A Change Could Do You Good
A Change Could Do You Good
Chapter 22
By Sarah Donnen
Christmas. Just looking around and seeing that it was Christmas reminded me of the first Christmas Nick and I spent together. Although I practically avoided him at all costs, I realized that I was avoiding him because I didn’t know how to act around him. Now, though, I’d give anything to see him, just once.
"Aly?"
I looked up at my mom as she entered the kitchen. It was the first day of Christmas break and I’d just woken up. It was already eleven-thirty.
"Baby, I have to go on a small trip, but I’ll be back in two days, ok? Jane will be calling to make sure you’re ok and I don’t mind if you spend the night there. I promise to be back in two days, I just hate having to do this on short notice. Be careful when you go in and out, lock the doors, and don’t have any wild parties, ok?" She said, rushing around the kitchen.
I nodded and pushed away my half-eaten bowl of cereal. I was losing my already almost non-existent appetite. "Sure, Mom, have fun," I said.
My mom gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out of the house. I knew her job was important to her, so I never protested when she had to leave. She knew the buttons to push with me, like I did her. We shared a strong bond and it wasn’t going to ever be broken.
I got down from the stool I was sitting on and threw away the rest of my cereal. I got dressed upstairs quickly and then headed over to the Carter’s house. I was supposed to be over there today, but not until about one. I decided to go early, Jane never minded if I did. I opened the front door as I always do and looked around the normally noisy house.
"Hello?" My voice echoed, that’s how empty it was. No one was there, it kinda scared me. I wondered why no one was here, but shrugged it off. Maybe that’s why she didn’t want me there until one, because no one was going to be around until then. I didn’t mind, I liked having the house to myself, it was never this quiet. Not even at night. I played with the dogs in the backyard and walked into the house after a while. I looked at the clock and saw that it said one-oh-five. I was starting to get worried and walked into the kitchen, hoping Jane had left a note on the counter. She had, I just didn’t see it before.
"’Aly, we had to go out and get some things, but we’ll be back by one-thirty, make your self at home and don’t leave. Love, Jane and the family,’" I read aloud.
I turned the note over and spotted something, it looked like Aaron’s writing.
"There’s a surprise for you coming!" He wrote.
I wrinkled my forehead in thought, he probably didn’t mean me, and it was probably something old. I threw the note in the garbage and walked to the living room. I sat on the couch and hugged my knees, rubbing them. Even though it was warm in the winter as well as the summer, I’d adjusted to Florida temperatures and now my standards of cold and warm were different from what they were in Jersey. A lot different.
About twenty minutes later, I heard the front door open and laughter. I knew Jane’s laugh when I heard it, BJ’s too. But then I heard a few other voices, one’s I couldn’t quite distinguish who’s they were. I walked to the hallway and saw a flood of people coming in the door.
"Aly! We’re back!" Jane called. I came out from the corner I was hiding behind and had the shock of my life.
"Aly!" Nick exclaimed as he ran to me. He picked me up and whirled me around, then hugged me close. I nearly started to cry, I missed him so much.
"Don’t cry, I missed you too," Nick whispered in my ear. It was like he could read my mind, I loved it.
"Hey! Don’t hog her, we missed her too!" Brian exclaimed, walking over to the two of us.
I let go of Nick and gave Brian a big hug. "Hey, Kentucky Boy," I said.
"Hey, Aly-girly," he said. He’d given me that nick-name when he saw me dress up for a dance once, he’d called me that ever since because I never dressed in anything but jeans and T-shirts.
"Don’t I get some sugar too?" Kevin asked from behind me. I gave Brian a quick kiss on the cheek and reached up to hug Kevin. "Aww, its my little sis," he said, giving me a big bear hug.
I gave him a kiss on the cheek and he put me down. "How’s my little sis been doing?" He asked, bending down to look at me.
"I’m ok, Kev, I’ve just missed you all a lot," I said.
"Did you just say that you missed me?" AJ asked as he walked over. I smiled and gave him a hug.
"Yes, wild child, I even missed you," I said.
"Aly, we’ve all missed you," Howie said, giving me a hug.
I hugged him back and then Aaron and Angel came running over to me. "Do you like your surprise?" Aaron asked me.
"You mean that was meant for me?" I asked.
Aaron nodded. "Yup, and we knew you would enjoy it," Angel said.
"Do you two still finish each other’s sentences?" Nick asked as he walked over to us.
"Yup, its fun," Aaron said.
"But a little confusing," Angel added.
I smiled and looked up at Nick. He was just as gorgeous as I remembered, probably even more so. I gave him another hug and just held him, I didn’t want to let him go.
"I know you all are happy to see each other, but please take in your bags!" Jane called from the door.
Nick and I broke apart and helped bring in all the bags, setting them in the hallway. We all sat in the living room and talked for what seemed like eternity, catching up on everything. Nick and I sat together and, as everyone else straggled off to bed, we went outside and sat on the dock, him holding me in his arms.
"Do you know how much I’ve missed you?" He asked.
I nodded, leaning my head against his chest. "Yes, I’ve missed you just as much."
A chuckle vibrated through his body and he pulled me off his chest. "I missed you so much, I’m surprised the guys didn’t all kill me ‘cause all I talked about was you," he said, brushing a few strangles of my hair out of my face.
"You talked about me? Why?" I asked.
"Because I missed you, and everything I did, I thought of something you and I did, and I had to tell them about it. But whenever I went to bed, I imagined you were singing to me again and some of the home-sickness went away," he said, kissing my forehead.
"You imagined me singing and I turned on my CD player to listen to your voice over and over again. I’ve missed you so much over the past few months, I thought the time that you’d come home would never arrive," I said, playing with his hair. It was so blond now, and cut in a nice style just above his ears, but some pieces still fell in front of his eyes. Those beautiful sea-colored eyes.
"Aly," Nick started. He leaned down and kissed me gently.
Oh God, how I missed his lips on mine. We just sat there and kissed for a while. An hour passed, then another, we were just caught up in each other. If we weren’t kissing, then we were holding each other and enjoying each other’s presence. I loved being in his arms, he made me feel so safe and protected, and like nothing could ever harm the friendship we had together. We had such a strong bond, we were connected by mind and soul. He was my soul mate, I was sure of it. It got dark and we sat there, being with each other. When I was starting to fall asleep, he brought me inside, leading me to the family room. Everyone else in the house was asleep, it was nearly midnight. He sat on the couch and pulled me after him, then laid a blanket on the two of us. I was nearly asleep again when Nick nudged my arm.
"Aly? Would you sing for me, please?" He asked sleepily. I could tell he was going to fall asleep at any moment, but didn’t mind. I nodded and closed my eyes, holding his hands in mine. I started singing our song, both of ours favorite.
"Lying beside you, here in the dark, feeling your heart beat with mine. Softly you whisper, you’re so sincere, how could our love be so blind? We sailed out together, we drifted apart, and here you are by my side. So now I come to you, with open arms. Nothing to hide, believe what I say. So here I am, with open arms, hoping you’ll see, what your love means to me, open arms." I stopped singing for a moment to get ready for the next verse, then realized that Nick was asleep. I yawned and leaned back, feeling Nick’s arms tighten around me. I closed my eyes and laced my fingers with his as I fell asleep.
