'𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐬?'

Christmas morning-(45)

After that night with Mattheo, we had been staying in the spare room together ever since. I've gone to sleep happy and woke up even happier. It's been a long time since I've felt like that. Without it sounding entirely cheesy, Mattheo honestly brings out the best in me. I have felt so complete since my dad was still alive. Sure, people who were in my life are now no longer in my life, I did miss Sophia specifically, but she'd changed. I've changed. I should never have felt obligated to tell her everything, to me, that's never what our friendship was about. I defined friendship by having each other's backs or comforting them if they needed it. Not keeping secrets and disappearing for hours at a time with no dignified reason behind why they were gone for so long. Sophia may not understand it right now, but before Mattheo, she was the closest person to me apart from my brother. I would have carried the whole world on my shoulders if it meant that she'd be happy, but that's when it started becoming one sided. She started to drift and I still kept trying to do everything in my power to benefit her even though her absence was killing me. When I knew the reason why, I had a justified reason to stop speaking to her when I did. I just hope she realises what she's done and what she's lost.

But it was Christmas morning. There was no time for negative thoughts when all of my focus was on Teddy having a great day. Of course I wanted Mattheo to also have a great day, but it was our priority to make this the greatest Christmas yet for him. Mattheo still wouldn't tell me what he'd gotten teddy for Christmas, in fact, I might be just as excited as teddy to find out.

It was 6 am. The house was silent. Me and Mattheo were only just about awake, we took advantage of the silence and remained mostly quiet as we just lay in each other's arms.

Mattheo:"good morning." He whispered with a smile on his face, I couldn't quite make out his expression due to the darkness of the room still. But he grabbed me tightly and buried his head in my neck, planting kisses wherever he could reach.

Marcy:"good morning." I wrapped my arms around his. His warmth radiated onto me, I was entirely comfortable. I didn't want to move at all. Just as the thought of comfort ran through my head, Teddy burst through the door and jumped on top of us.

Teddy:"its Christmas! It's Christmas! Marcy and Mattheo, wake up it's Christmas!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He loved Christmas and knowing that he'd get presents from both me and Mattheo made him ecstatic.

Marcy:"yes, teddy, we know. Calm yourself it's 6 am." I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hand.

Teddy:"but it's Christmas! Santa's been." He gets presents every year. Not many because there were more important things my mother's wages needed to go towards, such as the rent and the electric bills. But he was grateful for everything he got, even though he was still under the impression that Santa was real. I was not going to spoil his innocence in believing a fat man with a white beard and a furry suit delivered the presents for every child all over the world. As you get older, you understand just how soul crushing that realisation is when Christmas becomes less important and interesting as the years go on. All I cared about was spending it with the people I loved and that's what this year was about. Mattheo and my brother were all I really had left, but Mattheo seemed to be fitting in just fine with him.

Mattheo:"we'll be down in just a second buddy." He said adjusting his eyes the same as I was.

Teddy:"I'll go and wake up mom." Knowing her, she might already be awake. But teddy couldn't wait, he felt the urgency to rush around as if the present would vanish into thin air if they weren't opened immediately.

He ran out of the room, almost tripping on his way out. He was an awfully clumsy kid, it was funny for the most part too.

Me and Mattheo both laughed at his excessive rush. Mattheo pulled me closer and leaned into kiss me, so I put my hand over my mouth.

Mattheo:"avoiding my affection now are you?" He smirked.

Marcy:"no, it's just we both have morning breath."

Mattheo:"that doesn't bother me. I'd kiss you even if you had really bad morning breath." He grinned convincingly.

I removed my hand from my mouth and let him lean in to kiss me. I liked that even morning breath didn't stop him from wanting to kiss me. It truly made me believe that there wouldn't be a circumstance that he wouldn't kiss me with the idea that morning breath didn't bother him in the slightest.

Marcy:"come on then, if we don't get down those stairs within the next minute, I think teddy might just about have a meltdown." I snickered.

Mattheo:"okay." He sighed, it was obvious he enjoyed kissing me and he didn't want to part lips. If it was his way we wouldn't be leaving this bed, we'd lie and sleep the day away together.

We both lifted the covers and headed for the bathroom to brush our teeth. Both in complete sync. It was strange yet funny to watch it unravel the way it did.

Before long, we were both dressed, I still made him turn around because if we were going to be more than friends, I didn't want to mess it up. I was extremely inexperienced in what a relationship normally has to offer, therefore I didn't want to reveal too much too soon.

Mattheo grabbed his present from the wardrobe that he'd bought for teddy and I grabbed mine. I was almost definite that teddy would love my present, but my curiosity kept wondering what it was that Matthew had bought for him.

Whatever it was, I knew it would be amazing. Mattheo's done really well getting to know teddy and it's really nice to watch someone I care about mix with my family so casually. He didn't get the same first impression of my mother, but whatever he'd said to her on the first night we got here, not one bad word has come out of that woman's mouth. Whatever hed said had impacted her so intensely that she was almost like the old version of herself. The version of herself I used to love before everything changed.