My Golden Life

Chapter 50

I'm not going to lie, Christmas with Artie was better than I had first imagined. Being able to spend three whole weeks with him was utter bliss. The smile I had never left my face when I was around him, he would always find ways to make me laugh or grin. I guess you would all like to know what we got up to during the holidays. We did quite a lot, so I will do my best to explain it all. Apologies if I don't. 

We watched movies for the first few days, Artie had an area in his room where he would relax and watch TV. So I would head over to his dorm, kick back with him and watch all things festive and lovely, it was all so cosy. We would have cushions all around us, and we had blankets to be under to keep ourselves warm. There were a few occasions that we may or may not have snuggled with each other, with me 'sometimes' resting my head on his shoulder and him 'every now and then' putting his arm around me. 

It was something out of a romantic movie. I would stay there for soo long that I would end up falling asleep. Besides that, we also did some exploring around the island. It was amazing to discover all the cool places that we hadn't known about. We found this tall hollow oak tree, which we spent countless hours climbing and sitting in, talking about anything and everything. I say everything, I could tell that he was keeping some stuff from me. I mean, I was okay with it. I shouldn't complain about it since I was hiding a big secret from him too, so we were on the same boat.

As the days went by, we got more connected with each other, and my feelings for him grew. I didn't know when the right moment was for me to confess my feelings to him, and whenever I felt the moment had come, my nerves would get the best of me. My throat would dry up, and words would refuse to come out. Christmas Day soon arrived, and I still hadn't told him, which was slowly starting to stress me out. 

For all the students who were still at Worcestershire, the school made Christmas dinner for everyone which was ok I guess. It wasn't the best I have to admit, but at least we got something. Afterwards, when all of that was over, Artie and I headed back to my room where we could exchange our presents.

"What did you get me?" I asked, examining the long slim box.

"Why don't you open it and find out." He laughed.

I quickly tore off the wrapping paper and peeled open the box and gazed inside. My eyes glistened wide as I picked the contents of it. In my hand laid a breathtaking necklace; it had a deep blue sapphire attached to it, and it was carved into the shape of a heart. Around the stone was small round sliver diamonds which made it even more amazing to look at.

"Arthur," I gasped, taking a seat on my bed. "I... I don't know what to say. This is too much, you didn't have to get me something this extravagant."

"It was my mum's, actually." He explained. "I saw it while rummaging through my belongings, and I knew it would look great on you."

"But it's your mums. Don't you want this to remember her by?"

"Don't worry, I have plenty of things that were hers," Artie reassured me. "Besides, I know that she wouldn't mind me giving this to you, she would have loved meeting you."

"I would have definitely loved to met her," I added. "And, thank you so much for this necklace."

"No worries, I'm glad you like it."

I placed the box beside me and reached under my bed to retrieve his present.

"Merry Christmas," I cheered, handing him his gift. "Sorry, it's quite small."

"No, it's ok." He said, taking a seat next to me. "I'm happy you at least got me something."

He unwrapped the box and inside was a silver ring that had little carvings engraved all around it, there was even a tiny dragon on the side too.

"Woah, this is so cool!" he exclaimed. "Where did you get this from?"

"I actually made it during an art lesson," I explained. "We were making stuff with steel, so I decided to try and make you a ring. It turned out quite well now I'm looking at it again."

"It looks amazing," He chuckled. "No one has ever gone out of their way to make me something before. This is probably the sweetest thing someone has ever done for me. Thank you."

He then leaned over and gave me a light kiss on the cheek, making my cheeks grow bright red.

"You're welcome." I stuttered, a small grin appearing on my face.

The rest of the winter break was fantastic, but I'm sad to say that I didn't have my first kiss with Artie, neither did I tell him my feelings. However, on the plus side, I got to spend a lot of time with him without having no one bothering or picking on him. It was a stress-free time, and I didn't want it to end. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the spring term started to approach, and the endless schoolwork would once again hit us like a tone of bricks. That also meant the bullying and mistreatment that Artie received would soon recommence, which wasn't going to be fun to witness. It was undoubtedly a fantastic school holiday, and I couldn't wait to tell the girls all about it once they got back.

Moreover, it was a new year. A fresh start to forget all the madness that had gone one the year before. Little did I know what was in store for me. Nothing could have prepared me for the craziness that was about to unfold, and that things were about to get pretty interesting.

Lives were about to change, and I can gladly say, for the better.