The distance was beginning to get to me.

My hand tightened around the steering wheel as I drove the busy streets of Los Angeles, blowing my horn at crazy swerving drivers who retorted by throwing me multiple frowns. One even took a step further and blew a raspberry at me. Splendid.

I mean, it was Christmas today. You'd expect people to be merry and jolly. Maybe they were all stressed from work and strained relationships. Like I was-excluding the work part.

It'd been three weeks since Mida had given birth to Shauna-yes, Mida was bent on accepting her best friend's suggestion. Also, Parker hadn't replied, so-

Anyways, we were supposed to be meeting at Shawn's parents' house seven minutes ago for a Christmas reunion. Everyone was going to be there, my parents, Shawn's parents, Marcus and Simone, Shawn and Mida, and even Trent and Mida's parents were going to be there. But Parker wasn't. And I was running late.

I'd already received about twelve death threats from Mida on my way, and that was only fuelling my uneasiness. How was I going to explain to them that I was late because I'd been sulking at home over Parker's distance?

My worst nightmare was becoming real, right before me. Yet, I wasn't ready to believe that Parker had forgotten about me.

Finally, I pulled into the posh driveway of the Wellington parents, the gates opening up for me on their own accord. The guard threw a Curt nod my way and motioned for me to go on.

Cars were already parked outside their mansion, lined next to each other. After finding a spot to park mine, I got down, biting my lower lip. I probably looked like a mess. I had zero makeup on. I hadn't even brushed my hair properly this morning. I just ran a comb through it. Surely, some strands were sticking out in the cold wind. Sleep evaded me last night. Hence I had dark circles. My freckles were on full display, and I wasn't even trying in the outfit region.

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I exhaled and pulled my coat snugly over my body. I walked to the front door and rang the bell. Mida was going to have my head.

The door swung open, revealing Trent, who had two gingerbread cookies halfway to his mouth. He dropped his hand back down on seeing me and raised his eyebrows.

"Camsy!"

My eyes widened. "Hey, Trent!" He gave me a one-sided hug and pulled me into the house, shutting the door after.

"It's been so long. Look at you," he remarked. I stifled a snort. I surely looked way worse than before. But him, wow, he looked better.

"You've changed a lot," I told him with a broad smile, walking beside him to the dining area. I'd been to the Wellington mansion several times before now (mostly for Mrs. Wellington's social gatherings, which she forced on me). Yet, everything seemed different. The vases looked different, and the paintings that hung on either of the walls beside us looked newer. Maybe they had it changed.

Looking back at Trent, I squinted slightly. "I think it's the hair." His hair had grown long enough for him to pack it up. Somehow, it made me think of all the different ways Parker might have changed. For weird reasons, he wasn't allowed to Skype, just text and call.

Trent grinned as we reached the dining area. "You like it?"

Everyone at the table saw us come in and was now watching us with curious eyes. It was almost awkward. From where she sat beside her husband, sipping her drink, Mrs. Wellington gave me a look.

I focused back on Trent. "It makes your eyes brighter."

A glint crossed his eyes, and he chuckled. "You're a little late. Mida has been swearing death upon your arrival."

I cast a wary glance at where Mida sat, frowning, Shauna wrapped in warm blankets in her arms. She lifted a manicured index finger and aimed it at me, then rabbit across her neck. Nervously, I laughed, facing Trent again.

"Where's your seat again?"

"Camsy." I cringed internally at the sickly sweetness in Mrs. Wellington's voice but turned to her with a nervous smile anyways. "So nice of you to join us, finally."

"I'm so sorry," I blurted. "I just had a lot of work to do."

"On Christmas?" Marcus questioned, looking up from the piece of cake he'd been devouring. Next to him, Shawn was halfway through his piece.

Mrs. Wellington tsked. "I couldn't hold him back from the cake in time for you to arrive, so it's your loss." She waved her hand dismissively. Trent nudged me with his elbow and motioned for me to follow him.

"However," She continued. "We still have cookies. So you haven't missed too much." To think I was just about ten minutes late.

I sat down in the seat beside Trent, but unluckily for me, it was also next to Simone's.

She elbowed me in the ribs, causing me to howl silently and bend over. "if I find out that you've been sulking over Parker again, I'll have your head," she threatened. I winced. She knew me too well.

"So, Trent," I began, trying to remove the effects of my lateness from the air. "How are you?" I mentally face-palmed. Aunt Alice and Uncle Donovan raised their eyebrows at me simultaneously.

Trent, being the darling he was, caught on and chuckled. "I'm great. I was in town for a couple of weeks when I got an invitation from Simone."

