Chapter 19:
The last 9 days flew by, and Ed will be here by tonight! My family is so excited to meet him. I can’t wait!
I’m currently decorating Christmas cookies with my brother.
“Tay, check this one out,” he told me. I walked to his side of the table and peeked over his shoulder. I wasn’t even sure what that was supposed to look like.
“Um…what is it?”
“It’s a dinosaur!” He said, too excited. I laughed at his terrible decorating skills.
“Ohh I see it now! You could be an artist!” I said, not really meaning it.
“Oh, Taylor. I’m blushing!” He said, making us both burst into laughter.
“You have a bit of frosting on your face,” I told him.
“Where?”
“Right…” I wiped my whole cookie across his face, leaving a line of green and red icing across his face. “There!” I finished. He looked at me, shocked for a second before taking in what I’d done.
“Taylor. Silly, little Taylor. You don’t know what you’ve just started.” He started backing out of the room. He backed into the wall, making me laugh. “I’ll get you, my pretty. And your little cat, too!” He did a witches laugh.
“First of all, I’m not little. Second of all, touch Meredith and I’ll kill you!” I yelled to him as he left to clean off his face.
I was only alone for a few minutes before my mom walked through the kitchen door.
“Hey mom!” I said, while turning to look at her face. I couldn’t read her expression very well. She looked really serious, though. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Taylor…honey…I think now’s about time we talk about what happened a few months back.” I cringed at the memory. Tears pricked at my eyes. “Of course, only if you’re ready!” She added, quickly. Then she started rambling.
“I’m sorry, Taylor. I know this is hard for you and….I can’t wrap my head around the fact that I almost lost my baby. I wish I was closer to you and I’m sorry! I really am and I-
“Mom.” I interrupted her, pulling her into a hug. Tears poured from her cheeks. I hated seeing her this way. Especially so close to Christmas.
I’ve just realized how hard it must’ve been for her to hear that her child had almost died. I can’t even imagine how scared she must have been. My mom has always been my best friend. I’m so lucky to have her.
“Mom….I love you. It’s okay. I’m okay. Let’s talk about this, okay?” I spoke into her ear. She let out a long sigh and nodded. I took a deep breath before starting.
“Ed was at one of his concerts in California. I decided to stay on the bus…just for the night. I got really bored, and decided it was warm enough outside to walk. It was already starting to get dark when I left. I went shopping, then to get coffee. I met a boy at the café and we ended up singing. When I left I called Scott and asked him to call the boy. When I got off the phone, I was back at the bus. While I was looking for my keys, I felt a knife on my throat.” A tear fell, but my mom wiped it away. “He didn’t want to kill me. He was being forced. Someone took his family and threatened to kill all of them. I actually felt very sorry for him. Anyways, he made me write a note to Ed, telling him I never really loved him. Then he stabbed me, put the note next to me, and my hands on the knife. He tried to make it look like I killed myself. Then he took my phone. He called 911, telling them I killed myself. I couldn’t move, so he kissed my forehead, apologized, and ran out crying.” My mom squeezed my hand. I wiped my eyes.
“Don’t worry, honey. They’ll find out who did this to you. You’ll be safe from now on. We’re going to hire you a bodyguard. We’ll interview a few guys after Christmas and you can choose one.” I nodded and hugged her. I thanked her, and got back to my cookies. I forgot about everything that was making me sad, and replaced it with the thought of spending Christmas with my wonderful family, and my wonderful boyfriend.
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Hours went by. I sat on the couch near the door, waiting. Ed hadn’t texted me. It was 11:50. It would be Christmas in just 10 minutes. I waited impatiently to hear a knock, or see a car pull up in the driveway. I checked my phone about every 30 seconds, waiting to see his name appear on the screen. Nada.
He was supposed to be here hours ago. Where is he?
“Taylor…” I turned around to find my brother.
“Hey, Austin.” I said, turning my head back to the door.
“Taylor…” he put a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think he’s coming.” I stood up and turned to face him. I pushed his hand off my shoulder.
