Questions for Answers

Chapter Ten

2 weeks later... Christmas Break

Tristen and I sat in the backseat of the car, while Tim drove all of us to Ohio to go see Trisha's side of the family. I was surprised when Tristen agreed to spend the holidays with me, but I couldn't have been happier. I was surprised because I knew he had certain reservations about some members of my family who treated me like crap. I reassured him that it wouldn't be so bad and that I'd make sure he didn't have to spend too much time with them. We usually only spent three days max with my cousins; the day before Christmas, which was today, Christmas Day, and then the day after that.

Trisha turned around in her seat and directed her attention towards Tristen, "So, Tristen, what are you most excited about upon joining us for this trip?"

I looked at him, curious what his answer would be. He smiled, "I'm excited to just be around people who put in effort to make the holidays special. It's just me and my dad, and since he's older, he can't do much. When my mom was still here, she did all of the decorating, cooking, and things of that nature. So I'm glad that there are still families out there that spend time with each other. Also, I'm just really excited to eat too."

I chuckled as he finished his sentence; we all did except for Thomas and Tammy. I tried to just ignore them as best as possible, but we were all stuck in this car together until we arrived, so I just dealt with it. Trisha seemed pleased with his answer, "I'm sorry to hear about your mom. We'll try our best to make sure you have the best time with us! We're glad to have you on board."

"Speak for yourself", I heard Tammy mumble.

I was about to speak up, but Tristen noticed and held me back, "It's not worth it."

Somehow, he always knew how to defuse any situation. He was the calmer one out of the two of us and I appreciated him so much for that. I then gave him a small smile and he took ahold of my hand. Tilly was sitting in the back with us and when she noticed it, she joked, "Get a room, lovebirds."

I rolled my eyes at her and continued to hold his hand throughout the whole car ride. Once we finally arrived at our cousin's house, Tristen helped me out of the car and we waited for the rest of my family to join us. Everyone followed suit and we headed towards their front door. They had a bunch of Christmas decorations on display and lights hanging everywhere, it was beautiful.

They opened their door to us and started greeting everyone; except for me. They pretended as if I wasn't even standing there. My aunt even tried to greet Tristen, but he took a step back and put out his hand towards me, "I think you guys should be welcoming River, I'm no one. She was excited to see you guys this year."

She looked embarrassed and pulled me into an awkward hug, "Oh, yes, River, I didn't see you there. How have you been?"

I sighed, "Fine."

There was an uncomfortable silence and when Tristen noticed that I didn't want to be there anymore, he whisked me away and into the house. He turned to me, "I didn't know it was this bad for you. Is it like this every year you visit them?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It sucks because I've tried to tell Trisha, but she said it's just the way her sister was and to not take it personally. But whatever she's got against me, she's taught to her children, so they treat me badly too. I do my best to avoid them, but it's impossible. That's why I'm really glad you're here."

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can to make this not suck so much", he said with a smile.

Everyone gathered around in the living room and started catching up with each other on life and other things. Even though I wasn't engaged in the conversations that were happening, having Tristen there with me helped me feel a little less alone. For the remainder of the day, we watched some movies, played some board games, and enjoyed a nice meal. And after getting to know him better, my family, cousins included, really liked Tristen. It made me confident in my choice of choosing to let him into my life. I didn't want to have it any other way.