BEXLEY TURNER

A GROAN ESCAPES MY mouth when small hands push on my back, shaking me to consciousness. I pull the comforter over my head and slowly start to drift off to sleep until someone yanks the comforter off of me, a gust of cold air hitting my body and my eyes snapping open. The first thing my eyes land on is Nash who is holding the comforter in his hands, an excited grin on his face.

"Mama, wake up!" He squeals, crawling on the bed to sit on my stomach. I make an oof sound when he plops down on my chest. I grab my phone off of the bedside table and groan when it says seven a.m."Santa came!"

"Did he?" I tickle his sides and he giggles, pushing my hands away and crawling off of me before pointing to the door.

"Come on," he begs and I crawl out of the very comfy bed, grabbing my phone and sliding on my slippers before I follow him out of the bedroom and into the living room.

Nash happily runs over to the Christmas tree and plops down next to it. I take a seat on the couch and wave sleepily to Chrissy and Jared, who are holding mugs in their hands, dressed in their matching Christmas pajamas that our family wears every year.

"Good morning," my mother says when she and my father stroll into the living room, carrying a box of presents each, a smile on each of their faces. It's literally seven a.m., stop smiling.

"Morning," I mumble and grab the box of presents for her and follow my father to the Christmas tree, placing the individual presents under the tree. When we're done placing the presents under the tree, I take a seat on the large couch next to my parents.

"Still not a morning person I see," my father teases and I nod, rubbing my tired eyes.

"I'll never not be," I laugh and grab my phone off of the couch cushion. My fingers click on Hayden's contact and I type out my message.

Hey, Hay, what time are you stopping by today? I send and suddenly, I'm aware of how nervous I am to see him today after our kiss yesterday. The kiss we shared brought back so many memories from six years ago. From our first kiss, to the kiss we shared the day before I left Oregon and Hayden behind.

"Mama, can I open presents now?" Nash asks excitedly.

"Go ahead," I nod and watch him tear the paper off of a round object while I wait for Hayden to text back.

A few minutes later after Nash is a quarter-way done with unwrapping his presents, my phone buzzes in my hand.

I'll be there around ten. Is that okay? I read it and start to type a response, but Chrissy places a few presents in my lap.

"These are from Jared and me," she smiles at me and I grin.

"Thank you," I tell them, my cheeks warm with a blush.

That's perfect! I send and then turn my phone off.

I look down at the three presents that Chrissy put in my lap and grab the smallest one, a square-shaped box. With a satisfying tear, I rip the paper off and flip open the velvet box. Inside is a ring with Nash's birthstone, garnet, in the middle while small diamonds surround it on either side.

"It's beautiful," I gasp, tears springing to my eyes. "Thank you!" I slide the ring on my ring finger with a shaky hand.

"Of course." Chrissy smiles and blows me a kiss. "We're glad you like it," she says and bumps shoulders with Jared who grins.

"Like it? I love it!" I stare down at the ring, mesmerized.

The other two presents are boxes of self-care items. Body wash, candles, a loofa, and a few smaller items, as well as a necklace. The rest of the morning is spent with everyone opening their gifts and Nash playing with a train set he got from Chrissy and Jared. How I'm going to fit his gifts in my truck I have no idea, but I'll make it work.

❄︎

A knock at the front door makes my heart lurch in my chest. I place my mug of coffee on the counter and stand up, walking to the front door and smoothing out my outfit for today. I'm dressed in a light brown colored sweater, light blue skinny jeans, and white converses to top it all off.

"Open it," Chrissy grins and gives me a pointed look before walking back to the kitchen.

After taking a deep breath, I turn the doorknob and pull the front door open, locking eyes with a grinning Hayden, who has a large box of presents in his hand.

"Morning, gorgeous," he greets me and in a matter of seconds, my cheeks are hot with a blush. "Merry Christmas."

"Hey, Merry Christmas," I breathe out and open the door wider so he can step inside and set the box down. When he slips his snow-covered boots off and smiles at me, my heart skips a beat in my chest.

"You look beautiful," he grins and follows me into the living room, where my mother gasps in shock when she spots Hayden.

"My, God, It's been so long." Her eyes remain wide as she stands up from the couch and gives Hayden a hug. My eyes land on the floor as guilt bubbles in my stomach. I not only hurt Hayden when I left, but I also hurt my family.

"It has, Mrs. Turner," he pulls away from the hug and gives my father a nod, shaking his hand. "Sir."

"Glad to see you again, Hayden." My father slaps his shoulder and I watch from the doorway with a half-smile.

"Dad!" Nash squeals and I watch as his little legs run over to Hayden, latching onto his leg, a smile on his face.

"Hey, kiddo," Hayden responds and picks up Nash who wraps his legs around his waist, his new toy train in his hand. "I brought you some presents." As soon as those words escape his mouth, Nash's face lights up and he pulls out of Hayden's arms, running to the box of presents.

"Can I open them?" He asks excitedly and Hayden nods.

"Go ahead. Yours have your name on them," he says and grabs a few presents out of the box and gives them to Nash and then he turns to me. "I got you something too."

I smile and bite my lip nervously. "Thank you."

"You haven't opened it yet. Don't thank me yet," he laughs and gives me a small, rectangular box. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Nash tear into the presents, telling his grandparents what he got, a happy and satisfied smile on his face.

My hands grab it from him, shaking slightly. "Your present is under the tree. I want you to open yours first." My legs move over to the Christmas tree and I grab the present that has Hayden's name on it. Once the present is in my hand, I walk back to Hayden and take a seat on the ground, next to him.

"What is it?" He shakes it slightly, a small smile gracing his features.

"Open it and see," I laugh lightly. My heart beats nervously in my chest and I continue to bite my lip, nerves everywhere in my body. Is he even going to like it? What if it upsets him? Will I be able to comfort him or will he push me away? Fuck.

When the satisfying sound of wrapping paper being torn meets my ears, I watch as Hayden pulls the scrapbook from the paper, an unreadable look on his face. He holds up the scrapbook, showing me the front that is a baby picture of Nash with the words, Nash Levi Wilson.

"I had been making it over the years in case I ever came back to tell you," I whisper nervously. "If you don't like it-" I ramble and I'm cut off as a pair of soft lips gently meet mine, catching me off guard, but I welcome them with ease.

Hayden pulls away, meeting my eyes slowly. It's only now that I notice the unshed tears in them. "I love it, Bex. It's amazing. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," I smile, my hand caressing the side of his face, the pad of my thumb running over the slight stubble that sits there. Realizing what I'm doing, I quickly drop my hand into my lap and clear my throat.

Hayden clears his throat, his cheeks pink with a blush, matching mine. "Open yours."

I do as he says and tear the wrapping paper off of the box, revealing a black, velvet box. My shaky fingers flip the box open and I gasp. Inside is a beautiful bracelet that has diamonds surrounding a silver plate that has Hayden's name and birthstone as well as Nash's.

"It's gorgeous," I gasp, trying so hard to keep my tears at bay, but one slips past my barrier and soon, the others follow.

"No, you're gorgeous. It's pretty, but combined with your beauty, it will be beautiful."

Thanks for reading!