"You're seriously going to name your kid that?"

Mel grinned as her lips gingerly touched her newborn's forehead. She had just given birth an hour ago, and the baby only left her grasp for five seconds--maybe less. After a doctor allowed my family and I into the room, we all bombarded her with the same question: what name did she pick?

For the first time in years, I had a genuine smile on my face. I was so excited to have a new nephew; I had hoped that I could force the boy onto the right path before he was corrupted by my family. However, as soon as Mel uttered the name, the grin was wiped off.

Who the hell would name their kid, Christmas Chobani?

My crazy-ass sister apparently.

"You're naming your kid after a holiday and a Greek yogurt company?" I asked incredulously. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to grasp the concept. "Seriously?"

"Why wouldn't I? I thought that this boy should have a good name since his siblings have boring ones. Christmas is a happy holiday; I was eating Chobani yogurt when I found out I was pregnant and when I went into labor," she explained slowly, acting like we were all stupid.

My eyes flickered over to Chase, who was cowering in the corner of the hospital room. My sister hadn't forgiven him for cheating yet, and he was walking on egg shells around her. I knew for a fact that he loathed the name since every time the words escaped her mouth, he cringed slightly.

"Yes, it's lovely, darling," Chase cooed and rushed over to her side. He placed his hand on top of one of her shoulders. "Just lovely."

"Oh, shut up, you nasty cheater. Don't ruin this moment by touching me." Her teeth gritted, creating a shrill sound.

He backed way defensively and hid in his corner. My mother's lip quivered as she flattened out her pink shirt; she obviously hated the name, too. Who would like it? If she called that innocent, little boy that, she would just be asking for her child to be a bullying target.

"Let's play the name game. You spew names at me, and I tell you how I honestly feel," I suggested, while grinning. 

God I was such a genius.

"Okay," Mel agreed enthusiastically as she nursed her newborn in front of the whole family, "let's play! Mark Juanna?"

"Sounds like marijuana."

"Rusty Mason?"

"You want to name your kid after old metal?"

"B.J.--short for Brian John?"

"Do I have to remind you of what B.J. could also stand for?"

"Kyle Kam?"

"Way to copy the Kardashians."

"Mickie Kyler?"

"Sounds like a stripper name."

"Williamson Dick--"

"Jesus Christ, that name will make the kid a punching bag! Where do you come up with these horrendous names?" I spat as my head shook side to side. "This is just sad."

The bottom of Mel's lip quaked a little, and my gaze averted around the room. The bright flowers and holiday decorations stung my eyes, and they involuntarily closed for a few seconds. My mother thought that the room needed more pizazz, so she brought in Santa statues, green and red balloons, and bright red flowers. 

The room looked like Santa exploded all over it.

When I stared at my sister's face again, a smirked slithered up her mouth. Her deep blue eyes narrowed, and it was almost like I could see the light bulb flashing above her head.

"I have an idea. How about," she paused for dramatic effect, "Nicholas Clay?"

A small but audible gasp escaped my lips. Nick carefully lifted my jaw up from the ground as I turned towards him. His eyes twinkled with amusement, and he had his arms crossed in front of his maroon sweater.

Maroon red for the devil.

Apparently, the rest of the room commended her on the choice; a wide grin was plastered on my mother's face, and she kept 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over the name. Chase also approved and ushered a nearby nurse to come in with the birth certificate to make it official.

As the red felt pen glided over the tan paper, vomit threatened to expel from my mouth. Mel's glared at me as she dotted the 'i' on my nephew's first name, and the pen then halted.

This was my chance. My chance to make sure that Nick Monroe would never have a lasting effect on my family.

"No!" My voice boomed as my body collided into the mahogany table. My hand snatched the certificate away from her, and gulping, I ripped the paper into shreds. An ear-to-ear smile appeared on my face, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

The birth certificate was still on the table, and my sister's hand was still frantically scribbling away.

I had ripped up my math homework from last night.

"And you call me the idiot," she guffawed as the nurse took the pen and document from her hands. After adjusting her baby blue and white checkered hospital gown, she stood up and wobbled over to the bed.

Even though Mel had just given birth, she looked pretty nice. She didn't look like a model off the pages of Vogue, but she also didn't make me want to throw a bag over her head. Her auburn hair, knotted and greasy, was piled up in a messy bun on top of her head. Her skin, although pale because of her lack of sleep, glowed from the bronzer Mom had supplied her with. I would say that her only problem was that she kept flashing us with her pink thong.

We sat in silence for a few moments, as we all took in the Christmas spirit. The watch on my wrist told me that it was eight in the morning, meaning I had only slept two hours at most. If I wanted to make myself kinda decent-looking for tonight's big Christmas dinner, I would need about six hours and buckets of makeup.

