Home For Christmas

Memories

We had been driving for an hour before I asked, "Where are we going?" He looked at me and smiled, "Somewhere." "Of course we are going somewhere but, where exactly?," I persisted. He sighed, "Can't you be a little bit patient?" I rose an eyebrow, "Have you met me?" He laughed, I smiled. I missed this. I missed us.

"Well, to calm you down a little, we are almost there." We're almost there? We are in the middle of a forest. "I knew you have always wanted to kill me but, really before Christmas? That's just horrible," I said almost terrified. He laughed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot tonight, not that I'm complaining.

"Would you relax?" "Relax? You brought me to a forest at six pm, and you expect me to relax. My dad's gonna kill yo..." that's when it hit me. I hadn't told him I'll come home late. "Aiden, my dad? I haven't told him I'll be home late." I took my phone out to call him but there was no service. "Aiden, there's no cell service," I said freaking out.

With that he burst into laughter, again. "Girl, you crack me up. Did you really expect there to be service. Look around, we're in a forest." "But, my da...," he stopped me. "He already knows you're out with me. I asked him last night."

"Last night?," I asked confused. "Yeah, last night. I was going to bring you here whether you said yes or not," he said matter of factly. "You would have kidnapped me?," I asked again. "Well technically it wouldn't have been kidnap since your dad already agreed," he answered in his 'duh' voice.

All of a sudden, he stopped the car. "We're going to have to walk from here," he said as he opened his door. "Walk?" He walked to my side and opened the door. "It seems like today, you really want to ask questions to answers you already know." "I can't walk in heels," I said pointing at my feet.

He sighed and opened the car boot. He came back to me holding a pair of my sneakers. "You really had this all planned out, didn't you?," I said as i wore them. "Did you take these from my room?" "No, Seth did. He also told me to keep you for as long as I want." Of course he did. "Well, let's get going," he said as he closed my door and locked the car.

We had been walking for almost twenty minutes and my feet ached. "Aiden, can we rest?" I called to the boy who was way ahead of me. "We're almost there," he called back. Immediately he disappeared. "Aiden! Aiden! Aiden!," I screamed as I began running towards where I last saw him. I entered the bushes and when I got out, I froze. I saw the most beautiful ocean sunset view I'd ever seen.

Aiden smiled, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I was still speechless so I nodded. When I was able to speak again I asked "When did you find this place?" Sadness coloured his eyes when he finally looked at me. "You know, this isn't your first time here, right?," he asked. I looked at him confused. He sat in the snow and I joined him.

"Aunt Matilda brought us here when we were kids. She would tells us stories about her and my mum," he looked like he was about to cry and my heart ached, "You know I miss her too, right? I visit her almost everyday. She was.... is my second mother."

"You remember when my mum travelled during my birthday and I was so sad," he laughed,"She sneaked into my room and literally kidnapped me."
I laughed.

I remember that day. Aunt Amanda went for a meeting in Germany and couldn't make it back in time for his birthday. He was so heartbroken my mum decided to make it up to him. She woke us up in the middle of night and took us for a road trip. We fell asleep in the car and woke...we woke up here.

I looked at him. "We came here that day, didn't we?," I said finally recognising it. He nodded. "I've been coming here ever since she died. It helps me feel closer to her." I held his hand when I realised he was in tears.

"You were the one who left the water lilies on her grave?," I tried to confirm,
"Yeah, I visited her the day you came back." He turned to face me. He looked at me for the first time since we arrived," I am so sorry, Sammy. You have no idea how much you mean to me. After you moved, I sneaked into your room every night for almost a year hoping you will come back. I'm sorry I left you. It would never happen again," he looked at me directly," I promise." With at I hugged him and cried in his arms.

That's the second promise he's made today. He kept the first I really hope he keeps the second.