Taken With Tucker

»Tucker«

December 24th, 2014

Christmas Eve is not the way I thought it was going to be. I assumed I would be home by a warm, soothing fire, surrounded by family I didn't think I would miss.

Avery seemed the same,vas if this day wasn't any different than the others.

"Ave?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Thursday maybe?" She says with a smile.

"No, it's Christmas Eve."

"And?" She walks over to the window and stares off into the distance.

"What do you mean and? Christmas is the best time of the year."

"If you say so. It's just another day of the year for me."

"Did you not have Christmas traditions?" I ask while walking toward her.

"I celebrated other families traditions, but I never had ones that were mine. I've never had a family long enough to create my own. I just don't care at this point. I mean you've had a family that was yours all of your life. It's not that I don't care about Christmas, I've just never had a reason to." I nodded and put my hand around her shoulders. Her statement was a bit jumbled up, but I understood what she meant.

"How about we start one together."

"How can we do that Einstein?" She says while rolling her eyes.

"We can tell each other every year, no matter where we are in the world, what our favorite thing of that year was." I mean, we couldn't do anything Christmas related. We don't have a tree, or a TV for Christmas shows, or books about Christmas. This was the best thing I could personally come up with.

"Huh?"

"What was your favorite thing that happened to you this year?"

"Oh, you go first." She smiles and I nod.

"My favorite part of this year was when I read my first full novel." She laughs instantly.

"Are you serious?" She smiles.

"Yes, I'm very serious."

"Which novel did you read?"

"The Hunger Games."

"Really? I read that right when it came out."

"Not all of us are bookworms."

"I guess so."

"What was your favorite thing this year?" I ask her.

"When I finally felt like I was home."

"Ms. Espen is a very nice lady." I say.

"Well, not just with her."

"With who?"

"You." She whispers.

"Me?"

"Yes, you've made me feel safe while we are in this awful situation. You stay calm not only for yourself, but for me as well. I was mad that you were here too, because I hated you. You bullied me every day and I was just mad at the world. Then you changed. Over these past months, you've shown me that you are more than the jerk. You are an actual human being who genuinely cares for others. You put a jerk mask over your true self. I think you need to stop wearing your mask and just be yourself." She surprises me with her response. I was in shock.