Chapter Eight: Family, Friends, and Special Gifts
A/N: Ok, sorry it took me so long to update. This Chapter is really long to make up for it. I know I'm kinda on a Christmas binge, but it's fun, so if you don't like it...too bad! (Evil cackle) just kidding...if you don't like the whole Christmas thing, don't worry, this is the last chapter with that in it. Anyway, here's chapter eight, please R&R
Bradin and Kaitlyn held each other for a while, thinking about the things that had occurred in the last half an hour. Kaitlyn sighed with relief and contentment. She finally felt safe and happy. Telling Bradin about her past lifted some unknown burden off of her shoulders, giving her the courage to do what she did next.
Standing up, she took Bradin's hand.
"Come on"
"Where are we going?"
"I invited you to meet my family, so you're gonna meet mom. Now come on before I lose my nerve and bail." she rushed
"Ok, let's go" and with that Kaitlyn led Bradin into the small house and into the den, where a lady with frizzy, untamed brown hair was sitting. A beer sat in one hand, the TV remote in the other. The clothes she had on looked like she had slept in them for over a week and a cigarette was hanging from her mouth, with smoke blowing out of her nose every few seconds.
"Mom? Mom this is Bradin, my boyfriend. Remember I told you about him? We're going to go to Bradin's house. It's Christmas Eve tonight. I told you this morning."
"Merry Christmas Mrs. Morranis. It's nice to meet you" Bradin said politely.
"I'll be back later on tonight mom. I'll call if I'm gonna be late. I love you" she added softly
"Goodbye Mrs. Morranis" Bradin said, following Kaitlyn out of the house.
The sunshine poured onto the pairs faces as they left the house. Nightfall would come soon and they needed to get back to Ava's house if they were to be on time for dinner.
"Are you Ok?" Kaitlyn asked
"I was going to ask you the same thing" Bradin chuckled quietly
"I'm used to it. Kind of like talking to a wall when she gets like that. The lights on, but no one is home and stuff, you know? Christmas brings back memories, and she stays like this for a long while. But you aren't used to that. The last person I brought to meet her when she was like this got completely freaked. Just making sure your aren't completely freaking. " she smiled gently at him
"Yeah babe, I'm Ok. A little shocked, but fine."
"We should get going if we want to make it on time"
"Yeah, let's go. The get ready for some seriously out of tune caroling" he joked
"It's what I've spent my whole life waiting for" she joked back.
Around eight o'clock that night the group of 10 piled back into the house, laughing, talking, and every one of them having a great time.
Nikki grabbed Kaitlyn and soon everyone had a mug of hot chocolate and a huge plate of Christmas cookies to help themselves to.
Derrick, who was sitting with Martha, Cameron, and Nikki on the floor, piped up.
"Hey Kaitlyn, will you sing a song?"
She flushed, knowing what he meant, but hoping she was wrong.
"We sang for almost an hour already hun, haven't you had enough?"
"I have, but I mean just you. You sing better than the rest of us. Aunt Ava said so too"
"Hey! What about me?" Jay asked indignantly
"Especially you" Derrick replied, making everyone laugh. "So will you sing? Please?" he said, doing the famous Westerly puppy-dog face that no one could resist.
At first Kaitlyn shook her head no, but after everyone in the room started pouting and pleading she finally agreed.
"Alright alright, fine. One song" She caved
"Two" said Bradin and everyone nodded
"Fine then, everyone gang up on me. I'll do two" she pouted, then laughing at the good natured teasing
Bradin jumped up, turned on the tree lights and turned off all the other lights.
"For mood" he explained as he sat down and pushed Kaitlyn up.
She stood by the tree, the lights framing her in a colored glow. Bradin thought she looked like and angel.
Taking a deep breath she sang two classic Christmas carols, "Silent Night" and "Oh Holy Night".
Later that night, after the younger kids had gone to bed, Bradin walked Kaitlyn back to her house. The two shared a tender kiss under the moonlight and sat again on the front porch of Kaitlyn's house talking.
"this has been the best Christmas I've had in years Bradin, and I have you to thank for it" Kaitlyn smiled sweetly at him, the moon reflecting in her eyes.
"Well Christmas isn't over yet, you know. It could still get better" Bradin replied, his smile sent a shiver through her spine.
With a soft smile Kaitlyn explained "My mom hasn't been the same since…well, you know. But because we only have so much money, we don't exchange gifts. Also I'm fairly certain that even when she isn't all catatonic, she doesn't remember that I'm still alive" she laughed quietly, trying to keep the sadness from her voice.
"Well, maybe this will make up for some of those Christmases you've missed out on" Bradin said, leaning forwards. As his lips pressed onto hers, Kaitlyn felt a small box being pressed into her hands.
"Merry Christmas baby. I hope you like it"
"Oh my gosh! Bradin you shouldn't have. I-I I'm so sorry with everything, the money. I…um" tears spilt out of her eyes. "I'm sorry Bradin, I couldn't get you a gift for Christmas. You understand don't you?"
