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A/N: For the full immersive experience it is recommended that you listen to the music whenever you get to the lyrics in the book :). The recommended songs can be found in the author’s note at the end of the chapter. *****************************************
Christmas carols drifted through the still clear air as Samuel and Jayden walked through the city. The sidewalks were full of late Christmas shoppers rushing to get the last items on their lists and families enjoying the beautiful night.
There was a general feel of Christmas cheer and goodwill in the air. Drivers hollered out Christmas greetings to one another as they drove past. Street Santas laughed their jolly laugh as they rang their little bells. They passed by a group of carol singers who smiled and waved at them before bursting into a new song.
‘God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy…’
They moved past the carollers and continued on their way, going nowhere in particular. A group of children ran past, giggling as they shouted at one another. Samuel’s eyes were bright as they followed them till they disappeared around the corner.
A chilly breeze blew past and Samuel noticed the homeless man shivering in the corner. He frowned and leaving Jayden, walked up to him. The man flinched, shrinking back as he came nearer to him.
‘Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you,’ Samuel’s voice was gentle as he bent his knees down, crouching in front of him. ‘Here take this.’
He removed his tux and draped it over the man’s shoulders. The man’s bony fingers clasped the edges of the jacket gratefully and stared up at Samuel as if he had seen an angel.
Samuel’s face was warm and gentle as he smiled down at the man. ‘When did you last eat?’
The man shook his head nervously causing a small frown to appear on Samuel’s face. He reached down to unclasp his diamond-studded watch and handed it over to him with an earnest look on his face.
‘I don’t have enough money on me but this should be enough to feed you for a month or two.’
The man’s eyes became as wide as saucers as he hesitantly took the watch. ‘Thank you, thank you so much,’ he rasped in a thin voice.
‘Don’t thank me, really. No one deserves to be like this on Christmas. My family set up a shelter a couple of blocks away from here. You would get a warm bed to sleep in for as long as you like. If anyone gives you problems just tell them that Sam sent you.’
Tears began to flow down the man’s face. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
Samuel gently used the pads of his thumbs to clean the man’s tears. ‘Then don’t say anything. Can you walk, or do you need me to help you?’
The man nodded and stood shakily to his feet. Samuel frowned when he noticed the man’s threadbare shoes. There was a thrift store a few stores back and he quickly left the man, returning with some old shoes.
He removed his designer shoes and gave them to the man, crouching to tie the shoelaces for him before placing his own stockinged feet into the shoes he had just purchased.
With some help from Samuel, the man steadied himself and began to walk in the direction Samuel pointed but not before thanking Samuel profusely.
Samuel watched him leave, waving cheerfully until he disappeared around the corner.
Jayden was staring at him with a strange look on his face as he made his way over to him.
‘What?’ Samuel asked when he noticed the look on Jayden’s face.
Jayden shook his head fondly and turned away. ‘Nothing.’
‘No, say,’ Samuel insisted as he walked by him.
‘It’s just… how are you so perfect?’
That stopped Samuel short. He looked at Jayden with pure disbelief all over his features.
‘That has got to be the highest compliment you’ve ever given me.’ Samuel finally said.
‘It’s the highest compliment I’ve ever given anyone actually,’ Jayden muttered.
Samuel chuckled. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘Well, I mean look at you. Captain of the school soccer team, star-quarterback of the football team, gold-medal athlete, perfect grades. Most likely going to be head boy and an amazing personality to top it all off. And it’s like you’re not even trying.’ Jayden shook his head. ‘Talk about your typical golden boy, everyone completely adores you and you always have such a bright positive outlook on life.’
Samuel had a thoughtful expression on his face as they continued to walk down the street.
‘I’m not perfect you know,’ he said finally. ‘I’m really not, I just do my best. I have my own flaws and sometimes it’s hard to maintain such a positive look at life because it seems that all my efforts are in vain. Nothing seems to change, there are still people in the streets, animals who can’t get good healthcare, starving children, and so on. I just remind myself that I can’t help everyone and no matter how little my drop is in the huge ocean of unfairness and injustice, little drops make big ripples. So the person, I just helped now, would also help someone and so on.’
He shrugged. ‘That’s what any of us can do really, our best. We just got to hope that our best is enough.’
Jayden nodded absently as he shivered slightly but Samuel noticed.
‘You’re cold.’
Jayden shook his head and grinned bravely at him but Samuel saw through the lie. Jayden’s tux had been left behind on his bed and his shirt was stained slightly with blood at the edges. There was a tear at the side which allowed the cold wind access to his bare skin. Samuel was no better with a torn shirtsleeve that had been ripped during their escape from the manor.
‘We should probably get a change of clothes,’ Samuel mused after taking in their appearance.
