~*~ Chapter 14 ~*~
REDDING, CA - The Addams - House - Christmas Dinner
Ashley pulled back from their hug.
“Let’s go inside?” Kirstin asked.
“Yes. I just need to get something in my car first.”
“Oh, ok. Do you want me to wait for you?”
“Please, do.”
“Ok.” she smiled “Go, then.”
Ashley trailed to his Ford Explorer. Kirstin watched as he entered the car for a quick second and then got out of it, closing the door. When he got closer, she asked.
“What was that for?”
“I had to get your Christmas present.”
“What?”
“You’re Christmas present.”
“No. You’re not suppose to get me one of those. I didn’t get you one and…”
“I don’t care. I bought it a really long time ago and I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you. The moment has come.” he showed her a little blue velvet box ‘More jewelry?’ Kirstin thought.
“Sorry, Ashley, I can’t accept this. You can give it to Hailey.” she returned the box to Ashley. He didn’t accept it back.
“Kirstin, I bought it for you. I can’t give it to anyone else but you. That’s why I have had it for almost an year now.”
“You… you bought it while we were together?” Kirstin felt bad.
“No.” that made her more relieved “Well, yes.” Kirstin felt bad again.
“Why? Why didn’t you give it to me then?”
“Because I never had the perfect chance. And now I do.” he smiled at her “Please, take it.”
“Ok.” Kirstin agreed. When she opened it, her jaw dropped “Oh my God.”
“You said you liked it when you saw it.”
“I did like it. I mean, I do like it. It’s gorgeous. But why did you buy it?”
“Because you said you liked it!”
“But you shouldn’t have!”
“I already have, so you better use it.”
“But, Ashley…”
“No buts. Here. I’ll put it on for you.” Ashley said taking the ring out of the box. It was a beautiful silver ring that had little stars all around it and in the middle of each star there was a tiny little diamond rock. She remembered that the first she saw that ring, she was amused by it. She saw it on a window of this jewelry store there was on the hotel Ashley stayed in New York while they were together. She had said to thin air she was amazed by the ring, but Ashley was right behind her and had heard it. So the very next day, he went to the jewelry store and bought her the ring. But never had the chance to give it to her.
“Oh my God. It’s beautiful, Ashley!” she twisted the ring around her right ring finger. He just smiled seeing her joy.
“I knew you’d like it.”
“Thanks.” she kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a little. Kirstin didn’t notice that. She was too busy looking at her new ring “I don’t know what to say, I mean… I didn’t get you anything and you got me this amazing ring, that, I’m sure, cost a fortune and…”
“Seeing you happiness was enough for me. Totally worth it.”
“Aw… Thanks, Ash.” they both smiled at each other. Kirstin took another look at her ring before saying “Well, let’s go inside now.”
“Before we go in there, I just wanna say that you look absolutely stunning tonight.” Kirstin blushed a little.
“I think you said something like that already. One of the reasons my fiancée gave you that black eye.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot. Well, but you are.”
“Thanks.” she looked down, embarrassed.
“And I actually have something else I wanna give to you.”
“Oh, no. I can’t accept anything else.”
“Really, you have to.”
“No, I don’t. And I won’t. I don’t care what it is, I just…” Ashley showed her a piece of paper “What is that?”
“That’s what I wanna give to you.”
“Oh, ok. That I can accept.” she smiled and took the paper out of Ashley’s hand. When she was unfolding it, Ashley stopped her.
“I don’t want you to read it now. Save it for later, when you’re alone. Ok?” he had a serious look on.
“Ok.” Kirstin nodded. Holding the piece of paper and the small box on her right hand and Ashley’s hand on the left one, she said “Let’s go inside!” Ashley let her drag him. He was happy. Things would be good now. Well, at least as good as it could be.
Inside the house, Hailey greeted them by the door. She must have been there the whole time, spying on them.
“Are you two done?” she grabbed Ashley’s hand from Kirstin’s and looked at her with a mad look on. Kirstin just looked at Ashley and raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, sweetie. We are.” Ashley answered his girlfriend and smiled at Kirstin.
“If you excuse me, my fiancée is grounded and I gotta get him some food.” she said before heading to the table where all the food was.
With a plate on her right hand and the presents she had received from Ashley on her left one, Kirstin had a hard time working the doorknob, but entered the room where Tom was. He was sitting on the loveseat, with his hands over his head. He suddenly looked up when Kirstin closed the door behind her and stood up.
“Oh, Kirstin. I’m so sorry. Please, forgive me, I…”
“Here.” she said, handing him the plate.
“What’s this?” Tom asked with the plate in his hands.
