A Unique Kind of Love (PUBLISHED)

24. Something about December

“Who really needs a gift 
When love is meant to give 
I can still recall 
Carry with me always 
Every Christmas dream 
They live in you and me” Christina Perri

Lena Rose Winter

Christmas was a time of the year I absolutely adored. The fun was in decorating the tree and making cookies. And of course, my family tradition that broke the rules, sleeping all day and staying up on Christmas Eve, trying to catch Santa and playing games.

Happily enough, we completely forgot abut decorating the tree. It was the 21, the first day after Christmas break. Tori and I went out to buy a medium sized tree and we rushed home after school.

We started decorating it with little figures; doves, reindeers, elves and a mini fat Santa Claus. We put on traditional music and sang along.

To sum it all up, I felt jolly.

Placing the red ball on one of the tree’s branches, I sang my heart out. “I ought to say no, no, no.”

“Mind if I move in closer?” Tori sang in a fake, deep voice. She came next to me and wiggled her eyebrows at me. 

I continued, smiling. “At least I'm gonna say that I tried.”

Tori furrowed her eyebrows and gave me a pedophilic smile. “What's the sense in hurting my pride?”
 

“I really can't stay,”  I faked a tear of sadness.

“Ah, baby it’s cold outside,” We sang together in falsetto.

We burst into laughter, and I realized how grateful I was for Tori’s entrance in my life. She was a best friend and my sister. It felt good to have another teenager with me.

I glanced at the family clock, ticking, 7:40 p.m. Out of the blue, a question randomly haunted my mind.

"Tori?"

"Yeah?" She answered, eyes glued to adjusting some of the colorful balls.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" My question took her aback, she turned to face me and froze. Slowly, her cheeks turned a crimson color and she fidgeted with the box in her hands.

"Well, there was someone-" She started, but then almost immediately stopped.

She lift her head to face me, her caramel brown eyes brimming with tears."Who?" I asked, hoping to get an answer.

"Tori? Talk to me."

Her bottom lip quivered, and I was terrified, because I've never seen her so sad, so...vulnerable. She shook her head. I could see the flood of memories rushing through her head.

"Victoria, speak, please," I begged. She cleared her throat, then vaguely looked at me, as if in another world.

"His name was Daniel, we completed one another. He made me bloody happy, and I think I did the same. We met on the first day of preschool. He offered me an apple, and I accepted, thinking of it as a friendship offering. He was the most beautiful human I'd ever seen, I was utterly and completely fallen for him. He soon turned to the bad boy of the school, even though when we were together, he was the same Daniel I knew. He made me feel special, beautiful, hell, I felt wanted. Until, one day, I-" Her voice was dry, and hoarse. She was hurt and broken, how could I not see that?

I stayed silent, awaiting the continuation. Out of nowhere, fire glazed in her eyes, like a flame that had been recently lightened.

"H-He cheated on me. I found him snogging a freshman, in the girls' locker room. I remember that day, because I'd just finished football practice and couldn't wait to see him.