Jayden nodded absently.
‘Hold on,’ Samuel said before disappearing back into the thrift store.
Jayden stood alone in the streets for a few minutes as he waited for Samuel to get back. People rushed up and down the street, throwing him Christmas greetings as they passed by him but he couldn’t muster up the energy to respond.
Samuel finally arrived with a shopping bag which he placed on a sidewalk bench. He handed Jayden a white hoodie before pulling the black hoodie he had bought for himself over his head.
Jayden glanced at the hoodie in his hand and the one Samuel was wearing. ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed but white isn’t really my colour.’
‘I know but I refuse to make you wear black on Christmas Eve.’ Samuel flashed a charming grin at him. ‘Besides, I think you’ll look great in white.’
Jayden quirked an eyebrow before hesitantly putting the hoodie on. He felt uncomfortable in it but his discomfort however disappeared when Samuel’s face brightened up when he saw him in it.
‘You look angelic,’ Samuel remarked with sincerity in his voice. ‘Left with the final thing.’
Jayden’s looked on curiously as Samuel grabbed his left hand and pulled the sleeve downward. Samuel’s eyes softened as they hovered over the faint lines of scars crisscrossing his wrist but instead of feeling vulnerable or exposed, Jayden felt strangely safe.
Samuel glanced away from his wrist and pulled a colourful thread wristband out of his pocket. He tied it around Jayden’s wrists, repeating the action until seven wristbands were sitting on Jayden’s wrist.
‘I was looking for one with the pride colours but of course, they wouldn’t have those here. So I had to buy seven different ones in different colours so that together they would make up the pride colours.’
Jayden raised his left hand to examine them closer as Samuel continued to explain.
‘I noticed that you were rubbing your wrist the entire time we were walking and I thought that if you had something there to cover them, something that shows that it’s okay and that you should be proud of who you are you might not you know…’
Samuel’s awkward rambling was cut off when Jayden suddenly hugged him. His eyes grew wide as Jayden placed his neck on his shoulder and his arms grew tighter around him.
‘Thank you,’ Jayden whispered.
Samuel smiled and returned the hug. They stood there in each other’s arms in the middle of the sidewalk as people rushed by them. The significance of this moment was not lost on either of them. This was the first time Jayden had initiated a hug. The first time in a long time, he willingly wanted someone’s arms around him.
Samuel looked up as Jayden pulled his arms away from him. ‘Looks like the weather is changing. So where are we going to?’
Jayden shrugged and stuck his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. They continued walking and before long, Samuel suddenly gasped in excitement and pointed at a building across the street.
It was an indoor ice rink and before Jayden could say anything Samuel had grabbed his arm and dragged him across the street and into the building. Children laughed as they sailed past with their parents after them and couples skated hand-in-hand on the ice, smiling at each other as they zoomed by.
Samuel’s face was bright with childlike excitement as he watched the people having fun on the ice. He turned to Jayden with pleading eyes.
‘No.’
Samuel gave him his best puppy dog eyes causing Jayden to sigh in frustration. He shook his head in defeat as he wondered when he became vulnerable to those eyes.
‘Fine you can go but I’m not coming with you. I’ll wait out here.’
This caused Samuel to pout. ‘Why not?’ he whined. ‘It’s no fun if you’re not with me.’
Jayden rolled his eyes. ‘I’m sure you’ll manage.’
Samuel ignored him and pulled him forward but Jayden dug his heels in. ‘I can’t.’
‘Of course you can,’ Samuel insisted, trying to drag him again but Jayden just dug his heels in more firmly.
Samuel turned to shoot him a curious look. There was a slightly panicked look on Jayden’s face as his eyes darted anxiously from the ice and back to Samuel.
‘Wait, you do know how to skate right?’
Jayden shook his head slightly, causing Samuel’s face to take on an expression of incredulity.
‘Dude, that’s like a basic skill!’
Jayden huffed and rolled his eyes. ‘No, it’s not. We don’t even get snow here so unless we suddenly experience an ice age I fail to see how it’s a necessary skill to acquire.’
Samuel shook his head and left Jayden to pick up two pairs of skating shoes. ‘Come on,’ he said when he came back. ‘No time like the present to learn.’
Jayden hesitated but Samuel pulled him onto a bench and placed the shoes on his feet before pulling him up and dragging him to the edge of the rink.
‘Look, it’s easy,’ Samuel laughed as he glided onto the ice, humming along to Mariah Carey’s, ‘All I want for Christmas’ which had started playing over the loudspeakers.
Jayden gave him a blank look as he stood there, adamantly refusing to step on the ice. Samuel shook his head and slid up to him. He grabbed his hands and pulled him onto the ice.
