Chapter 24

The days after our movie night started to pass and right before my eyes, the days until Christmas were disappearing.

Olivia and I had gone shopping to finish up our Christmas shopping on the twenty second of December and it was complete and utter chaos. It seemed like everybody had forgotten about the upcoming holiday and were trying to pick up a gift for every family member, friend, acquaintance, enemy, and pet that they ever had. Every store was crowded and packed with a limited amount of selection left and lines as long as the Nile.

However, even with the determination to find everybody a perfect gift, I came up empty handed for only one person; Cason.

I knew that I was seriously running out of time to get him a present for Christmas, which was only a mere three days, so I took some drastic measures and did the one thing that I didn’t think of until the afternoon of the twenty third; I talked to his mom.

Before making the trip over to his house, I made sure to check that he wasn’t home and when I was positive he was out, I headed over. Diana was shocked at first to me, as she knew that I had just called to ask if Cason was there but, when I explained to her that I desperately needed a bit of help picking out a gift for her son she seemed happy to help.

After inviting me in for a quick snack, I talked to her for about a half an hour about what I could give Cason that would both surprise him and make him happy. By the time I was ready to leave, Diana had given me the best idea that I could’ve ever thought of.

Before I had a chance to walk out the door though, Diana called me back for a second to ask what my mom and I’s plans were for Christmas, as my mom had probably mentioned to her that we had left all our family when we moved down here during the summer.

After explaining to her that we were just staying home and lounging around for the holidays, she extended an invite to both of us to join the Christmas dinner she was hosting for some of her family the next day; on Christmas Eve.

I felt touched that she would include both me and my mom in her Christmas plans as we were new to the town and didn’t actually know many people other than the Michaels and a few others.

Telling her I would talk to my mom about it, I smiled at her and rushed back to my house to talk to my mom, who called Diana back just a few minutes afterward telling her that we would gladly attend the dinner.

It was now Christmas Eve and I was currently in my room getting ready for the dinner party at the Michael’s. I had spoken to Cason on the phone earlier today, just to make sure that he was okay with my mom and me coming tonight but, I had nothing to worry about because apparently I was more than welcomed to join him and his goofy cousins tonight.

The hard part about tonight was choosing what to wear. I had already showered and done my hair, deciding to make a change from my usual style and add some soft curls to my brown locks, however, before I could do my nails and makeup I needed to know what outfit I was pairing it with.

Standing in front of my closet in just a bra and underwear, I kept flipping between a couple different outfits. I didn’t want to dress up too much and look out of place but, I also didn’t want to wear something casual and have everyone around me looking dressy. With that debate going on inside my head and, the fact that it was actually hot tonight in Avondale, my mind was going through an internal struggle picking an outfit.

After spending a couple more minutes just standing in front my closet and staring blankly at the clothes in front of me, I grabbed the outfit the was standing out to me the most and took it off the hanger. It was a deep red high waisted skirt paired with an ivory strapless white shirt that would look good tucked in. Grabbing a pair of black flats with a small bow on each foot from the back of my closet, I started to throw my outfit on being sure not to wreck my hair all that much.

When dressed, I stepped into my bathroom to add a little make-up to my plain old face. A bit of light blush, mascara, clear lip gloss and a tad of light red eye shadow was all it took for my eyes to pop and my smile to brighten.

To finish off my holiday outfit, I squatted down and grabbed my deep red nail polish from under my sink. I hadn’t painted my nails for a while and I always thought that paint nails looked better than plain old ones. Sitting at my desk, I uncapped the nail polish, releasing the fumes into my room and, started to carefully swipe the small bristles back and forth on each nail until each nail was perfectly stained with the colour.

Standing up, I went and slipped my black flats onto my feet and took a step in front of my mirror. To my surprise, I didn’t look all that different, only older and more mature. I didn’t look like the scared teenager I used to be, afraid of letting anybody in or making friends. I looked like the girl my dad and my mom always wanted to be; I looked like me.

On the outside I looked like a confident and happy teenage girl but, on the inside I definitely had a few butterflies swarming my stomach. Today I was going to have to meet a bunch of strangers that I never thought I would. Albeit, they are Cason’s family and he assured me that I had nothing to worry about but, I couldn’t help the nerves that were still there. I knew that all I needed to do was see Cason and have him stay by my side for the majority of the evening and I would be fine; I always was when I was with him.

