Chapter Thirty-Eight
SUNNY
After a Christmas morning call with my parents, I stand on the curb as Sam pulls up to pick me up for an ugly sweater themed Christmas at Tyler's.
“Oh, my, god,” I say, seeing what she’s wearing. It’s the absolute farthest thing from ugly and the farthest thing from sweater.
“You like?” Sam shimmies her shoulders as bells from somewhere ring on her. She is literally a slutty reindeer.
“How are you not freezing?” I laugh.
“It’s called will power, baby.”
Sam’s outfit is barely an outfit to say the least, with brown shorts, big fluffy brown boots that go to her knees, and a cropped brown top with white accents on it.
Reindeer antlers sit on top of her head and her makeup mimics that of a reindeer.
And she has a red nose painted on. I won’t be shocked if she even has a little tail on her ass.
“You are something else.” I shake my head.
“Let's be merry.” She puts her purple jeep into drive.
Wow.
That’s all I can think when I walk into Tyler’s home. Christmas music is playing, lights are flickering, bells are jingling. I stifle a laugh, because it’s like I walked into a hallmark movie set.
“I guess I should’ve warned you, Tyler takes Christmas very seriously. That’s why he hosts it every year. Oh, and because he’s a fucking good cook.” Sam walks inside, making no notion if she’s cold, not even one shiver.
Seeing the rest of the family, I feel severely underdressed. Macey is my saving grace, and ironically, we both wear the same Christmas sweater.
When Anthony approaches is when I lose it. If Buddy the elf had a brother, it’d be him. Yellow tights, a green tunic and hat with a bell on the end.
“I thought this was ugly sweater?” I ask.
“Wait until you see Tyler,” Macey says matter of fact.
As if he’s summoned by her words, Tyler comes walking down the stairs. Arms spread wide in the Christmas onesie too small for his large body, he greets us, “Merry Fucking Christmas Family.”
“It gets worse every year.” Cole comes next to me and Macey.
Cole. Cole has an old green sweater on and duck taped a mirror to it. He literally duck taped a mirror with a handle to his sweater.
My laughing becomes uncontrollable, and it’s freeing, because I can’t remember the last time I laughed like this.
“It would be the two newbs who get a kick out of our bullshit.” Sam raises a glass and cheers.
“Sam! Seriously?” Tyler stands in his Christmas threw up on me onesie. “You didn’t even slightly follow the theme.”
“Sorry, I must have missed the memo.” She sips her sparkling cider.
“Disappointed.” Tyler looks at his sister.
“I think she looks great.” Anthony chimes, some bell ringing somewhere on his body.
“You would,” Cole murmurs, leaving me and Macey to sit with Anthony in the doorway. Tyler comes to the entrance, kissing me and Macey on the foreheads and takes our coats.
“Nice sweater.” He smiles down at me.
“Definitely not compared to you.” I observe the onesie.
Smiling, he gives me a wink and makes his way back to the kitchen to check on the food.
“Disappointed,” He reiterates as he greets his sister.
Sam waives a hand and saunters to the living room.
And I’m right. Sam does have a tail on her ass.
After an indulging dinner, the family sits around the tree like giddy children on Christmas morning. Grown adults sitting criss-crossed anxiously waiting for their present.
“Okay, so Sunny had Cole.” Anthony reads off a paper that has all our names. Cole grabs the present, gently shaking it and putting an ear to it in hopes to know what’s inside.
“You know if you just open it, you will know what it is,” I playfully bite.
“Alright, alright. Let’s not get our panties in a bunch,” Cole says, tearing the wrapping paper.
I found the record player at an old antique shop by my apartment. I saw it and knew he’d love it. I bought a few records, too.
“I remember one night at Martha’s you said that it sometimes got a little too silent living alone. So, I figured this would help cure it just a little bit,” I say.
He stares at it for a moment, a slow roll of his throat tells me that he’s trying to conjure up words. When his hazels flick up to me, they say all the words I know he can’t say right now.
“Thank you, Sunny,” he says, the words slightly hoarse.
I smile, because sometimes words don’t need to be said. A comfortable silence settles until Anthony breaks it.
“Okay, okay, Sunny is the best gift giver. We get it,” he teases. “So, Tyler, you’re next and you had Sunny.” Anthony reads the list.
Of course. Naturally, Tyler would be my secret Santa because life said why not? Right?
He sits crisscrossed in his onesie, smiling boyishly at me as he pulls a box out. It’s interesting seeing all the different versions of Tyler. This version is rare.
“Merry Christmas, Sunny.” He hands it over to me, a smirk pulling his lips.
Laughing when I see what’s inside, I pull out the brand-new scrubs.
“Told you I’d buy you new scrubs.”
“A man who holds true to his promises.” I smile.
“Only sometimes.” He winks.
I unravel them to hold them up and gasp when something tumbles out and into my lap. When I pick it up, I see a brand-new limited-edition copy of Looking for Alaska signed by John Green himself.
Find your way out of the Labyrinth, Sunny.
He remembered.
I swallow the thickness growing in my throat and blink back the unshed tears threatening to fall. My shaking hands fan through the perfect pages, until something falls from it.
“Is this gift inception or what?” I smile, peering up at him as my fingers touch something metal. Holding it up, I realize it’s a key. My brows crease and I look back at him. The soft look in his eyes has my heart picking up pace. I’ve never been so…admired.
“You buy me a new car or something?” I try to tease, but something tells me I already know what this is for.
“When your place doesn’t feel safe, I want mine to be your safe. Everyone else has a key, so it’s only fair you do, too,” he says.
I gnaw the inside of my lips as I look down at the key I twist in my fingers. I nod, with no words able to leave because if they do, I’ll lose the battle of my tears and start crying.
For so long, I didn’t have a safe space. Now, I have several, in all of them.
I’m on my feet and jumping in his lap as I wrap my arms around his neck. He chuckles as he tilts back by the impact, but his arms curl around me in a hug.
“Thank you,” I croak in the crook of his neck.
“Live by those words Sunny,” he murmurs. “Find your way out of the labyrinth.”
He remembered.