Later that day
Jon and I mutually decided to go home early. It was for the better. Rachael said Ryan would take her to Jon's later in the evening to get her car.
When we got to Jon's, we had to sit Greg and Mary down at the kitchen table and have a long, emotional and uncomfortable talk about what happened the night before.
"Son, I'm proud of you for being there for Absidee. And I'm proud of whoever called 911, because something could have gone seriously wrong," Greg said, reaching across the table to hold both of our hands.
"Absidee, would you like counsellor? I know these types of things can be hard on a lady, I would personally do it. And with this whole situation with your parents, it may be good for you," Mary offered.
"I'll think about it," I smiled very small.
"Kids, y'all go up to Jon's room and get some rest. I'll make y'all dinner if y'all want it later," Mary instructed, kissing both of our foreheads.
So, that's exactly what we did. We didn't have school for the next three weeks because of winter break, so at least that wasn't a problem.
"Can you turn on a movie?" I asked Jon as I crawled into bed.
"Sure," he smiled as he threw a VHS tape in, which ended up being The Breakfast Club.
"I think I'm just going to sleep for a bit," I laid my head in a pillow.
"I'm gonna do the same," he laid down beside me. It wasn't long until I fell asleep.
"Abi," I felt Jon rub my shoulder. I rolled over and saw him standing over me, hair wet from a shower. "Rachael is here. Do you wanna see her?"
"Sure," I stretched and sat up. "Can she come up here?"
"Yea, she's at the bottom of the steps. I'll go get her."
A few seconds later, Rachael stepped into me and Jon's room, holding a Chick Fil A bag and drinks.
"I brought you guys some food," she set it on the nightstand. "Ryan's downstairs too, I didn't want to overwhelm you."
"It's fine. He can come in, if he wants," I tried to smile, though my thoughts weighed it down.
Rachael ran to get him as Jon sat on the bed with me, putting his arm around my shoulders.
"Hey," Ryan said as he stepped in, hugging me.
"Hey, Ry," I smiled small.
"We thought some food may help make you feel better. Is there anything we can do? Errands to run?"
"I appreciate it, but no. Things are fine on those lines. I'm just tired."
"Things will be okay. I promise," Rachael assured me.
"We'll be checking in on you," Ryan added.
Rachael and Ryan hugged me tight, then hugged Jon and said their goodbyes.
Christmas Eve
I've spent the past 3 Christmas's with Jon and his family, so this year was no different. His mom cooked a Christmas eve dinner and we each opened one gift. Jon opened a small box that I gave him, which had a watch in it. I had the watch made specially for him. On the bottom it had engraved in it, "Love Always, Absidee."
He pulled out the watch and smiled from ear to ear. "Thank you so much, Abi!"
"Anything for you. I know I haven't been easy to deal with these past few weeks."
Ever since the incident with Andrew, things around mine and Jon's life had been tough. For the first few days, leaving the bed was almost impossible. I couldn't eat, sleep, or function. I was disgusted and depressed.
Jon wasn't the best either. He pretended to be, though. He tried to hide it, but he couldn't hide the cries when he was sitting in the bathroom floor, or late night when he thought I was sleeping, or the journal entry I read. He blamed himself, yet to my face pretended to be okay. I was too stuck hating my own self and my own life to say anything.
Eventually, Mary brought in a therapist to help me with coping. Within a few days, I was basically back to normal. A few remaining emotional scars, but back to normal.
Jon hugged me with tears in his eyes. "You didn't have to do this," he smiled.
"That's not all. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the real surprise," I smiled big at him.
"Well, here," he handed me a large box. Inside, there was a big collage of photos of Jon and I, from the first time we hung out to as recent as the beach weekend at Ryan's. Underneath the collage was a bunch of t-shirts for bands like Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Nirvana, David Bowie, and of course my all time favorite, The Doors.
"Jon," I smiled, through tears, "this is the sweetest thing."
"There's more than that, but I guess you'll have to wait," he winked.
"Alright, Mom and Dad. Here's my gift to you guys," Jon ran up to his room and came down with a giant box signed with our names. When his parents unwrapped it, they screamed.
