Freshman year of college, about a week before Christmas

Mason Maloney

It wasn't really part of my plans to be spending the day before my year anniversary with Sam stuck in a car with him and Bella for twenty hours, but that was how it ended up. It was just how the end of the semester landed and I had a final the day before. Bella, on the other hand, was a different story.

She and Pete had gotten into an argument just a few hours before we left school so the two of them refused to ride in the same car. That left Pete and Christo in Ross's car while we had to take Bella. We had planned weeks in advance that it would be best to put three people to a car so we could all switch off driving.

We had already been in the car for almost four hours and I was beginning to get restless.

"Are we stopping soon? I have to pee," Bella said from the backseat.

"There's a rest stop in three miles," Sam replied, glancing at the gps on his phone.

"Perfect."

"I should tell the others we're stopping," I said, picking up my phone from the cup holder. This caused Bella to let out a loud groan.

"I don't want to see him," she exaggeratedly complained.

All I did was roll my eyes in response as I texted him to let the others know we would be stopping soon.

"What even happened between you guys?" Sam curiously wondered.

"He's an ass!" Bella exclaimed.

"He's always an ass," I reminded her. "And you've put up with it before."

"This is different," she whined. "He doesn't want me to go to his house on Christmas."

This caused me to turn around in my seat, sporting a shocked expression.

"Really?"

It was no secret that Christmas was Bella's favorite holiday. Her family always went all out on Christmas morning with a huge breakfast hosted at their house. It surprised me that Pete didn't want to spend Christmas with her. The two of them had been dating for a year now. It was pretty much expected that they would spend Christmas together.

"Did you go last year?" Sam asked her.

"No, we were only dating for like two weeks so I didn't suggest it," she responded. "But when I said something about it this year he got all weird and said that he didn't want me to go."

It was hard not to feel bad for her. Sam and I had plans with each other for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Not to mention, we spent those days together last year after only officially dating for a few days.

"Did he tell you why?" I asked.

"No! That's why we fought," Bella said, crossing her arms over her chest as Sam took the exit for the rest stop. "And I do not want to see him."

As soon as Sam parked the car, Bella jumped out and scurried toward the bathroom. No more than a few seconds later, Ross pulled up next to us, Christo sprawled out in the backseat asleep.

"Where's Bell?" Pete asked when we all stepped out of our cars, Ross opening the back door to lightly shake Christo awake.

"Bathroom," Sam replied, leaning against his car with his arms crossed.

"She doesn't want to see you," I blurted out, earning a kick in the shin from my boyfriend.

"She's being dramatic," Pete responded with an eye roll.

"No, I kinda agree with her on this one," I told him with a glare.

"Mason," Sam hissed.

Pete just scoffed and walked off toward the building.

"He's been moody the whole drive," Ross commented, coming around to the other side of the car with Christo following behind him and rubbing his eyes.

The four of us decided we should all go to the bathroom before we hit the road again. Just as we were about to walk in, Bella came storming out with Pete on her heels.

"Babe, come on," Pete whined in a pleading tone as Bella stomped back over to the car. Sam made sure to unlock it so she could get in.

By the time we were done in the bathrooms and walked back outside, Pete was standing outside Sam's car while Bella sat in the backseat, staring straight ahead with a deep scowl on her face.

"Leave it to the two most stubborn people on the planet to be in a relationship," Ross said with a laugh as we made our way over to the cars.

Pete looked as if he was getting more and more aggravated as the seconds went by.

"We should get back on the road," Ross said when we reached Pete, causing him to turn toward us.

Pete just sighed and got back into Ross's car, slamming the door behind him.

"Have fun with him," I said before getting back to my own seat.

We were back on the road within a few minutes, Bella silently fuming in the backseat with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"Did he say anything?" I asked her, turning around in my seat.

"No," she spat. "He won't even apologize or explain anything. He just wants me to forgive him."

Even I knew getting Pete to apologize was an uphill battle. He thought she was overreacting, so there was no way he actually felt bad about it. He just didn't want her to be mad at him.

A few moments later, my phone started ringing, Jonah's name showing up on the screen.

