A New Beginning

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I woke on Christmas morning with the biggest smile on my face. I quickly got ready, and I saw that everyone was waiting for me.

"I want to give my presents first." I said as I sat down.

"You didn't have to get us anything; you brought us here." Carol said, and the boys agreed.

"Be quiet, I got you guys stuff and you're gonna love it." I said.

I handed a box to Carol. She unwrapped it.

"Honey, you shouldn't have." She said as she pulled out her standup mixer.

"Elliot mentioned that you liked baking." I shrugged as she hugged me. "Oh, and don't worry about transportation. We'll just ship it back to New York. I just wanted you guys to have something to open." I handed Alex his. He looked at me with his mouth wide open.

"You did not?" he squealed like a little girl.

"Yes I did. I got you that football jersey that you wouldn't shut up about." I said as he ran over and hugged me.

"I love you!" he beamed.

"Love you too." I replied. I walked over to my mom. She carefully unwrapped the paper. I saw tears in her eyes as she looked at it.

"PJ, did you make this?" she asked as she engulfed me in a hug.

"Yeah, I went through the attic and found our old photo albums. I cried for days when I made this." I said while motioning to the scrapbook.

"I bet you did, which is why I will not look at it now. I don't want to start bawling like a baby." She laughed. "Thank you."

"No problem." I said.

I walked over to Elliot. I first handed him the jacket that he had been wanting, and he was about to thank me, when I handed him the photo.

"Thank you." He said as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the forehead. Ok, Christmas was an exception to this promise.

I started to unwrap my presents. My mom got me a bunch of clothes, and I thanked her. Alex handed me his gift. I opened it to see a brand new basketball.

"Thanks Alex." I said as I hugged him. Carol handed me her gift. I opened the box to see a knotted blanket. It was blue and green.

"It's so fuzzy. Thank you." I said as I walked up to her and hugged her. Elliot handed me a small box. I opened it to see a necklace with my name on it.

"It's beautiful. Can you put it on me?" I asked him and he nodded. I lifted my hair up and he clasped it. "Thank you." I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I woke up the next morning extremely happy. The beach was closed again, so we went to the pool. I didn't put on any sunscreen because it wasn't that sunny.

"I want to race." Alex said.

"I'll race you." I said.

"Um, don't kill me too bad." He laughed.

We lined up at the end of the pool. I kicked off, and I began swimming like my life depended on it. My hand slapped the other side of the pool. I turned around and saw that Alex was only half way through the pool. I laughed.

I hopped out of the pool, and I was going to walk back to Elliot on the other side of the pool, when my foot slipped in a pile of water. I felt myself lose my balance, and I braced myself for the fall.

"Paige!" I heard Elliot scream as my head connected with the concrete.