Chapter 19

After having a hearty Christmas meal for dinner later that night, I went in the kitchen to help Aunt Tara clean up. As we were alternating between washing and drying the dishes, Aunt Tara sparked up a long-awaited, yet dreaded question. "Everly," Aunt Tara began to speak softly, glancing at me from the corners of her eyes with sympathy, "How are things at home with your mother?"

I wiped the water dripping from the plates with a towel as I shifted my weight between each foot uncomfortably. I turned my gaze away from Aunt Tara's, who seemed to be staring me down.

I knew Aunt Tara was going to be asking me about the situation between my mother and I, but I didn't realize that it would be during Christmas. Coming from a bigger family, I knew that the gossip about my mother and father's divorce would spread around like a wildfire. It was no surprise that Aunt Tara already knew most of the details, not considering the fact that she and my mother were sisters.

"Things have been," I paused, trying to find the correct word to describe the unpleasant atmosphere back at home. I found myself trying my best to avoid my mother, but I wasn't ready to tell Aunt Tara that, yet, "different."

Aunt Tara gave me a soft smile, passing me the last plate from the sink as she took off her dishwashing gloves. She turned around so that her back was leaning against the counter of the sink, and she folded her arms across her chest. "I spoke to your mother last night when she called to tell me that she wasn't going to come for dinner today. She told me that her boss invited her to his dinner party." Aunt Tara said. I peered me eyes up over my eyelashes to get a better view of Aunt Tara, and judging by the sadness that was lingering in her eyes, I knew very well that Aunt Tara was informed about my mother's relationship with George Collins. "Look, doll, I know this must all be tough on you and I don't want you to feel like you're trapped and that you can't talk about it to anyone. Be honest dear, how are you feeling?"

I gulped, my heart sinking in my chest. Realization came upon me that everything Aunt Tara was saying was completely true. Other than Jace, I hadn't really had anyone to talk to about my feelings towards my mother and father. I would've spoke to Julianne about it, but she already had so much going on. And besides Jace and Julianne, I wasn't sure if there was anyone else who I trusted enough to talk to about my personal problems.

"Are you okay?" Aunt Tara asked, noticing that I was silent for quite some time.

I sighed, forcing a smile as I placed the last dish that I had to dry back into the cabinets. "I-I don't know how I am supposed to feel." I admitted. "I'm really pissed at my mother for being so selfish. She's ruined my family and she doesn't even realize it because she's off drinking expensive wine with her stupid boss and probably getting to know his rich family."

Aunt Tara nodded understandingly. "And your dad?"

I smiled sadly at the memory of my father and how he hasn't called me in a while now, not since he called to break the news about moving to Los Angeles. "I guess I feel kind of abandoned by him." I admitted, closing my eyes briefly to hold in the tears that were welling up in my eyes. "He just left me with mom, even though she was the one who hurt us all in the end. He's only called me once since he moved."

"Have you tried calling him yourself?" Aunt Tara asked, holding my hand with comfort.

"Voicemail." I whispered. "It goes straight to voicemail every time I try to call him."

Aunt Tara wrapped her arms around me tightly, pulling me into a comforting embrace. "It'll get better, Everly." Aunt Tara said in a promising tone. She used her palms to rub circles onto my back as I blinked away the tears. "But first, you need to forgive your mother."

*

On our way back to home, Reina fell asleep in the back of the car while Jace and I navigated through the roads. I was sat in the passenger seat while Jace drove, glancing over at me every so often. "What are you thinking about?" Jace asked, slowing the car down as the roads began to get icy from the snow.

I released a breath of air, closing my eyes as I leaned my head against the window on my right. "My mom." I admitted.

I could tell Jace was surprised that I was actually thinking about my mother in another expression other than anger. "What about her?" he questioned after he regained his composure.

I was hesitant to tell Jace, knowing that he already had a lot of problems burdening him, as well. But, looking into his eyes, I knew that Jace was completely genuine. It felt good knowing that someone cared about me this much.

"Aunt Tara told me to forgive her." I sighed. "I want to- it's just I don't know how to."

Suddenly, Jace removed one hand from the steering wheel. He reached out to grab a hold of my left hand, placing his warm palm into mine. Jace glanced at me briefly, offering me a small smile as he said, "Give her a chance to talk."

