❆ Winter Wonderland ❆

"Tell me I'm normal."

"Well, you're friends with me so I don't think we're off to a good start." Gabby's bubbly laughter echoed down the phone.

"I've gone crazy haven't I? I must have imagined it," I said, more to myself than to Gabby.

"Imagined what?" Her tone turned to confusion.

"No it was him. He's here for some goddamn reason," I said. "Or maybe it wasn't him and I was just hallucinating...I had just walked up those spiralling stairs."

"Are you drunk?"

"No."

"Because you're talking as though you've had ten tequila shots."

"I could do with a shot right now. I don't think I would have been able to run away from him as quickly if I had though," I said pulling my hood up over my head to shield me from the cold wind.

"From who?" Gabby asked, her patience running thin. I took a deep breath.

"Jacob, Jacob's here."

Pause.

"Fuck."

"That's exactly the word that popped into my head as well when I saw him." I laughed nervously.

I wrapped my coat closer to my body and pulled my scarf tighter around my neck. The first of December should definitely come with a warning that temperatures will drop rapidly at any given moment. Bruno calmly trotted along beside me as I walked around the nearly deserted park.

"Why is he there?" Gabby said after a long pause.

"I have no idea!" I said, raising my voice.

"Okay, okay in this situation it is important to stay calm," Gabby attempted to somewhat coax me. It didn't work.

"One look at him and I'm a bumbling mess. You should have felt my heartbeat; he could probably hear it from across the room, it was like a freaking beating drum."

"Slow down Talia!" Gabby raised her voice, "You're talking way too fast. Did you talk to him?"

"No! I ran."

"Did he say anything to you?" She pressed.

I thought back to the moment I had seen him. The look of relief and sadness spread over his face when he had looked over at me stood in the doorway. How my heart had leapt in my chest when he had called out my name.

"He only said my name," I mumbled quietly.

"Oh Talia," Gabby soothed; she knew exactly how much the memories meant to me. How much they hurt me to think about.

Just as I was about to start another lap of the park a familiar voice called out my name.

"Talia!"

I turned around and saw Nick striding over to me, Bruno barked happily at the sight of him.

"Gabby I'll have to call you back."

"Okay, take care though. I'll be waiting for more juicy gossip," She replied before hanging up.

"Hey, Pumpkin." Nick said, stopping in front of me.

"Don't you think your nickname for me should be something a bit more festive?" I said grinning at him.

"Okay, Snowflake," He replied with a wink.

"That's more like it,"

"Are you alright? You ran out the house in a bit of a hurry." Nick said as we started a new lap around the park.

"Did you know he was here?" I asked, looking at him beside me.

He nodded his head.

"A little warning might have been nice. Maybe a sign saying 'Do Not Enter, Haunted by Ghosts of Past Relationships'." I said light-heartedly.

"It wasn't meant to be an ambush; Jacob wasn't supposed to arrive for another couple of days. My guess is that he couldn't wait to see you." He met my gaze and gave me a small, sympathetic smile. I turned my head away and looked across the field at the other dog walkers.

"Why is he even here?" I couldn't stop my voice from sounding bitter.

"Your mother invited him."

"She what?" I stopped abruptly and stared at him. He raised his hands defensively.

"Don't look at me. You know she's always up to something."

What was mum up to now?

Jacob and I had been together for two years. In that time our relationship had blossomed and become intense, in a good way. Even though I was in my early twenties and Jacob was in his mid-twenties, we found ourselves bound together like a married couple. My family adored Jacob, especially my mum. I think our love reminded her of my dad and their childhood sweetheart relationship.

"Don't think about it too much just try and enjoy yourself while you're here." Nick said wrapping an arm around my shoulders. We walked around the park a couple more times, letting Bruno off the lead so that he could scurry about excitedly. We talked about London and how my photographing career was extending. Nick told me all about my mum's new found love for experimenting in the kitchen which usually ended in them ordering a take-away.

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It was nearly lunchtime by the time we got back to the cottage. I made Nick enter the house first just in case Jacob was lying in wait. He wasn't. I took off my many layers, pulled off my boots and hung up my coat. I turned around to see a gingerbread-lady skipping towards me.

"Lunch is ready Talia," She said grabbing my hand and attempting to pull me forwards.

"I'm not feeling too well Holly, I think I'm going to skip lunch today," She looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes, "I'll come down for something later."

"Okay," She let go of my arm and hugged me around the waist. I ruffled her messy hair before she pulled away and skipped towards the dining room.

The truth was I just didn't feel like being around people.

I walked solemnly up the stairs and headed straight for my old room. It was exactly how I remembered just like the rest of the house, pale pink walls with white furniture. Just like Nick had said, my bags and suitcase sat at the foot of my bed waiting to be unpacked. I didn't feel like unpacking it all now so I pulled out a pair of pyjamas and quickly changed into them. I also took my toiletries bag into the bathroom and removed my make-up. Feeling much more relaxed I walked back into my room and spotted something on my bed that I hadn't noticed before.