"Kait, I don't care about a present. My gift was you taking me back after I was such a jerk, and seeing the look on your face when you open your gift, Ok?" he said with force, gently wiping the few tears off of her face.
She kissed him on the cheek. "Ok"
Nimble fingers pried loose the ribbon and lifted the lid of the box off to reveal two black jewelry boxes. Lifting the lid of the first one, Kaitlyn gasped in surprise.
"Oh Bradin!" was all she could get out. Inside the black box, nestled on white silk was a beautiful, thin silver chain with a dove pendant on it. In the place where the eye and the heart should have been, instead was a diamond in it's place.
"There, that look, that's the one I was talking about. That's all the gift I'll ever need" Bradin said with a smile as he lifted the necklace and put it around her neck and fasted it into place. Moving her hair away from the chain, he admired his auburn haired beauty.
"My god, you are gorgeous" he bluntly stated
With a blush Kaitlyn beamed at him. "Thank-you" she managed to say
"Open the next one"
The next box was smaller and more narrow than the first. On the inside, it was white silk as well but what was inside made Kaitlyn's heart beat faster and her blood to pump hot and cold.
"I-it's a …ring" she whispered.
The slim silver band had a round cut diamond with two, smaller, light blue stones on either side.
"It's a promise ring. I love you Kaitlyn. I love you and have from the time I met you. I didn't know it then, but I realize it now. This ring shows my love, and my feelings for you. It promises that I will never hurt you, ever again. I promise myself to you; body, mind, and soul, forever"
Tears now streamed freely down Kaitlyn's face. Bradin moved over right beside her and enveloped her into his strong arms, holding her close. A few moments passed and the tears subsided.
"What are you thinking?" Bradin asked
"I got your shirt wet" she choked out a half sob half laugh. Looking up into his eyes Kaitlyn spoke softly. "I love you too Bradin. I love you too"
They hugged once more, and then with a quick kiss Kaitlyn got up and went inside.
At the beach house the next afternoon, the Christmas Morning hype was just dying down, and people were spreading out throughout the house to enjoy their new acquisitions and rest from the early morning that Derrick made sure they had.
Bradin lay down on his bed, thinking he would get a few more hours sleep before going to get Kaitlyn. As he put his head on the pillow, he hit something hard. Pulling a C.D out from under his head, Bradin read the cover with curiosity.
"To Bradin, Love Kaitlyn" he read, and smiled a huge smile
Bradin immediately grabbed his Discman and put in Kaitlyn's C.D. What he heard once it started to play made him laugh and smile, his heart full of joyful love.
Kaitlyn's soft, sultry voice came pouring out of the earphones in a song she had written. Keyboards played in the background, causing Bradin to suspect that she played those as well.
"There's a moment when you realize
The true feelings that you had inside
Words cannot describe
And now I know that I can't hide
You make me feel like no one else can
You make better than I ever could've hoped to be
You help me to be myself and to be strong
And now I know that when I'm with you I'm free
Life's been tough, I know it's true
But I feel safe, when I'm with you
Words cannot describe
And now I know that I can't hide
You make me feel like no one else can
You make better than I ever could've hoped to be
You help me to be myself and to be strong
And now I know that when I'm with you I'm free"
Once the first song was over, a new song came on and Bradin recognized "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith. Once it was over Kaitlyn's laugh filled his head as she spoke recorded words.
"Hey baby! Merry Christmas, I love you! I felt terrible about not being able to buy you anything, so I'm using what I've got here to make you a gift. If you couldn't tell, the first song I actually wrote myself, words and music and stuff. But now, enough of the mushy stuff. Time for me to have some fun.
And with that, Bradin listened to four more songs that all had specific meaning to them. The sleeve of the C.D. had a small description of why she put on the songs she did.
Bradin read: 'I wrote this song just today, because it describes how I felt when you told me you loved me' 'This song was the first song I heard after we started going out' was the label for Evanescence's "Going Under"
Bradin was thrilled with his C.D. and once it was over he got up, still holding it with him, and went to find someone to brag to. Finding Jay on the couch watching "It's a Wonderful Life" Bradin sat sown with him and waited, slightly impatiently, for Jay to look up.
"Oh hey Bradin, what's up man?" Jay said on a commercial
"Nothing much, listen to this!" he said, practically throwing the Discman at his friend
Jay listened to the first song then took off the headphones.
"Whoa, that girl sounds scarily like Kaitlyn ya'know?"
"Yeah, that's because it is Kaitlyn"
"She's got a C.D!"
"Nope, she made it for me, for Christmas. The song you just heard she wrote for me!" he said beaming proudly.
"Whoa, she's fallin' hard for you guy" Jay commented, surveying Bradin's face
"Yeah, and I'm falling just as hard for her"
A/N: Ok, that was chapter eight. I'm getting mixed signals so far with my poll about either more fluffy romance, or to add some drama, so I may just do both unless one or the other gets a drastic amount of more votes sometime really soon, tee hee. So, I hope the really long chapter makes up for the lack of updating the last day or two. Hope you like it.
Love, Ally