"It's your brother," I told Sam just before answering the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey is Sam still driving?" Jonah asked.

"Yeah, he's gonna drive for a few more hours then we're gonna switch," I told him.

"Alright," Jonah replied. "Is everything going okay? Where are you guys?"

"Everything's fine," I said.

I saw Sam shaking his head out of the corner of my eye.

"I think we're still in Georgia. We might be in South Carolina," I continued.

"Okay. Tell Sam to be careful and call me when you stop for the night," Jonah said.

"I will," I assured him. We said our goodbyes before hanging up.

"What did he want?" Sam asked in a slightly irritated tone.

I rolled my eyes. "Be nice. He was just checking up on us. He wants you to call when we stop for the night."

Later on, I fell asleep in the passenger's seat and woke up a while after in the middle of a conversation between Sam and Bella.

"I mean– I don't think we're doing anything Christmas night if you want to come over," I heard Sam say.

"I don't want to butt in on your couple time," Bella replied.

"It's Christmas, it's not couple time."

"Where are we?" I asked in a groggy tone, rubbing my eyes.

"Almost in North Carolina. We're going to stop soon to switch," Sam told me.

"I booked a hotel for us off the highway in Virginia," Bella spoke up.

"Okay," I said with a yawn. "For the others too?"

"Unfortunately."

A little while later, we stopped so that Sam could get in the backseat and stretch out while I got in the driver's seat and Bella sat next to me. We narrowly avoided having to see the others while we switched, which Bella was happy about.

While Sam napped in the backseat, Bella and I talked about everything under the sun, other than her boyfriend. I could tell she was upset, but if she wasn't going to bring it up I definitely wouldn't.

A few hours passed and it was dark out. We pulled into the parking lot of the hotel Bella booked and got out of the car. I opened the door to the backseat and leaned over Sam.

"Wake up," I commanded lightly.

Sam incoherently muttered something, blinking his sleepy eyes open.

"We're stopping for the night. Call your brother," I said, kissing his cheek and then leaving him to follow Bella into the hotel.

By the time I met her in there, she had already checked us in and handed me one of the room keys.

"I need to wait for the others because I booked the room," she told me.

"I'll wait with you," I replied and just after the words left my mouth, the other three walked into the hotel.

"Ross come with me to check in," Bella said, causing Ross to go up to the desk with her.

"Man, I am so done with all this driving," Christo complained, tossing his arm around my shoulder and using me to hold himself up.

Pete was quiet, obviously irritated over his fight with Bella.

A few moments later, Sam made his way inside and instantly came over to where we stood, pushing Christo off of me.

"Sam," he whined.

"You know I hate that," Sam argued.

"You hate me hanging out with your boyfriend?"

"I hate you hanging on my boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes as Sam put his arm around me.

"Oh my gosh!" Christo exclaimed, pointing at something behind us. "There's Christmas karaoke at the hotel restaurant tonight!"

I turned around to see the sign Christo was referring to. Hopefully, we wouldn't end up going there.

Luck was not on my side because after getting checked in and putting our things in our rooms, Christo dragged us all down to the hotel restaurant where some guy was loudly and badly doing a rendition of "All I Want for Christmas is You."

The seating in the restaurant was very informal. We sat ourselves and it was like we were sitting among everyone else who was here mingling and socializing.

"Someone do a duet with me," Christo begged as we waited for our food. "Ross?"

All eyes turned to Ross and I gave him a coy smile. His eyes widened as he sipped on his water.

"I can't," Ross said slowly.

"Why?"

"I'm Jewish," he replied.

I couldn't help but laugh.

Christo gave him a confused stare. "No you're not."

I couldn't listen to the rest of the conversation because someone pulled up a chair and sat down directly beside me, pulling my attention to them. He was a guy, probably two or three years older than me, with his lips quirked in a flirtatious smile and wearing a hideous Christmas sweater.

"I'm Evan," he told me, leaning closer.

"Mason," I awkwardly replied.

"Cute name," he said with a small laugh. "Almost as cute as you."

