Only Words Bleed

by Secret Life of Writing

Violet struggles with her life at home as she slowly descends into silence. Feeling that no one understands and unable to vice her emotions she resorts her life to the pages of her journal where she writes about anything and everything. Often walking alone at night to escape her reality, she finds herself wishing for something to ease the pain she feels inside.

45. Christmas Day

Violet's Pov:

I woke up to the clinking of Woody sucking on his water bottle. I groggily looked at my alarm clock that read seven-thirty in bright red numbers. I settled back down and was about to drift back to sleep when I realized what today was. My mind screamed it's Christmas!

I slipped my glasses on and flung the covers off of me. I stretched my arms out as if I was trying to touch the ceiling as I stared out the window. Snow covered the ground in a blanket of white and icicles hung from the branches of the trees.

I walked over to Woody's cage and opened it up to pet him. I mouthed the words "it's Christmas" to him even though he couldn't understand me. Then I grabbed him and cradled him in my arms. I wanted him to be a part of this special day. Then I opened my door and walked down the hall to my mom's room. But when I got there the door was open and no one was inside.

So I raced downstairs to the kitchen where my mom was pouring herself a cup of coffee. Then she looked up and smiled at me. "Good morning sleepyhead." She said to me.

I blushed lightly. What kind of kid wakes up after their parents on Christmas?

Stephanie took a sip of her coffee before she smiled at me again. "Are you and Woody ready?"

I nodded and smiled before I rushed to our family room. I still couldn't face the living room where grandma took her life so my mom agreed to put our Christmas tree in the family room instead.

Once I got there I stood shocked. Presents littered the floor. More than there usually was in previous years. My mom came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I think Santa is making up for the hard times you've been through this year."

I looked on still shocked, unable to move. What was I to do?

"Go on Vi." My mom urged.

A grin broke out on my face and I walked forward. I sat down with my legs crossed at the edge of the present heap and sat Woody next to me. My mom took a seat on the couch and handed me my stocking. It was a light purple with light blue snowflakes on it.

I first pulled out a candy cane-shaped tube filled with Hershey kisses. Then I pulled out an assortment of scratch-off tickets. I was underaged to gamble but I loved scratching these off. Plus my mom could cash them in for me if I won anything. Then I pulled out some gold chocolate coins, plus a box of Nerds.

Once my stocking was empty I moved on to the presents. Not knowing where to start I grabbed a small package in white wrapping paper with blue snowflakes on it. I tear off the paper and reveal a box with wireless earbuds. I've always wanted to try these!

I beam at my mom and show her the box. "Those are nice ones, Vi."

Then I see a package with my mom's name on it. It's the present I wrapped for her. I grab it and hand it to her. It's wrapped in red paper with golden reindeer on it and a tag that read "To: Stephanie, From: Violet."

"You got me a present?" My mom says surprised.

I smile and nod. She places the present on her lap and begins to open it. She pulls out a mug with the words "World's Greatest Mom" on it. It has a tree on it with beautiful pink and purple flowers that surround the words.

My mom smiles and I think I see tears in her eyes as she looks it over. "Thank you, Violet. I love it." She tells me.

I give her a smile before I move onto another present. This one is quite large with fancy gold paper. I tear it open and reveal a heavy wooden box. But my eyes light up when I open it to reveal a giant art set. Each drawer is filled with different writing utensils. Crayons, markers, colored pencils, and shading pencils fill the box.

My mom can see the excitement in my eyes as she tells me to open another present. I open another package and reveal two sketch pads. Then I pull another present onto my lap. It's wrapped in the same gold paper that my art kit was wrapped in. And I open it to reveal a new journal. The cover is white with pink stripes and the letters spelling out "Love" going across the front with hearts above and below it.

I then pull out a small package that says "To: Woody, From: Santa" with blue paper and little woodland creatures on it. I beam at this and show Woody his present. I tear the corner to start it for him then I place the present in front of him. Woody grips the paper in his teeth and pulls. He unknowingly opens the present to reveal some yogurt-dipped treats.

I'm super excited to know that Woody got a present, but I still have so many to open. So I dig into the pile and get to work.

An hour later I find that I got a new comforter for my bed, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Hobbit trilogy, Frozen 2, a new pair of glasses, some new shirts, and a gold ring with flowers on it. Then I pulled out the biggest present wrapped in the same paper as my earbuds were. I rip the paper off to reveal a TV and my mom says that it's for my bedroom.

I'm super excited because now I can have Clem over and we can watch Netflix in my room without using a tiny laptop screen.

