Chapter Nine

"Nia wake up!"

"Hmmm, no...go away..." I feel someone shaking me. After a while I force my heavy eyelids open.

"We're here." I feel myself wake up all the way and sit upright.

"YAY!" I practically shove Trent out the door. I'm home. I run up the steps, push the door open, and see my mom and my dad sitting there. I run into them, hugging them with all my might. I feel tears of happiness forming in my eyes. They bring me into a hug as well.

"I've missed you guys so much." My mom signs to me.

"We've missed you too. More than we can tell you." I hug them again. They smile at me. My dad signs to me.

"We're going to be eating dinner soon. Why don't you go take a shower and get freshened up? You must be tired from your trip."

"Okay dad." With yet another hug, I walk to my room and do as he says.

We're all sitting around the table. Trent and Kim are here too. I feel the awkwardness of it all. I don't know why, but it is there. I smile pleasantly.

"So. How have you been, Mom and Dad?" My mom replies by signing while talking.

"Good. We've just been doing the usual. Nothing fancy. We've been looking forward to your visit. I'm still excited."
It was silent. What had happened while I was freshening up? Trent finally decides to say something after what feels like forever.

"Mom. I guess you probably want to know more about Kim and stuff like that..." My mom nods.

"Yes."

"Okay, well," My face crinkles in a frown, "I met Kim through a common friend. After that, we became friends. It took us a little while, but eventually, we went on a few dates, and we started dating. Now we're in love." I smile at his summary. Kim is giggling as well.

"So that means our whole...well, everything...is because of Donovin." My dad frowns.

"Who?"

"Oh, the friend that introduced us." Kim smiles widely. "Donovin was...interesting."

"Yeah. He was." The awkward silence returns. I decide to end it once and for all.

"I'm so excited. How long do you think you're going to wait until you actually get married?" Kim responds to this.

"Not too long, but we won't get married immediately." Trent doesn't protest, so they must have talked it over.

"This is so exciting. I'm happy you found each other."

"We are too." Trent and Kim say this at the same time. They smile, and Trent kisses Kim's cheek.

"Aww. You guys are cute."

The rest of dinner is much less awkward. I'm going to be forever curious as to what happened while I was upstairs.

I sigh in satisfaction. I woke up about an hour ago. I had just taken a shower. I feel so relaxed. The fact that I gave up this peacefulness to go to college makes me sad. Somehow, I haven't thought any more about doing online college since I met Sebastian. I guess I just needed a friend. I sigh again, this time with more sadness. I should still consider it. I can't stay in college based on one person. For now, I'll stay and see how it goes next semester. I might make more friends. I finally get out of bed at around ten thirty. Today, Kim, my mom and I are going shopping. It's going to be fun. I haven't gone shopping since before college. When I walk down the stairs, I eat a bowl of cereal. My mom and Kim come and look upon me and my now empty bowl of cereal.

"Hey, hun. Are you ready to go?" I smile at Kim as she says this.

"Yep."

"I'm so glad we're doing this. It's been so long since we have gone shopping, and we're glad you could come too, Kim! I'm excited." My mom always signs and talks. I'm actually more comfortable signing, but I do it as little as possible to try to get better at actually speaking.

"Yeah. I'm really excited too!"

We pile into the car. I'm in the back. Kim is in the front with my mom. I see Kim making hand gestures. It's clear that they're talking, but since I can't see their mouths, I don't know what they're talking about. I decide to text Sebastian.

'Sebastiannnnn'

'Niaaaaa'

'I'm bored and in the car.' It takes a moment for him to respond. I'm not doing anything, so I just wait. He responds simply.

'I see.' I smile softly.

'Quick. Do something about it.' I quickly send this before I can change my mind about it.

'What do you want me to do over the phone?' I try to think of something that he could do to pass the time for me.

'Tell me a story about yourself.' I almost gasp. Why did I say that? I expect it to take a while for him to answer, so I click my phone off and stare out the window. I try to see what Kim and my mom are talking about, but there doesn't seem to be a way to tell without hearing their conversation. It is times like these when I really wish I could hear. It's always been hard for me to have conversations in the car. I try not to make very much noise so that I don't make mom and Kim feel bad. There's no point in that. I just can't wait until we get to the store. I feel a buzz on my leg. It's Sebastian.

'Okay. When I was a kid, my friend Kurt and I decided that it would be fun to go camping. We didn't thi- dude I got nothing.'

'Noooo that story looked so promising.'

'Trust me. It wasn't.'

'Can you please tell me?'

'Nope.'

'I'm crying on the inside.'

My mom pulls up to the mall. She turns to me and signs to me.

"You ready hunny?" I smile.

"Yes. I'm pretty excited."

I dump the last bag into the trunk of the car. We just finished shopping, and it's been five hours. FIVE HOURS. I didn't realize that Kim loves shopping. She really just loves trying on outfits. I did get some cute things that my mom bought for me, so I guess it was worth it. My mom and Kim had some bonding time. I bonded a little with Kim. I reach for my phone again, but I decide to just stare out the window on the way home rather than text someone.

"How was shopping?" We have arrived home, and Trent is right there waiting. Kim smiles as she gives him a hug.

"It was so much fun! I even got a few cute things!" He smiles and kisses her forehead.

"Good!"

I smile at them. They are just too cute. I take my shopping bags to my room. I'm just going to leave them packed because I don't want to bother with repacking them for school.

I look at my phone nervously. I had gotten Sebastian a gift and sent it to him. He sends me a text. He is opening it.

'Oh wow, thank you so much I love it.' I smile at this.

'Really? I'm so glad! I was scared hehe.' I facepalm. Why do I text like this?

'Yup. I got you a gift too, but I already gave it to you...' I frown.

'What do you mean?'

'I'm surprised you haven't seen it yet. I slipped it into your purse when we went to dinner that one day.' My eyes widen. I haven't looked in my bag in ages. It's no wonder I haven't seen it. I go to my purse. I have to dig through it for what feels like years. It looks like some jewelry. There is a card attached to it. I smile and pull it off so I can open it up to read it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

You're probably thinking, "Why is this here? Who's it from? Well, I saw this somewhere, and I just HAD to get it for you. I thought of you right when I saw it. I hope you like it.

Yours,

Sebastian

I can't contain my smile as I read through it again. I rip off the wrapping. It's a necklace with a little seal on it. It's made of silver, and it's adorable. I feel so happy I could burst.

'Sebastian! I love it so much! Thank you! It's so cute and beautiful!'

'You're welcome. I'm glad you like it.'

I put the necklace on. I don't think anyone will be able to get me a better gift than this.

Christmas day comes eventually. Trent and Kim give us a gift of some sort of dessert that Kim cooked. Mom and dad got me an assortment of random things.