Sandcastles

Chapter Seventeen

So the words on that Alexander gif have nothing to do with the chapter but I think it's adorable

Whenever Alexander had shown up at my house the day after we went to the beach, he knew that something he did upset me. So after hours of talking about things, he finally convinced me that I was the only girl that he cared about and that he knew Tiffany was out of his life forever. We have seen each other nearly every day during Christmas break. I guess our relationship is getting stronger and I'm actually happiest whenever he's with me. We've been on a few standard high school dates but I mainly enjoy being with him.

I still haven't really classified him as my "boyfriend" or whatever, and maybe he's not. I've never had one so I don't know how this stuff works.

I was almost certain I wouldn't see him on Christmas Day since he would be with his family. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I'm sure I won't see him then either. I'm actually missing him even though I saw him less than 24 hours ago.

I sit on our couch with a mug of coffee in my hands and the TV blaring some reality show in front of me. It's freezing outside and little snow flurries spurt up every now and then. As if to go along with the mood of winter, I'm wearing Alexander's hoodie and snuggled up with a blanket.

Mom is at work today and Madeline went to hang out with her friends. Ben had to go to an appointment with Helen so I'm all alone in the house. Usually Mom doesn't let me drink coffee this late in the day, but I wanted something warm and we didn't have any hot chocolate.

Our doorbell rings. It's a low, almost sad chime that rings through the living room. I don't know when the last time was that it was used. I throw my blankets off of me and set my mug of coffee on the table. My feet pad against the cold floor, slightly sticking to it as I go to the door.

I swing the door open and smile widely when I see Alexander shivering in the doorway. He has on a red Santa Claus hat which is lightly dusted with snow. Some of the small snowflakes stick to his eyelashes as if they are highlighting his icy eyes.

I open the door wider for him to walk in and he does. He takes a deep sigh when he walks in and sets a wrapped package on the table. He sits down on the couch, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.

"Not very warm in your house." He says with a small smile.

"Warmer than out there." I say weakly. I walk over, sitting beside him and removing the hat from his head. "Nice hat."

He rolls his eyes and wraps his arm around me. I move a little closer to him and rest my head on his shoulder. His body shivers against mine. He then reaches forward and takes the wrapped box from the table.

"For you." He says, setting the box on my lap. "Merry Christmas."

I pick the box up and look at it. I didn't even get him anything. What little money I did own myself I spent on cheap gifts for my family. I even bought one to send to Dad in San Francisco. It never crossed my mind to buy Alexander something.

"Alexander..." I trail off. "I didn't even get you anything."

He just shrugs his shoulders as a reply and gestures for me to open the present. I sigh and untangle the messily tied bow before setting it off to the side. I then tear at the green wrapped paper.

Once all of the paper is off, I open the lid of the box. Inside, carefully wrapped in red tissue paper, is an apple. Yes, an apple.

"That's a big apple." I say when I look at it. It's huge. Like, not a normal apple. Alexander laughs at me.

"It's not a real apple. It's like a container. You need to open it." He says.

Now when I look, I can see the shine coming from the plastic of the big apple and I can see the crack running down the middle to open it. I roll my eyes at my own stupidity and pick the big plastic apple up, opening it. It now lays in two halves on the table. One of the halves contain several papers.