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"Bell."

I groaned, and rolled towards the darker side of my room. Pulling the covers over my head, I blocked out the artificial yellow glow that illuminated my room. Someone should really turn that off.

"Go away," I grumbled out, the sleep still evident in my tone.

"Wow, nice to know I was missed, Bell."

    I jerked awake with a start, seeing my brother sitting inches from me. "John?"

    His eyes alight, a smile upon his face. "The one and only."

    The corners of my lips tugged up into a smile as I tackled him with a hug. Knocking his body over, I laid my head on his hard shoulder. "You're home!"

    "Of course." He chuckled, glancing down at me. "I wouldn't miss winter break for the world." He gave me a light squeeze and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Plus, Christmas is only a few days away."

    The moment John mentioned Christmas, my grin went as wide as my cheeks would allow. To me, Christmas was special. In our family, Christmas was always filled with joy and laughter. I wasn't sure who started it in our family, but on the first of every December, our house would slowly transform and be adorned with glistening ornaments and Christmas lights. By Christmas day, our house would be freshly scented with gingerbread candles, roasted golden brown chestnuts, delicious hot chocolate, and peppermint candies. 

    "Did Mom put out the gingerbread scented candles yet?"

    "I definitely caught a whiff of it on my way up here."

I shot up from my seat. "Really?"

    "No." I felt my face crumpled. "But since you're up, hurry and get dressed."

I crossed my arms, and looked away before the slick smile of his spread. Ugh. He did that on purpose.

"Come on Bell, everyone's downstairs already."

My eyes flicked back hearing the slight change of tone in his voice. "Everyone?"

"Everyone."

    "Even Alex?" Mom did said he was visiting soon, but I didn't think it was that soon. When she said soon, I thought she meant after the New Years or something.

    He smiled back. "Even Alex."

    "Give me twenty minutes," I said and raced towards the bathroom.

When the bathroom door swung closed, I caught a peek of John patting Sweets as she buried her head in his sweater. A big smile appeared on my face seeing my brother like that. Why couldn't he be that carefree all the time? Instead, I have to deal with an overly emotional, unstable overprotective brother, and yet, I wouldn't trade him for the world.

I sprinted down the stairs the moment I finished getting ready. My eyes stopped moving when I saw the familiar blonde haired boy slumped against our living room couch. I couldn't help but notice the full-beard that clung to his face. I hadn't seen him in nearly a month and I was struck by how good the beard made him look. It added to his attractiveness and made him all the more handsome.

    Walking forward, I raised a hand to wave at him and called his name.

    "Isabella!" He smiled with ease when our eyes met. Wasting no time, he came over in fast, easy strides and pulled me into a hug.

    I embraced him back. "I missed you."

    "I missed you too," he said. "How's it going?"

    "Good." I smiled. "How about you and Jenna?"

    "About that . . ." He turned sheepish, causing a slight hint of pink to dust his cheeks. "We're getting married!" he finally announced.

    My eyes bulged at the news. "Holy shit! Are you kidding me?" I practically screamed. "Alex, congratulations!"

    "Thanks!" He gave me his big goofy grin. "The date hasn't been set in stone yet, but we're thinking about September. We're hoping you and your family could make it."

    "Seriously? I'm also invited to your wedding?"

    "Of course." He looked appalled I even had to ask. "I stayed with your family for a year—I think that would classify us as friends. Why wouldn't I invite you to my wedding?"

    I shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't think—"

    "Bell!" I heard my brother's voice scream. We both jumped, startled at the angry tone. "What's this about you suddenly staying out late at night?"

I groaned. Dad.

I turned around and saw John studying me with his arms folded tightly across his broad chest. Just seeing his face rigid with tension was enough to make my breathing rapid and shallow. "I was—you know, hanging out with Amanda."

    His gaze hardened. "Amanda was with her sister last week. Try again."

    "How do you know that?" I asked. Was my brother a secret spy or something?

    "I still keep in touch with Ember."

    Shit. There goes that excuse. "Um . . . well, ah—"

    "Isabella Elizabeth Ace." His teeth clenched together. "Tell me the truth. Right now," he demanded.

    "John, I think you need to lighten up. Isabella didn't do anything wrong here. She's old enough to—"

John sent a nasty scowl toward Alex. "Not now Alex."

"But John, you can't control—"

"—not now," he almost growled, shutting Alex up.

    I gulped nervously when his gaze directed themselves at me again. It wasn't long before I wilted under his stare.

"Okay, fine." I met his eyes. "I was—I was with um . . . Thomas."

    "Thomas?" I watched as the blues in his eyes glowered three shades darker. "As in Thomas Reed? The fucking asshole that made you cry!"

    "Yeah . . ."

    His nostrils flared. "Why the hell are you hanging out with him?" he shouted.

    I fidgeted, feeling the anger radiating from his skin. "About that, you see—"

    "Just answer the question, Bell! Why are you hanging out with him?"

    "He's well—" I squeaked, "—technically my boyfriend," I said, whispering the last part softly. I shut my eyes, bracing for the explosion that I knew was inevitable.

    "He's what?" he bellowed at the top of his lungs before I could even cover my ears.

I shrivelled before him, hiding behind Alex as John's face turned red with suppressed anger. "Please don't be mad at me," my voice tumbled out softly.

John closed his eyes and drew in a lungful of air. His shoulders relaxed, and his lips bear the semblance of a smile. "Bell, I could never be mad at you," he said, "but that doesn't mean I'm not going to kill him."

My eyes widened, seeing the dangerous glint in his eyes and the smile completely wiped off his face. He wouldn't. John couldn't beat up Thomas. Not now. Not ever. If Thomas sees him, everything will be over.

"Wait!" I ran past Alex and grabbed John's wrist.

    He halted in his steps, cranking his neck to look at me. "What?"

    "Please don't," I managed to say, enlarging my eyes. "You can't touch him."

    "Give me one good reason why I can't."

    "B-because—" I stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse. I couldn't exactly tell him about the revenge plan. Something tells me he'd be even more mad at me for listening to Amanda.

    "Because what?"

    "Because . . . because—I like him!" I blurted out.

    John stared at me with his mouth hung open. "Please tell me you're joking, Bell."

    "Um . . ." I tried to formulate a complete sentence, but my brain couldn't register anything beyond the fact that I just admitted to my brother—of all people—that I liked Thomas. In that moment, I knew if I spoke, my words would fumble and something even more stupid would come out. It was incomprehensible, and yet my body didn't fight it. I could feel the last wall of pretense slowly crumbling apart, and the rush of emotions taking over. It filled my body with this bizarre sensation, but for the first time ever I could honestly say it wasn't unpleasant.

    "Well?"

"I—"

    "Isabella, someone's at the door for you," Mom shouted from a distance.

I mentally thanked Mom for the interruption.

"Coming!"

    I shot John an apologetic smile and rushed towards the door. I cracked the door open, thinking it was Amanda.

    It wasn't.

    It was Jason.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Yes. It's been two months (sorry >.<) Yes, I'm back. And yes, I will be updating on weekends now (it will most likely be on Sundays).

Don't forget to leave a vote, and comment! I'll love to hear your thoughts (especially from readers who already read the first draft!)

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