Chapter eighty-five: "Hide"

Christmas morning, I'm supposed to be excited...
But why the hell do I feel so drained at that fact?

Is it because of Cloud's entire family?
Nah, it's more likely due to the fact I have to face Theo again. That bitch ass son of a punk will not ruin my Christmas

There I lay on my bed with my eyes glued to the ceiling and feet of snow outside that we just shoveled last night
Goddamn it now we have to shovel the pathway again

Should I start getting ready?
Maybe I should, after all, this is my and Cloud's first Christmas together as a couple

Last year we didn't get to spend Christmas together since I was at the seaside and Cloud was called to celebrate Christmas with his side of the family

A light knock was heard on my glass window, there Cloud sat at the extra space on my window sill waiting to be let in

A huge smile formed on my face before hurrying on my feet to open the window or else he might catch a cold

"Hello m'lady" he winked at me when stepping in, I helped him brush off some snow on him because there was snow that fell from the branches of the tree

Cloud was very excited to see me that he pulled me close by the waist and we kissed lovingly in front of the opened window where the cold breeze got into my bedroom
Not that I mind though because I was dressed very warmly these season than the usual night dress that I wear to bed

One arm was around his neck and my other hand is laid rested on his chest which was warm and feeling his slow heartbeat was amazing. He pulled away from our kiss and started to pepper my face with more kisses that I giggle because it tickled me a little

After kissing my temple last I greeted him 

"Merry Christmas Cloud"

Cloud hugged me tightly "Merry Christmas Angel". We swayed together slowly as we enjoy the mix of the cold air and the warm sunshine coming through the glass window

My sharp ears went up when I heard footsteps coming near to my door
Oh shit

"Cloud I think you should hide" I whisper in his ear in a hurry before trying to hide him in my closet

My boyfriend just let me push him into the small walk-in closet "I don't think it's that big of a deal though, it's Christmas Angel. What is he gonna do?" he asked while looking at some of my clothes in the place

"The moment Dad finds out that there is a boy in my room regardless if it's my boyfriend or not, he will give you either the kick-out broom or a long embarrassing lecture about not listening"

I take that warning very seriously because Brie once invited a guy friend over to play board games with her in her room without Dad's permission and the poor boy got a kick out broom

If anybody wonders what a kick-out broom is, it is a method where Dad deals with boys in a nonviolent way. He holds a broom and proceeded to push the boy out of the house like cleaning dirt off the floor

But if the boys get too determined to stay then that's where Dad uses the method of scolding which is effective, I witnessed that when one of Caramia's admirers went into her room and didn't wanna get out until Dad shamed him about his habits and importance of personal space

If it goes any further by using brutes then we get to see cops pretty soon because Dad's not the type to get his hands dirty unless necessary

The doorknob started turning so I turned to Cloud a made a shush pose before closing the closet door and pretending to be on my phone in bed

Mom entered the room and scanned every corner with a sharp eye "Your boyfriend's here, isn't he?" she gave me a straight look in the eyes as she asked me without hesitation
I can lie but not to my parents

I sigh and nodded slowly. She chuckled "Cloud, step out please"

My closet door opened and Cloud poked his head out "I'm not gonna get in trouble with Mr. Price am I?"

"Goodness no! I'm not gonna hear the end of his nagging if he sees another boy in one of his daughter's rooms" Mom said making sure nobody was listening to this conversation

I glanced up at my mother "Wait so how did you know that he was here?"

She snorted "Sweetie I wasn't born yesterday, I used to be a teenager. You can fool your father but you can't fool me also because I saw Cloud enter your bedroom window while I was busy chatting with our neighbor"

Her eyes darted to the window "Take my advice, don't forget to close the curtains if he's here" she walked out of my bedroom and before closing the door "There are warm cookies downstairs given by our neighbor" then closed the door

"Well hiding me was useless" Cloud spoke after hearing her footsteps become quieter. My hand went to hold his to pull him out of the bedroom with me so we can eat Christmas cookies

Everybody in the kitchen eyed Cloud descending the stairs and my sisters were visibly confused

Wendy took a bite out of the cookie "When did he get here?" her mouth was still chewing the cookie while talking

Mom acted nonchalantly like she didn't know the real reason. Her arm went into the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk "He accompanied me to get Christmas cookies from our neighbor while on his way to our home"

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"So what are you planning to do? You both have separate Christmas parties to attend?" Alice asked me while we sat on a park bench with kids playing at the nearby playground where she is watching over her little brother

Cloud was busy making a chubby snowman with other little kids near the bench, Bun-bun sat on top of Coco while they watch beside Cloud who makes a now man of them too

"Me and Cloud decided to do the 50/50 since my entire family would be busy halfway through the Christmas party that's where we would go visit his family's Christmas party"
It's also a great way to not deal with the cramped space inside my home with all my relatives there. I also need to give my gift to Benjamin and Cloud's brothers

Alice puts her hand in the chip bag and puts a handful in her mouth, her little brother sometimes asks Alice to feed him because his hands are dirty from playing around the playground "Make most of your time, we gotta be home to help Dad with the food" she checked her watch just in case

I rested my face on the palm of my hand "So how is it with Will? We haven't chatted much anymore from how busy our life is after we all moved away to college"

She could only shrug at me

I raised a brow at her "What's that?"

Her eyes looked the other way before making eye contact with me "What's what?"

"That shrugging thin- DID WILL DO SOMETHING STUPID AGAIN?!" in a panic I asked that I stood up in the process which startled Cloud and the kids playing beside us

I laughed a little at how cute his started face was "Sorry love, just keep playing"

He grinned and patted Coco and Bun-bun's head before playing in the snow again with the kids

I leaned forward to Alice "What is going on? Be honest here. We've been besties since the first year when you were still in your slut phase so I can tell what's wrong"

"Me and Will decided to take a long break"
Huh?!

"But I thought things went well before me and Cloud left?"
There must be something wrong if the Alice before who is afraid to be separated, heck, be even ignored by Will she would start to cry

"Juggling studies and our relationship is a bit hard to balance, I don't know how you and Cloud do it but we can't manage" she wiped her watery eyes and sigh

There might be a lot of instances in the future where Will and Alice would go on and off again, I don't know but hopefully they would get through this