The Day, yours truly, Raura. (On hold till further notice)

13. The Birthday Part 2

LAURA

Laura stared at Christopher, who was standing by the door, Ariana by his side. It had been quite a while since she spoke to him or even seen him, so having him here was a shock. He seemed to never follow her around anymore so Laura had concluded that he was mad at her. "Why such a shock?" Christopher asked. Laura shook her head. "No reason, I just... it's been quite a while since  you've socialized with me. I didn't expect you to come." Laura explained. Christopher didn't respond, he didn't know how. There was a short silence before Ross finally interrupted it by saying something. "Well, now that you're here, isn't there something you'd like to do?" Ross asked. Christopher raised an eyebrow. "Like greeting the rest of her family." Ross stated as that was the polite thing to do. But Christopher just stood there and nodded. "Sorry to barge in like this." Then he glance over at Ariana. Laura walked towards Ariana. "Can we please speak in my room, Ariana?" Laura whispered. Ariana nodded an walked towards the stairs. Laura smiled, trying to convince them that everything was alright. 

"Ross, I'll be right back. Why don't you introduce Christopher to Maia. I'm sure he'd love to meet her." Laura said before taking off towards the stairs and into her room, where Ariana was waiting for her. Laura walked in her room and shut the door quietly. "Laura, what's wrong?" Ariana asked. "Did you invite him?" Laura said, very straight forward. Laura's candid question threw Ariana off a bit. "Yes. Is that a problem?" Ariana asked, hoping it wasn't. "No, not at all. I just-"

"You just what? Hoped you'd never have to see him again?" Ariana shot out, with a rather harsh tone. "Whoa, I didn't say any of that. Sorry if I offended your boyfriend." Laura said with anger. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the floor. The harsh expression Ariana held in her eyes softened when she saw Laura had been offended by her tone. "I'm sorry, Laura. I don't know what came over me-" It was Laura's turn to interrupt.

"Nah, it's fine. Let's return to the guests, don't want to keep them waiting." Laura insisted that she was okay, but her tone and face expression said otherwise. Ariana's eyes begged for forgiveness and signaled that she regret what she said, but Laura's lips still remained in a serious frown and her eyebrows were slightly pulled together at the beginning. Laura walked past Ariana and towards the stairs where there, she forced herself to forget about her conversation with Ariana. Laura pulled on a smile as Ross came into view from mid-way down the stairs. "So, have you guys met yet?" She said, directing her sentence to Maia and Christopher. Maia nodded forcing a smile. 

She noticed Ross' siblings and long term friend including Teresa, who had been rather mute this entire time, had taken a seat on the sofa in the entrance room, otherwise known as the living room. Ross, Christopher, Laura, Maia and Ariana, who had made her way into the living room a few seconds after Laura had, were the only ones standing up. "Well, aren't you going to open the present Maia gave you?" Ross suggested. Laura mentally thanked Ross for breaking the brief amount of silence that occurred. "That's right! I can't wait to see what you got me." Laura said in a happy tone as an attempt to erase the moment of silence. She headed over to the coffee table and grabbed the pink kitten-adorned bag. She took out the bright neon-colored tissue paper until she reached the item. Her eyes sparkled with amazement as she looked at her gift. 

Inside were a pair of black and white polka-dotted wedged heels. Laura grinned with happiness. She loved shoes, especially wedges. "These are amazing, Maia. I love them, they're so cute." Laura thanked Maia for her her kindness with a hug. "I'm glad you liked them. I fancied them myself as well, so I thought there would be a chance you'd like them too." Maia explained, pleased her gift had made Laura happy. Ross smiled in satisfaction as he saw the sunny grin glued on Laura's lips, he enjoyed seeing her happy. 

"Since we're opening gifts, maybe you should open mine now." Christopher spoke up. "Of course, Thank you." Laura responded. Christopher handed Laura a miniature golden-colored bag. When she opened it she found a small white square. Everyone watched eagerly to see what the gift could be. She grabbed the box and opened it. Inside was a necklace with a silver heart on it. In the middle it was colored blue. Laura gasped. "Christopher, this is beautiful. Thank you for your gift." Laura said with gratitude. Laura gave Christopher a hug, while that made Ross' heart pump a little faster with jealousy. He watched Christopher's muscled arms wrap warmly around Laura's waist, as if they belonged there. He told himself that they didn't belong there, and neither did Christopher.