It took a few tries but Jayden slowly got the hang of it. Samuel laughed as they both glided across the ice, trying and failing to make a double-figure eight. Jayden’s face lit up in excitement as he began to get into the rhythm. Samuel started singing along to the song as he danced uncontrollably on the ice. Jayden shook his head at him but Samuel suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into the dance.
The minutes flew by as they glided across the ice, dancing with the other people in the rink. Jayden’s eyes grew warm as Samuel placed his hands in his but Samuel however soon let go to try a complicated routine which caused him to fall flat on his backside.
Jayden couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of his throat as he watched Samuel try to unsuccessfully get to his feet and Samuel immediately froze. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared at Jayden.
Jayden pulled him to his feet and he began to grow uncomfortable under Samuel’s intense gaze. ‘What? Is there something on my face?’
‘You laughed.’
Jayden frowned not understanding what the big deal was. ‘So?’
Samuel shook his head as he reiterated. ‘You laughed. In all the time I’ve known you, I have never heard you laugh. A chuckle maybe but never a laugh. Not once.’
Jayden rolled his eyes. ‘It’s not a big deal.’
‘For you it is,’ Samuel argued as they skated off the rink. ‘Next thing I know you’re gonna be smiling next.’
Jayden considered it for a moment before letting his face break out into a stunning smile. Samuel felt the air disappear from his lungs as he stared entranced. It was as if the sun had broken out from behind a dark cloud on a dreary day, bathing the world in its golden glow.
Jayden let out another laugh when he saw the expression on Samuel’s face. He had a rich tinkling sort of laugh. The kind that felt musical and carefree. Samuel felt his own face breaking into a smile as he watched Jayden leave to return the skates. He decided then and there to make sure to do everything in his power to hear that laugh again.
‘Why don’t you smile more often,’ he asked as Jayden returned and they walked out of the building together. ‘You have an amazing smile.’
Jayden shrugged. ‘I guess I had nothing to smile about until now.’
‘Then I’m always going to make sure you have a reason to smile,’ Samuel promised.
There was a small smile on Jayden’s lips when he heard the determinedness in Samuel’s voice. They walked in companionable silence after that, watching as shops began to close and the crowds begin to thin out as it neared closer to midnight.
‘Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in Heavenly peace
Sleep in Heavenly peace…’
They waved at the carol singers as they passed by, their voices growing faint as they turned the corner.
Jayden suddenly stopped and looked around with a strange look on his face as if he had seen a ghost.
‘What’s wrong?’ Samuel asked, confusion and worry filling his face.
‘I know this place,’ Jayden whispered.
Samuel looked around trying to find anything familiar to him. Jayden suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him along as he began to walk quickly down the street.
They turned a corner and found themselves in a shady part of the city. The buildings began to grow older and more dilapidated with every step they took and there were abandoned cars sitting on the street with their tyres removed and windshields smashed.
A dog bayed from an alley and an alarm went off ahead. Samuel tightened his grip protectively as he continued to hold on to Jayden’s hand. They turned down a side street, passing by a twenty-four-hour mini-mart and gas station before Jayden brought them to a stop before a building that looked more dilapidated than the others.
Samuel glanced at Jayden as he stared up at it with different emotions running across his face.
‘This was where you used to live, wasn’t it?’
Jayden nodded slowly. There was an unreadable look in his eyes.
‘Do you want to go in?’
Jayden’s grip tightened involuntarily as he thought about it.
‘Please,’ he finally murmured.
They walked up to the front door and Samuel squeezed Jayden’s hand comfortingly as he took a deep breath and entered with him.
The lobby was empty with the reception desk missing half a desk. There was a huge out-of-order sign painted on the elevator door and the carpet was chewed up in places by rodents.
‘Looks like no one has been living in this building for a long time,’ Samuel noted as he glanced around.
‘This is how it has always been,’ Jayden corrected in a wry tone. ‘And there are still people living here, look.’
He gestured to the mailboxes, which had mail, and today’s evening paper in most of them. As he spoke, a tottering old lady came down the stairs and checked her mailbox before walking out with her shopping bag in her arm.
They watched the glass door swivel shut behind her before turning to face the stairs. They climbed five flights of stairs before turning into a long narrow corridor. The doors that lined the corridor were all identical except one and it was that that Jayden led them to.
The door was locked shut but it didn’t take long for Jayden to pick the lock. There was a soft click and the door swung creakily on its hinges as it opened inward.
The first thing they noticed was the dust. It lay like a cloth over everything and they had to wiggle their nose several times to keep themselves from sneezing. The next thing they noticed were the cobwebs. They draped over every corner of the apartment like ghosts, and they had to brush them from their faces as they walked into the apartment.