Tearing my gaze away from the mirror I headed out of my room and down the stairs, making sure that my still wet nails didn’t touch the banister and smear, I headed into the kitchen to see my mom waiting for me as she placed two dozen homemade cupcakes onto a tray.

“Hey mom,” I greeted, leaning against the table as I rested my hands on the table top to dry. “Are you sure you made enough cupcakes?” I asked teasingly, nodding to the cupcakes that she was currently rearranging.

My mom sent me a flat look as she continued to place her cupcakes on a giant tray. “There’s about seven or eight extra cupcakes and if some people want seconds, then they can have them. It’s always better to have more than not enough.” she stated logically as she finished and turned around to grab the plastic wrap from the counter to cover the cupcakes.

“I was just kidding mom.” I replied rolling my eyes at her. “So, where’d you find the dress? I haven’t seen you wear it before.” I asked, referring to the cute cream sundress she was currently wearing. It looked brand new and if she had just purchased it, I wanted to know where she had bought it because it looked adorable.

My mom’s posture stiffened for a second before she continued covering the cupcakes, however, the second was long enough for me to notice and figure out that something was wrong.

“Mom, what’s wrong? I just asked where you got the dress.” I pushed worriedly, wondering what I had said or done that made her stiffen like that.

Her hands froze for another second as she finished the cupcakes before she looked up at me slowly, displaying a sad smile on her face. “You’re father bought it for me a week before the accident. I haven’t had the courage to put it on until now.” she responded quietly, a couple of tears treading in the corners of her eyes.

“Oh mom.” I awed, scurrying around the table to give my hurting mother a hug.

In my mind I knew that this would be the first Christmas without my dad but, for my mom I was realizing that this would be the first Christmas she spent since she met my dad that they were spending apart, and it could only get easier with time. It had only been less than seven months since he passed away and even though we were okay with life now and we were starting to move on, we would never forget him and it would be hard to go through things like Christmas, his birthday and their wedding anniversary for the years that lay ahead.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” she said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself of the fact rather than tell me as she pulled back from my arms sniffling.

I sighed and looked at her. “Mom, you know you’re not going to be truly okay, not for a while.” I stated before continuing. “But I’m going to let it go for tonight because I know you’re happy Diana invited us over so, wipe those tears and let’s head on down the street. You just know that I’m always going to be here when you wanna talk about dad. Always.”

Just as I told her to, my mom wiped the tears that had escaped and, did so without smearing her obviously waterproof make-up. “Thanks Jessalyn, you always know what to say to make me smile.” she said with a smile, giving me one last hug before she pulled back. “So, how are you going to give Cason his Christmas present?” she asked.

After Diana’s suggestion yesterday for Cason’s Christmas present, my mom had taken me out almost immediately to find the perfect one. We had bought the present but it was a little difficult to just give somebody what I had ended up buying for him.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe after dinner that, if there’s some spare time, the two of us could just walk back here and I could give it to him instead of ruining it by giving it to him as soon as we get there.” I explained, hoping my mom wouldn’t have a problem with that.

My mom nodded in confirmation. “Okay, that’s a good idea.” she stated before looking at me sternly. “Just remember not to bring him upstairs when you two are here alone.”

Blushing at her implication, I was shocked she would even say something like that. “Mom!” I screeched embarrassedly, “Why would you even say that?”

“I’m just kidding honey, I know you two are just friends.” my mom said teasingly as I rolled my eyes at her attempted humour. Turning around, my mom picked up the tray of cupcakes she had just finished organizing and continued to speak. “Now, let’s get going before we start holding up the dinner.”

Pivoting on her heel, my mom walked out of the kitchen entryway as she headed to the front of the house. Glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall, I saw that it was already a quarter to five and hurried after her.

As we walked down the street towards the Michael’s house, we passed by four or five cars parked on the side of the road near their house, giving me a slight discomfort as I realized there may be a little more people here tonight than the fifteen or so I was expecting.

“Well, it’s a good thing I made some extra cupcakes.” I heard my mom mutter as she raised her hand to ring the doorbell on the house.

As we waited outside the door, I was nervously ringing my hands together behind my back as my mom stood in silence next to me.

When the door opened a couple of seconds later, it opened to reveal a smiling Cason. He was wearing a pair of dressier black shorts and a deep red button up t-shirt that matched the colour of the skirt I was wearing. As I smiled back at him, relaxing as he was now in my sight, I saw that he as frozen with his hand gripped onto the doorknob.

