They finally got back to Blake's. He unlocked the door, and they all rushed inside. The house was still as empty as when they left, which Blake was used to and wasn't really surprised about. Emma, on the other hand, was. Their parents still weren't home by this time in the day? By this time, her mother would have probably been telling her to go to dance practice, then after that, she would have to help at the animal shelter.
But since she kind of ran away from home and was here with Blake, she was choosing not to worry herself with it. Of course, she would have to go back home at some point—maybe tomorrow, just to let her parents sweat a little bit about her suddenly leaving.
Alex walked upstairs to his bedroom, saying he'd be back down after putting his things away. She sat on the living room couch, followed by Blake.
"Are you going to cook Alex dinner?" she asked, suddenly remembering the disaster of that morning's pancakes and worried for the small boy's safety.
Blake leaned forward, picking up the remote off the table. "That must be a joke." He laughed, looking at her while shaking his head. "I always just order food off DoorDash, but I'm hoping they fed him at his friend's house. They usually do that before sending him home." He turned on the TV, flicking between the channels.
She nodded, laying her head on his shoulder as Alex walked downstairs, looking at them cuddled up, eyebrow raised, but not saying anything. He walked closer, plopping on the other couch.
"Did they feed you over there, kid?" Blake asked while stopping on some news station.
Alex nodded, looking over at the box by the front door. Emma noticed the Christmas decorations along with a fake tree still in the box that morning, but didn't really think to ask Blake why it was all just sitting by the door. Alex rubbed his small hands before walking over to the stack of boxes. Both their eyes followed him across the living room.
"When did Mom and Dad say we were going to put up Christmas decorations?" He slightly pouted, poking at the top of the box. Blake sighed slightly, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know, a few days ago..." Alex pressed his lips before humming with annoyance. This must have been a normal conversation for the pair of them. Alex got on his knees beside one of the boxes, opening the lid before looking over at them with a smile. "We should set it up together." His voice was full of excitement as he began pulling out different ornaments.
Blake looked at her a moment before pulling away to stand up, walking over to Alex. He set a hand on his shoulder. Emma bit her lip, watching the interaction quietly.
"I don't know, they said to wait, Alex."
Alex stopped going through the box, looked up at him. "If we wait for them, it will never get up, just like the last two years." Emma's heart shook for the little boy when she noticed his voice was slightly shaking, as if he was about to cry.
Blake got on his knees beside Alex. "Where is all this coming from suddenly, Alex?" Alex looked down, playing with the small red ornament in his hands. He shrugged slightly, apparently not wanting to bring it up. But Emma could tell something was bothering him. He was so happy while he was with his friends; she witnessed that firsthand.
The question is, what could have changed his mood in just a few hours?
Standing from the couch, she walked closer, sitting on the spot beside him. He looked up at her under his long lashes. Giving him a small smile, she whispered, "What's wrong, honey?" Despite not having such a great childhood herself with the constant pressure from her parents, she was very good with children. That's part of the reason she thinks she would make a good history teacher in the future.
She didn't want to push Alex to talk, but she could tell he wanted to get something off his chest.
"It's just... Nat and Matt already have up their tree. Matt told me they all put it up together while playing Christmas music," he said, giving her a sad smile before continuing, "I thought that was... pretty cool how they always at least have one parent at home. And I don't know, when I came back home, I realized that my family isn't really that way. It's usually just me and Alex here alone, but you're here today, and that's pretty nice," he laughed softly, but she could feel the pain behind his words.
Sure, it was probably nice for him to see her today, but she bets it would have been even better if his parents were here. And it would have been nice if they could have put up a simple tree with their sons, but they couldn't seem to find time. "I just wanna put the tree up! I really want a tree this year," he said, looking back at Blake, who was looking at him slightly stunned.
Sure, Alex would talk to him and tell him things at times, but not like this. Alex hardly ever brought up how much it hurt to have his parents away most of the time. Blake rubbed his shoulder before standing.
"Let's put up this damn thing!"
Alex laughed while standing. Emma's eyes widened. "Language, Blake!" she glared, but he didn't seem to care one bit. Alex smiled widely at his brother. "For real!?" Blake nodded before opening the top of the tree box.
Emma smiled, watching as Alex jumped up and down, excited. "Have you guys ever done this before by yourself?" she asked while looking through one of the boxes, pulling out some lights.
Blake shook his head. "Nope, but how hard can it be?" Alex put the ornament back in the box before running halfway up the stairs. Emma called out, asking where he was going. Surely he wasn't running off now?
"I'm gonna go get my phone to play Christmas music while we do it. It'll be a whole vibe!" she laughed, watching the little boy disappear up the stairs.
Turning to Blake, she saw him struggling to pull the tree out of the box, grumbling under his breath. She walked over, holding the sides of the box to slide the tree out. "This is really sweet of you." She kissed him softly on the cheek, which made him smile.
"Aren't I always, though?" She rolled her eyes as he fully pulled out the tree. "Sure, Mr. Knock his teeth down his throat." She laughed hard at his smug face.
Alex made his way from upstairs, already playing Christmas music on his tablet. "That was a joooooke, Em! I would never do that for real. Come on, you're gonna learn to take a joke for real..." She hit his shoulder lightly. He definitely wasn't joking about that last night. Because in the words of Chris, he was a simp for her, even if he wouldn't admit it, and would definitely punch Chan's lights out of his dumb little head just for her.
YOU ARE READING
It Started With Hello
Romance***** Emma Pear knew she wasn't the most popular girl in high school. Her nose was usually buried in a textbook, and her grades were as spotless as her reputation for always following the rules. "Nerd" was a label she'd long since embraced. Her pare...