The whole place had a feeling of age and neglect but as their eyes glanced through the apartment it was as if the inhabitants still lived there but had just stepped out for a moment. A schoolbag lay draped over a chair on the kitchen table, half-finished breakfast lay on the table, a newspaper was folded at the head and a pair of glasses lay on top of them. Dishes lay on the kitchen counter as if they had been recently washed and laid over to dry and an apron was strung on the peg.
‘We were having breakfast when it happened,’ Jayden murmured, passing his hands softly over the fabric of the school bag. There was a distant look in his eyes as they were swamped with memories. ‘We were having oatmeal.’
Samuel glanced at the still open box of oatmeal in the middle of the table and the now completely moulded decayed food in the bowls. A fly buzzed softly as it hovered above one of the bowls as Jayden continued.
‘Mother had just finished the dishes and was prompting us to hurry else I’ll be late for school. The phone suddenly rang and my father folded up his newspaper and went to answer it.’
Jayden grinned as he remembered it. ‘He came back with such a stupefied look on his face my mother and I were immediately worried. It was the family lawyer. My grandfather had just passed away and by the law of the 52, as the eldest child he was now the sole owner of all the Mills estates, properties and all that therein is. With just one phone call we had gone from being dirt poor to outrageously wealthy.’
A wry smirk formed on Jayden’s face. ‘My father’s stepmother tried to take possession of the estates but the law was clear. After my father explained the situation, we took a moment to digest it before we stood up, linked hands, and walked right out. My mother wanted us to have a clean slate and so we didn’t take a single thing with us, walking out with only the clothes on our backs and we never looked back.’
Samuel looked at Jayden as he began to walk around, his eyes clouding over as he saw the memories playing out before him. He could see his mother at the sink and his dad at the stove, laughing at something funny he had said. He could see them rolling around in the tiny living room as they had their game night, he could see his parents kissing him goodnight as he lay in his old room before they closed the door.
His eyes began to grow moist and he quickly blinked. Samuel walked up to him and linked his hand with his. He thought for a moment before breaking out into a huge smile.
‘I don’t see why you can’t have more good memories here.’
Jayden stared at him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘We can make our own memories here. I think I saw a Christmas tree in the other room…,’ Samuel trailed off as he began muttering to himself.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Samuel asked, excitement creeping into his voice. ‘We are going to have our own Christmas right here!’
‘What…’
‘Of course we need to clean up a bit, decorate and such but it would be amazing.’
‘I don’t-‘
‘Jayden,’ Samuel cut him off. He grabbed his face and looked deep into his eyes. ‘For once in your extremely stubborn life, ignore the impulse to be cold and do as I say.’
Jayden blinked as he got lost in Samuel’s earnest hazel eyes. He nodded slowly and Samuel flashed him a bright smile as he let go of his face.
‘Now you run to the minimart we saw earlier and get us some supplies and decorations,’ Samuel ordered as he began to roll up his sleeves. ‘I’ll start cleaning up.’
It didn’t take long for them to get the apartment in liveable shape. Samuel had to force the door to the storeroom open with his shoulders before he could get the Christmas tree. He set it up in the tiny living room and together they both placed the decorations on it, teasing and joking with each other as they did so.
They stood aside and looked up at the tree when they were done with the decorations. Samuel picked up the final piece, a large crystal star, and placed it into Jayden’s hand.
‘Ready?’ he asked with a soft smile.
Jayden looked into his eyes and nodded back, a small smile of his own on his lips. Together they stood on tiptoes and placed the crystal star on the top of the tree and immediately, the room blazed with a brilliant light as the lights on the tree lit up.
They sat by each other beside the tree with a comforter around their laps and a mug of chocolate in their hands as they stared silently at their handiwork. From the open window, the faint voices of Christmas carollers on the street below floated up to them.
‘O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth
The clock soon struck midnight and Jayden turned to the boy beside him.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Samuel.’
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth
‘Mnn,’ Samuel replied.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
‘Merry Christmas.’
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Samuel’s face lit up as he broke into a beaming smile.
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
‘Merry Christmas, Jayden.’
O night divine, O night, O night divine!
The boys slowly drifted to sleep as they sat there, under the light of the Christmas tree and the warmth and weight of each other by their side.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: O night divine…
Now, I miss Christmas 🙁
It’s honestly my most favourite time of the year. ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year…’
I apologise for the late update, I’ve been having trouble with motivation lately. Hopefully the next chapter would come right on time.
So… thoughts? That was a strangely sweet chapter. I think Jayden and Samuel’s relationship is slowly starting to blossom don’t you?
Anyway here are the recommended songs:
Until next time…
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