I almost gagged at his words and looked to Sam for help to see that he wasn't even paying attention, rather fighting with Christo about doing a duet. Stupid asshole. Can't even protect me from weird creeps.

"You look young. You aren't jail bait, are you?" Evan asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I cleared my throat, trying to get Sam's attention. "I'm eighteen."

His smile grew wider. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Excuse me?" Sam interjected, his face stern.

"Just asking your friend here if he wants to hang out," Evan replied with a smirk.

Sam let out a humorless laugh. "My friend?"

"Mason," he said, gesturing toward me.

Sam's eyes darkened as he glared at Evan, leaning over me to get closer.

"You mean my boyfriend?"

Evan's eyes widened and he appeared speechless for a moment. "Your–"

"Yes, my boyfriend," Sam spat. "So get lost before I make you."

Evan was up and away from me faster than I could even blink.

I turned to look at Sam with a smirk on my face while he glared at Evan's retreating figure.

"That was hot," I told him, leaning over to kiss his jaw.

Sam smirked down at me. "I guess I should get jealous more often."

I chuckled as he gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

The rest of the night was uneventful except for Christo doing an awful rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock."

The next day we finally made it home and I was ready to sleep in my own bed for a month straight.

***

Christmas Eve

"Guys wait!" Mae exclaimed as we rushed around, trying to get out of the house so we could leave to visit Sam's mom. We were already running late.

"Mae, we really need to get going," Jonah said in a slightly panicked tone.

Sam was busy trying to get Lila to put on her coat. She had gotten even more mischievous since the last time I saw her, running away from her uncle as he chased her around the house with her coat.

"I know, but we need to wear the matching Christmas sweaters I got!" Mae told him. She was already wearing hers, as was Lila, but earlier on Jonah had made it clear he was not putting the sweater on.

"Mae–"

"We're not leaving here until we all have the sweaters on," Mae said sternly, looking up at her husband with her hands on her hips. I could tell by the look on her face, she was going to get her way.

Jonah grumbled and walked away and up the stairs, presumably up to their bedroom to change into the sweater. He came down a few moments later, looking miserable in the ugly sweater with Miles following behind him with a matching look.

"Here," Jonah said, throwing my sweater at me, hitting me in the face with it.

I sighed, but threw the thing on over my t-shirt anyway. I didn't want to have to face Mae's wrath.

"I'm not wearing that," Sam said as he zipped up Lila's coat.

"But Uncle Sammy!" Lila complained. "You can match me and Masey!"

"Put the damn sweater on, Sam. We're already running late," Jonah demanded, taking Lila's hand to bring her out to the car.

Sam begrudgingly put the sweater on and came over to me with a sigh.

"Do I look as ridiculous as I feel?" he asked.

"Only a little," I teased. He shoved my shoulder before grabbing onto my hand and leading me out to the car.

The hour long car ride felt eternal as we listened to Mae and Lila sing along loudly to all the Christmas songs on the radio. Lila was a cutie but that girl could not sing.

When we finally made it to the prison, we did all the check-in protocol and then we were led to the large gymnasium where they were holding the Christmas Eve festivities. It didn't take long for Melissa to find us.

"I'm so glad you're all here!" she exclaimed, giving all of us brief hugs. "Come on, I have a table for us."

At the table, there were some coloring pages and crayons set up and also some snacks. Lila instantly began coloring a picture of a Christmas tree.

"So how was your first semester?" Melissa asked Sam and me.

"Pretty good," I answered. "Glad to have a break though."

"Sam told me you two are living together?"

"Yeah, we're in an apartment on campus," I told her.

"And he isn't driving you crazy?" Melissa joked.

"Mom," Sam said.

I laughed. "Sometimes."

"I love the matching sweaters," Melissa commented.

"It was all me," Mae told her. "These humbugs didn't even want to wear them."

"I wanted to wear mine," Lila pointed out. Melissa lovingly smiled down at her.

"Apparently these sweaters were worth making us late," Jonah muttered.

"Don't be a Scrooge, Jonah," Melissa warned her son.

"Grammy what's a Scrooge?" Lila asked, stopping her coloring.

