Bonus Chapter – It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Lorenzo was woken up by someone turning on the light.
"Ah! My eyes! They burn!" he exclaimed, putting his hands over his eyes in an attempt to block out the light. However, that also meant he never saw his stepbrother jump onto his bed, making him bounce.
"AH! OKAY, I'M AWAKE!" he screamed.
"About time." Chet joked.
Lorenzo looked at Chet, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"This better be good, Chet." He stated. Chet's grin grew wider (if that was even possible), and he forcefully pulled Lorenzo out of bed and into the living room, where their parents were sitting on the couch. There was a plastic tree in the corner with tacky holiday decorations on it and a number of gifts surrounding its base.
Oh right, Lorenzo thought slowly, it's Christmas.
"Were you guys-" He stopped mid-sentence to yawn. "-Waiting for me?" he finished sleepily.
"Well, we didn't want you to miss out on the fun." His dad answered. "And Chet, I thought I told you to go wake him up GENTLY."
Chet's grin nearly split his face as he shrugged his shoulders innocently. He leaped over to the tree and grabbed the biggest present addressed to him, while Lorenzo shuffled over lazily to join him.
"We can wait if you want to sleep, Lorenzo." His dad stated. Chet looked at Lorenzo with his eyes wide and his mouth pouting. Lorenzo thought he looked like a puppy. He sighed. He just couldn't bring himself to say no to that adorable face.
"Nah, it's okay." He replied to his dad. He picked up the present closest to him. Upon feeling, it was soft and squishy under the wrapping, so it must have been an item of clothing. He gently pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a dark green, hand-knitted sweater with a white L embroidered on the front.
"What do you think, Lorenzo?" asked Alice.
She must have made it herself, Lorenzo thought. She put time, effort, and love into this sweater, and he wasn't even her son. He smiled.
"I love it. Thank you." He answered. He pulled on the sweater, just in time to see Chet unwrap his sweater, which was red with a gold C embroidered on the front. Chet tried to put it on, but got stuck. Lorenzo laughed.
The rest of their presents were mostly videogame related, and the boys spent all their savings on a new coffee table for their parents, but it didn't come in for another week.
After opening presents, Alice made the boys a cup of hot chocolate before shooing them out of the kitchen so she could work on breakfast.
Lorenzo went into the living room with Chet, wondering what his mom was doing right now. Was she on her own on Christmas? Did she find someone new? Was she thinking about Lorenzo, too?
Lorenzo looked back in the direction of the kitchen, and he could hear Alice humming "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" while making waffles. Lorenzo realised that his mom was here the whole time.
"I've got a present for you." Chet stated, interrupting his train of thought.
Lorenzo looked at Chet, who was grinning suspiciously, and Lorenzo looked up to see the mistletoe that Chet was holding above them. Of course, he thought.
"Merry Christmas." Said Chet.
"I don't know what I expected." Lorenzo stated, before pulling Chet in for a kiss.
The End