Surprise!!!
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| Jailen |
The sun had risen which meant that it was officially Christmas Eve.
Which also meant that I had been staring at the ceiling for the past eight hours.
My eyes burned when I blinked and a tear slid down into my ear. It's just from not blinking. I tried to assure myself.
My body was stiff from not moving for the past couple of hours and I was tired but I just couldn't bring myself to fall asleep. Hayden fell asleep earlier than normal last night and I took that opportunity to wrap a few of her presents. I only wrapped a few because it would give away the whole "Santa actually came" aspect of Christmas.
And then, I showered, in hopes that it would help me tire down faster but it didn't. I tossed and turned for the first hour or so until I started thinking. It was normal at first, little thoughts about Hayden and if she'd like the gift that I got her.
Then it was about Jason and his family. We weren't spending Christmas together this year because they were visiting Nick's family's house. Which then turned into another thought; I was spending Christmas without any family for the first time in years.
When Jason and I were younger, it was always the two of us excited over the holidays. My mom was never a fan of them and projected that onto my older sisters. So by the time Jason and I were born, it had already been engraved in their minds that holidays were stupid.
But we were always interested in them. Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day - we celebrated, even if it was by doing something as small as coloring a themed picture or looking at the decorations.
My dad would join in because at first, we were too young to wander about by ourselves and our mom just didn't seem to have any interest in our hobbies. She was always too busy. But even as we got old enough to go out by ourselves, my dad would join and eventually, he started picking out decorations for the house. Even after I moved away, I would go home for almost every holiday because it had become a tradition between the three of us up until four years ago...
I spent four years without my parents for the holidays, but I had Jason, so I was content, he was my family for those four years. He, Nick, and their kids.
I made the mistake of going through my contacts out of boredom. For some reason, even after I changed my number, I hadn't deleted my dad's number. In fact, I made sure that he was the first number I saved to my new phone. I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it was because deep down I knew that I was eventually going to reach out to him. He might not have known my whereabouts but I knew he was still at home.
But as I clicked on his contact and went to press the call button, realization struck me. He was dead.
I sat my phone down immediately after and haven't picked it up since. If I was being honest, I was afraid to. I was doing a pretty good job at keeping the tears at bay, even if a few did slip out, but I knew if I picked up my phone again, the first thing I was going to see was his contact photo. So, I decided against it and I was now going on hour 9 of staring at the ceiling.
I think I was starting to hallucinate. I could've sworn I heard my front door open, but that was impossible. I triple-checked my locks last night, as I have ever since I swore off speaking to my mother. I wasn't sure what she would do to try and get me to speak to her again. I scoffed, as if she cared that much. If anything. I'm sure I was doing her a favor by vowing to never speak to her again. I'm sure it was easier to still consider herself a great parent because she wasn't the one to cut ties between us.
Besides, the only other person who had the key to my apartment was Jason, and he was about a thousand miles away right now.
I closed my eyes and inhaled. With the sun shining through my blinds, I felt myself relax. I decided against fighting it. I knew Hayden would be bursting through my bedroom door soon and figured I should allow myself a few minutes of sleep.
I could feel more tears fall from my eyes and not even a full minute went by before I was drifting off. My body sunk against the sheets but it wasn't long before my room door was being opened. It was Hayden, I was sure of it. I rolled over on my side, keeping my eyes closed as I lifted the duvet, inviting her to lay with me like I did every morning.
The bed dipped more than usual and this startled me. Hayden wasn't heavy by any means so I didn't bother hesitating as I reached out and pushed whoever was in my bed. A hand wrapped around my wrist and I panicked. My eyes shot open as I sat up in the bed, fully prepared to defend myself against this person.
"Détends-toi, chérie," Harry's voice filled my ears, "It's just me. You're fine."
My heart was beating at a pace that convinced me that I was seconds away from dying. With my hands balled into fists, I stared at Harry. He stared back at me, his face twisted in concern, his hand wrapped around my wrist tightly as if he was afraid I'd swing on him.
Even with me knowing that I wasn't in any danger, I wasn't too sure that I didn't want to swing on him, "How the hell did you get in my apartment?" I finally managed to choke out.
"I have a key," He said before quickly changing the subject, "Why haven't you gotten any sleep?"
"I have been to sleep, you woke me up by being creepy," I mumbled, trying to calm my breathing.
"Liar, I can see it in your face. You look exhausted."
I chuckled in exasperation, "Gee, thanks!" I snatched my arm out of his hold, "Get out."
"God, you're pissy this morning. What's the matter, baby?" Harry asked, reaching out and wrapping his arms around my waist.
