Under The Mistletoe

3| Hurt

Chapter 3: Hurt (Hope's POV)

I stared at the door, my palms sweating, my face heating up. It's the weekend. It's the weekend. The weekend Jonah was supposed to take me on a date. Turns out, he actually took me on numerous dates throughout the week. We had a lot of fun. He's actually really sweet and he takes a lot of care of me. He's a genuine person at heart, he's the type of guy I need in my life. 

But the butterflies never showed up. 

I'm still waiting on that one. 

The 'date' for this weekend, as it turns out, is me being invited to his huge family dinner. 

"Jonah, I think this is really bad timing," I said, resistant to going inside. 

"What are you talking about? There couldn't be better timing than this. It's the start of our Christmas break, you're all settled in the town, you're joining school when it opens after the break... this is great," he chuckled, locking his fingers with mine, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. 

"Yeah, but this is your whole family. Aunts, uncles, cousins included," I groaned, trying to pull him off the porch and back to his car. "Just let me go back," I whined. 

"They will love you. I forgot to mention, my best friend and his family are here too," he said, holding my face in his hands. 

"Great," I mumbled under my breath sarcastically. 

He smiled, kissing me softly. "You'll be great," he whispered. I took a deep breath, turning to the door with him. He opened it with his keys and led me inside. I could feel my heart pounding behind my ribcage. I hate feeling this anxious. 

"Honey, you're here!" his mom grinned, walking up to us. She squeezed him in a tight hug first and then turned to me. 

"Mom, this is Hope. My girlfriend," he introduced. 

"Oh," she grinned, "I'm glad you're finally bringing a girl home. Hi, sweetie," she turned to me, hugging me tightly. 

I blinked in surprise, hugging her back. "It's really nice to meet you," I flashed her a smile. 

"You too, come on in," she gestured for us to follow her. 

It took a good twenty to twenty-five minutes for me to meet and converse with all of his family members. This is very overwhelming. 

"Come on this way," he pulled onto my arm, leading me to the backyard. On our way there while I was looking around at his family, I spotted a familiar face. Two actually. First I saw Kimberley. She was talking to a boy her age. I felt my heart stop. Then I saw her mom, she was chatting with Jonah's mom. And I felt my stomach plummet to the ground. 

If they're here then that means he is too. 

"Finally, this is my best friend, Blake." 

I snapped out of it and turned to the front, stopping in my tracks. My lips parted, my jaw nearly falling to the ground but I kept it shut. I literally gulped. "Blake... Rivers," I exhaled. 

"You know him?" Jonah looked at me in confusion. I could feel Jonah's eyes on the side of my face, but I couldn't bring mine to meet his. My eyes were locked with Blake's. 

He was casually sitting at the table, his feet propped up on it, a beer in his hand. He stood up, setting the beer down, and stood directly in front of me. He sighed, his eyes locked with mine. "She used to," he said. 

I didn't know what to say to him. "Blake, hi," I mumbled. 

"How've you been?" he nodded at me. Acting as if nothing happened between us ever. Like he doesn't even know me.