Jace locked his fingers into mine, closing the spaces in between.

I held in my breath momentarily at our touch; the feeling of Jace's skin in contact with mine was so foreign, yet at the same time, it felt so right. There was a place in my heart yearning for him- never wanting him to let me go.

"Jace," I whispered, staring at our intertwined fingers, "thank you."

"Anytime, princess." He smiled.

By the time Jace dropped me off at my house, it was already past midnight. Reina was still out cold in the backseat of the car, cradled up in a ball with her brother's jacket draped over her shoulders.

Just as I was about to get out of the car, Jace unbuckled his seatbelt. I stared up at him with surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Jace, what are you-?" I began before getting cut off by him.

"I want to walk you to your door." Jace said.

I released a chuckle, shaking my head. "Jace, it's fine." I assured. "You've done more than enough for me tonight."

Jace rolled his eyes, giving me a blatant stare. "Princess, can you stop being stubborn for once?" he teased, smirking. "Let me be the good guy and walk you to your door. After all, I owe you for inviting my sister and I tonight."

Jace didn't give me a chance to argue back with him as he got out of his car. I slid out of the passenger side of Jace's car as we walked in silence, up to the steps of my house.

The light shining from the window of the living room indicated that my mother was home already, which surprised me. I figured that she would've liked to spend the night at George Collins' house with him and his family.

"Are you ready to speak to her?" Jace asked, brushing his fingers against mine gently.

I stared down at our fingers, resisting the urge to reach out and fold his hands into mine once more. I bit my lip, staring back up at Jace as I nodded. "Yeah," I breathed, "I think I am."

Jace stared at me momentarily with an unreadable emotion lingering in his eyes. Suddenly, Jace took me by surprise when he leaned towards me just the slightest bit, leaving nearly no room in between us. I held in my breath as Jace gently brushed away a few stray hairs from my face, tucking them behind my ears in one, swift motion. It was then when he pressed his lips against my forehead, making my heart leap just at the smallest gesture. Jace allowed for his lips to linger there for a few seconds before he pulled away, the faintest smile on his lips. "Good luck." He whispered.

And just like that, Jace was gone, but the feeling of his lips on my forehead was still burning against my skin.

*

My mom was sitting by the fireplace when I came into the living room after Jace dropped me off. Her eyes seemed distant as they stared at the growing flames, and for the first time since my father left, I saw how exhausted she truly was.

I cleared my throat, capturing my mother's attention as I rubbed my elbow cautiously. "I thought you were staying the night with the Mr. Collins."

The faintest smile appeared on my mother's face as she gestured for me to come sit next to her on the couch. I hesitantly stared at the empty space beside her, but when I saw that her eyes had dimmed with disappointment, I made my way over to sit next to her, making sure to leave a space in between us.

"I wanted to come home to see my daughter." She smiled sadly, taking out a tiny pink pouch from her back pocket. "I wanted to give you this while it was still Christmas."

I pressed my lips into a tight line, taking the pouch from her hands as I slowly pulled the strings apart to open it. Emptying the contents into my palm, I found a gold chain with a tiny star charm hanging from the center. I gulped, noticing the way the chain of the necklace delicately shined from the reflection against the flames coming from the fireplace.

"You didn't have to get me this." I muttered, running my thumb over the star charm. "It must've cost a fortune."

My mother smiled. "Do you like it, though?"

I was too ashamed of myself to look my mother in the eyes, so I stared down at my palms, nodding. "Yeah, I really like it." I paused, taking in a deep breath. "Thank you, mom."

"You probably won't be too happy to hear this, but George actually picked it out for you." My mother began as I froze. "Please hear me out, Everly."

I thought back to what my Aunt Tara and Jace said, finally deciding to give my mother a chance to explain. "Okay." I reluctantly said, still stiff.

My mother gave me a relived smile before continuing on. "It was never my intention to hurt our family. Your father and I have been falling out before I began seeing George. Sure, your father is a great man and I did truly love him, but little by little, the communication between us just fell. Trust me, I did try to mend what we had, but nothing worked. Your father always had one priority before me, which was work. He put work before both me and you, Everly." She paused, pursing her lips. "It wasn't until four months ago that George walked into my office and saw me crying after I got off a phone call with your father. George is wonderful and he made me feel better about myself. He made me feel important."

