There's a Place For Us (Complete)

Part 19

I. An Exquisitely Tragic Love Affair

(Part 19)

Adam led her into her house, but this time she didn't have to close her eyes.

Inside the tiny room she called her living room, standing in the corner of the room, was what every Christmas needed.

A Christmas tree.

She gasped with delight. The tree was decorated with red, green, and silver lights. The ornaments were all the same, round balls. But one stood out among the rest. It was a light blue heart and inside the heart was her name written in a silvery New England script. At the tip of the tree, on the very top, stood an angel wearing a golden dress. And under the tree was a single wrapped present. Isabella giggled quietly with joy. Never once had she seen a present under a Christmas tree, besides in movies. She hoped that her parents had put presents under the tree before the accident, but even that she couldn't be certain of.

Isabella felt like a child, and she half expected to see Santa bustling through the door. But no such man existed; not one jolly old man who cared enough about her to do all this and put presents under the tree. But there was someone else who did. He wasn't wearing a bright red coat, she didn't call him dad, but he was someone. And he stood right beside her.

Adam inspected her face. "Thank you Adam," she whispered to him. He shrugged his shoulders with a smile and pointed to the gift. "You gonna open that?" Isabella kelt down and unwrapped the box.

Inside was a pink cashmere scarf. "I saw you were wearing one the other day, but it was ripped in places and kinda old, so I thought you might like this," Adam said, hoping she didn't reject his gift like she had done him. "No. I like it. A lot," she told him. He sighed loudly and nodded his head happily.

Then there was a knock on the door. Isabella answered it, and found a man hold a long, square box. "Who are you?" she asked, a little bit frightened, for the man was very big. He gave her a strange look. "I'm... The pizza delivery guy," he said, making a face to show that if she didn't know who he was, she lived under a rock. "Oh! Umm right! Umm!" she panicked and looked frantically around for Adam. She had no idea what to do in a situation like this.

Adam found her frantic eyes searching his face for assistance. He ran over and took the box from the guy's hands, and handed him money. "Thanks," he said, and the pizza delivery guy just nodded in response. Adam closed the door and looked at Isabella. "Ready to eat?" he asked, forgetting all about his father's words.

'Be home before dark...'

They sat on the floor next to the beautifully lit tree. Isabella had her first bite of pizza, although she didn't tell Adam that. They made small talk most of the time, but there were a few times that Adam succeeded in making Isabella laugh. With that, Adam was extremely surprised. When he had first met her, she had hardly cracked a smile. He told her stories and dirty jokes, but she never laughed, or even smiled, at the dirty jokes. In fact, her body would stiffen and she would get a scared look in her eye. At around 7:30, Adam left to go home.

After Adam's departure, Isabella stared at her tree. She had a flashback, although she could hardly call it that. It wasn't a nightmare. She actually enjoyed it.

There had been one Christmas, and Isabella had had a three foot, fake tree. It hadn't been much, but at least it was a tree. She remembered it being Christmas Eve. He had told her that he'd be home for Christmas, but here it was, 11:47 at night.

She was starting to lose hope, but then she heard the loose doorknob wiggling in its place. Isabella hadn't moved to open the door. She stood, and she waited. When the door finally opened, a man around her age was standing in the doorway. He was muscularly built, tan, with dark black hair. He wore his camouflage outfit and his camouflage army boots. He looked tired and worn out, but when he smiled, he looked just as he had before he had left. His smile was timeless.

Isabella had run to him and jumped into his arms. He had held her tightly and lovingly. He could've held her all night long.

Adam walked through the front door, still recalling her smile. "Where have you been?" his dad greeted him at the door hostilely. Adam stopped short. He had forgotten all about his dad's terms for taking the car. He gulped. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

Adam could see the anger developing in his dad's face. "No kidding," he said nastily. Adam looked away, finding his mom deep in the kitchen. He searched her eyes, and she searched his. They both knew what was coming. "Don't you look away from me!" his dad yelled. Adam shut his eyes for longer than a blink would take. He sighed and looked his dad in the eyes. "DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! 'I lost track of time,'" he mimicked exaggeratedly. "JAKE WOULD NEVER SAY THAT TO ME! He, unlike you, is responsible! You'll never be half the person he is! You'll never amount to anything!" Adam looked away once again. He caught a glimpse of his mom, and found sadness and despair.

His dad picked up a vase that stood on a small coffee table. Adam shut his eyes, not wanting to witness what he had, so many times before. Then he heard a crash of thrown glass, and the slam of the door.

Adam sighed, exasperated. He found his mom sitting on a kitchen chair. Her shoulders were slumped over like she had lost all hope. She looked up when he came over, and smiled sadly.

"I love you," she whispered softly to him. "I know," Adam replied, equally as soft. He leaned down and hugged his mom, hoping to squeeze the regret out of her.

When they pulled apart, she smiled graciously at him. "Drew and his family are coming for Christmas again," she said in order to change the subject. "Invited or uninvited?" Adam asked. "Uninvited as usual," she replied with contempt. Adam rolled his eyes and walked away.

The Prewetts always invited themselves to dinner. They were bullies and alcoholics, and to be honest, Adam was pretty sure his parents were scared of them. His parents, even his dad, would cringe whenever one of them spoke. As a kid, it would concern Adam to have his role models be scared of his friend's parents, but now, Adam understood.

The week before Christmas break, everyone was ecstatic . No one was in the mood for learning so really, the whole school week was a waste. Despite the upcoming break, Isabella and Adam continued to meet together everyday for tutoring. Isabella came to realize that Adam had blue eyes, and that his smile came easily. It was one of those smiles that started by lifting slightly in the corner, then spread through the rest of his mouth.

"Do you want to go to this art gala thing with me tonight?" Adam asked her randomly one day. "An art gala?" she asked. Adam laughed awkwardly. "Um yea. I don't usually go... Um to art galas, but my parents are going to one tonight, and I thought maybe you'd like it," he explained. "But just as friends," Adam added, with his hands extended to tell her that he understood their boundaries.

"Just as friends," she confirmed with a tug at her heart.

At 6:00 that night, Adam picked Isabella up. She answered the door wearing her best outfit, which was a turtle neck grey sweater and a black skirt that went two inches below the knee. She also wore the scarf Adam had given her.

They smiled at each other and then eased into a comfortable silence as they headed towards the gala. Isabella's eyes widened in fear and shock as she sized up the building. It was easily the biggest building she had ever seen. As they walked up the enormous stairs, Isabella clenched her jaw. "Just... ah..." she stuttered. Adam stopped in his tracks. "Just what?" he asked kindly. Isabella shook her head, signifying its unimportance. "No... what were you going to say?" Adam inquired generously. Isabella looked away, embarrassed. "Just make sure you hold my hand tightly," she said quietly. Adam reached down and took her hand in his.

Right before opening the grand doors, he squeezed her hand. She looked at him, grateful for his presence. She knew that he would be by her side all night, and for that she was thankful.

Little did she know that at the end of the night, she would lose all respect she had ever gained of him.