ashton williams always knew matthew musto was the one, but his fame as singer blackbear and addiction change everything. after ending their engagement, ashton tries to live a normal life and forget about her ex fiancé. when unfortunate circumstances...
I was slightly tipsy and still very irritated when we stepped off of the plane into Clinton National Airport. Mat and I were greeted by my mom, step dad, Amber, Andrea, Austin, and Asher. We would visit my dad for Christmas Eve, for him and my mom couldn't stand to be in the same room together. I hugged everyone and my mom talked to Matthew excitably. She adored him, and though I told her we broke up and that I was with Zac now, she was always rooting for us.
I couldn't get a word in on the ride home as my siblings fought for dominance of the conversation, filling me in on what had happened in their lives since I last saw them. Amber was the oldest child at 27, then me, then Austin at 21, then Asher at 18, and Andrea was the baby, having just celebrated her 16th birthday. I was the only one who didn't live in Little Rock, and often felt kind of removed from the rest of the family for that reason. However, I enjoyed hearing their stories, and smiled and laughed along.
I saw the way my family admired Mat, asking about his music and his health. He had been a part of all of our lives for so long, and I couldn't imagine celebrating Christmas without him. Even though he and I were fighting, he put on a smile and chatted with my family. As I stayed silent in the backseat, I realized that if I left Matthew, this would be his last Christmas in Arkansas. Him being here was a tradition that I wasn't sure I could break.
When we arrived at the house, my mom informed me that Mat and I would be staying in my childhood bedroom, as we did every year. It no longer had pink walls and boyband posters on the wall, because it had been turned into a guest room when I went off to college. Everyone dispersed, the boys going to throw a football in the front yard, Andrea and Roy channel surfing to look for Christmas movies, and Amber offering to help mom cook. My mom was a fantastic cook, and made more food than any of us could eat each holiday season. Matthew and I unloaded our bags from the car and carried them upstairs without talking to one another.
I was folding our clothes and putting them in the dresser when Mat finally broke the silence. "You can't ignore me for the whole vacation Ashton." I took my favorite of his sweatshirts from the bag and placed it on the bed, knowing I would want to sleep in it. "Yes I can." "It's Christmas." "Yes I'm well aware of that." Mat sighed and removed his shoes, placing them in the closet that still held parts of my childhood, like my baby blanket and the dress I wore to mom and Roy's wedding. "You know I want to be with you, but until you decide what you want, I'm allowed to flirt with whoever." "You only did it to make me mad." Mat had always been like that; he loved to make me jealous because he thought it was funny, but now, when I couldn't go to bed each night knowing he was mine and always would be, it was less funny than ever.
"That's not true Ash, she was attractive, and funny, and I was genuinely interested in her." "She was like 18." I closed the dresser drawers and sat down on the bed, already exhausted from the minimal time I had spent with my family. He laughed and sat next to me. "She was 21." "It doesn't matter." Matthew smirked, wrapping an arm around me. "Aw is someone jealous?" I looked away, not wanting to forgive him but knowing it was almost impossible to stay mad at him. "Stop it." "Somebody's jealous." He said in a sing song voice, resting his head on my shoulder. "I'm not jealous Mat, but you can't do that. I don't want you talking to other girls, especially not right in front of me. How am I expected to want to stay with you if you're interested in other people?" "Sounds like someone's jealous." I crossed my arms. "Shut up." "I'm sorry baby, I won't even look at any girl other than you ever again." Matthew said sarcastically, kissing my cheek. "That's better." I responded, turning back to look at him.
I picked up my phone to see a text from Zac. It read "just wanted to check that you made it to Little Rock safely. have a good holiday season & I'll see you when we both get home. miss you already." I opened the text but Mat grabbed my wrist. "Do not answer that." For reasons I could not explain, I listened, turning off my phone and putting it back down on the bed. "The holidays are about me and you." Matthew informed me. "You can talk to Zac when we get back home, but for the next two weeks, you should be focused on us." I smiled and nodded, so happy to be reassured that he cared.
"Cookies are ready." Amber shouted from downstairs. "C'mon let's go." I said, standing up from the bed and moving towards the door. Mat followed behind me, careful not to slip on the hardwood staircase in his socks. We got to the first floor and were walking down the hallway towards the kitchen when Matthew stopped me. "Look." He pointed up at the ceiling, where mistletoe had been hung. "Mat..." "You know what that means." I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me in for a kiss. "Merry Christmas babe."
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