“Cason?” I asked, speaking his name as a question as he stayed still in his position. Bringing my hand up in front of his face and waving it a couple of times, I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion wondering what was wrong with him. “Hello… anybody home up there?”

Snapping my fingers once in front of his face seemed to do the trick as it literally snapped him right out of the trance he seemed to be in, however, before he could utter a word of greeting, Diana appeared behind him with a wide smile of excitement.

“Jessalyn! Wendy! I’m so glad you two could make it!” Diana exclaimed, moving Cason to the side slightly as she ushered us inside. “Come in, come in.”

“Thanks for inviting us.” my mom replied with a grateful smile before extending the cupcake tray to Diana. “Here are the cupcakes I promised for dessert; homemade and delicious.”

Diana smiled at her, taking the tray from my mom’s hands as she nodded towards the kitchen and living room, to where everybody seemed to be chatting and catching up. “Well come on, I’ll just set this in the kitchen before I introduce you to everyone.” she said, walking away with my mom as they left Cason and I by ourselves.

“So, are you going to freeze again or are you good?” I asked teasingly, still not knowing the reason behind his spontaneously and single game of freeze frame.

Cason, who didn’t seem to be bothered by my jibe at him, rolled his eyes at my comment before responding. “I’m good, I just didn’t expect to see you all dressed up and, well, looking like this.”

“What, am I overdressed?” I wondered worriedly, looking down at the outfit I thought would be perfect.

“No, no, no, definitely not!” he stated, shaking his head in disagreement. “You just surprised me with the hair, the make-up and the outfit but, you do look good Jessa.” he continued explaining as I saw a pinkish colour start to line his cheeks.

As I processed his compliment my cheeks started to change colour as well, matching Cason. “Umm thanks.” I replied nervously. “You look good too I guess; we match.”

The pink blush faded quickly from his cheeks as it seemed his ego was boosted at my shy reply. “Oh, I know I look good.” he said egotistically, running a hand up and down the length of his body. “I mean, look at me.”

Throwing my nerves out the window, I shook my head in amusement at his cockiness. “You’re as modest as ever.” I stated, sarcasm dripping through my voice.

“You know you love it.” Cason replied teasingly, before straightening up and nodding towards the living room. “Now come on, I believe there are a couple of people here that actually want to meet you.”

Before I could respond in my own words, Cason had snatched up my hand and started to pull me along to the living room that his family was currently occupying.

Walking into a room of strangers was not exactly the best thing for somebody like me to do. Throw in the fact that I was also the centre of attention as soon we stepped into the room, I was really grateful that Cason was beside me at the moment or else I might have had an anxiety attack.

I was currently standing face to face with about twenty of Cason’s relatives and most of them were looking at me curiously, trying to work out who I was in what I was doing here.

Before Cason could introduce me to his family, a guy that looked like he was in his young twenties grinned towards Cason and opened his mouth. “Cason, did you finally get a girlfriend?” the guy asked teasingly, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at the pair of us. “I’d like to be the first to say, nice catch.”

“So, how’d this guy get you to go out with him?” I heard someone ask and, when I turned towards my left, where the voice was coming from, I heard an older man that was assumingly in his late forties and was probably one of Cason’s uncles. “Was it blackmail or did he pay you to come and impress us?” he inquired, however, he was using the same teasing tone that the younger male had used seconds previous.

“Guys,” Cason whined embarrassedly, “This isn’t my girlfriend.”

The twenty year old, who I assumed to be one of Cason’s cousins, raised his eyebrows at us in disbelief along with more than half of the room. “Really?” he asked flatly, clearly not believing Cason as he flicked his eyes back and forth between us and nodded towards our hands.

Confused, I looked down at our hands to see that they were still intertwined. It seemed as though Cason saw our joined hands at the same moment I did as we both unlatched our hands embarrassedly at the same time.

A light blush spread across my face at the fact that we were holding hands in front of Cason’s relative, most of whom I hadn’t even met yet but, before Cason and I could say anything my mom and Diana walked into the living room from the kitchen.

“Everyone,” Diana said, getting the attention of most of her guests before she continued, “This is Wendy and Jessalyn Hartley and they live a couple houses down the road. I invited them over for dinner tonight because they’re newer to the town and they didn’t have any special plans for Christmas so, I thought they could join ours. Jessalyn goes to school with Cason and Wendy works at the school with me.”

“Yea, umm… hey.” I greeted nervously, raising my hand in a shy wave.

