Wait for me to come Home

Chapter 51

They were sat in Yuri's living room, drinking peppermint hot chocolate at Rosé's insistence – apparently it was a Manoban family tradition. The snow outside blanketed everything, but they didn't feel the chill inside as a fire roared in the fireplace and they sat cuddled up underneath blankets. Winter in Midvale was a completely different Christmas to what Jennie had previously experienced – part of that she attributed to the fact that the house was completely decked out in all sorts of decorations, and because for the first time in forever, Jennie wasn't spending it alone. Of course, she'd spent Christmas with her family when she was younger, which had entailed a single bare looking Christmas tree, a room full of gifts and Chaerin sat in silence. Her father was never there for Christmas, and it wasn't until Jennie was a teenager that the huge pile of presents stopped being enough to distract her from everything wrong with her family.

They were watching a Christmas movie when Yuri had a call off Lisa. As the call connected, everyone shouted hello to Lisa, and Yuri smiled widely at her screen. "Hi sweetie," Yuri said. "How was your day? We're all missing you here."

"Hi mom! Work was fine. I had a pretty relaxing day building sandcastles," Lisa laughed, and Rosé groaned.

"Shut up, Lisa. I'm still mad at you," she said, rolling her eyes. Jennie bit back a smile as she listened to the two of them bicker for a moment.

"Oh come on Rosé, I said I was sorry. And I told you, I'm not going back. If I go back I can't marry Jennie, I promised her. Ask her," Lisa told her and three curious pairs of eyes turned to face her.

Jennie shrugged. "Her words, not mine."

"Well we all know I wouldn't risk that, so it's safe to say I'll be home in a little over two months," Lisa said excitedly, and everyone smiled. Jennie couldn't help but think that it was the best possible Christmas present Lisa could give her – just that promise was enough.

They all talked to her for a while, and then Yuri handed the phone off to Jennie so she could talk to Lisa for a bit. Jennie asked Lisa to give her a moment, and she hung up, handing Yuri back her phone and excusing herself from the room. She had to talk to Lisa alone. Racing upstairs, Jennie powered up her laptop and sat in the middle of Lisa's bed while she waited for it to turn on. As soon as she logged in, she called Lisa, who answered straight away.

"Are you wearing the sweater I knitted you?" Lisa asked, smiling hopefully at Jennie.

Jennie looked down and pulled at the front of the sweater. "Yeah, it's comfy. I love it. It makes me feel, I don't know, safe? Closer to you. Is that stupid?"

"No, that's not stupid at all," Lisa said, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "So... what do you want to talk about alone?"

"Ah, right," Jennie muttered. "Um, well we haven't really talked about things. Like, properly. I wanted to wait until after Christmas, but I think we need to talk now."

"Okay," Lisa said slowly. "Where do you want to start?"

"Um... I don't know. I didn't get that far ahead," Jennie admitted. "I guess I, uh, well, you're not going back?"

"No," Lisa said firmly. "You mean everything to me, Jennie. And so does my family. I'm not going to let something like a war I don't believe in stand in the way – even if I'm scared of the future. So no, I'm not coming back here. I'm done."

Jennie nodded. "Okay. I don't mean to push you, and I know I said I'd never decide for you, but Rosé was right. I should've had the guts to tell you from the beginning, but I was scared that you would leave. I was afraid of losing you when I'd only just gotten you. But your sister was right, and I should've told you a long time ago that I couldn't let you go back. I haven't been okay; I haven't been fine. Rosé was telling the truth that sometimes I have nightmares, and most nights I don't go to bed, and it hurts. It hurts not having you here, and the only thing keeping me going is knowing that you're coming home. It hurt to hear you say you weren't."