"It's, it's a TV!" Mary yelled. They had a pretty nice one in their basement, but they didn't have one in their room. Greg and Mary didn't feel like they needed one in their room but Jon and I felt as though they deserved it, so we split the costs in half. Jon wanted to pay the whole amount but I didn't want him to, so I dipped into some of the money Grandmother left me and paid what I could.
"Thank you, son," his dad hugged him. "And thank you, Miss Absidee."
Mary went into the kitchen to finish up the dinner we were all planning on having. Greg turned up the volume on the radio, playing Christmas music. Jon and I stayed in the living room, watching A Christmas Story snuggled up on the couch. Megan jumped up to snuggle with us. His cat, Marbles, was stretched across the window seat, knocked out.
"What time are Ryan and Rachael coming?" Mary called into the living room after about half an hour.
"10. I told them dinner wouldn't be over until about 10," Jon answered as he rubbed my shoulder.
"You know what we should watch?" I smiled, looking up at him.
"What?"
"The Good King Wenceslas," I smiled.
"Hell no!" he whisper-shouted, causing me to bust out laughing. Jon hated watching his own movies with us. To be fair, the movie wasn't to my taste. It was good, though.
About an hour later, Mary announced that dinner was ready. She had fixed a turkey, casserole, crock pot macaroni, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, biscuits, green beans, and corn. For desert, she had a chocolate eclair cake and Christmas cookies. For drinks, she had water, sparking wine, and hot chocolate.
"Wow, Mom, you went all out!" Jon exclaimed as we sat down.
"Honey, this looks wonderful," Greg kissed his wife on the cheek.
We sat down and had the best dinner. It was full of laughter, happiness, love, and thankfulness. It was a family dinner, something I had never experienced before.
Around 10:30, Ryan and Rachael showed up, holding large gifts. "Hey babes!" Rachael squealed as she stepped inside. Her and Ryan both had Christmas sweaters on and casual jeans, while Jon and I had our Christmas pajamas on.
"Hey!" I squealed back, hugging her and Ryan.
"Good evening, Ryan and Rachael," Greg said as he and Mary walked past. They both greeted him with a smile.
"We're going to set up the TV in our room, then head to sleep eventually. If you guys need us, holler," Mary said.
We all walked down the steps into the basement and turned on The Grinch. We passed each other gifts and ate way too many sweets and sausage balls.
"Rachael, how did Christmas with Ryan's family go?" I asked as she and I sat on the couch, watching Ryan and Jon play foosball.
"Amazing! His mom, sister and I spent the day making fudge, cookies, sweet trail mix, and sausage balls!"
"Have you guys exchanged gifts yet?"
"No, they strictly wait until Christmas day."
"We do one gift the night before," I smiled. "Jon got me a collage and a bunch of t-shirts. I gave him his watch."
Rachael had helped me with his gifts. Because of my low key love for art, she suggested I do a painting for him. Jon loved Van Gogh type art, though he wasn't a big art fan. So, I did an oil painting of Megan for him. I was quite proud of it. I also had got him a flannel and a Jimmy Hendrix t shirt.
Ryan and Jon played a few games of foosball and Rachael and I sipped hot chocolate and watched the kids Christmas specials on TV. When Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer came on, we all sat down, cuddled up, and watched it. Around 1 a.m., Ryan and Rachael headed back home and Jon and I went to his room.
"I'm so glad you're okay," he said as I laid beside him, his fingers running through my hair.
"I owe it all to you," I smiled. We lay in the dark, the only light being a streetlight outside.
"I love you so much," he kissed my forehead. "Thank you for being my favorite girl and my best friend."
Jon and I woke up at 10:00 the next morning to the smell of bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, biscuits, sausage gravy, all the fixins.
"Merry Christmas my sweet children!" Mary greeted us as we came downstairs, still in our matching Christmas pjs.
"Merry Christmas ma!" Jon leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas!" I sat down beside Greg, who was at the head of the dinner table.
After we laughed through breakfast at the table, reminiscing old stories and talking about our favorite parts of the holidays, we sat in the living room to open our remaining gifts.