“Hey Jessalyn.” someone replied happily and, when I located the person I saw that it was Cason’s cousin Brianna from the restaurant we had visited more than a month ago.

I smiled in relief at her, grateful that I at least knew somebody, even though I had only met her once before. “Hey Brianna.”

Before another word could be said, Diana once again butted in with a suggestion. “Why don’t the children go outside to the backyard and hang out while the adults stay in here and help with Christmas dinner?”

I saw Brianna as well as a couple of the other teenagers roll their eyes at being called children, however, most of them stood up and nodded. “Yea sure, come on guys.” Brianna said as she and a couple others started to make their way out of the living room.

I looked at Cason curiously and he just smiled and nodded towards the others. “Come on, we’ll be called back in when it’s time to eat.” he said, grabbing my hand once again as we followed his cousins out through the back of the house.

Stepping outside, I was glad that I had worn what I did because it was definitely a hot day. The sun was beating down on the backyard, making the pool water glisten and look very inviting. If only it wasn’t a family dinner, I probably would’ve been the first one to jump into the pool and cool off.

As Cason led me to the patio chairs the circled a table, I saw that Cason’s younger cousins had taken off to the back of the yard and were now playing on the swinging chair that was situated under a couple of trees.

“It’s such as shame we were banned from the living room once again.” Cason stated, clicking his tongue jokingly as he turned to me. “I really thought that since my mom invited you today that we’d be able to stay in there.”

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously, slightly confused about what Cason was talking about.

Cason was about to reply when Brianna spoke up to answer instead. “Every year the adults stay inside with the air conditioner and talk about all of us kids and help to get the dinner ready while all of us kids get sent outside to endure the sun.” she replied, looking slightly unimpressed that she was still considered a child in her families eyes.

I nodded in understanding, getting how Cason and his two cousins could be getting annoyed that they were banned from being with the adults.

After a couple seconds of silence as the birds chirped in the distance, one of his cousins broke it in an unconventional way. “Are you sure that you two aren’t together or anything?” his twenty year old cousin, who still appeared without a name, asked once again.

“No Danny, we aren’t together.” Cason replied, rolling his eyes at his cousin’s question.

The guy, whose name was obviously Danny, grinned at Cason after he replied before turning to me and running his eyes up and down my body. “So, you’re single?” he asked, grinning wickedly as though he thought I would find it attractive.

As I sat there under his eyes, I moved in my seat nervously not used to guys looking at me like he currently was. “Uhm, yea,” I replied, “And I intend to stay that way for a while.” I continued.

“Well maybe I could get you to change your mind about that.” he suggested, still sporting that creepy grin on his face. “How about we ditch this dinner and I take you out for a nice dinner in town?”

Cason and Brianna must have noticed how uncomfortable Danny was making me as Cason rested a hand on my knee in comfort and Brianna smacked her cousin upside the head.

Unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile as Danny’s face became a picture of shock at the slap he had just received, I let a small chuckle loose as he turned to Brianna with an irritated expression. “What the hell was that for Bri?” he exclaimed, bringing a hand up to his head and massaging the spot that had just been abused.

Brianna sent Danny a flat look at his exclamation. “Really Danny?” she asked dully, rolling her eyes at her cousin. “Can’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable with your flirting? Just cut it out.”

Danny sighed and nodded at his cousin before glancing back at me. “Sorry Jessalyn.” he muttered in apology.

“It’s fine.” I said, sending a shy smile across the table at him.

Cason squeezed my knee once in comfort before removing his hand and nodding at his cousin. “Just don’t do it again Danny or else,” he threatened jokingly, nodding his head towards the little kids before continuing. “You might just be sent over to play with the devil children.”

The four of us laughed at Cason’s empty threat before starting a new conversation. We sat there for a little less than an hour before one of Cason’s aunts came out and told us that dinner was ready to be served.

“Finally.” Danny expressed before jumping out of his chair quickly and making his way into the kitchen to eat.

Brianna, who was the next of us to get up, shaking her head at her hungry cousin before turning her head towards us. “I’ll see you guys in there but, you better hurry up before all the seats are gone.” she stated before following the path Danny had taken into the dining room.

“What is she talking about?” I asked as Cason and I both stood up from our seats, pushing them in before heading towards the screen door that was currently bustling with his little cousins trying to get inside.

Cason rolled his eyes and replied. “She’s just kidding. There are always enough seats for everyone but, if we want a seat away from the devil children,” he explained, nodding to where the kids had just steamed into the house, “We’ll have to hurry.”