“Food. Heard of it?” she had a serious look on. She headed to the nightstand, opened the drawer and put the jewelry box and the piece of paper inside it.
“Yes, but… Are we ok?”
“What do you think, Tom?” Kirstin crossed her arms across her chest.
“That we are not.” Tom sat on the loveseat again.
“And why aren’t we ok?”
“I don’t know Kirstin, I mean…”
“You don’t know? Think, Tom. Just for a second, think!” Kirstin was mad.
“Because I hit Ashley?”
“No.”
“No?” Tom was surprised.
“No. Because you broke your promise.” Tom looked down, ashamed “Do you remember your promise, Tom?” Kirstin was still standing, right in front of him.
“Yes.”
“And what was that?”
“That I wouldn’t make a scene. That I wouldn’t let Ashley get to me.”
“And did you keep that promise?”
“No.”
“And why is that?” Tom just shook his head “Look at me!” Kirstin was seriously pissed. Tom didn’t know what to say to make things better.
“I don’t like that guy, Kirstin. I don’t know what it is, I just don’t like him.” Tom had a sad look on. Kirstin felt sorry for him. She sat beside him on the loveseat.
“But why is that, Tom?” she took the plate off of his hands and placed it in a small table beside the loveseat.
“I can’t really say for sure. I guess… I guess… maybe…” he chocked.
“Tommy, look at me.” she lift his chin up with her hand “Why is that, baby?” Kirstin just wanted to understand him. Understand why he hated Ashley so much “We are together now, Tommy. I’m yours. All yours. I’m marrying you, for crying out loud. You’ve won! What else do you want?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it? Why do you hate him so much? He doesn’t have me anymore, so I don’t understand why you still hate him.”
“Kirstin…” Tom turned to look into her eyes and took her hands in his. He noticed something different “What is this ring?” he brought Kirstin’s finger closer to his eyes.
“Nothing, just a… ahn…” Kirstin took her hand off of Tom’s “A present. I just got that from… uhm… ahn…”
“Ashley.” Tom looked down.
“Yes.” Kirstin also looked down.
“See? That’s what I was trying to say to you.”
“What? What, Tom?”
“That’s why I don’t like that guy.”
“Because he gave me this ring?”
“No, Kirstin. Of course not!”
“Then what is it, Tom?”
“Kirstin, I know you always had feelings for him.”
“No, Tom, I…”
“Don’t lie to me. I know those bad dreams you were having a few weeks ago were about him.” Kirstin looked shocked. ‘How did he know?’ she thought “I know you, Kirstin. Better than you think I do. So I know the dreams were about him, I know you always had feelings for him, the slighted they were, you always had them. And I think you still have them.”
“No, Tom, I…”
“Let me finish here, Kirstin, please?” Kirstin shut up “So… as I was saying, you had feelings for him and apart from that, you guys have a history together. And whether I like or not, there’s nothing I can do about it. I just can’t erase your past, your history. I certainly would, if I could. Even if you two are not together, you’ll always have that thing hold on to you. Whether I like it or not, you two are connected in a way you and I will never be.” Tom was crying by that time. It was actually the first time Kirstin saw him crying “We don’t have a history together.”
“Tommy, baby, look at me.” he wouldn’t face her. She tried to turn his face to her, but couldn’t. He wasn’t allowing her to “Baby, look at me.” now she was almost crying “Baby, look at me. Please!” Tom slowly turned to face her. He rubbed his thumb on her cheeks, sweeping her tears away.
“Don’t cry, baby. It’s not your fault.”
“Tom, listen. We may not have a history together. Yet. But we are building one. A beautiful one. I don’t want you to feel threaten by Ashley just because of that.”
“How couldn’t I?”
“Believe me Tom, our history together is not as good as you think.” she smirked. He didn’t.
“Good or bad, you have it.”
“But are you listening to me? We’re building one here. It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be the best history ever. Our children will talk about it, and our grandchildren will talk about it...”
“Our children?”
“Of course! We’ll have a lot of children and they will tell their children our beautiful story. You’ll see.”
“Promise?” he smiled weakly.
“Promise.”
“I love you, Kirstin.”
“Oh, Tom, I love you, too.” he pressed his lips to Kirstin’s and she deepen the kiss. When they pulled back, Kirstin got the plate back from the table “Now, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
“Me too. This plate won’t be enough for both of us.”
“It will have to be. The food was almost gone when I got this. People are just starving this Christmas.” they smiled and started eating.
* Thanx Taryn for reviewing and correcting the grammar errors *
~*~ Chapter 13 ~*~
~*~ Chapter 15 ~*~
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