Step of Faith

Chapter XXIV: Mistletoe

Chapter XXIV: Mistletoe

Theo's POV

It had been almost two weeks since Claire showed up at our house. And to say the least, it was a blessing she had come when she did. I could feel it in the dynamic with Blair, it had majorly shifted and for the better, no doubt. Blair was much more open with everyone and it looked like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

But maybe it was because today was festive and everyone was engulfed in a veil of happiness and contentment. Tonight was Christmas eve and all of us had the same idea to stay back and celebrate at the hockey house.

Hockey House Christmas had been a tradition since our freshman year of college. Some of our families came up but we refrained to invite the people that would cause trouble. None of us had perfect home lives growing up and to a certain extent, it was what made us closer.

Now Blair was added to the equation but only her mom was coming up. Her dad had some sort of last-minute business thing but Blair didn't even blink an eye at it. She even seemed somewhat happy that he wasn't coming.

Now as she and I were driving to the local store to pick up a tree, the smile on her face never got smaller. The dimples in her cheeks were clear as day and she looked like a kid in a candy store.

"You happy it's Christmas or because you have an obsession with Christmas trees?" I sparked a conversation that earned a laugh from the girl.

"Christmas has always been my favorite. Ever since I was a kid. I loved all of the food and the colors. And the tree decorating especially. My parents never really liked celebrating but a tree was mandatory for me and Spencer," Blair's eyes glinted with joy, "Which reminds me, I always used to do it with him but do you want to buy each other a bauble and put it in the tree? You don't have to if you don't want."

"I want to. It means a lot to me that you asked me," I put my hand on her thigh and give her a reassuring squeeze.

"Great because if you'd have said no I would've asked Dean," a smirk tugs at her lips, and I squeeze her leg in a stronger grip which makes her squeal.

I feel so free with her like the two of us are the only people in the world. And no one can take that away from me. No one can take her away from me. And either way, I would never let her go.

Both of us got out of the car to look for the best tree. It was more like Blair had her mitten-covered hands strongly gripping mine to drag me around. She was a tree expert, as she had pronounced herself one when she was ten. And to be honest, I'd let the mad woman drag me to the deepest depths of hell.

"This one, this is it," She was already showing the worker the one she wants. But I wasn't looking at the tree, I was looking at her. Looking at how happy she was.

After my nightmare two weeks ago I didn't mention her brother or anything surrounding her family for a few days. I needed her to be open-minded and most of all I didn't want to reopen old wounds she might want to keep closed.

But I took Claire's advice and didn't let her push me away. There was no way in fucking hell that she would push me away or keep her emotions in that complicated head of hers. So I sat her down and I made her talk.

We talked about everything, starting with her family and ending with her brother. And why she hid it all from me. Her reasoning wasn't selfish or vindictive, it was purely a self-defense mechanism. She thought that if she hid it from me, she wouldn't have to deal with the memories of his death once again.

Coping had been hard on her, along with her father pressuring her to go back to how things were as if nothing had happened. That's why she didn't want to live through the whole process again. Blair assumed I would suddenly view her differently.