Spotlight

47

***Mae's POV***

Waking up to a puppy kissing your face is how any twenty year old would want to wake up on Christmas morning. We still had neglected to name her.

I knew the day was going to be massive, especially at the sight of waking up Tristan setting the table for breakfast. Our first Christmas was unlikely to be a quiet one. In one of the only days I had off filming, Tristan and I decided to invite our loved ones up for breakfast and lunch on Christmas.

Breakfast was starting with my family at ten a.m. I hadn't seen my family since Jeremy died nearly eighteen months ago. I was surprised the lack of the time I spent remembering him. Bruce and my mom were travelling out to the city with Axel for the Christmas break.

I was dressed and ready by nine thirty which even surprised myself. I spent the extra half hour playing with the puppy in the main room. I knew she would love Axel.

When the doorbell rang Tristan and I eyed each other from opposite ends of the room. We were both dressed in clothes for the cold, because we were leaving for the snow tonight.

He swung open the door and Axel dawdled into the house first. He was followed by Bruce, and then my mother who handed Tristan a platter of fruit. Bruce engulfed me in a hug when he entered the kitchen area, and I released the puppy so that she could roam freely with Axel.

My mom pulled my body towards her for a hug.

"It's been so long," she gasped. She was right, I didn't know how long it had truly been. Last time I had seen Axel he was so small, and now he was able to properly walk around the house. We sat down for breakfast which Tristan cooked earlier this morning. The maple waffles that he prepared were cooked to perfection.

After breakfast we quickly cleared the table while my family went into what used to be the old music room.

"Thank-you for breakfast," I smiled, kissing Tristan on the lips – tasting the sweet indulgence of maple and bacon his lips.

"You are most welcome," he beamed, resting a hand on my waist. I leaned my body against the bench as we continued to smile into each other's eyes.

"I love what you're wearing," he smiled again. He seemed like a giddy young boy who was getting his first taste of a girl's lips. I wrapped my hand around his neck and fiddled with the curls at the edge of his neck. His hair had been growing long lately.

"Are you excited for tonight?" he asked. He softly kissed my lips after talking. I nodded in anticipation. Of course I was.

We were briefly called back into the old music room where Axel was playing with the puppy. It made me happy to see Tristan playing with my baby brother in such a loving manner. In between watching Tristan throw Axel in the air, I was briefly talking to Mom about our plans away in the snow. It was going to a peaceful getaway from the demands of our jobs.

My family left after about an hour of ongoing conversation. I was pretty sure they mentioned they were flying to Denver tomorrow night for another week before travelling home to Miami for Bruce's work.

While we listened to Christmas music and vacuumed the house, the puppy played in the wrapping from the presents we gave Axel. Both of us continuingly kept an eye on her in case she swallowed something she wasn't supposed to.

We got the house ready in what I would call record time, and we ended up even having some time to drink some of the leftover wine from last night. Neither Tristan or I were heavy drinkers which made it easier. Also, the fact that I was underage was a factor.

At one p.m. on the dot, there was a knock on the door. The knock was in such a pattern that the puppy climbed up from her bed on the wrapping and barked effortlessly at the door. When she barked, the entire room seemed to shake.

I swung open the door to Meredith, who I hadn't seen in forever. Behind her I saw the others pulling up in the driveway, and slowly getting out of their cars with gifts wrapped in red.

Meredith arrived with Michelle, who was followed by Brian. Tristan invited his band mates, who rocked up in the same car. They were followed by plenty of other house guests. The room was full of discussion by one thirty, about where everyone was going next. I had lost count at the amount of people that we had invited for lunch. As I went to sit down in the old music room, there was a loud knock at the door that startled me – just when I thought everyone had already arrived and settled.

I walked over to the door and unlocked the latch. When I opened the door I was surprised at the sight ahead of me.

Sara entered the building, holding the hand of Dean. Correct. My partly fake, partly real, ex-boyfriend Dean. Sara looked as if she had been under the knife lately, and I instantly noticed the tattoo behind her ear of a butterfly.

Dean noticeably didn't make eye contact with me as he walked into the house. I closed the door behind the two of them after a brief hello to Sara. I didn't particularly recall inviting her, as we hadn't spoken since the party Meredith threw where I nearly died. Good times.

The Christmas carols were softly playing in the background of all the conversation happening in the room next door to the kitchen. Tristan and Blake were relaxing by the oven in the kitchen. When I walked over to them it took me a moment to study their drink holders, which were typical Australian coolers to stop the coldness of the beer bottle from touching their hands.

"Did you invite Sara?" I asked Tristan, acknowledging that I had interrupted a conversation. Tristan looked at Blake, who attempted to make himself busy by checking the food in the oven.

Tristan looked down at me as he placed his beer on the bench he was leaning on.

"I thought you guys were still friends, I'm actually sorry about that." He showed guilt on his face. I rubbed his arm. At least he was trying, that was a start. I walked back to the rest of the party and tried to mingle around the puppy kissing everyone's feet. She was quite a big talking topic of all our old friends at the lunch.

In no time at all, Tristan and Blake had prepared lunch for everyone, and we had to bring tables together so that people could fit in the dining room. Even still, some unlucky people had to sit on the couches spread around the house.

The lunch conversations were normal. Typical questions asking if we were back together, and if either of us was continuing pursuing our careers. I wasn't sure about Tristan but after the Christmas break I was straight into filming the movie I was still in the process of. Tristan didn't mention his career path after burning his hand, so I assumed he was returning to acting.

The typical lunch continued, with toasts being made left, right and center, for the supposed life time friendships that we had created with one another. I did not personally think I was going to be lifetime friends with ninety percent of the people in this room.

By five thirty we had all eaten enough to feed a small animal farm, so the guests began leaving. Tristan and I were hoping to escape away by eight p.m. to get to the snow cabin. The only people that were there after six were Sara and Dean, which was the most typical thing I could ever personally imagine.

We ended up quickly flying around the house to clean the table and all the dishes before leaving. We had our bags packed and loaded into the boot of Tristan's car. We decided to bring the puppy with us, because there was no other place she could go.

We left ten minutes earlier than anticipated and began the three hour journey towards the ski cabin where we would spend the next few nights.

I drifted asleep around the midway point of the trip as we drove into the night.