I didn't bother fighting him as he pulled me against his body. I welcomed it actually, getting comfortable in his lap and staring up at him. He was concerned, I could tell by the way he held me close as if he knew I was seconds from realizing that this was a bad idea and that I shouldn't be cuddling with him right now.
With one hand sprawled across my back and the other one twirling the hairs that were currently framing my face, he hummed, "Not in the Christmas spirit, hm?"
I pursed my lips, trying to come up with something to say but I couldn't, and that alone was enough for Harry to draw his conclusion. His eyes searched my face for a moment, his features giving away the fact that his mind was racing with thoughts. And then he grinned, "I guess that means you and Hayden will get your gift early!"
Before I could say anything, I was being pushed off of his lap and back onto the mattress. He climbed off of the bed, suddenly giddy as he flicked the lights on.
I groaned, dizzy from being tossed and blinded by the sudden brightness in my room, "What?"
I watched as he walked into my closet and rummaged around before emerging with my suitcase. He sat it at the foot of the bed and stood up straight, his hands gesturing to the suitcase and slightly out of breath.
"What am I supposed to do with that?" I asked, staring at him.
He rolled his eyes, "What else do you do with a fucking suitcase, Jai?"
I blinked slowly, "I'm confused-"
"Pack. You pack, sweetie. Putain, tu es un peu stupide aujourd'hui," He sighed.
"Boy-" I scoffed, picking up the closest pillow and hauling it at him, thanking myself for not giving up on my French lessons. I didn't understand the whole sentence but I knew one word and that was enough. The pillow hit him hard and pulled a small grunt from him, "I know what you do what a damn suitcase but why do I need to pack?"
He ignored me, walking over to my dresser and opening the first drawer. He paused, looking over his shoulder at me with a grin on his face. I sighed heavily, "You're so childish, close it!"
Except he did the opposite. Instead, he pulled out of a pair of my panties, a pair of black thongs to be exact. He held them up with one hand, the other still moving about in my drawer, "Make sure you pack these."
"Absolutely not," I said but he just shrugged and instead of putting them back, he stuffed them in his pocket, "Harry-"
"These are cute," He teased, holding up another pair as I stood from the bed and approached him. I snatched them from his hands and tossed them back into the drawer before slamming it shut.
He smiled down at me and I wanted to slap myself for smiling back, "You're annoying," I mumbled, rolling my eyes and pushing him away from my dresser.
For the second time today, he grabbed my arm, his grip more gentle than it was earlier as he pulled me closer, "I'm yours," Harry said, leaning down and placing a kiss on my forehead. When he pulled away, I couldn't do anything except stare up at him stupidly as butterflies sprung to life in my stomach. Ew.
I locked eyes with him and my breathing got caught in my throat. His thumb hadn't stopped caressing the skin on my wrist since he grabbed it, leaving what felt like traces of fire after every stroke. He leaned in, his nose brushing mine, and just when I thought our lips were about to touch, my bedroom door was slammed open again and Harry pulled away from me with a quickness that left me feeling empty.
"Hi, Dad!" Hayden screeched excitedly.
"Is that my baby!?" Harry replied just as excitedly, lifting her into his arms and spinning her around, "I have a surprise for you."
"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" She yelled again and my eyes widened. How did she have so much energy this early in the morning?
"Inside voices, please," I said, walking over and kissing her cheek, "Good morning, bug."
"Tell me, tell me, tell me," She whispered and Harry smiled and I swear if this was a cartoon, his eyes would be hearts as he stared at her.
"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?"
"Yeah," Hayden replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and I snorted.
"No," Harry shook his head and chuckled, "But' I'll give you a hint, yeah?" She nodded eagerly and Harry hummed, "It's..."
"It's..." Hayden repeated, leaning her forehead against his as she waited,
"It's..." Harry drawled out before he closed his eyes and pretended to snore.
"Dad!" Hayden yelled and Harry snorted, opening his eyes and sighing.
"Did I fall asleep?" He asked and my heart swelled as I watched them interact.
Hayden giggled, "You did!"
"Oh man, I think I may have forgotten the surprise, munchkin."
She groaned, falling limp in Harry's arms. He chuckled before he turned his attention to me, "I'll get her ready, Plane leaves in two hours-"
"Plane!?" And just like that, Hayden was back to herself again.
"Did I say plane? I meant to say... frog." He scoffed as he turned to walk out of my room.
"Those words don't even rhyme!" Hayden scolded him and I smiled, listening to their voices fade down the hall.
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not a Christmas chapter two months later 💀💀