“Then let’s go.” I said laughing as I snatched up Cason’s hand in a hurry and dragged him towards his house.

As we entered the dining room, I saw how the kitchen and dining room had been transformed over the course of an hour. When I arrived the rooms had very minimal decorations, excluding the obvious Christmas tree that was placed in the corner of the living room, however, now the kitchen and dining room had festive streamers and decorations that made it look like festive. Also, instead of the normal table in the dining room, plenty more tables and chairs had been added at each end to accommodate the rest of the Michael’s clan. There were Christmas crackers in front of each place setting and little bits of Christmas confetti scattered on the table cloths that had been laid out.

The kitchen on the other hand, hadn’t been decorated at all. Instead, there were now piles and piles of plates and trays of various Christmas foods ranging from a home-roasted turkey to a hearty stuffing to a pan of roasted vegetables. There were also unconventional Christmas foods like a pan of pasta and a tray of freshly cooked fries.

“Dig in everyone.” Diana announced, wiping her hands on a cooking apron, before taking it off and getting a plate for herself.

Still at awe of how big the Michael’s Christmas celebration was, I grabbed a plate from the pile and stood in line behind Cason for food. “You’re family sure goes all out for Christmas, don’t they?” I whispered, leaning forward so only Cason would hear.

Cason looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. “If you think this is big, you should see my mom when the fourth of July comes around. We all have a huge barbeque in the back yard and anything you could ever grill is made.” he replied. “I swear my mom is up all night making sure there’s enough steak, fish, sausage and burgers for my family she actually stays in her room the whole next day to recuperate.”

Giggling at Cason’s explanation, I couldn’t help but imagine the festive things his mother would more than likely do at other holidays, such as making heart shaped cookies on Valentine’s Day and putting green dye in all of the food on St. Patrick’s Day.

After whispering in line for a minute or two, Cason and I finally reached the food and as I started to scoop up the food that I was craving, I realized that not all of the food would actually fit on my plate.

“My advice would be to just keep piling everything onto of each other. It’s just as good and it gives you more room.” Cason whispered into my ear. “Also, carry your bun underneath your plate so it doesn’t take up unnecessary room.”

As Cason pulled back and continued to grab more food, I smiled at him before putting his suggestion to good use and taking my bun off the plate, leaving room for more food. “Thanks.” I whispered back at him as I scooped a spoonful or two of vegetables into the spot my bun had previously been in.

Once my plate was holding all the food that it possibly could, I followed Cason to the dining table and took a seat next to him, placing my plate down first so I could hold my skirt as I planted myself in the seat.

Halfway through dinner, everyone was chatting happily amongst one another, as I mostly just spoke to Cason and Brianna, who was sitting across the table from me.

Suddenly, one of Cason’s uncles put his fork down after swallowing his food and picked up the Christmas cracker from in front of him. “It’s time to open the crackers.” he announced before pulling on either side of his until it burst open with a loud pop. I saw a bit more confetti pour out from his cracker as well as a paper crown, a small object and, a piece of coloured paper. “Dammit!” he exclaimed, tossing his red paper in front of him and pouting while the majority of the people at the table started to laugh in his expense.

Cason, who was chuckling lightly at his uncle, took another bite of his dinner as I turned to him. “What’s everybody laughing at? What’s wrong with the piece of red paper that got him so mad?” I asked, confused with the whole situation.

Cason leaned over and tapped the gold paper Christmas cracker that had been decorated and placed in front of me. “Usually these things are just for fun to pop at dinner but, in our family we have this little tradition.” he explained. “My mom places little pieces of paper into each cracker before dinner and then randomly places them on the table. The red pieces of paper mean you have to help clean up after dinner and the blue pieces of paper mean that you’re free to go.”

Deciding to give it a go, I grabbed my Christmas cracker and popped mine by pulling at the ends. After looking around for a second or two, I happily pulled a blue piece of paper out of my cracker.

“Well, it looks like Jessa gets a dish free night while I get to be on the clean-up committee.” Brianna said sourly, waving her red piece of paper up in the air a couple of times before placing it beside her plate and continuing with her meal.

I looked up and down the table to see that most people had already popped their own crackers and were finishing up their plates while either complaining about dish duty or boasting about being able to laze around in the living room.

As I looked at Cason, I saw that his Christmas cracker remained unopened and nudged him with the side of my arm. “Open your cracker, I wanna see if I’m gonna be enjoying my free time by myself or watching you do the dishes.” I said, nodding towards his cracker.