Interesting. I was beginning to wonder why he was here.

Opposite me, my mom shook her head, nudging dad with her elbow. "We didn't raise a latecomer. Something's wrong with our daughter."

"I'm fine, mom," I told her quickly, wanting to erase whatever thought she had in her head.

She studied me for a moment, parting her lips afterward, but dad beat her to it. "If you say so."

"How's your family business going?" Uncle Donovan asked Shawn. Only he would turn a Christmas reunion into a business discussion.

Shawn, in reply, shrugged. "Parker's the one running the business."

"Yes," Mr. Wellington piped in, clearing his throat and gazing over everyone at the table. "And we all know he's been doing great. In Fact, he scored a project with ARcane last year."

"Though, we haven't spoken to him in a while now due to how busy he is." Mrs. Wellington supported.

Mida's face morphed into confusion. "But I thought I saw-" She was cut off by Shawn, who elbowed her in the side, laughing awkwardly. "Nothing. Nevermind." She wheezed, holding on to Shauna.

I felt my eyebrow raise as silence fell on the table. That was weird.

Suddenly, Mrs. Wellington rose up with a clap. "Now that Camsy is here, why don't we open our presents?"

"But I haven't had my cookies yet," I complained. Supposedly, no one heard me except Trent because they all started filing for the living room. I frowned.

"It's okay, Cam," Trent offered, handing me his plate of gingerbread cookies. "You could have mine. I already had the brownies."

I thanked him, and we stood up, heading to the living area to join the others.

In the next moments, I sat there and watched everyone exchange gifts, stuffing a bunch of gingerbread men into my mouth and munching away. Every now and then, someone would squeal in glee and hug a present to their chest. Mida had even gone ahead to jump Shawn when she'd received her present from him. Luckily, Shauna was with Marcus, sleeping peacefully.

Not until the end of the entire present exchange thing had I noticed that I didn't get any presents even though I got presents for others. And I was out of gingerbread.

"Why didn't I get anything?" I asked. They stayed silent, blinking at me. "Why don't I have any presents?" I asked again. When I still didn't get a reply, I scoffed and got up, throwing my nose up in the air. "I can't believe you guys." Certainly, if Parker were here, I would have gotten something. It was strange that no one had remembered to get me a present, almost fishy even.

I didn't have the strength to argue or complain. I was already tired at this point. So, I marched out of the living room...

...and slammed into someone on my way out of the door.

The person's arms shot out to wrap around the small of my waist and steady me. My vision swayed a bit, my heart skipping a few beats. But when I heard a familiar rumble of laughter, I had to step back and look up at the stranger's face.

I was greeted with brilliant green eyes of Parker and a charming smile to match. A gasp escaped my lips on seeing him. Unbelievable. It couldn't be. What was he doing here?

He grinned. I felt the butterflies come loose in my stomach. "Hey, Camsy."

"Parker?" I forced out.

"The one and only." He smiled wider, opening his arms and inviting me to come into them. I glanced behind me to the people who were watching it with broad knowing grins, and I knew. They'd planned this! Mida's slip up, the lack of Christmas presents. Parker was my Christmas present.

Though he had another present in his left hand.

After considering him and affirming that this wasn't one of my daydreams, I ran into his arms and wrapped mine around him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

A round of 'aww's exploded behind us right before Mida spoke up, effectively breaking our moment.

"I hope you're happy, Cammie. I got elbowed by my husband for this!"

I couldn't not laugh, even as I chose to ignore her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Parker, part of me unable to believe he was here right now.

"The project was a success, but the last few weeks were quite hectic." Ha! I knew it! Take that, insecurity. "But I'm here now, and I'm not leaving you behind ever again."

It was another promise, one which I believed totally. "I won't give you the chance to."

He smiled, running his fingers through my hair. I leaned into his touch, wanting to be alone with him. "You changed your hair."

It wasn't just my hair. My heart, my mind, everything about me had been changed. I'd learnt a lot in the past year. I'd learnt independence. I'd learnt to let go. I'd learnt how to survive. And now, he was going to show me how to love.

It was funny to think that all this was the effect of one wedding.

He, however, didn't look different. Though he seemed a bit taller, broader in the shoulders, brighter in the eyes, I didn't see him any different from the man I knew before.

"I love you," I confessed, taking both myself and him by surprise. I guess you'd never know how much you truly loved a person until he went on a one-year trip across the world.

Parker smiled, green eyes twinkling brighter than stars. "I love you too."

He was my present, and with my heart beating erratically, I had a feeling he was going to be the future for me.

Begun: 8/01/2021
Completed: 10/03/2021