a lot. Keaton’s the easiest though because he’s not the most co-ordinated person. After twenty minutes of non-stop throwing, we huddle behind the car and hatch a plan. Dad had gotten a bucket and filled it up with snow so arming ourselves with snowballs we plan to cover him so he could pour it on any one of the boys he met first. I grab three snowballs just like everyone else does and thankfully when we come out from behind the car, the boys are huddled behind Brookes car so we’re able to sneak up on them. We’re a couple of meters away when they show their faces. As agreed, I go straight for Keaton. I throw my three snowballs at him and he yells at me playfully to stop. He rushes me and pushes me back to stop from hurling more snow at him. I’m stumbling backwards when I trip on a clump of snow. I fall down in a big heap and seeing as Keaton was holding on to me, he comes tumbling down after me. He lands on me with a thud. I close my eyes and groan in pain and when I open them, Keaton is just giving me his trademark smile, our faces only inches apart. I groan again, “If you weren’t crushing me completely, I would’ve thought this was cute.”
He laughs and brushes some snow out of my hair, “That’s what you get for throwing snowballs at me.”
I’m staring up into his eyes and I can’t help but notice that they’re laced with flecks of green. I kind of get lost in them, I just lose my train of thought and let my mind wander. It’s not until I hear a yelling and cheering that I’m snapped out of it. I turn my head slightly sideways and see that Wes has a bucket of snow dripping off his clothes. I laugh and even thought it hurts slightly, I cheer with everyone else. Keaton clambers off me and holds his hand out for me to grab. I do so and he pulls me up off the snow. He brushes my shoulders, back and hair down to rid me of the snow and I do the same for him. He gives me one last smile before we make our way inside. I leave my boots at the front door, get rid of my parker, and scarf before going through to the living room. The fire is burning brightly so I sit in front of it, in hopes of warming my back up. The warmth engulfs me almost instantly, making me drowsy and ready for a nap. I lay down on the rug and nod off before anyone else has noticed I’m here.
--
Eventually I wake up from my nap. It was a nice nap despite the floor being rock hard. The fire is still burning behind me and I’m hotter than I was before. I sit up and stretch out, scanning my surroundings as I do so. The only person I can see is Keaton, who’s on the couch playing some Xbox. I heave myself up and plonk down next to him, “What time is it?”
“We’re about an hour out from dinner time.”
“Oh okay, I was sleeping for a while.”
He chuckles, “Yeah you were. Wes wanted to draw stuff on your face but I wouldn’t let him.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I reply with a small smile. “So what are you playing?”
“Halo 4. Wanna join?”
I laugh, “Yeah no thanks. I suck at Xbox. I’m only moderately good at the driving games and even then… I still suck.”
“Really? I would’ve just assumed you could play.”
I roll my eyes, “Just because I surf, skate and snowboard doesn’t mean I can play Xbox. I’m not that much of a guy. I am very much a girl.”
“Truth. I know a few girls who would say they play Xbox even though they don’t.”
I groan, “Girls like that are ridiculous. You play and I’ll watch, no worries.”
He shrugs, “Okay then.”
He goes back to playing and I lean my back against his shoulder and bring my feet up to rest over the armrest of the chair so I’m comfier. I end up reading a magazine because watching him play Xbox is actually boring. In time, he ends up pulling his arm out from underneath my back and wraps it around the front of me, so it’s lying across my collarbone. He doesn’t even tear his eyes away from the screen as he continues to play, he just says “You were killing my arm.”
He’s practically hugging me now. So I just let myself smile as I snuggle into him closer, flipping the page of my magazine as I do so.
Tumblr: s-tromburger.tumblr.com
Polyvore: m-astin.polyvore.com
Don't forget to vote, fan and comment!
Also, if you don't know what a bach is, it's like a beach house. A holiday home one usually owns that is on the beach front or within walking distance to a beach. It's usallu far away from where your normal house, either on the side of town or in a whole different town completely. Word.