“I already know that I’m gonna be on dish duty.” he replied with a shrug as he dropped his fork onto his plate. “Somehow, every year my mom makes it so that I open my cracker and a red piece of paper falls out of it.”

“I’m sure you’re just exaggerating.” I responded with an eye roll. “Go on, open it and maybe this year will be the lucky year you’re freed from clean up.”

Cason sighed and complied with my suggestion, reaching forward and pulling the ends of his cracker until it popped. Immediately, I spotted a little piece of blue paper sticking onto the side of his white paper crown.

“There you go Cason, you’re free at last!” I exclaimed quietly, reaching over to pick up the blue piece of paper before waving it in front of his face a couple of times.

All Cason did was stare at the piece of paper in shock for a few seconds before turning to me and smiling. “Well, I guess you’re just my lucky charm.” he said charmingly, winking at me quickly before going back to his meal.

Trying to hold my blush down, I avoided looking at anybody around me as I picked my fork back and continued to eat until my plate was empty and I couldn’t eat another bite.

“I think that was one of the biggest and most filling meals I have ever eaten.” I stated, grabbing my water and drinking the rest before I rested against the back of my chair.

Cason, who had finished a couple minutes before me, looked at me with an amused expression on his face. “Have you never eaten a good ole’ fashion home-cooked meal before Jessa?” he asked teasingly, obviously knowing that my mother and I knew how to cook.

I know that his comment was supposed to be a joke but, I couldn’t help but think about the holidays in the past when my dad would make these intricate holiday meals that were even more delicious than this.

Turning to Cason with a sad smile on my face, I replied. “My dad was a chef.”

I knew as soon as I spoke that I had brought down Cason’s happy high as he sucked in a breath and looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” he apologized before continuing. “He must have gone all out for holidays huh?”

I smiled at the memories of so much food for just the three of us that we would have to eat the same thing for days on end until it was all gone. My dad would even go around the neighbourhood sometimes to give out some of the leftovers as he didn’t understand the concept of only cooking what we need. His favourite saying while cooking was ‘the more the merrier’.

“There were definitely some days when I couldn’t move because of his festive food.” I replied, smiling at the memories.

Cason nodded, his mood lifting up again as he averted making me feel bad about bringing up my father unintentionally.

“It looks like everybody’s done,” Diana stated, getting all of our attention as she stood up from her seat with her dirty plate, utensils, and glass in her hands. “So, everybody who was unlucky enough to get a red piece of paper in their cracker, let’s start cleaning up so we aren’t here all night.”

At her words, there were a bunch of groans heard at the table as half of the guests stood up and followed Diana into the kitchen. This bunch of unlucky Michael’s included Brianna, Danny, my mom, a couple of Cason’s aunt and uncles, and a very unhappy six year old that looked on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

When everybody else filed out of the dining room a couple of minutes later, Cason and I were left alone in our seats. “So, what else is there to do around here while we wait for your family to be done with the dishes?” I asked curiously, turning in my seat slightly to face him.

“Actually,” Cason replied nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, “there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about and, now seems like quite a good time,”

Tilting my head in curiosity, I waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, I figured he needed a little push. “Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked, prompting him to continue.

“It’s about that letter my dad sent me.”

My eyes widened as he mentioned the letter he had received only two days ago, in which his father asked him to visit him over the break. “Well, did you figure out if you were gonna go visit him or not?” I asked softly, remembering that his father was probably a more sensitive topic to him than it was for me.

Cason nodded stiffly as his shoulder tensed before he replied. “I told my mom that I’d go in a couple days. She’s gonna drive me up there to see him and I was just wondering if you were still up for coming with me because my mom doesn’t have a problem with you coming along.”

I smiled at his courage. Even though Cason probably wasn’t ready to forgive his dad for what he had done in the past, he was taking a small step in mending the broken relationship between him and his dad. Placing my hand on his tense one, I sent him a smile and I saw him visibly relax. “If you’re going to see your dad and you need me to be there, then I’ll be there Cason, right beside you as you talk to your dad.” I told him honestly, squeezing his hand in comfort. “You’re giving him the best Christmas present he could ever ask for Cason.”

“Thanks Jessa.” he said, smiling softly at me a though the weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

I shook my head. “It’s really not a problem.” I replied, before lifting my hand and bringing it back to rest on the arm rest of the chair I was occupying. “Oh, and speaking of presents, do you think we have twenty minutes to walk back to mine? I forgot your gift and I wanted to give it to you tonight.” I said, hoping it would be fine.

