After the Snow

Chapter 10 - Family

Chapter 10

Family

"Why is this so heavy?" Mackenzie whined, shoving the rest of the Christmas tree box in the back of my car. It barely fit, and we still had to put everything else in there somehow. Damn, why do I have such a small car?

"Because it's a Christmas tree," I retorted, giving her a smirk before walking back into my storage room. It wasn't very big, just a small concrete room that held all my extra crap.

"Make Scott come next time, I'm not cut out for this." She hugged, dragging herself after me. Laughing, I shook my head.

"You must be really out to shape," I grabbed another box and turned around, walking back to my car. I think it was full of Christmas tree decorations.

"Pfft, as if," Mackenzie scoffed, sticking her nose in the air. "I'm fitter than you." Actually, that was probably true. Mackenzie was very skinny, while I had some pretty large curves. I wasn't fat or anything, I just didn't have a bikini body.

"You're right, you're just lazy," I added, setting my box down to open my trunk. It was completely empty, but even then we could only fit like, four of my big boxes back there. I had twenty. "We're just getting the important stuff, Kenz," I added, looking into one of the boxes to see if I wanted it.

"Care to elaborate?" She huffed, placing a hand on her hip.

"Just ask before you take a box to the car," I sighed, lifting the box into my hands. It was full of ornaments, so of course, we needed it.

"Okay, this one has Christmas tree lights," Mackenzie called, "Need or leave?"

"Need," I called over my shoulder, shoving my box into the trunk. Because I have a fairly small car, it barely fit. "I think we can only fit a few more back here."

"Hopefully that's all we need," Mackenzie answered, shoving her box next to mine. I glanced back at my storage room, groaning. Why did I have so much Christmas stuff?

For the next twenty minutes, we rummaged around in all my boxes and finally narrowed it down to the required ones. They all fit in my car, thank the Lord! On the way home, we picked up lunch for everyone so that I could make up for the burnt breakfast.

"We're home!" I called, dragging the bags of food through the door. We had gotten Arby's for everyone.

"You brought food!" Anthony smiled, jumping to his feet to help us. As he took the bags from my hands his fingers brushed mine, making my heart flutter. Damn it!

"Hey babe," Scott called, jogging into the room. He gave me a peck on the lips before taking the drink carrier from Mackenzie. "Do you guys need help getting the other stuff in?"

"I say let's eat first!" Mackenzie exclaimed, running into the kitchen. Laughing, we followed her. Someone was exuberant about her food. But then again we already established that.

"What'd you get?" Anthony asked, coming up behind me. I turned around, surprised at how close he was. For a moment, I had a hard time thinking, but recovered quick enough.

"Arby's," I said, sending a nervous glance at Scott. He was too busy looking through the food bags to notice. Anthony noticed, though. He took another step closer to where we were almost touching.

"I noticed the necklace," He whispered quickly before stepping away. No one had noticed. Taking a deep breath, my hands flew to the little heart hanging around my neck. I know I shouldn't have been wearing it, but I just couldn't help it! I was drawn to it for some reason...

"You alright, Hun?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I nodded, trying to shake the weird feeling that had settled over me. Nothing was wrong, maybe I was just getting a cold.

It took the rest of the day to decorate my apartment. We finished just in time, too, because just as we plugged in the Christmas tree it was time to go pick up my mom, stepdad, and sister from the airport. We decided I should go alone, because of what I needed to tell my parents. Before I left, though, I decided I had to tell Anthony I was engaged.

I won't lie, I was scared. He was the last person I wanted to tell. But, because I had to tell my parents, he had to know as well. If he was staying with me, there was just no other choice.

"Hey Anthony, could you come with me, please?" I asked just as I was walking out the door. He gave me a strange look but followed without question. Scott wasn't worried because I had told him before what I was going to do. He agreed it was best if I told him.

"Need something?" Anthony asked when we reached my car. I took a deep breath, pulling my coat tighter around me. Well, here goes nothing.

"I have to tell you something..." I whispered, turning to face him. Wow, why was this so awkward? We were just friends, this shouldn't be so hard.

"Yeah?" He asked again, wrinkling his eyebrows in confusion. I opened my mouth but ended up closing it again. How was I supposed to say this? I just couldn't form the words.

"Look, I'm just going to say it," I finally blurted out, "I'm engaged to Scott."

Now, I'm not sure what kind of reaction I was expecting. Maybe I wasn't expecting anything, because that's exactly what I got. He stared at me with a blank expression and shrugged. If anything, he looked as if I had just told him the sky was blue. Like he had already known.

"How long?" He asked with that same face. I felt gutted. Part of me wanted a big reaction, part of me wanted him to still love me.

"Just a few days." I whispered, looking down at my hands. He nodded, processing the information. Why was he acting as if he knew about it already?! Had Scott told him? "I..I've got to go, I'll be back in a little bit."