"So, should we all go home and get ready for the meal tonight?" A sigh of relief left my mouth as my back fell into the soft, red cushion in the corner of the room. My eyelids fluttered before closing; my mind was just about to shut down.

"Have the dinner here! Please? I can't leave until tomorrow afternoon, and I want to have dinner with my family," the bitch in the bed begged. Her voice was shaky and soft, and my brain could picture her pouted lip.

"I don't know," my mother breathed. "A holiday dinner in the cafeteria sounds weird."

"God, mother! I always come to the dinners, and I always host dinners. Like why are you trying to exclude me? Do you not like me? Are you mad at me?"

Oh, God. She was hysterical. Hormones got really screwed up because of pregnancy.

"Like you're so mean, mother," she continued, her voice becoming more agressive. "Do you wish that I wasn't born? Do you think I'm a terrible daughter? Do you--"

"Fine, fine, fine! We'll have the dinner here!"

And that was how we ended up spending our huge family dinner in the tiny cafeteria of Oak Hospital.

**

My nose crinkled in disgust as I took in my surroundings. In the front of the room, a long line of elderly patients held the blue trays with their shaky hands. Workers with Santa hats slopped a myriad of unappealing mush onto their plates and helped the old men and women to their tables. Two women were crying a few tables south of us, and a baby was mewling all over the floor five tables west of our table. The heather gray walls, slightly covered in red and green posters, made me feel suffocated.

Because we had to have the dinner in the hospital, only our closest family could attend. Evalyn and Hunter decided to have their first Christmas alone in their apartment; Ash didn't even answer his phone. I assumed he was still angry at me for the whole dancing incident since he hadn't been communicating with me for days.

"Belle, will you start the prayer?" my mother urged. Her hand grasped my left hand and squeezed tightly.

My eyes rolled. Of course she decided to become proper when we were all sitting around a dirty table in clothes we all slept in; Nick and I were still covered in dirt, and the stench oozing off of my shirt resulted in the watering of my eyes.

"Dear Lord, I thank you for the food on the table, even though it probably will cause my early death. Thank you for these dirty clothes, the wonderful urine smell coming from the old guy at the table next to us, and the new baby. We thank you for Mel, who forced us to hold this crappy dinner here. Most importantly, we thank you for creating Nick Monroe, the biggest jackass on the planet."

Everyone's mouths gaped open at me, and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Cocking my head to one side, I queried, "What? Did I forget something?" Realization hit me like a freight train, and a fit of giggles boomed throughout the room. "Oh, yeah! Amen."

The rest of the table mumbled a response, and a container of oatmeal was passed along. Because there were so many patients, the cafeteria declared that the edible food could be only given to patients. The other individuals in the hospital had to eat oatmeal. 

"Yum, yum, yum," Dad groaned as he smashed a cup of dinner onto his paper plate. Grimacing, his hands pushed the container towards Grandpa, who eyed it suspiciously.

"Isn't this a wonderful dinner we're having?" Mel gushed as her hand patted the bottom of Nickie. A tiny burp emitted from the newborn.

"This is shit." My eyes flickered over to Grandpa, who threw his plate onto the ground. He looked so comical in his red holiday sweater with an elf knitted on it. My mother had even pressured him to wear elf ears, and he agreed after she promised to give him vodka as a present.

The bottom lip on my sister jutted out, and silence filled the atmosphere. As a silver spoon was shoved into my mouth, I could faintly see Nick beaming at me. After smacking the spoon back onto the table, I asked, "What?"

"I'm part of the family now, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"

"Does your mother cry at night because she gave birth to such an asshole?" Gulping, the liquid trickled down my throat. The heat in my cheeks seemed to rise.

"She cries because she's glad that she gave birth to such a good-looking son. Anyways, I think that having a child named after you is a big deal. Therefore, I should get a point for the bet." He took a sip from his pink mug, dabbed the ends of his lips with a napkin, and ran his fingers through his brown hair.

Before I could answer, a loud shout caused my body to flinch awkwardly. Who the hell would scream my name right now? My question was quickly answered as I saw Ash, dressed in a stained white T-shirt and blue jeans, running towards me. He was covered in grime and oil, and more questions flew into my head.

As he neared my seat, his foot slipped, and his form crashed into the tiled floors, creating a huge boom from the impact. The ends of his lips tilted upwards lazily, and his clammy hands reached into his butt pocket to pull out a...ring pop?

"I know what you're thinking, and I can explain. I was pretty pissed, you see. That's why I was ignoring you. I was afraid that the rich boy could slither his way into your pants. So, when I was fixing cars at the shop, an idea popped into my head. I love you, and I want to make you mine." He took a deep breath before carrying on. "I can't afford a lot right now, and most stores are closed today, so I have to use this."

My eyes widened as everything registered into my head.

"Belle Wilkes, will you marry me?"

**

AHHH. Cliffhanger. What do you think she'll say?!

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