Noel set down her suitcase in a room that she once called her bedroom. The familiar smell of embedded into her walls and belongings soothed her slight jet-lag. Noel's mother came in with a second suite case and took a seat next to her daughter on the bed.
"I never touched a thing when you weren't here. I promise." Noel leaned her head on her mom's should and closed her eyes, taking in the feelings of what it was like to be home after two years. But her moment of relaxation was disturbed when her mom got up and he head fell onto the soft mattress. "I have an early gift for you. Close you eyes." She did so and patiently waited. "Okay, open your eyes"
Noel took the box from her mom's hands and carefully unwrapped it. When she opened it, she bit her lip to prevent her from screaming. Small tears slowly formed into bigger and heavier ones that eventually fell onto some of the contents in the box.
Inside were all of the polaroid photos that did not make it into her or Harry's Christmas Journal. She scanned each photo, having a bright feeling light up within her. The memories flooded back as she would look at a photo that took in a moment that she may have forgotten during the years.
Her mom handed her a couple tissues, which Noel gratefully took. Pushing the box next to her, she hugged her mom and smiled. "I almost forgot about those. Thank you, mum."
Noel hugged her again until it was her mom to push away first. "There's going to be the annual Christmas party at Aunt Anne's. Do you want to go with your us?" Noel looked at her uncomfortably. It wasn't because she disliked the Styles family. If anything, she loved them just as much as she always have, despite her fallout with Harry. "I understand if you don't. But I thought that I'd-"
"I'll go," Noel replied, much to her mother's surprise. "It would be nice to see everyone again after a couple years. She wasn't lying to her mom when she said that. But she also wasn't telling the complete truth. She was worried about what would happen if she ran into Harry and started a conversation with him, which was the inevitable. But she pushed that thought aside and smiled at her mom. "What time do we have to be there by?"
"In about three hours. But your father and I will be leaving a bit earlier than that to help," her mother informed. Noel nodded and and pulled out her toiletries from her luggage.
"I'll try to get freshening up by the time you leave."
And again, Noel was hit by an unsure look from her mother. "Are you sure? You don't need to feel obligated to go just because we're-"
"Mom," Noel gently cut in, "I'm perfectly okay with going."
Instead of pushing on, her mother merely nodded and made her way out of her daughter's bedroom. "Okay, I'm just making sure."
Once the door was shut, Noel gave out a large sigh and laid her back on her mattress. She wasn't sure if she was able to handle seeing Harry just yet, so she didn't exactly know why she kept pushing at her mom that she wanted to go with them.
Noel merely guessed it was because the holiday seasons bring on many surprises as gifts.
• • •
Author's Note - December 25, 2016
Unfortunately, I didn't achieve my goal of finishing this story by Christmas day, which is today where I live.
BUT I think that even though I'll be finishing this late, it'll be all worth it.
Happy holidays!
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