Family's differ from one another. Some are bigger than others and some are wealthier than other. Some have more problems than others and some avoid any sort of problem. Where my family is disfunctional and doesn't communicate, Tyler's family have people breathing done their necks and a 17 year old who is engaged. It's interesting how different our families are.
" No. Absolutely not." Rachelle exclaims as she stands up from where she was sitting at the dining table.
" What do you mean no?" Hayley asks utterly confused.
I see where this is going.
" No as in you're not getting married Hayley."
" He already put a ring on it. " Hayley states as she lifts her left hand to show the sparkly ring on her finger.
It's a nice ring. I wonder where the guy got the funds to pay for such a rock?
" And I'm putting an end to it. " George finally speaks up as he too gets up from his chair.
" Why don't you want me to be happy?" Hayley cries out.
I feel really awkward right now. This is a family situation and I'm just sitting here enjoying a piece of chicken.
" You're too young!" Tyler yells from next to me.
Of course that's what he would say. I wonder that if he knew earlier that this guy was engaged to his sister if I would've been able to stop him from beating him up? Probably not.
" I'm almost 18!"
The room falls silent again. All that is to be heard is the heavy breathing from the Andersons. I won't be surprised if the guy backs out of the engament after what he witnessed today.
" Mister and Misses Anderson-" the guy finally decides to speak up.
Bold move.
" Zip it." Tyler growls making me budge him in the rib with my elbow.
" Let the guy speak." I whisper so that only Tyler can hear me.
" I know we got off on the wrong foot here but I truly love your daughter and I want to marry her. I hope that you as her parents only want the best for her and will allow her to step into the next phase of her life with me by her side." the guy continues.
" What's your name? " the words accidentally slip from my mouth.
Everyone turns to look at me with questioning looks. What? It was bothering me okay. Not that I'll be able to remeber his name.
" Clark. " the guy answers with a light smile.
Clark. Not a difficult name to forget.
" I can't do this. Not the night before Christmas Eve." Rachelle sighs before walking out of the dining room.
" We'll discuss this in the morning." George warns both Hayley and Bark-I mean Clark.
Close enough.
I watch as George walks off after Rachelle. With the two of them gone it's just me, Tyler, Hayley and Clark left. I'm surprised Tyler hasn't jumped out of his chair and strangled the poor guy.
" Tyler please understand. I love him." Hayley pleads.
The poor girl.
I'm not saying that marrying at such a young age is wrong but I do understand why it would upset some people especially when those people are her family. They just don't want her to mess up her life when it's only starting.
Tyler doesn't say anything as he gets up out of his chair. I'm on my way to grab his wrist but I'm too late. He walks over to the two of them and stops a few inches away from Clark.
" Don't fuck it up." Tyler warns with a pointing finger towards Clark before he too dissappears out of the room.
That was intense.
Once Tyler left the room both Hayley and Clark's eyes land on me.
" Eh don't look at me. I'm not part of this family." I say in surrender.
Last time I checked I don't really have a say in Anderson family matters.
" Ally please just try and talk to him. I really do want his approval. He's my big brother." Hayley pleads.
The sad look she's giving me sends me all the way to my defeat. I really need to harden up and learn how to say no. But those eyes are just too damn sad.
" Fine. I'll see what I can do. " I sigh and get up from the comfort of my chair.
Hayley starts bouncing up and down while clapping her hands. Clark chuckles at his fiancé's reaction but nonetheless pulls her closer by the waist.
" For the record, you guys do make a cute couple. " I admit and wink in their direction before also walking out of the dining room.
I make my way up the stairs towards Tyler's room. The door is closed so I knock before peaking my head inside.
" Babe?"
" Outside. " I hear his faint voice.
I walk into his messy room and out on the balcony. Tyler is sitting on the roof where I saw him the last time we came to visit. I climb up and sit down next to him. Laying my head on his shoulder I take the moment to look out over the lights from the garden.
" I don't know what to do." Tyler breathes out.
" Just be there for her." I say truthfully.
" How can I be there for her when I know that she's going to regret this in a few years time?"
He has a point. If Hayley was Maddie I would have probably reacted the same way Tyler was reacting. It's a lot to take in but in the end it's her decision. We just have to pray that she knows what she is doing.
" We learn from our mistakes. " I state.
Even if their marriage doesn't last long she'll at least learn something from it. The important thing now is that Tyler sticks by her side seeing as their parents don't look too pleased with the idea. I don't know if they will come around soon but from the looks of it, it's going to take a while.
" You really mean a lot to me." Tyler whispers.
My eyes furrow in confusion at his sudden statement. I lift my head from his shoulder to see him already looking at me. He looks so sincere. So vulnerable. I've never seen him like this.
He better not try and put a ring on it- why should my conscience always try and ruin the moment?
" Sorry that was-"
" You mean a lot to me too ." I whisper, shocking both Tyler and myself.