I picked up the book and ran a hand over the cover. It was the Pride and Prejudice book I had left on a table in the outhouse. Jacob must have brought it up here after I had run away from him like the coward that I am.

I slumped onto the bed and buried my face in the sheets. Why was he here? Seeing him had resurfaced so many emotions and memories, memories I had wished to keep in the past.

I heard scraping and whining at my door and soon enough Bruno had managed to nudge the door open just enough for him to squeeze through and jump up onto the bed. He nudged the arm covering my face with his nose. I moved it slightly and he immediately gave my cheek a lick before burrowing his head down next to mine. I wrapped an arm around his small body and absentmindedly stroked his coat as we both drifted off into a light sleep.

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"Boing, boing."

Someone was jumping on me.

I opened one eye and peeked through a gap in my curtain of hair. Holly was jumping up and down on the mattress next to me, chocolate smeared all around her mouth. Opening both eyes I waited until she wasn't looking at me and pounced. I wrapped an arm around her small waist and pulled her down onto the bed.

"You woke me up, missy," I said pinning her body down, "You also happened to wake up the tickle monster!"

"No!" She squealed as my hands went to her sides and started attacking her ticklish spots.

"Talia!" She giggled, trying to halt my hands, "Stop!" I poked her nose with my finger and pulled away. She lay there giggling for a few moments longer before she composed herself, as much as a six year old can.

"You slept all day, dinner is nearly ready," She said sitting up, "But I have just enough time to show you more of my costumes, come on." Before I could protest she grabbed my hand and yanked me off the bed and towards her room.

I came out of Holly's room supporting a pair of reindeer antlers and my mood well and truly lifted. Holly held my hand as we walked across the landing and down the stairs. Mum, Nick and Oscar were already seated at the table when we walked in. My eyes scanned the table for another place setting but there wasn't one.

"Where's Jacob?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Mum looked up from her plate and met my gaze.

"He left shortly after you." Nick said with a sad smile, "I think he's trying to give you a bit of space." He added.

I nodded and sat down at the table. As we began eating the only noises were the scraping of cutlery and Holly's gentle humming.

"Talia I should-" Mum began but I interrupted her.

"It's fine mum. A little warning next time is all I ask for."

That was all that was said on the matter. We continued to eat our meals and began discussing our plans for Christmas.

After a lovely dessert of mum's homemade cookies, we cleared the table and washed up. As everyone headed for the living room, Mum pulled me to one side.

"I know I should have told you before you got here," She looked at me with a sheepish expression on her face.

"Yes, you should have." I said folding my arms.

"Only I was scared that you wouldn't come had you have known."

"You're probably right, I wouldn't have come."

"I wanted the whole family together for Christmas-"

"-And that includes Jacob. I get it Mum; I know you think of Jacob as a son-in-law." I said rubbing her arm and pulling her into a hug. "We broke up on somewhat good terms I suppose." I said unsure of whether or not it was true.

"I hope you both can come to your senses and figure something out. Maybe this Christmas getaway will do you both some good." She said with a hopeful glint in her eye.

"Alright Mum, don't get too carried away." I said rolling my eyes, following her into the living room.

After taking a good twenty minutes to agree on a film to watch, we settled for The Holiday. Holly snuggled into my side as the film began and the log fire crackled with life, illuminating the room with a warm glow.

It was quite late when the film finished, Nick carried a sleeping Holly up to her room while Mum ushered Oscar up after them. I poured myself a glass of water before following them all up to bed.

When I entered my room the sound of an engine made me jump. I walked over to the window and looked out. I jumped back a few steps when I saw Jacob heading towards the outhouse. It took me a couple of seconds to remember how to breathe. I pressed myself against the wall and poked my head around the corner to look out the window once more. Jacob strolled across the grass with the familiar swagger in his hips. From what I could make out from the garden lights, he was wearing his black skinny jeans and a grey jumper. Idiot, doesn't he feel the cold?

I watched like a creep as he unlocked the outhouse door and disappeared behind it. Damn it why did he have to look as delicious as always?

The bottom level of the house remained in darkness but a small light came from the top window were the bedroom was located. A part of my heart urged me to go and knock on the door just so that I could see his face again. But another part of me wanted to stay rooted to the spot so that no more harm came between us. I was saving us both from another heartbreak.

I turned away from thewindow and crawled into bed. My mind was buzzing with the thought of him andour happier days and I spent hours twisting and turning. When I realised sleepwasn't on the menu tonight I grabbed Pride and Prejudice of the bedside table andstarted to read. 

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A/N - I promise that the next chapter contains some Talia and Jacob action, where they finally get talking (sort of) about what happened between them. 

I'm so excited about this story and I'm having so much fun creating and figuring out these new characters. 

Have we got a ship name yet? Talob...Jalia? 

Anyone curious about what happened between the two of them? 

Maybe we'll find out in the next chapter...

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- H xx