Because Jon and I are seniors, we didn't get a lot of "exciting," gifts. Christmas isn't about gifts anyways, in fact that's my least favorite part. Mary got me some new expensive makeup, a tie dyeing kit, some jewelry, a few nicer shirts, and some Ralph Lauren shirts. She also had wrote me a check for $1,000 for Orlando, from her and Greg.
Greg got me some t-shirts for bands I like: The Smiths, The Cure, The Stone Roses, The Beatles, and The Grateful Dead.
Jon got me a thick, soft blanket and a new robe and slippers. He also got me some lotion, perfume, lots of candy, and a candle.
Mary opened the other gift I got her, which was a set of pajamas and a gift card to her favorite department store. Greg got a mug with a fire truck on it, since he was a former firefighter, and a movie he had wanted to see for a while, with a gift card to his favorite store.
Finally, Jon opened his gift from me. When he saw the oil painting of Megan, his eyes grew wide and his smile even wider. "Did you paint this yourself?" he exclaimed, showing it off to his parents, who were in awe.
"Yes, I did," I modestly smiled.
"It's amazing, it's awesome. It's just like Vincent Van Gogh," he smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say so," I said quietly.
"This is gonna be perfect in the apartment," Mary noted.
"Apartment?" Jon and I both inquired.
Greg smiled and reached in his pocket. "Apartment," he dangled the key in front of Jon. "You guys have to stay somewhere in Orlando."
"You guys got us an apartment?"
"Well, we agree to pay for the first few months. It's a really nice one."
"That's awesome!" Jon exclaimed, laughing out of pure joy.
The rest of Christmas day was chill. We listened to music, watched some movies, and just had a fun, relaxed day.
Just before Jon and I were about to go to bed, we were in the bathroom. Jon was drying off from a shower and I was washing my face. Suddenly, the phone rang. I ran to Jon's room to answer it, and to my surprise, it was Rachael.
"Hey Abi! How was your Christmas?"
"It was great! Jon and I have an apartment in Orlando. Yours?"
"Amazing! I have the most exciting news. Ryan and I had a talk last night on the way home, and decided that maybe I should move in with him, since I am renting a basement apartment and there's not much of life there."
"That's awesome!" I exclaim.
"I know! That's not all. So, Ryan's dad, James, gave Ryan $100,000 as an early birthday and graduation gift, and of course as his Christmas gift, and the money is going to be used for Ryan and I after we graduate!"
"$100,000?" I exclaim, shocked.
"Ryan and I decided that college isn't for us. Obviously not for me, I didn't even go. But, he decided he wants to travel. So, he's gonna work for a nature and wildlife company. As soon as we graduate, we're going to the tropics and stay for a few weeks, and travel wherever we please for a year!"
"That's awesome!" I had tears in my eyes. Rachael has never thought that she would make it. She actually told me that she was suicidal before we met. She was broke, had no friends, had a shitty job, and no reason to live.
"I had no reason to be alive. Everything in life was the same. On my days off, I laid in bed. I had no life. By some chance, you guys saved me," she told me one late night.
"And you and Jon are moving to Orlando?" she inquired as I wrapped the telephone cord around my finger.
"Only while he's filming SeaQuest," I answered.
"You know, that could be for years upon years, Abi. Are you sure you want that sort of commitment?"
"To Jon?" I was shocked that she would even ask.
"No, of course you're committed to Jon. But are you committed to Orlando?"
"Where else would I go?"
"I don't know. You're not gonna start a life for yourself?"
"What are you talking about, Rachael?"
"Look, Abi, don't get mad. I'm just asking, are you going to live off Jon and hope his career will take care of you for life? Or are you going to get some sort of thing going for you?"
"Are you saying I should look into college?"
"Maybe not real college, but maybe take some classes at the community college down there. I don't know, it'll keep you busy and maybe you can find what kind of job you want to do. I'm just helping you out because while Jon is busy filming 5 days a week, you're not gonna have anyone to talk to. Nothing to do except wallow around."
