Fracture

BONUS: CHAPTER TWO

❊-♡︎Scarlett♡︎-❊

T E N Y E A R S L A T E R

"Rory, Rory! Santa came to my house!" Bethany squealed the second the Kavanagh's entered the front door of our house.

"I know, he came to mine too." Rory shrugged like it was no big deal.

"It's about time you showed up, Kav." Gerard grumbled from beside the Christmas tree. "I've been waiting for my present from you."

"Relax, ya big eejit," Johnny chuckled, tossing a present at Gerard. He turned to me and embraced me, "good to see you, Scar."

"You too."

"Is Feely around?" He asked, as I pulled Shannon in for a hug.

"Yeah, I think he's just finishing up brunch." I explained, looking back to where my husband was standing in front of the cooker.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Bethany giggled, running at Patrick. "Santa gots Rory a new bike!"

"Oh, wow." Patrick chuckled, picking up our daughter and resting her on his hip. "You'll have to ask for that next year."

"Santa's not a mind reader," I chuckled. I headed straight for them and pressed a kiss to Patrick's cheek. "And dad is making you a pancake brunch. Nothing beats that."

"Quit the lovey dovey shit." Gerard shouted from the floor. "It's present time."

"Yeah, we want presents!" AJ clapped, his mam's arm draped over his shoulders.

At ten years old he understood the concept of presents and Santa a whole lot better than the rest of the kids.

"They are too cute." Claire shot me a wink. "But seriously, Peter is practically bouncing off the walls. Let's get on with this thing."

"Wait, where are Hugh and Liz?" Shannon asked, bouncing Caoimhe in her arms.

"I told them to come after presents. Having no kids means not wanting to watch them all open gifts." I shrugged, flipping the last pancake onto a plate and ushering Patrick over to the seating area.

"AJ what did santa get you?" Shannon asked her nephew.

"Lots of stuff." He smiled, "new legos and a scooter."

"A scooter?!" Bethany gaped.

"What did we say about next year?" Patrick laughed, pressing a kiss to Bethany's cheek.

"Here Bethy," Gerard grinned, handing her a gift. "You start us off. This one's from Uncle Gibsie and Aunt Claire."

I took the spot on the couch next to Patrick, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as we watched Bethany tear apart the wrapping paper.

I found it difficult to focus on the presents when all these people were around. I loved everyone in this room beyond words and I felt my heart swell. Sixteen year old me never would've believed I would have this. I wanted to cry from sheer happiness.

I cuddled closer to Patrick, intertwining our fingers, giving me a chance to look at the diamond on my finger. We'd gotten married a few years back. It was a small ceremony in the back yard of the Kavanagh's manor and it was everything I'd dreamed of.