Dan’s POV
I was so nervous about today. Haylee had woken Phil and me up early since it was Christmas, but I hadn’t really slept anyway. Our families would be getting here at about 9. I straightened my tie once again and took a deep breath.
Haylee scurried around the house, making sure everything was perfect last minute. The doorbell rang and right on time, our families began to show up. “DAN!” My mum called. “Oh, it’s so good to see you! How are you, son? Ah, the flat looks gorgeous!”
“Thanks, mum, but that’s Haylee’s doing. She’s been decorating like a nutter all week!” I chuckled, giving my mum a hug. She squealed and ran to give Haylee a hug followed by treating Phil like he was her own son. My dad came in next.
“Hi dad! It’s good to see you!” I greeted, giving him a hug.
“Good to see you too, son!” he pulled me aside. “So, where is this Haylee of yours? I can’t wait to meet her!”
“Yeah, I…” I was interrupted by Haylee who had come over to greet my dad.
“Mr. Howell, would you like a glass of wine?” Haylee asked. My father nodded and followed her to the kitchen.
Finally Haylee’s parents showed up. It was now or never. Haylee was busy talking excitedly with her mum and didn’t notice her dad and I step outside. “You must be Daniel.” He guessed. I nodded and shook his hand. I had to admit, I was scared of Haylee’s dad at first after the way he’d talked to her a few months ago, but Haylee had told me that her dad was the nicest man when he wasn’t drunk, and that he had only said those things when he was drunk.
“Yes sir, I am.” I replied shakily. Mr. Wright started to laugh.
“Call me Dean.” He replied. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Um, look, Haylee’s really happy right now and I know what happened with you two, but I just wanted to ask if you could try to get along with her. Maybe apologize?” I questioned.
“Listen, I was wrong to say that to her. I know that and I’d like the chance to start over, but I don’t think she’ll give it to me.” I watched as he returned to the living room and I followed behind. Haylee looked up and I saw a frightened look cross her face when she saw her dad. I hoped I hadn’t done the wrong thing.
Haylee’s POV
I couldn’t believe Dan had gotten my dad to come. Even though we talked some, I still couldn’t forgive him for what he’d done to me and to my mom. Everyone opened their gifts, however Dan, Phil and I waited until tonight to open ours from each other. After dinner, we all sat around talking. “How are you doing, darling?” My mom asked.
“I’m alright, honestly. Dan and Phil have done so much for me and right now I don’t know where I’d be if they hadn’t saved me. This was the right choice for me, mom. I needed this and I am so glad you let me go. This was the best thing for me.” I held out my arm, pointing to a tiny cut on my forearm. “This is the last time I cut. Over a month ago. In total, I’ve cut twice since moving here, spread out over a length of four months.” She smiled and pulled me into a hug, crying.
“Look at you, all grown up and getting better. You’re happy and following your dreams. That’s all I could ever want for you, baby.”
Eventually, our families left and Dan, Phil and I sat down to open our presents. “Dan, this is yours from me.” I said, handing him the gift. He opened it quickly.
“Oh, wow! I love it! Thanks darling!” He pulled it out of the box and held it up. It was a Pikachu hoodie. He put it on and made a cute face. I laughed and snapped a picture.
I gave Phil some purposely mismatched socks, a bunch of candy and a lion phone case. Dan handed me a small box and I opened it. Inside was a necklace with a heart and a key on it. I was confused until Dan reached into the collar of his hoodie and pulled out a chain that he was wearing. It had a silver key that matched my heart charm and a black heart charm that matched my black key.
“You have the key to my heart and I have the key to yours!” He replied.
“Aw!” I cried, hugging him. We finished our gift unwrapping and spent a couple of hours cleaning up, which resulted in a paper and bow fight. Finally, we grabbed a few snacks and made a little video for our followers. Eventually we all fell asleep.
