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“Angel, wake up.” Vic whispers. “You’ll never believe it.”
My eyes crack open and I stare at Vic’s grinning face confused.
“What?” I yawn.
“It’s snowing.” he beams.
I turn to the window and sure enough there’s a beautiful shower of snow.
I turn back to Vic as I remember something.
“Viccy, it’s Christmas.” I gasp.
“It sure is, bub. Do you want to go see what Santa got you?” he asks and I nod eagerly.
I jump out of bed and go to leave the room but Vic stops me.
“Kellin, what are you doing? Put some clothes on.” he laughs.
I look down and notice I’m still in my boxers from when Vic and I fooled around last night.
“Oops, got a little excited.” I giggle going over to my drawers.
Vic chuckles and starts getting dressed too.
“God you look hot.” he breathes, glancing at me as I get dressed.
I look down at myself. My ribs don’t stick out anymore and I’m starting to get toned and gain a little muscle from the self defense classes. My butt and my thighs have also gotten bigger and Vic tells me I look so sexy. I’m really happy about my body now. But I didn’t hate it before. I just really love it now.
“Did you celebrate Christmas when you lived with your parents?” Vic asks me.
“My parents did.” I smile sadly. “Sometimes I think they just did it to spite me.”
“Well fuck them. Today is about you.” Vic chirps.
“Isn’t today about Jesus?” I giggle.
“Yeah, him too.” Vic grins amused.
Vic takes my hand when I’m finished and leads me out of the room.
I’m so excited. This will be my first real Christmas.
We go downstairs and into the living room where the fire has been turned on. Mama and Papa are cuddling on the sofa and there’s a mountain of presents under the Christmas tree.
“Hey, merry Christmas.” Papa grins when we sees us at the door.
“Merry Christmas.” Vic and I say in unison.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Mama says. “Open some presents.”
I squeal excitedly and rush over to the Christmas tree. Vic follows and sits down beside me. He starts separating the presents into piles and when he’s finished, he urges me to start opening them.
It takes a while to get through them all but soon enough I’m done. I got a lot of new clothes, some books and a lot of new art supplies from Santa. Vic got me a DVD of Aladdin 2 and a bracelet with his name on it which I think is my favorite gift.
Vic got a new guitar, an electric one, with an amp. And he got a DIY custom guitar kit so he can design his own guitar as well as some new clothes. And I bought him a bunch of new CDs that he just loved.
We give Mama and Papa their gift from us which is a scrapbook of all the photos of Vic and I. Tay even helped me recover some photos of me as a baby which Mama and Papa really liked.
I think all the gifts have been opened until Mama and Papa announce they have a present for us.
They leave the room and I wait in anticipation. I gasp when they reenter the room with a puppy attached to a leash.
She lets the dog off the leash and it bolts with its tongue out towards Vic.
“Does it have a name?” I grin as I scratch it’s ear while it licks Vic’s face and Vic chuckles.
“Her name is Jasmine.” Papa grins.
“Like the princess.” I gasp in wonder.
Jasmine stops licking Vic and jumps onto my lap.
“She is a golden Labrador. She’s eight months old and she is a trained service dog.” Mama explains.
“She’s so beautiful. What is she trained for?” I ask as Vic and I rub her tummy.
“She’s trained to help with your anxiety. She can calm you down during an attack and provide therapeutic support.” Papa explains then he looks at Vic. “She’s also trained to deal with depression and to detect signs of emotional distress.”
Vic smiles at that and tells Jasmine to roll over.
“You’re a smart little dog, aren’t you?” he murmurs, petting her head.
“Mama, Papa, this is the best day ever. Thank you so much.” I grin.
“You’re welcome, Honey.” Mama grins. “You can legally take her anywhere with you. She has a special vest and card.”
“Even to school?” I ask.
“Yes, even to school.” she says. “She’ll keep you safe, Kells.”
I feel a little relieved. Vic can’t always be there when I’m anxious so it’ll be nice to have Jasmine there to calm me down.
The rest of the day is wonderful. We have breakfast then we go outside and play in the snow and with Jasmine. After that, Vic and I cozy up on the sofa with Jasmine who has exhausted herself. We watch Christmas movies then it’s dinner time.
Tay and Jenna come as well as some of Mama and Papa’s family.
Afterwards, we watch another Christmas movie as a family but Mama and Papa fall asleep on each other.
“I ate too much.” Vic whines. “I think I’m going to pass out.”
I giggle and kiss him.
“It’s okay, Viccy.” I whisper. “Rest.”
“No, no, I want to stay up with you.” he murmurs but soon falls asleep.
I kiss his nose then shuffle out of his arms. I sneak through the living room and go upstairs. I grab my jacket, my gloves and scarf, put them on and go back downstairs. I creep through the house and sneak out the front door. I go over to the garden where Mama’s rose bushes are planted and wipe the snow from Mike’s plaque.
“Hey Mike,” I whisper. “Merry Christmas.”
I stare down at the writing, trying to think of what to say.
“I want to apologize and I want to thank you. A few months ago I said that maybe it was better that you weren’t born because this world is a horrible place. But I found out that’s not true. There’s good and bad. I’ve had more bad than good. But the good definitely outweighs the bad. So I’m sorry that you weren’t born. I’m sorry you didn’t get the pleasure of knowing how amazing your brother and your parents are. But I hope you’re watching us from heaven. Actually I know you are. I’ve done some thinking Mike, and I think you’re my guardian angel. So thank you helping me, and helping Vic, and helping Mama and Papa. I love you, brother.” I smile.
I feel arms snake around my waist and I only know one person who feels so warm and somehow manages to smell like what a hug feels like.
“That was beautiful, Kells.” Vic whispers, kissing my cheek.
“I know. Everything is. Everything is so beautiful.” I whisper.
Vic pulls me onto his lap and holds me tightly.
“A whole new world.” he sings.
“A whole new world.” I sing back, grinning like a idiot.
“That’s where we’ll be.”
“That’s where we’ll be.”
“A thrilling chase.” Vic sings in my ear making chills go through me.
“A wondrous place.” I turn around in Vic’s lap and snake my arms and his neck.
“For you and me.” we sing together.
I rest my forehead against Vic’s and he wipes a tear from my cheek that I hadn’t noticed was there.
“I love you.” he whispers. “And I’m glad you’re happy here.”
“I love you too.” I whisper back.
This year has been a lot. Its overwhelming and I can barely comprehend it. I now have a bed, a full stomach, a family and someone I can love and cherish for the rest of my life. Most important of all though, I have somewhere I feel like I belong. And that place is right here, in my Prince Charming’s arms.
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