"Wait, I have something to say," he blurted out, making me turn back around. He took a step closer. "I'm not going to get in the way of your happiness, Bree, I'm not going to say anything about it. All I'm going to say is that I know how you really feel, I can tell. I think you're making a big mistake."

The guy I was falling for all over again was sitting here telling me he thought I was making a mistake, how was I supposed to respond? I didn't know how, and I couldn't think of a way because of how close he was standing. Anthony was only a few inches away, I could've kissed him if I wanted to, and believe me, the thought did cross my mind.

But, instead of being a bad girl I spun around and got in my car, taking a deep breath. Anthony got the hint because he jogged inside without another word.

What had just happened? I could've kissed him if I wanted! Another few seconds, and I probably would have. And he thought I was making a mistake. Was I? No, this was good for my future! I had to think ahead, no more high school moves. Making decisions based on my feelings would get me nowhere.

Shaking my head, I pulled my engagement ring from my pocket and slid it on my finger. No more pretending and no more hiding. This was my future, and I had to start accepting that instead of living in a fantasy.

*

"Bree!" Kayla screeched, running towards me. I held out my arms, picking her up an swinging her around a few times.

"Hey, Kay!" I smiled, squeezing her tight. "How was the flight?"

"Fun! Me and Jeff watched a movie!" She exclaimed, smiling widely at me.

I gasped, "Did you lose another tooth?" I hadn't realized how much I was missing my little sister. She was growing up and wouldn't be that little for much longer.

"Yes, two!" She said proudly, smiling again to show me. Kayla was missing her two front teeth. She was ten, so I guess she was losing her teeth late.

"Bree!" My mom shouted, hurrying over to me. I jumped up, wrapping her in a hug. "We missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too," I said, smiling widely. Jeff was standing awkwardly behind my mom, so I decided to be nice, even if I didn't know him very well yet. He made my mom happy, and that was all I could ask for. "Hey, Jeff."

"Hi, Bree," He sighed, obviously relieved I wasn't giving him the cold shoulder. I shook his hand quickly before turning back to Kayla.

"I have to pee!" Kayla whined, giving my mom a look. "I've been holding it the whole flight."

"They have bathrooms on the plane," My mom groaned, placing a hand on her hip.

"I know, but I didn't want to get up," She remarked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I stifled a giggle. When I was ten, I was just like Kayla. It was like looking in a mirror.

"I'll take her," Jeff sighed, taking Kayla's hand and leading her away. I laughed, shaking my head.

"Bree, what is on your hand?!" My mom exclaimed, grabbing my left hand and lifting it up to her face. Oh crap. "Is that...Is that..."

"It's an engagement ring, mom," I said gently, lifting my other hand to touch her shoulder. This is not how I wanted her to find out...

"You're engaged?!" She shrieked, making half of the airport look at us. I flushed deep red, nodding slowly. "To that boy, you're living with?"

"What?" I gasped, my eyes widening. Maybe I was hearing things, today had been a stressful day.

"I know about everything." She tolled her eyes. "Mackenzie called me. It's a good thing she did too, otherwise, we might not have gotten a hotel room on such short notice!" I lowered my head, blushing even redder.

"She told you?" I finally managed to ask, still looking at the ground. My mom was still examining my finger.

"Everything except this! When did it happen?! How did it happen?!" Oh boy, here we go again. Twenty questions were starting all over. Just then Kayla and Jeff came back, saving me from interrogation.

"We'll talk later," I promised, turning to Kayla who had practically attacked me. "Let's go get your bags, okay?" I grabbed my sister's hand and led her to the baggage claim. It didn't take is long to get everything and soon we were in the car headed back home.

"Are we going to Bree's house?" Kayla asked, grabbing my moms shoulder and tugging. "Can we can we please?!"

"Tomorrow, Kayla," My mom said sternly, "It's late and we're all tired."

"Well I'm not, and I want to see Anthony." Kayla retorted, crossing her arms. I almost choked on my own saliva. She remembered Anthony?! And she knew he was at my apartment?!

"He will be there tomorrow," My mom narrowed her eyes, letting my sister know the argument was settled. Good thing Kayla was smart too because she dropped the subject pretty fast.

"So I'm taking you to your hotel, then?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence. Jeff said yes over the frustrated yells from my sister, so I took the correct exit and dropped them off.

"But we just got here!" Kayla whined, wrapping her arms around my waist. "I don't want to leave you!"

"I'll be here first thing in the morning," I promised, bending down so I could look her in the eye. "And I'll take you out for breakfast, just you and me." She broke out into a smile, her eyes lighting up.

"You, me, and Anthony?" She asked, sticking out her bottom lip. Wait, what?! That was not a good idea! "Please?" Obviously, she picked up on my hesitation because she widened her eyes. "Please, Bree?"

I bit my lip, sighing, "Sure. You, me, and Anthony."