Clem?

That's right. I had a present for Clem.

The ring!

I shoot up remembering that we were going to Clementine's house for dinner today. I try to sign to my mom that I want to get going, totally forgetting about my presents.

"Hold on Vi. You still have some left to open." She tells me. I look and she's right. Plus both of us are still in our pajamas. Guess we still have time. After all, it was still morning. I was just super excited to give Clem her present. But I wait and open the rest of my presents.

I get the Hunger Games books, a sugared snickerdoodle scented candle, some Warriors cat books, a stuffed wolf because it's my favorite animal, some new purple shoelaces, and a new board game called "Blank Slate."

Wrapping paper covers the floor in all sorts of different colors. I stick some bows in Woody's hair and take a picture. Then I send it to the group text that I and my friends have and say Merry Christmas to everyone.

After I help my mom clean up all the wrapping paper I check the time and it's only ten o'clock. I huff in frustration. I want to head to Clem's house but it's too early.

"Why don't you find a Christmas special to watch on TV, Vi." My mom suggests. "It'll help pass the time."

I nod as she hands me the remote. My mom goes to get ready and I switch on Netflix. I scroll through my favorites and come across Jeff Dunham. I click on the Christmas special and place Woody in my lap. I watch the special as I pet him and I laugh at the funny things his puppets say. My favorite part is coming up as he brings out his buddy Peanut.

He's my favorite out of all of Jeff's little people in the boxes. I love his energy and he makes me laugh the most.

Jeff then brings out Jose Jalapeño on a stick and they get into an argument about Christmas.

Peanut: "You know we're talking about Christmas!"

Jose: "I love Creesmas."

Peanut: "What the hell is Creesmas?"

Jeff: "He's saying Christmas."

Peanut: "No, no. It was "Creesmas!"

Jose: "Are jou making fun of my accent?"

Peanut: "Jes."

Peanut always likes to pick on Jose. And it was funny to see them arguing. Especially when Jeff would get mad at Peanut for the things he would say about Jose.

Jeff: "I understand you guys just went on your first ski trip."

Peanut: "Yes. Jose and Achmed saw snow for the first time ever."

Jeff: "Hmm. How was the skiing?"

Peanut: "Great."

Jose: "I had to snowboard."

Peanut: "Stick!" Peanut exaggerates this word in a funny voice.

Jeff: "All right, so how did the trip go?"

Peanut: "It was a disaster."

Jeff: "Really? What happened?"

Peanut: "Achmed broke his leg."

Jose: "The bone was sticking out."

Peanut: "It's always sticking out!"

I silently laughed at this because Achmed was a skeleton.

Jeff: "Did you put a splint on it?"

Peanut: "Of course."

Jeff: "What'd you use?"

Jose: "Me."

I couldn't help but giggle at that seeing as Jose was attached to a stick.

Jeff: "So, when did this happen?"

Peanut: "During the avalanche."

Jeff: "Avalanche?"

Jose: "Achmed started it."

Peanut: "We told him not to bring that bomb."

Jeff: "He had a bomb?"

Jose: "On a stick."

Jeff: "And why did Achmed have a bomb?"

Jose: "I think he's a workaholic."

Jeff: "So what happened after the avalanche?"

Jose: "We were trapped in the snow for three days."

Jeff: "Wow. Did you have anything to eat?"

Peanut: "A jalapeño." And he points at Jose as he whispers it. "We were finally rescued by a Saint Bernard."

Jose: "But the dog took Achmed and buried his ass."

Peanut: "And his head and his feet. It was hilarious!"

Jeff: "Why didn't you help Achmed?"

Jose: "We were laughing too hard."

In all honesty, I felt like Achmed deserved that one because he caused the avalanche. That's what you get for being a suicide bomber. But it got funnier when Jeff switched back to Christmas.

Jeff: "Okay, Jose, how do you celebrate the holidays?"

Jose: "We wake up in the morning..."

Peanut: "...And then they take a nap."

Jeff gave Peanut a look.

Peanut: "I'm kidding. I know they work very hard. They run to the border and decorate all the barbed wire."

Jeff: "Jose does not run to the border."

Peanut: "Your right. He goes, "Doing! Doing! Doing! Doing! Doing! Doing!"

Jeff: "Jose what does Christmas mean to you?"

Jose: "It's the day Hesus was born."

Peanut: "I didn't know your gardener was born on Christmas."

I laughed at this because Peanut was confusing Jesus with a gardener named Hesus.

Peanut: "Hey, Hesus! Happy birthday, man! Today you can skip the leaves."