I didn't listen as Melissa explained to her.

"No one else is wearing Christmas sweaters," Sam mumbled, causing me to look around the room.

"It's fine," I assured him.

"It wouldn't be so bad if we weren't all matching," he complained.

"It made Mae, Lila, and your mom happy," I reminded him.

"I guess."

"I put some extra money in the commissary for you, Ma," Jonah told her. "Figured I couldn't really bring you much else for Christmas."

"Thanks honey. You didn't have to do that though. You guys being here is enough," she replied kindly.

Later on there was some game in the middle of the gym that Lila dragged Melissa out on the floor for. It was some version of freeze dance with Christmas songs, but there were some extra rules that I didn't follow.

By the time we had to leave, it was already dark out. After a teary goodbye from Melissa, we left the prison and started our trek home.

"Do you think Santa already went to our house?" Lila asked me, tapping on my leg.

"Probably not. You have to be asleep for that," I told her.

"It would be easier for him if he came when we weren't there," she pointed out.

This girl was too smart for her own good.

"You're right but those aren't the rules," I replied.

"The rules are weird," she said.

"I know."

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. When Jonah pulled up outside my house, I bid the family goodbye and Sam followed me out of the car to walk me up to the door.

"See you bright and early tomorrow morning," Sam said, leaning in to give me a kiss.

"I love you," I told him.

"I love you too."

***

Christmas Day

I woke up to both Sam and Nathan standing over me.

"Get up," Nathan said with a shove. I shoved him back as I sat up.

"When did you get here?" I asked Sam in a groggy voice.

"A few minutes ago," he answered, sitting on the side of my bed. "I thought you'd be up."

"He should be," Nathan commented.

"Shut up," I told him. "And get out so I can change."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Hurry up. And don't do anything dirty on the Lord's birthday."

"Get out."

With that, Nathan left the room, shutting the door tightly behind him.

Sam got up from my bed and started going through my shirts hanging in my closet.

"Do you have anything Christmassy?" he asked, pulling out one of my shirts before deciding to put it back.

"I don't know," I replied, rubbing my eyes.

"Here," he said, pulling out a red and black checkered button down. "This is good enough."

"Thanks sweetie pie."

"Don't call me that," Sam grumbled.

"Okay. Thanks honey," I joked, pulling my shirt off to replace it with the one he picked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Stop, babe."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Low blow."

He knew how much I hated that pet name.

"You started it," Sam replied, moving to my dresser and opening up my pants drawer. He pulled out a pair of dark jeans and tossed them over to me.

"You have to hurry up. Your family is going to be here soon," he told me with a pointed look.

I quickly got dressed and finished getting ready before heading downstairs with Sam following me.

"Thank God Sam is here to get you up and moving," Mom joked, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Mom."

"Hurry up!" I heard Dad yell from the living room. "We have to do presents before people start showing up!"

I rolled my eyes as Nathan came out of the kitchen with two coffees in his hand, giving one of them to me, before we all made our way into the living room.

"Mase, catch!" Dad said, tossing a present at me.

Sam got in front of me and caught the box before it could hit me and spill my coffee.

"Nice grab, Sam," Dad complimented to which Sam just chuckled and handed me the gift.

We sat down on the couch and I placed my coffee down and began opening my gift just as Dad tossed another to Sam and then one to Nathan.

"I know we said we weren't doing anniversary gifts since we're both broke," I said as I handed Sam his gift from me. "But mine is an anniversary and Christmas gift."

"It better not be expensive," Sam replied, shaking the box. "Because mine will look so stupid if it is."

"It's not," I assured him.

Sam opened the present and opened the box to find the small silver pendant with our anniversary date on it. I figured he could add it to the chain he always wears.

"Aw, Mase," he said with a wide grin. "I love it. Mine really is going to look dumb now."

"No it won't," I said with a laugh.

"Don't laugh," he warned, handing me the box with my present in it.

I just laughed at him and started to open it as he took his chain off to add the pendant. I opened the box to find a slightly lopsided mug with our anniversary date etched in the side.

"I