It wasn't until now that I noticed that my mother was crying. There was always a saying that the most painful thing in this world was seeing none other than your own mother cry, and it was absolutely true. My heart was cracking from the inside as I watched my mother embarrassedly wipe away a few stray tears. "Honey, I know you don't want to hear this, but I really do love George." My mother continued, reaching out hesitantly to hold my hand. I immediately stiffened, but under the warmth of my mother's palm, I relaxed eventually. "But, understand that you come first to me. If you dislike the idea of me being with George that much, I will stop seeing him. You are my first priority."

I could never live with myself if I knew that I was the reason for my mother's unhappiness eternally. I knew that if my mother was to be separated from George Collins, she would never smile again.

I closed my eyes, silencing creeping amongst us as I listened to the faint sound of my heart beating. "Stay with him, mom." The words pained me to say, but it was for the wellness of everyone and everything. "I'd like it if you stayed with Mr. Collins."

*

I walked into Julianne's room the next morning to find her sat in front of her vanity, humming to a song from the movie Frozen while she fixed her blonde hair into a French plait.

"You're awfully happy today." I teased as I sat myself down on her purple bedspread.

Julianne paused her singing as she glanced at me through the reflection of her mirror, tightening her braid with an elastic band. "What makes you say that?" she asked, genuinely confused.

I laughed, raising an eyebrow. "You're singing to Frozen."

Julianne rolled her eyes, trying to conceal a grin that was threatening to appear on her face. "Everly, can't a girl sing nowadays without being questioned?" Ever since Julianne has been seeing Ryan, she's been so much happier. Little did she know, the glowing aura that Julianne once had around her was starting to appear once again. "Why are you smiling all of the sudden? Are you making fun of me?"

I snapped back into reality as Julianne turned towards me with her eyebrows furrowed. I hadn't even known that I was smiling until I saw that Julianne's expression had turned into a mixture of frustration and puzzlement. "Jules, relax." I chuckled. "I'm only smiling because you're happy now."

Julianne's features immediately softened as she gave me a tender smile. "You know, I'm really lucky to have you as my best friend."

I laughed, flicking my hair over my shoulder with exaggeration. Jokingly, I replied with, "I know."

Julianne snickered, tilting her head to the side as a look of interest suddenly sparked in her eyes. "Anyways, enough of this sappy stuff." Julianne grinned, leaning closer to me with a wide smile that showed off her dimples. "I want to know, how did it go when you confessed to Jace about your feelings?"

I felt myself stiffen and judging by the way Julianne's stared me down disapprovingly, I could tell that she saw right through me.

Julianne knew immediately that I chickened out and hadn't told Jace about how I felt.

"Really, Everly?" Julianne gave me a blunt look, shaking her head. "I've never been so disappointed before."

"It's not that easy!" I defended myself, crossing my arms over my chest.

"There's nothing to lose." Julianne said honestly. "Listen, Ryan's told me before how much Jace talks about you. Guys only talk about girls a lot if they like them, right? Just tell Jace how you feel. Things have been going well, haven't they? Isn't it a good time now to tell him?"

"Jules-."

"Come on, Everly." Julianne persuaded. "You know you want to have a double date with Ryan and I." I laughed, pushing my best friend's shoulder gently, giving her a playful stare down. Julianne suddenly puckered her lower lip, pouting as she gave me her puppy dog look. "Please?"

"Not going to work on me, Jules." I sternly said. "Not this time."

"Come on."

"No!"

"Please?"

"Julianne."

"Everly!"

"Fine!" I declared, glaring at my best friend as she smiled with victory. "I'll tell him."

~

This chapter and the next chapter are kind of boring, since they're filler chapters. But I swear, chapter 21 will be interesting because I was literally crying as I wrote it LOL.

Anyways, I started my next story and it's kind of different because the main characters don't start out hating each other like they usually do in my stories. But, I've only written two chapters for it and I'm already on writer's block lol.

Thanks for being patient :)