I am freaking out. It’s not everyday I lie to my girlfriend about where I’m at, but I feel like it’s necessary this time. “That looks great Misty. Thank you for being here, it means a lot to me and it’ll mean a lot to Oaklynn. She’s been wanting to see you guys in person for months now, but she doesn’t want to seem needy.” I confess to my girlfriend’s mom, and she laughs.
“Yeah, she feels the need to be independent,” she gets a sad smile, and shakes her head, “ever since she was little.” Her eyes start misting over, “This’ll be good for you. She deserves someone as good as you people are. I mean, who the hell would go through months of trouble to make this happen?” She questionably jokes, and I chuckle.
“Mom’s got a point, who the hell would drive to Tennessee every weekend just for this? Most people would plan a date at most. You are planning a whole night for her, so you either really love her, or she’s blackmailing you. Knowing my sister, it’s blackmail. Whatever she has on you, I can give you something dirtier.” Rebel cuts in, and I let out a full blown laugh. “You laugh, but I’m serious.”
Ever since I brought Misty and Rebel into the plan when I decided I needed to execute it. It’s been interesting to say the least. Rebel has been like a little brother to me more than ever, and Misty has been like a second mom to me. “She’s not blackmailing me jackass. I want to do this, and you can’t change my mind. You couldn’t when I told you about this, and you can’t now. I’m fully in, and rather you like it or not, you're stuck with me forever.” I give him a creepy grin, and he narrows his eyes.
“Mom, help. He’s talking like Oaklynn. I don’t need a second one of her.” He tattles, and I flip him off. Like I said, a sibling relationship. But you won’t hear me complaining because I need practice for when Ari gets older, and I’ll be used to jacking around with Rebel for the foreseeable future.
Rebel and Misty go back to setting up a few things around the table, and I head inside to see how the guys are coming along with their job. Ever since I told Oaklynn about the warehouse, the guys and I have been pushing to finish this as fast as we can, and over the summer we will hopefully be moved in here or at least be able to move in here before the start of the next school year.
“Hol, we need some help. This ain’t working man.” Levi waves me into the kitchen, “This is supposed to plug in here, but it doesn’t fit here. So either we’re dumb, or the this thing is fucked.” he shrugs, and I laugh. Typical problems for us, not the first time today- or even this month- that something wouldn’t work.
I take the ‘W’ sign that they had bought, and examined the back where the cord plugs in. To no avail, it won’t fit there, so I grab a screwdriver, and start taking it apart. After it’s apart, I try to plug it in without it benign together, and it fits perfectly. “Try again. If it doesn’t work then I’ll try it. I need to shower and get changed before Ivy and Oaklynn get here.” I tell them, and they nod. Thankfully my dad suggested that we start fixing up the bathrooms and the kitchen first, that way we’ll have them if we need them before the house is done.
“They’ll be here in twenty. Ivy’s been dragging Oak around saying we asked them to pick up some type of chip that doesn’t exist. If we need more time, we’ll tell her to grab something else.” Dustin tells me, and I give him a thumbs up. “While he showers, let’s run through everything and make sure it works. We don’t want any issues because we know that my sister is a drama queen, and will have our asses if this isn’t perfect.”
With my full trust in everyone, I head into what will be the master bedroom, and start getting ready for the shower. Before I get in though, I text the group chat that doesn’t have Oaklynn, and make sure that all the parents are ready and on their way. Since we’ve all gotten closer to one another, we decided that it’d be fun to have all of our families here. So far, all of our big plans involve all of our families.
After I sent the text to the chat, I jump in the shower, and finish it in five minutes. When I get out, I hear a few car doors slam, laughter, and music coming from downstairs. The chaotic energy makes me smile and makes this place feel more like a home. I get dressed fast, and run down to greet everyone.
My parents and Ari, the twins' parents, Kane’s family, Levi’s family, and Dustin’s mom are all gathered in the kitchen catching up since they haven’t seen each other since New Year’s Eve. “Hey Hol! How are you?” Evan asks, pulling me into a hug. I return his hug, give him an answer, and then get pushed around to hug everyone. “This is a hell of a place you’ve remodeled. It looks really good. I’m proud of you boys.” He praises us, and we fall into an easy conversation of how much longer until the whole house is finished.
Fifteen minutes pass of jokes and praise, when Wren yells, “Ivy and Oaklynn are pulling in. Where do you want us Captain?” I roll my eyes at him, and shrug. There’s no plan for this. We’re just hanging out and having a family get together. “Right, we’ll just chill here.” He nods to himself, liking his answer. Whatever floats his boat.
No more than two minutes later, the girls walk in. “I’m telling you, there are no damn tortilla chocolate chips. They lied to us, and I’ll be two hundred dollars on that. Dustin and Wren just like us chasing our tails. We’re their sisters, so they’re going to find it to be the funniest thing in the world!” My girlfriend exclaims, and we all start laughing. When she walks into the kitchen, she freezes. “What’s going on here? Ivy said the hockey party was here, but I didn’t know our families were going to be here.”
I walk up to her, pull her into a hug, and let out a sigh. I’ve missed her so much. The sleepovers and quick messages haven’t been enough. “The party was a lie. We wanted to surprise you with a get together. I know how much you’ve missed your family, and I know how you think we’re going to forget about you when we graduate.” I confess, and she buries her face deeper in my chest. “You can’t crawl into my skin babe. And, there’s someone here to see you.” I tell her, pulling away from the hug.
“Hi baby.” Misty coos, and Okalynn’s face lights up. Oaklynn runs into her mom’s arms, and they start their own conversation for a few moments. When they finish up, Rebel takes her place, and soon after she’s being passed around the room having conversations with everyone.
