The Red Bow [Chaelisa]

46. Family

December 25, 2021. – New York, NY.

Lisa’s POV

I watched the day dawn through the closed curtains of Chaeyoung’s old bedroom wondering if sleep had forgotten about me. Or maybe I was just afraid to close my eyes and realize that it was all a dream, that even 5 days after I asked Chaeyoung to marry me, anytime I could wake up next to Logan in the apartment. I was so happy at the time it was scary.

Chaeyoung and I decided to spend the night at her old house when the guests left in the middle of the night. Ethan was sleeping in the guest room and it wasn’t worth waking him up. We helped Rosalie and Alice to clean the house and said goodbye to sleep, Chaeyoung was extremely tired and mischievous. We took a long, hot shower together, pulled on our sweats, and crawled under the duvet in her old bedroom. It was the first time we slept together, sober and without problems waiting for us the next day. Everything reflected peace as I cradled her against my chest and we talked for a while until her breathing became heavy and her sentences became monosyllabic.

It’s funny how time didn’t seem to have passed in that environment. The same paintings, the same instruments, except for a few Polarid photos hanging on the far wall. They were pictures of Juilliard and what appeared to be her graduation. I felt a tightness in my chest wishing I had been a part of those so important days to Chaeyoung. Unfortunately, a time machine that could help me go back in time and fix it hadn’t yet been invented. Discovering Mason’s disease early and having time to raise money for treatment.

What was left for me was to live intensely the days that were granted to me beside the woman I loved, this time I was willing to make the definition of “we” work.

I smiled and turned my eyes to Chaeyoung who was sleeping soundly with her back to me. I was pretty sure I was the only one awake in the house and decided to use it to my advantage. I got up slowly, careful not to wake my little one and stretched walking to the bathroom. After my personal hygiene, I looked around the room for my hat and walked over to Chaeyoung leaving a kiss on her cheek. I covered her up to my shoulder to warm her from the cold that hadn’t been generous that year and went downstairs to the living room lit by the little Christmas lights on the tree. I lit the fire, made chocolate and looked for something Christmas on Mason’s old vinyl records. I was pleased with Frank Sinatra’s collection and ran to the record player I had given Rosalie as a Christmas present, I knew the meaning of symbolism in that house.

I threw myself on the couch stretching my legs on the coffee table and closed my eyes contemplating the peace in that house that meant so much to me. If I looked at the fireplace I could easily picture Mason taking a picture of Chaeyoung and me on the night of the prom. Or the piano that man used to play for people he loved. The hole he had left was irreplaceable in every way.

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt the sofa sink beside me and someone bury their face in my neck. I smiled when I opened my eyes and found Chaeyoung with a scrunched up face, messy hair, her sweatshirt always bigger than her, and a face like she was mad.

"I woke up and you weren’t there." She mumbled, her voice muffled by my neck.

"You could have gone back to sleep, you know I wouldn’t run away." I concluded sipping my chocolate milk.

Chaeyoung snorted disapprovingly and squeezed me tighter, like a child.

“No,” she replied simply and I started to laugh.

"No?"

"No."

"Hm." I put my arm around her body and kissed her messy hair. "Good morning then, princess."