“What are you saying? He stood me up? No. Ed isn’t like that.” I spit out, angrily.
“Tay…that isn’t what I’m saying. Maybe something happened and he can’t come until tomorrow. You’ve been waiting since 7:00. That’s almost 6 hours.” My eyes filled with tears. I threw myself into my brother’s arms. He rubbed my back and whispered to me.
“It’s ok, Tay. Shhh. It’s ok.”
“He-he said he’d be here.” I cried into his shirt.
It took me about 5 minutes to calm down. My eyes were still tear-stained, and my eyes were puffy. My whole family was sitting on the couch, looking through some old photo albums. The clock made a loud noise, indicating it was midnight. We all jumped at the sudden noise.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Austin yelled, pulling us all into a group hug. We all laughed and pulled away. I kissed my mom and dad’s cheeks, wishing them a Merry Christmas. When I go to Austin, he picked me up and spun me around.
“Merry Christmas, Tay Tay!” He squealed. I screamed and he put me down. I hugged him tightly. I jumped back, startled when I heard the door fly open. We all turned to see a man walk in. He was covered in snow, and many layers of clothing. He took off one of his jackets, revealing his face. We made eye contact, and I froze.
“Merry Christmas, Taylor.” He said in his thick, British accent.
“Ed…” I said, tears in my eyes. I was too happy for words. I ran into his arms. He was out of breath, and freezing.
He automatically wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. His grip was tight around me. Silent tears ran down my cheeks. I wanted to kiss him more than anything right now, but my family was right there. He pulled away enough to look at me. “I’ve missed you so much.” He told me.
“I missed you, too.” He kissed my forehead.
I had him take off his snow gear, leaving him in a pair of jeans and a stupid Christmas sweater. I laughed at it. I had him follow mw into the living room again, where my family was still waiting.
“Ed, this is my family. My mom, Andrea; my dad, Scott; and my brother, Austin.”
“It’s great to finally meet you!” My mom said, pulling him into a hug. He was a bit surprised by this, but he hugged back without hesitation.
“Nice to meet you, Ed!” My dad said, shaking his hand with a goofy smile. Ed nodded and smiled.
Now for my brother.
“You treat my sister good. You break her heart, I’ll break your face. Got it?” Austin told him, acting all tough. My eyes widened and I was about to yell at him when Ed answered.
“Yes, sir. I would never break her heart. I love her.” He did look a bit scared, but that was really sweet.
Austin laughed. “Hey, I was just messing with you, man.” He relaxed immediately. “I’m Austin, I’ve heard a lot about you. Actually, I’ve heard too much about you. Like you like cats. And your full name is Edward Christopher Sheeran. And that you’re a good kisser-“
“AUSTIN!” I interrupted him. I’m sure I was as red as a tomato right about now. “I did not say that.” I said, giving him a look that said “shut up before I murder you in your sleep.”
Everybody laughed at me while my face turned even redder. I stomped away, in search of my cat. I would like to be anywhere but here right now.
“You’re cute when you blush!” Ed yelled to me from the living room. Everyone laughed again. I walked back into the living room to throw a pillow at him, before heading upstairs.
I changed into Christmas-themed pajamas and walked back downstairs. Everyone was looking at the photo album this time. I smiled and let Ed bond with my family. I brought cookies into the room and offered them to everyone. I walked in to find Ed laughing along with everyone. It made me smile, knowing they were getting along so well.
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I said goodnight to my family, as did Ed. When they were gone, I brought him into the kitchen. He kissed me right away. It was a short, sweet kiss. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too. I love you so much. I’ll see you early tomorrow for Christmas, okay?”
“Alright. I love your family, by the way. I’m glad I got to meet them.” I smiled. I’m glad he likes them. “Goodnight, Taylor, I love you.” He pulled me into a hug before walking to the guest room. I smiled to myself while walking upstairs. Things couldn’t be better right now.
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It'll get better. I pwomise. :)
Wow I really want a brownie right now.
Omg it's 5:00 in the morning. Whoops.....Goodnight I guess!! LOVE YOUU.