Chris & Eva | Together

Chapter Twenty-Nine

           

Chapter 29

Chris pulled into the driveway, and took into account that all the lights were off in the house.

Please be gone. Please be gone. Please be gone. He repeated in his head, as him and Nina walked into the house.

                "I'll be in my room, getting ready." Nina told Chris, and he nodded, giving her a hug.

                "Happy birthday, baby sis. I hope you have fun today." He told her, kissing her head.

                "Thank you, I love you."

                "I love you more." He smiled, watching as she ran up the stairs to her room.

He was now 98% sure that his mom wasn't in the house, and hopefully she wouldn't ever be again. Or at least, wouldn't be for a while.

Walking into the living room, the first thing that he noticed was that the answering machine was blinking. Meaning they had a new message. No one ever called their house phone anymore. He wasn't even sure why they still had it.

Grabbing the phone, he checked for missed calls. There was one from an unknown number, and a bunch from what he assumed were spam calls.

Pressing play on the answering machine, he perched himself on the arm of the couch.

                "Hey, baby girl. I just wanted to say happy birthday, I hope you have a great day! I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for your special day; I'm currently not in Norway. But I'm sure that your brother's taking good care of you! Have fun today, baby. There's a card in the mail with your name on it. I'll talk to you later."

                "Nina! Come down here for a minute." He called up the stairs, as he got up to replay the message for her. Even though he hated their mother, he knew that Nina didn't. And she deserved to know that at least one of her parents was thinking about her on her birthday.

                "What?" She yelled, sitting down on the top stair, just as the message started playing again.

When the message finished, Chris looked at Nina. She looked like she was holding back tears.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up the stairs to sit next to her.

                "What's up, birthday girl?" Nina shrugged, not looking at Chris. "Cat got your tongue?" He asked, trying to make her laugh.

                "No. It's just – do you think that Mom loves us?" Nina asked, staring at the carpeted stairs.

Chris was a little shocked by that, and took a few seconds to answer her.

                "I think that Mom and Dad both love us, in their own special way. I just think that they don't know how to show it. You know what I mean?"

                "Not really." She admitted, causing Chris to laugh lightly.

                "Well, I mean, look at Mom. She sends us money; she'll occasionally call or come here to check up on us. That's better than Dad, right? I mean, when was the last time that we saw or heard from him? Mom just ... I think that Mom doesn't know how to be a mother. She never had one, so she never ... learned. Do you understand?"

                "So ... will I not know how to be a mother either?"

                "No, you will. You know why? Because you have me. And I know I'm not your mom, I mean, duh, I'm your brother. But you have people who love you. You have William, Aunt Katie, and most importantly, you have me. I love you, no matter what. I'll never leave you, I promise. I know that I might annoy you a lot, but I just want what's best for you ... you know? I love you, kid."

                "I love you, too." Nina smiled, giving Chris a hug.

Chris hugged her back, now resisting the urge to cry. He wasn't sure if he should tell Nina that their mom came, and left, or if he just shouldn't say anything at all.

                "Okay, now – go get ready! We have reservations to get too."

Nina laughed, getting up and wiping her eyes. Chris could've swear he seen a tear fall.

                "I am, I am. And Chris?" She called his name, as he got up and started walking down the stairs.

                "Yeah?"

                "I'll never leave you, either. You're gonna be stuck with me forever."

She smiled, and Chris laughed. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Neens."

***

A/N: SEEEEE! i told you guys this chapter was gonna be really cute. well. in my opinion. i feel like i couldn't really capture how people with no parents or only one parent feels, because i'm very lucky & very blessed to have both of my parents together and in my life. but i wanted to address the fact that nina and chris don't have parents in their lives, really. i feel like it's important because nina is 12 and she needs her parents, not just an older brother who is adorable.

but the party is in the next chapter so i'm gonna try to make that very long. just like the date chapters, it'll probably be split between both chris and eva's POV's.