I'm here. (Tim Bradford)

~12~

Maya Jackson

Me and Tim goofed around for a bit until Nyla showed up. I let her in not realizing that Angela was also there.

"Oh hey Angela" I smiled kindly at her.

They both walked in and put their presents under the tree.

Almost everyone from work was gonna be here, well the main group anyways. I also invited their families. Nyla and Angela told me that James and Wesley would be here later with their kids.

"Well I was expecting girl time... not that having Tim here is a bother or anything" Angela jokingly points her finger at Tim who just gives her a stare before smirking.

I looked over at the dining table and saw an assortment of different types of foods, drinks and alcohol. I made a few of the things on the table and bought the drinks but I still felt as though today was going to be extremely special and hopeful.

"So Maya, why was Tim here before both of us?" Nyla questioned me, while Angela gave me a curious glance.

"I called him go come over and help before everyone got here. We've been working on all of this stuff all morning." I lied through my teeth, waving my hand around to show the decor and gifts. I knew lying to them was like trying to say I didn't commit arson when there is proof of it. But they took my answer as that and didn't push for anything else

Everyone else started to slowly show up, Aaron and Celina showed up together first.

Then John and Bailey. And they all filed in after that. Everyone brought something different for foods. And we all had or designated gifts. Obviously I had went all out on gifts due to the twenty plus gifts under the tree. But it didn't bother me at all.

One of my biggest love languages is gift giving, seeing the smile on my loved ones faces when I get them something meaningful seems to bring peace to my mind just for a little while.

I brought out all of the cold dishes, and vegetarian dishes as well. I was always open to cooking and trying new things so I made a cool fruit salad I had never done before.

I don't really typically eat meat unless it's a special occasion. Although I do love pasta quite a lot- I got cut off by my thought process when I saw Tim pacing back and forth while being on the phone with someone.

I walked over to him and mouthed "everything okay" but instead of giving me an exact answer he told me to go back inside.

I was nervous. After that incident when first meeting Tim, it's become extremely more difficult to trust people and to not always be checking my shoulder.

People always seemed to get so angry when I'd do things they did or tried to fit in the way they did so eventually I just went on my own way, deciding my career and riding with it.

I wanted to know what was bothering Tim, and for him to tell me to leave meant it was something serious.

I pushed it to the back of my mind and continued to chat with everyone.

We eventually got to the gift giving part, all of the gifts were very thoughtful and well planned. It was wonderful seeing the smiles and chatter between everyone.

I was very quiet and shut off throughout this though. I was being eaten by worry. There was this stomach drop feeling I've felt since the call Tim was on.

I knew something was wrong but I was more so scared of what it is. I need to protect these people, no matter what.

~~~
To be continued.

So sorry for the short chapters! Life has been very hectic recently so my updates haven't been as frequent. I would just like to say thank you all for the support on this story, it really means a lot to see so many of you interacting and overall enjoying the story as a whole!