I Want to Hold Your Hand {COMPLETED}

Chapter Nine

Skip to December:

Christmas is in two weeks. Ben and I have been together for over a month now. "I wish I could come to Saskatoon with you." He sighs sadly. "Benny, I'll be back before you know it, okay? Expect a lot of texts, phone calls from me and snaps of my family. You have to do your job.
I took the next couple of weeks off to spend with my family. I'll miss you." I smile reassuringly, cupping his cheeks. The pad of my thumb runs over his cheekbone, his hands trail down to my hips and he pulls me close. The distance between us closes and our lips connect. He holds onto me tightly. "Ben...I...Have...To...Go." I say between kisses. "Bye, angel. I love you." He pecks my lips own more time. "I love you too." I say. Tears pool in his eyes. "Babe. It's only two weeks." I coo. "I know, but I'm going to miss you so much." He sniffles, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I'm going to miss you too, but I have to go. Pixie and I will call you as soon as we land." I say, stroking his scruffy jawline. "Shave too." I smile, kissing his jawline and go through TSA. I wave goodbye to him. "Your boyfriend going to miss you?" The TSA worker smiles. "Yeah. I'm only leaving for two weeks. He's so sweet." I smile back at her. "Well, darling. You have a good flight." She smiles. "Thank you." I nod and walk through the metal detector. It beeps. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to stand over there." The man says. I put my bags down and walk to where he told me to. The wand goes over my right pocket and it beeps. "Can you empty out that pocket?" I do as I am told and I pull out a black velvet box out of the pocket. I open it it has a little note. I couldn't wait to give you this when you come back. xx Ben. The man smiles at me. "You are good to go, miss." He lets me through. I look at the gold band with a small emerald in the box. I pull it out and inspect it. B&P-11/13/17 is engraved on the band. I smile and slip the ring on my right middle finger. "Forever and always." I whisper. My plane gets called and I go into the line. "Morning, Miss." The man smiles. "Morning, sir." I smile back. I get on the plane and sit in my seat. A young couple sit next to me. They look about my age. The girl snuggles into the guy's arm. I look out of the window, smiling to myself, already missing Ben. They go through the safety protocol and we take off. I twist my black hoop nose ring because of nerves. I decide to sleep. I wake up and realize that I have been sleeping for most of the flight. Roger flew out with his wife and children two weeks ago and Nicky flew out last week. The plane lands and I get off. I go to luggage claim and get my suitcase. Someone brings Pixie to me in her crate, safe and sound. I exit the gates and see my family. I smile and walk happily to them. "Nicky, could you hold this so I can say hi to the rest of my family?" I ask. Nicky nods and takes my things. I hug my mum, Elise and step-dad, Michael. My little sister, Carlie is next. I hug my deaf sister, Melanie next. My older sister, Julia is next. I hug her kids, Jackson and Naomi and her husband, Karter. My younger brother, Ethan is last. "How are you doing, Mel?" I ask Melanie in sign language. "Good. You?" She asks. "Very good. We have a lot to catch up on." I sign, smiling. "Let's go, shall we?" My mum says. We nod and Naomi and Roger's son, Garrett grab my hands. We walk out of the airport. "So, Payton. Where's Levi?" Ethan asks. Nicky, Roger and I exchange looks. "He-uh-is in jail." I say. Everyone's heads snap to look at me. "Wait. Let's explain." Roger says. "Levi hit her bad, worse than before and Roger arrested him." Nicky says. Wide eyes scan my body. "No visible marks, except for maybe some scars on my back from being jammed into a doorknob." I smile. I decide not to tell them about Ben just yet. We get back to my mum's house. I open Pixie's crate and she runs up to my mum's dog, Sadie. Sadie is a Malte-poo Bichon. A Maltese, Toy-Poodle and Bichon. "Hello, Sades." I pat her head. I waddle down the stairs to my old bedroom in the basement. I calm Ben. The phone rings twice. "Hey, love." He says through the phone. "Hey, baby. How's it going?" I ask. "It's boring without you. Joe is a bigger mess than I am." Ben chuckles. "How was your flight?" He asks. "Peaceful. I slept for most of it." I giggle. "Is that Payton?" I hear Joe shout. "Hey, Joseph." I smile. "Payton! I miss you!" He shouts. "He drunk?" I ask. "Nope. Just over tired." Ben laughs. "Well, I should go before anyone gets suspicious." I sigh. "Alright, angel. I love you." He says, his voice full of love. "I love you too, baby. I'll call you tomorrow." I smile. He hangs up. "Was that Ben?" Roger's wife, Hanna asks. "It was. I miss him." I huff. "Too bad he couldn't come." She squeezes my shoulder. "Yeah, but work is important." I shrug. "So is his girlfriend." She scoffs lightly. "I told him to stay, Han. Don't worry." I reassure her. "Okay, Payton. Garrett and Diane want you to come play with them, Naomi and Jackson." She smiles. "I love having little nieces and nephews." I sigh happily. I play with them for a bit until supper. I put them to bed and go to bed myself.