A few seconds pass once Oaklynn’s had her greetings, and Ivy loudly clears her throat. “Excuse me! I’ve been here longer, I was born first, you’ve known me longer, and not to mention some of you are my blood. Why the hell am I being ignored?” She throws her hands up dramatically. “I want love too.” We all laugh at her, but that doesn’t stop anyone from waving her over for a hug.
I let everyone get their conversations out of the way for a few minutes. After fifteen, I give the guys and parents the signal, and tell Oaklynn to follow me outside. She does, and when we get out there, she turns to me, “What are we doing out here? It’s freezing.” She states, and I laugh.
“We won’t be out here longer than twenty minutes, but here,” I hand her a jacket that I had left out here a few hours ago. “It’s been a while since we’ve been alone, and I wanted to have a little date with you. I know everybody is inside, but I already told them to stay in. We’ll walk around the property a little bit and talk, come back and skate for a few minutes, then go in.” I tell her, and she nods.
I grab her hand, and we start walking around the house. The first lap is silent, and by the second time, Oaklynn breaks the silence. “What’s been up with you? It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve had an actual conversation, and if I’m being honest I feel like I’m being ignored.” She confesses, and my heart nearly shatters. “I know you’ve been busy, but I miss you.” Her voice drops just above a whisper.
“I know, and I’m sorry. Studies have been kicking my ass because I’m coming up on my last year, I’ve been planning this so we can all be together and plan a big summer vacation, and I’ve been trying to get the house done,” I pause looking around, and let out a dry chuckle, “I’ll take the award for shittiest boyfriend now.” I joke, and she stops us.
Her eyes search mine, and her face turns hard, “You’re not. Life is shitty all the way around. We just have to do better at communicating.” She assures me, and I nod. Moments of weakness are something I love with Oaklynn. We strip ourselves bare for each other, and hope that it isn’t too much for the other person.
“Let’s skate. It’s been a while since I’ve made fun of the way you skate.” I joke, and she flips me off. “Oh, I also got this surround sound system for us to have on the patio, and it’s connected so we can play music from it.” I tell her because I am really proud of it. She playfully rolls her eyes, and I give her a boyish grin.
When we get to the back of the house, I grab our skates, and hit the power button for the system. Oaklynn takes her skates while I look for a song, and by the time we both have our skates on, the song I choose for this moment comes on. “Come on.” I encourage her as I step on the ice. I hold out my hand, and she takes it. As she steps onto the ice, Luke Combs starts singing Better Together.
Something flashes in Oaklynn’s eyes when the song playing registers in her head, and a small smile plays on her lips. “What are doing Land? This song is one of my favorites, and on one playlist I never listen to.” I nod at her confession. “So what’s your game?” She asks, and I shrug.
“No game. Just having a mini date with my girlfriend. We always have music on, and the song was on a playlist I found the other day.” I lie, and she nods. When the song is near the end, I spin her, and let go of her hand. While she’s spinning, I drop on to my left knee, give the kitchen window a nod, and the lights outside flick on.
By the time Oaklynn is facing me again, all the lights are on, the velvet box that has been burning a hole in my pocket is in my hand, and I’m on my knee. She lets out a nervous laugh, “What are you doing?” Her eyes scan around us, and then it all clicks, “No. Holland. No. This isn’t real. You are not doing this.” Her eyes tear up, and her hands cover her mouth.
I see our families silently coming out of the house, and stand behind her. Rebel gives me a nod, and I inhale a deep breath. “Oaklynn Mae James, I have been in love with you since you walked into the wrong house your first day in Michigan. That was probably the best mistake that this school has ever made,” we both let out a breathy laugh, “we’ve been through bumpy roads, lies, holiday fiascos, and many late night study sessions. I know you’re probably thinking that I’m insane, and trust me you aren’t the only one who thinks that.
“I told you that I wanted to marry you, and I meant that with everything in me. You challenge me, push me to be better, and like to make me question my sanity. We don’t have to have a wedding right away, we’ll both finish school, and get stable after. All I know is you are the woman I want in my life for the rest of it, be long or short.” I pause, and the letters light up, “So, will you marry me?”
Oaklynn turns pales, and I stop breathing. There are a million ways I assumed this would play out, but I didn’t think she’d turn pale. I figured there’d be tears, some jumping around, maybe her telling me that I’m delusional- which I know I am. “Umm,” I let out a nervous laugh, “are you with me still?” I ask, and she nods, slowly.
It takes a few seconds for her to unfreeze, and when she does tears flow down her cheeks. “You are beyond crazy, I hope you know that.” She lets out a laugh. “But lucky for you I’m probably a little crazier, so yes Holland Ace Maddox I will marry you.” She finally says, and I let out the breath I was holding.
I slip the ring on her finger, and she leans down to kiss me. When our lips meet, our families cheer, and I pump my arm in the air. As we pull away, Oaklynn brings her hand near her face, and examines the ring. “Do you like it? We went through your board you have for your proposal, and this was the closest one we could find.” I ramble on, and she laughs.
“I love it.” She tells me, and then she tilts her head. “How did you know I had a board for my proposal?” I rub the back of my neck, and give her a nervous laugh. “It was Ivy, wasn't it?” She asks, and I nod. I never should have mentioned the board, because now she’s going to make all of hers private. But it’s not like I didn’t have a whole notes page in my phone about how to make it perfect for her.
As we step off the ice, everyone comes over to us, and they all start to gush over the ring and the decorations that are all over the yard. In this moment, my life feels complete, and I wouldn’t change anything. All of the most important people in my life are together, and all having a good time. I didn’t expect to end my junior year with a fiance, much less with a huge group of friends and a mixed family.
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Hello loves! How are you?
This is the last update for Wrong House!