Rachael was right. I had no idea what I was going to do in Orlando. "Rachael, you're right. I'll look into some community colleges and take some courses. What made you think about it anyways?"
"I don't know. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do for a while, and look where I am. I don't want you in the same situation."
"I appreciate it," I smiled. "I'm gonna go talk to Jon, okay?"
"Okay, love you, Absidee! I'll see you soon."
I hung up and went to talk to Jon, who was pulling some clothes on.
"Hey," he kissed me as I sat on the counter.
I kept my hand on his shoulder as he rubbed my side.
"Why don't we talk?" I asked him as he continued kissing me on my neck.
"Alright," he stepped back, leaning against the wall. "What's up?"
"Besides SeaQuest, what are you going to do in Orlando?"
Jon looked confused. "I don't know, same thing I do here, I guess. Stay busy. Why?"
"I'm thinking of taking classes while we're down there," I told him.
"That's good," he nodded. "What makes you think of this stuff?"
"Rachael," I giggled. "Helping me get my shit together."
"Of course," Jon smiled. "Wanna sit in our room? We can finish talking about it there."
We sat on Jon's bed facing each other, looking like two little girls telling secrets. I held my pillow, wrapping the blanket Jon gave me around my shoulders. Jon sat criss cross, holding a bear I got him a while back.
"I wanna talk about you," I told him, looking into his eyes. He squirmed uncomfortably.
"Okay," he nodded.
"Do you believe in God?" We has never really talked about that aspect of our lives. We never liked to get too emotional, not that we didn't trust each other but we just weren't like that. He's an Aries and I'm a Pisces, so that's why.
"I believe in something, I guess. I don't know. You?"
"Me too. But at the same time, if there is one, why are my parents the way they are?"
"That's what makes me question it," he answered. "Not necessarily your parents, but if there's a God, why are so many people in pain?"
"Are you in pain?"
Jon looked at me, eyes glossy and he bit his lip. "Not really."
"Why 'not really'?"
"I don't know. There's things about me that I don't like. I have acne. I'm scrawny. I drink too much sometimes. I'm 17 and almost every teenage girl in the world is obsessed with me. That's kind of obnoxious to you guys, isn't it?"
"Everyone has acne. It's gotten better over the last few years, I think."
"I mean, I'm on that stupid Accutane crap."
"And you're not scrawny."
"And you're not fat, see? We all hate our bodies."
I looked down. Jon was targeting my eating disorder. He knew I had one, I knew I had one, but I didn't do anything about it.
"Abi, I didn't-"
"No, no. You're right. But that's my issue. We're talking about you. Not me."
"Well, maybe we both have issues we need to work on."
"Is that why you wear baggy clothes?"
"What?"
"Jon, the clothes you wear are at least three times too big for you. It actually looks awkward when you wear clothes that fit now, because we're so used to layers and baggy clothes."
Jon sighed. "Yea, I guess."
"You guess? No, Jon. You know. Why aren't you open and honest with me?"
"Again with this shit?" Jon stood up, pacing the room while running his hands through his hair. "I told you, I'm perfectly fine."
"Really? You're not just pretending to be so you can take care of me? Jon, I turn 18 in almost a month. And you think I can't take care of myself. So you put yourself through a private little hell because you think I am not capable of taking care of my own damn self."
"Well maybe I would think you were if you wouldn't fall into the fucking depression spells where you don't leave your bed for days and weeks. Where you don't eat or contact anyone for days. You wonder why I think you aren't capable and it's because I do take care of you and have for 4 years!"
"If it's such a problem, why do it?" I demanded.
Jon paused. "Because I love you," he croaked out, tearing up.
I sighed and stood up. "Jon, come here." He sat on the bed and laid his head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry for blowing up at you. Just please try and be more open with me."
"I don't want you to feel weighed down," he sighed.
"I won't," I promised.
Jon sat his head up and looked at me. "You're beautiful," he whispered. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes.
"You're quite handsome yourself, Mr. Brandis," I smiled and kissed him.
Jon began to kiss all over me. "I love you so much," he muttered.
"I love you too," I told him, laying back.