The Way of Fate (Book 1)

29. Mistletoe

Chapter 29: Mistletoe

Mika

Christmas was never a holiday I celebrated. I don't ever remember celebrating it when I was younger, and, as I got older, I didn't care enough or have the money to buy those stupid gifts everyone says is necessary. And those stupid decorations were just pointless. I didn't understand any of it.

Allen, on the other hand, definitely liked the holiday. He had actually gotten a tree to put up, and we decorated it yesterday. Okay, he decorated it with little ornaments he pulled out of a box from the attic while I sat on the couch and watched. There was literally no reason to put a living tree inside the house, especially when Sammy has tried twice now to pull it down on himself.

At least Allen's parents were gone. Well, not completely. They finally moved into a house in the city. It wasn't nearly as far away as their old house, but it definitely wasn't as close as the guest bedroom. Although we still had to go over to their new place for dinner tonight. I was not exactly looking forward to that.

Nothing against them, personally. They were nice enough, but I could see why Allen chose to get as far away from them as he could. They were almost suffocating living in the same house as them. I just wanted a break.

But no. Eliza claimed Christmas Eve dinner as hers, although she thankfully said actual Christmas was ours to do alone. Which is another thing that confused me about this holiday. Why the hell were there two days of it? Isn't one enough? Apparently not because people liked to celebrate it for the whole month! It was stupid. At least Allen wasn't that bad.

Although he did tape a plant to the ceiling. Why the hell would he do that? I was standing under it in the doorway to the living room when he walked up, putting his hands around my waist.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked him. "Did you really tape that thing to the ceiling?"

"One: watch your mouth. You're lucky Sam forgot that word after the first time. I don't need him learning it again."

I chuckled, but then felt guilty at his look. He had told me Sam took to that word the other day, although I never actually heard him say it. I still felt bad for saying it in front of him though.

"Sammy's napping in the other room," I said defensively. It was the only reason I allowed the word to slip out of my mouth in the first place. "But I'll stop. Sorry."

Allen kissed me. I had expected him to say something, not go right in for a kiss. And definitely not a kiss like this, which he deepened almost immediately and without warning. I couldn't help but melt into it.

"What was that for?" I asked when we finally broke apart, slightly out of breath.

He pointed up to that plant I had honestly forgotten was there. "Two: ever hear of mistletoe?"

I groaned and started walking away. Of course that's what it was. How could I have forgotten that was thing? Maybe because I've never cared about anything to do with the holiday before.

Allen grabbed my wrist before I could get too far, making me face him again. "Are you okay?" he asked, his face full of concern.

"Yeah." I tried to smirk, but failed. Instead I shook my head, my eyes on the floor. I couldn't lie to him, not when he seemed to know my emotions better than I did. "I guess this whole Christmas thing is a bit overwhelming. I'm sorry. I'm not used to this."

Again, I expected him to say something, probably how I didn't need to be sorry or something like that, but again, he surprised me by not saying anything. Instead, he pulled me into a hug, and I let my face rest against his shoulder, neither of us saying anything for a few moments.

It was him who broke the silence, though. "You don't have to come to my parents' tonight if you're not up for it."

I backed up to look at him. As great as that option sounded, I wasn't that rude. I was't going to not go to dinner just because Christmas wasn't my usual thing. "I should go. They're expecting me to be there."

"No one is forcing you."

No one but myself, I guess. They just... I don't know. There was something about them. Maybe it was because they're the closest thing to real parents I've had. They've only known me a couple weeks and they already care about me - if the way Eliza fawned over me after I almost died said anything. For some reason, I didn't want to disappoint them.

Which is how I found myself at their home for dinner a few hours later, already regretting what I was thinking about them earlier. I was in uncomfortable clothes - because Allen said this was an event to dress a bit nicer for and I listened - and Edwin and Eliza were almost treating us like guests they needed to impress. I didn't care if they got the fanciest kitchen appliances they could - okay, maybe a little - but it almost seemed like Eliza was trying to sell us the house with how much effort was she putting in.

And Edwin. God. He kept going on and on about how great that backyard was, especially for this neighborhood. Not that we could really see it considering it was covered in snow. I didn't even know how he was so sure of how great it was, but it's whatever. I didn't question it.

"Come on Sammy, please?" Allen was saying.

I turned my attention away from Eliza, who was telling me, again, all the cool things her stove could do, to see Allen holding up a spoon with something on it to Sammy's mouth. Sam was refusing to eat whatever it was.

I walked over to the other side of the kitchen, using him as an excuse to finally finish the endless kitchen tour. Leaning my elbow on Allen's shoulder, I took in what was going on. Allen had some of Eliza's mashed potatoes in a bowl on the table in front of him. A small bit was on Sam's spoon, which he was refusing to eat. He usually never had problems eating.

"Sammy," I said, getting the toddler's attention. "You don't want your potatoes? Your grandma made them just for you." Okay, maybe that was a stretch, but she did make them. We were just eating our dinner a little later than he was.

"No!" Sammy screeched, shaking his head wildly.

Allen sighed, lowering the spoon. "It's no use. I'll get his food from home."

I stopped him from getting up by sitting in his lap. I had an idea, and if that didn't work, then we could get the other stuff. Grabbing the spoon from Allen, I held it up to get Sammy's attention again.

This time though, instead of trying to get Sammy to eat the potatoes, I stuck the spoon right into my mouth.

"Mmm," I moaned through my mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Yummy."

Surprisingly, that seemed to work. Sammy started grabbing for the spoon in my hand, mumbling "no" and "mine" over and over again. So I scooped up some more potatoes and held it out to him. This time he had no problem eating it.

"Thank you," Allen sighed, resting his head against my shoulder while I continued to feed Sam. "I don't know why he was being so difficult."

"Oh boys!" Eliza called before I could say anything. She came waltzing into the kitchen, holding something behind her back. "Guess what I found!"

I didn't hear her answer, if she even said it, because Sam chose that moment to knock the spoon that was full of potatoes onto the table, making a mess.

"Mika," Allen said, tapping my shoulder.

I didn't look up from the mess I was wiping up with a napkin. "What?"

"Mika," he said again.

This time I turned around awkwardly because I was still sitting on his lap. "What? I was listening."

He pointed up, so I looked up to see Eliza holding another one of those stupid plants above our heads.

"Oh, godda-"

Allen pressed his lips against mine, effectively cutting me off. I was really starting to hate mistletoe, although the kisses I didn't mind too much.

"So," Eliza started as soon as we broke the kiss. "Where is a good place to hang this bad boy?"

I groaned. "Just throw it out," I said. "It doesn't deserve to be anywhere but the trash."

She laughed, thinking I was joking. I wasn't joking.