Jeff gives Peanut another look before saying. "Jose, what do you want for Christmas?"

Peanut: "I think he needs a bigger stick."

Jose: "That's not what your mother said."

Jeff: "That's Jose jalapeño."

Then Peanut got all mad once Jeff put Jose away before he could make a comeback. "No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Oh man, that sucks. I want to kick his ass. Or kick his stick. Or kick his sticky ass."

I laughed along with the audience. Peanut was always good for a laugh. I completely forgot about the time as I watched Jeff continue on with his performance.

By the time the show was over my mother was done getting ready. She came downstairs and saw the show wrapping up. "Why don't you go ahead and get dressed Violet. Then we'll head on over to Lee and Clem's."

I nodded and got to my feet, eager to get going. I scooped up Woody and headed upstairs. I put him in his carrier then proceeded to get dressed. I threw on a pair of jeans and a nice red sweater. Then I slipped on my socks and tied my shoes with my new purple laces. I also put on the new ring that I got. Then lastly I put Clem's present in my pocket before grabbing Woody.

I met my mom at the front door and put on my coat. Then we walked over to the car and drove to Clem and Lee's.

I was nervous yet excited when I knocked on their door. This was my first Christmas with my girlfriend and I wanted it to be special.

But I was surprised at who answered the door. AJ opened the door and immediately his face lit up and he started screaming. "Dad! Violet's here! And so is her mom!"

Then I heard a familiar sweet voice. "Well don't just stand there goofball. Let them in. It's cold outside."

Clem stepped into view and I smiled as she held the door open for us. "Hello, beautiful." She greeted me as I stepped in. She kissed me on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

I signed "Merry Christmas" back and made a heart with my hands.

That's when Lee came out from the kitchen. "Hello, Violet." He greeted me. "Merry Christmas. And hello Mrs. Knight." He greeted my mom.

"Please, call me Stephanie." My mom replied with a smile as she shook Lee's hand. Then she looked around the room. "You have such a lovely house, Mr. Everett." Then she took in a deep breath full of air. "And your cooking smells wonderful too."

"Call me Lee. And thank you. I sure do try my best." Lee replied.

"Oh, I brought some dessert as a way of saying thank you for having us over." And Stephanie showed him the raspberry tarts that were in the container she was carrying.

As the adults walked into the kitchen I felt a tug on my arm and I looked down to see AJ tugging at my sleeve. "Come on Violet! I wanna show you what I got from Santa!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm and quickly took off my coat, hanging it up. Then I followed AJ to their Christmas tree and saw all of the toys and gifts splayed out before us.

AJ pulled out some dinosaurs that were about the size of Woody. He pressed a button on its back and the dinosaur roared before starting to walk across the carpet.

I sat down alongside AJ and signed, "Those are so cool."

Clem kneeled next to me and translated what I had said, which got AJ to smile. Then he said, "Check this out! I gots more trains from Santa too. We can make an even bigger track!" Then he picked up a large red and blue box. "And look what me and Clem got!"

"It's a Nintendo switch," Clem explained. "I got a bunch of games for it from Lee and Santa."

"Yeah! Clem said she's gonna teach me how to play." AJ explained, almost dropping the box in his excitement.

"That's so cool." I signed to Clem. "I got a TV for my room."

"Really? That's awesome Vi!" Clem beamed at me.

"Oh, oh! Violet, look at this!" AJ exclaimed as he pulled out another present from under the tree. "We got How to Train Your Dragon 3! And I got a Toothless stuffed animal! Clem got the lightfury."

I looked at Clem and she blushed slightly. "Hey, I like stuffed animals too."

I giggled at her explanation. Then AJ showed me another present. This one was a new sled that he had gotten. It was made out of gray plastic with orange flames on the sides and a red foam seat. I guess me and Clem would have to take AJ out sledding one of these days. Not that I was complaining, it actually sounded like a lot of fun.

AJ and Clem continued to share their gifts with me for another half hour and every once in a while I'd tell them about something that I had gotten.

Clem commented on my ring that I was wearing and I felt my heart skip a beat. I was anxious to give her the promise ring that I had bought her.

I was about to grab her attention when AJ spoke up and grabbed a present that hadn't been opened. "Violet I got you this." And he placed it in my lap. I looked at the dark green wrapping paper and saw little cartoon Santa Clauses all over it. I tore open the paper to reveal a purple and blue tie-dye case for my glasses. It had my name engraved on the top in gold lettering.

I looked up at AJ and signed, "I love it" to him. Then I made a heart with my hands. This would replace my old maroon one that was falling apart.