Cason raised an eyebrow at my statement. “You bought me a present?” he asked, looking shocked.

“Of course I bought you a gift! Besides Olivia you’ve been my best friend since I’ve moved here and you’ve been helping me with my nerves and anxiety without anything in return so, I thought a Christmas present was necessary.”

He nodded in response. “It should be fine if we head out for a couple minutes but, we should probably check first.” he said as he stood up and headed into the kitchen with me following right behind him.

The scene in the kitchen was one that you would probably see in a restaurant after hours – everybody trying to finish the dishes quickly and pack up the leftovers so that they could all relax.

“Mom?” Cason asked, getting his mom attention before continuing to speak. “Is it alright if me and Jessalyn head over to her house? She said she had a present to give me and she forgot it.”

My mom smiled at me, knowing that I really didn’t forget anything and, Diana smiled at me as well, knowing full well what Cason’s present was.

“Sure,” Diana replied with a knowing smile, one that only I picked up. “Just be sure to be back soon enough.”

“We will mom.” he said turning around with me as we made our way to the front of the house and headed outdoors.

It took a measly two minutes to walk from Cason’s house to my house and, since my mom had left the door unlocked when we left more than an hour ago, I simply twisted the doorknob and walked in with Cason right behind me.

“So, I left you’re gift downstairs if you want to follow me.” I said, walking towards the door to the basement.

As we reached the door and we carefully made our way down the stairs, I was starting to get nervous as my brain started to scatter. What if this wasn’t the right gift for him? What if he hated it? Did I go overboard and he’d think I was going crazy?

Our feet hit the cold basement floor and I immediately went in search of the light switch to turn the lights on.

“Now would be the right time to tell me that you’re actually a double agent spy that had a mission to capture me and get me alone to kill me quietly in your basement.” Cason stated sarcastically as I rubbed my hand on the wall until it ran over the switch.

The lights started to flicker on as I turned around and stared at Cason with a flat look. “A double agent spy set out to kill you Cason, really?” I asked, wondering what the hell was going on through his mind.

Cason shrugged, painting an innocent expression on his face. “I don’t know what’s going on in your mind but, I guess I should just keep quiet with my imagination.”

“Yea,” I giggled, “Maybe you should.”

“So, what’d you get me for Christmas?” he asked curiously. “Because really, I wasn’t expecting anything huge or extravagant that constituted being stored in an empty basement.”

I rolled my eyes as my nerves came back. Walking back to where we came, I passed by Cason and reached under the stairs to grab the small bag I had wrapped in festive gift wrap. “For you.” I stated, standing up and giving him the present.

Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, I went to stand in front of the door to another room that Cason hadn’t noticed yet. Leaning against it, I watched as he unwrapped the present and pulled a face as he became even more confused.

Turning to me with an expression suggesting that he thought I was crazy, he held up with gift. “Dog food?” he asked in shock. “This is your present for me that was oh-so-important?”

I shrugged, trying to conceal the smile that wanted to spread across my face. “Oh, I talked to your mom and that’s what she said that you would want; told me you really loved them.” I said, opening the door behind me quietly as possible so he wouldn’t notice. “Do you not like it?” I asked, faking hurt.

“Uhm… I, uh…” he trailed off, probably trying to come up with a way to tell me that I was crazy.

However, before he could actually get any words out, his real present came pouncing out of the room I had just opened and scuttled towards Cason. It was a baby husky that I thought would be perfect for Cason. Apparently when his dad started with the gambling their family dog that was with them since Cason was a baby had passed away and he never really got the chance to get another dog. His mom told me that he had always meant to get another one but, he never had the money or time.

I chose a husky because they looked tough but, they were also amazingly adorable dogs, especially as pups.

Cason, who still stood shocked as the puppy started to bark at his feet, quickly shook himself out of his shocked trance and looked at me in disbelief. “You got me a dog?” he asked in awe, crouching down to sit on the floor so that the puppy could jump into his lap.

I smiled at him and nodded, walking over to Cason and the dog as I crouched down beside him. “You’re mom mentioned your old dog and she said that you’ve always wanted another one. She told me your old dog was a golden lab so I thought I’d get you something completely different.” I explained, rubbing the top of the husky’s head for a couple of seconds as he nuzzled into Cason’s arms. “The guy at the pet store told me that this little guy was the runt of the litter and that nobody was interested in him. He’s house trained and knows a couple of basic tricks but, he won’t grow to be all that big, maybe another six inches or so at the most.”