"I'm glad you liked it." He said before giving me a hug. "Clem helped me pick it out."

Then Clem cleared her throat. "Since we're giving gifts now, I have something for you." She said sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck.

She reached under the Christmas tree and pulled out a rectangular present wrapped up with paper that was littered with Christmas-themed stuffed animals all over it. "I got you this."

I took the present in my lap and gently tore back the paper to reveal a plastic case. I flipped it over and the words, "Harry Potter," could be seen on the front.

"Since you told me it was your favorite I got you the whole collection of Harry Potter movies."

My mouth hung open in shock but soon turned into a wide grin as I popped open the case and went through every disc. I looked at Clem and mouthed the words, "thank you," to her before placing a quick kiss to her cheek.

Then I got up and went over to my things by the door. I grabbed a present that we had brought and walked back before handing it to AJ. "You got me a present too!?"

I nodded and watched his smile break out as he tore into the wrapping paper. "Whoa! Clem look at this!" He turned the box around to show us that he had gotten one of the brand new Hot Wheels tracks.

"That's a cool one AJ." Clem complimented. "What do we say to Violet?"

"Thank you, Violet. This is so cool." AJ tells me. "I'm gonna go show dad!" AJ runs out of the room with his Hot Wheels box and into the kitchen to show Lee, leaving just me and Clem alone.

My heart thudded in my chest. This was it. My moment to shine. But what was stopping me?

Could it be that look in Clem's eyes? How her gaze traveled from my eyes to my lips? I saw her bite her lip in anticipation. I knew what she wanted and I found myself giving in as I leaned forward.

Our lips connected in a sweet kiss but I found myself hungry for more. A fire lit between us and I deepened the kiss. I craved that contact as much as she did. Our lips danced for dominance, and as much as I wanted my tongue too, I held back. I couldn't risk making her moan with the adults only a room away. Instead, I pulled back then went in for a second round. I could taste the cherry lipstick she wore and it drove me crazy.

I finally pulled back and placed a tender kiss to the side of her lips as a sign of thanks. Clem stared at me breathless. "I love it when you do that." And she gave me one last kiss to the lips. "If that's my Christmas present I'll gladly take it."

But I shook my head. This wasn't what I had planned. "It's not?" Clem asked.

I took out my phone and typed something out for her to read since I didn't think I could sign it all. "You know I love you and that I love being intimate with you. But that's not what I had planned."

"Oh, so there is a plan? Do tell me, Vi." She teased.

My heart pounded as I reached into my pocket. I hoped my hands weren't shaking as I pulled out a little box and presented it to her. It was wrapped in white wrapping paper with the words Merry Christmas on it in red and gold lettering.

I saw Clem's eyes light up at the sight of it. "Oh, Violet. I was only joking. You know you didn't have to get me anything."

I signed back. "I know. But you're my special girl. You deserve it."

I held up the present to her, prompting her to take it. Clem took the little box in her hands and carefully peeled back the wrapping paper revealing the box underneath. She looked at it then looked at me. "Violet is this..." she trailed off not able to finish her sentence.

I only nodded for her to continue. With my permission, she took the little blue box in her hand and opened it. And what she saw made her gasp. Clem put a hand to her mouth unable to speak. So I signed to her. "It's a promise ring. A promise that we'll always be together. My promise that we'll always be together."

"Violet it's...it's beautiful. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I know you love it just by being you." And I placed a quick kiss to the side of her cheek.

Clem slid the ring onto her finger. "Thank you, Violet. For everything."

I smiled and signed back. "It matches your eyes."

Clem inspected the jewel on the ring. "It sure does. Thank you, Violet." She looked up at me with desire in her eyes. "I love it and I love you with all of my heart." She leaned in and kissed my lips as she cupped my cheek. "Never forget that."

I responded with a second kiss to her lips. Our foreheads rested against each other as we breathed in each other's air. I could smell the cherry lipstick again and I wanted another taste as I ran my tongue over my lips in anticipation. But a call from the kitchen interrupted the magical moment. "Girls dinners done!" It was Lee.

Clem gave me a sorry expression in apology. "Guess we'll have to finish this later." But she didn't move to get up. Instead, she gave me one last heated kiss and smiled as she pulled away. "I know you wanted that. And so did I." She placed her ringed hand over mine and we smiled at each other. Clem placed one last peck to my lips. "I promise that we'll always be together." She looked down at her ring. "And I promise to get you a promise ring as well. Then we'll match."

And I signed to her. "We already do."