“I thought that it would be a good present to you because he’s like the reject just looking for a friend and home, like me. Until you showed up I was shy and anxious almost every day but, since you’ve been encouraging me to drop the walls I built around myself I’ve made some friends and I’m no longer the reject any more.” I explained, telling him my reason for picking this dog. “Plus, you like to act all tough most of the time and that’s what husky’s do; they act tough but are just big softies inside.”

“You think I’m a softie?” he asked teasingly, as the husky rolled over in his lap and he started to tickle its stomach.

“I know you have a good heart Cason.” I replied seriously, smiling at him as I looked him in the eyes.

Cason’s eyes were locked on mine for a couple second before he glanced away for a second to look at the cute dog in his lap with a smile on his face. As he looked back at me, his smile hadn’t altered. “This is one of the most thoughtful and best gifts I’ve ever gotten.” he said, looking as though he wanted to give me the world.

“Yea well, you should thank your mom. She’s the one that gave me the idea when I couldn’t think of a thing to get you.” I stated, looking up at him through my eyelashes as I rub the puppy’s tummy for a second.

“I will but, I’m thanking you too. Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me and it’s amazing.” he replied with sincerity. “So thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I replied, my smile not wavering as I looked between him and his new dog getting along adorably.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Cason said after a couple of minutes of playing with his new dog, lifting the dog up and setting him down on the floor as he stood up and swiped the dirt off of his shorts. I stood up beside him as he reached into one of his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped gift. “I also got you something for Christmas. I saw it one day and I thought of you so, I decided it would make a good gift.”

Slightly shocked, I reached out as Cason plopped the small gift into my hand and I saw that it was only about the size of the palm of my hand. “What can be this small?” I asked curiously, tilting my head as I tried to guess what it was.

“Open it and find out.” Cason replied, nodding to the gift as he urged me to open it.

Giving in, I ripped a piece of the paper and started to unwrap the gift. Once all the paper was off I stared shock at a small velvet box before I unlocked the hatch on the front and gasped quietly at what I saw. It was a gold chain necklace that had a butterfly at the end. The butterfly was made of some kind of flower charm and it looked absolutely beautiful that I was almost afraid to touch it.

Noticing my shocked expression, Cason took the necklace out of his case and walked behind me. I was about to ask what he was doing before I saw the necklace coming down around me as he moved my hair to the side and clasped the necklace onto my neck.

“I saw it and thought of how you’ve been spreading your wings since you moved here and it was the best thing I could think of that reminded me of you.” he explained, putting my hair back where it was before he moved it.

Reaching up to grab the necklace, I held it in my hand as I turned around and smiled up at him. “I love it Cason.” I said softly, looking down at the necklace once again before returning my gaze to Cason.

“Well, you’re welcome.” he said, lifting up the right side of his mouth to smile cutely.

After a couple of seconds, I realized how close we were and I took a step back, breaking whatever trance we had been locked in. Before either of us could say another word, Cason’s puppy came between us and started barking happily.

Looking down at the dog with a smile, Cason squatted down and picked him up smiling at me. “Maybe we should get back to my house, I know my cousins are definitely gonna wanna see this little guy.” he suggested, nodding at the staircase.

“Yea, let’s get going.” I agreed, heading up the stairs carefully after flicking the light off.

We made our way back to his house with the little dog in Cason’s arms and, as I saw him happily interacting with his new puppy, I knew that I had made the right decision in thinking out of the box and buying him an unpredictable Christmas present.

This Christmas was shaping up to be a great one and it really hadn’t even begun.

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This is the longest chapter I have ever written! It’s so fluffy and adorable and I hope you all enjoy it.

I got over 40,000 votes on this story and I can’t believe it! I am so thankful and all I can say is thank you and keep it up if you want to see this story in the Watty Awards later on in the year :)

Also, thanks goes out to all my fans as I did end up winning the June Author of the Month competition I was entered in with the votes you guys placed! Thank you and I was honoured when I heard of the win!

Finally, I am keeping up with my promise of at least one upload a week and I hope you all can wait until the next chapter

Vote/Comment/Fan and share this story with your friends x

P.S. the picture on the side is of Jessalyn's necklace and Cason's new puppy

Question: What do you think Cason should name his new puppy? :)