Aww.
It's a cute moment I know.
" Are you serious?" Tyler asks completely shook by my words.
" Is there a reason why I shouldn't be sure? " I laugh awkwardly.
Tyler shakes his head before pulling me closer and crashing his lips onto mine. No matter how many times his lips lock with mine I'll never get enough of his taste.
" Stay." he growls over my lips.
" I wasn't planning on leaving."
***
" Rise and fucking shine!" I yell once entering Hayley's room.
I'm taken back when I notice not only one body in her king sized bed but two bodies.
Clark.
Well I mean they are engaged but them sleeping in the bed together is a little risky.
" Get out! " I hear Hayley groan through her sleepy state.
" Now Hayley don't be rude to your guest." I fake gasp.
" You're Tyler's guest. Now leave!"
I roll my eyes before taking a step back so that I'm a few feet away from the bed. Taking in a deep breath I do a little countdown before running towards the middle of the bed.
" Incoming! " I yell as I flop down onto the bed with some weight being on Hayley and some on Clark. Hopefully that'll wake them up.
" Is it too late to back out now?" I hear Clark mumble.
Both Hayley and I shoot him a wide eyed look before he bursts out laughing. I relax a bit knowing that he was only joking. After yesterday I'm still skeptical about him sticking around.
" We need to be down stairs in 10 minutes. It's your mom's orders." I notify Hayley before walking out of her room.
I did what was asked of me to do and that was to wake Hayley up. Heck I even did extra work by waking Clark up. That's sure to be a surprise to everyone when he struds down the stairs.
Rachelle barged into my room quite early this morning. Luckily Tyler's snoring woke me up at 3 am and I then decided to make a run for it to savor my last precious hours of sleep.
" Where's Hayley?" Tyler questions me as I walk into the kitchen where I was said to be in 10 minutes.
Yeah about that -
" Probably still on her way." I laugh it off which earns me a questioning look from Tyler.
Tyler pours me a cup of coffee while we wait for the rest of his family to gather in the kitchen.
" Where is Hayley?" George asks as he and Rachelle enter the kitchen after a few minutes.
Do I look like her keeper?
" She's -"
" Tired." I hear a groggy voice just before the missing two enter the room. Only I knew it was two and not just Hayley.
I can feel the tension rising in the room as all eyes land on Clark. He looks a little uncomfortable from the sudden spotlight but tries his best to hide it.
" Unbelievable." I hear Tyler mutter.
" Right. First thing first. The guest will be arriving around 7pm so make sure you're dressed by 6.30pm. The staff will handle most of the orders coming through for the party tonight but I do want us all to be in the kitchen at 2pm to bake our traditional Christmas cookies. Oh and Tyler would you be a sweetheart and run down to the chicken coop and fetch me a few eggs. " Rachelle announces.
" You guys have a chicken coop? "
" Yes. It's next to the pond. " George answers.
" You guys have a pond? " I ask in disbelief.
I hear a few chuckles before Rachelle goes back to giving us a few more orders and then leaving the kitchen along with Hayley to have a 'talk'. Tyler and I left short after which lead to Clark and George being the only people left in the kitchen.
May he rest in peace.
" Why do you guys have a chicken coop? Don't you have like 15 people to run down to the store and buy eggs?" I ask as we start walking across the garden.
" Mom likes the organic kind and she doesn't trust the organic brands in town." Tyler shrugs.
It makes a little more sense.
Not a lot.
But a little.
" I'm not going in there. "I state as we finally reach the chicken coop.
Tyler rolls his eyes before kneeling down and entering the coop. I turn around and look at the beautiful view of the pond in front of me. How did I not know they have a pond on their property? I've been here for a week.
Once Tyler managed to grab a few eggs we headed back to the house and left the fresh organic eggs in the kitchen for Rachelle to dig in later. I wanted to go shopping for a dress for tonight but Tyler warned me to stay out of the mall today because everyone is doing last minute Christmas shopping. Luckily Hayley offered that I wear one of her dresses for the party so let's just hope and pray I fit into them. It felt like only a few minutes passed before we were all called back at 2pm to start baking the cookies.
To say it was a disaster was to put it mildly.
Tyler of course wasn't happy with the idea of Clark joining in on the baking but Hayley quickly set him straight after a few minutes of arguing. George accidentally forgot to pour in the sugar and Hayley forgot to check the time and before I knew it the cookies were burned. Rachelle didn't say anything as she threw down her teatowel and stormed out of the kitchen.
I'm never making cookies again.
" That was-" Tyler starts off.
" Nerve wrecking." I finish off his sentence.
Tyler chuckles before helping me zip up the dress Hayley lend to me for the night. It's nearing 6.30pm and I definitely do not want to make Rachelle more upset than she already is.
" You look beautiful." Tyler whispers into my ear. A slight blush creeps up onto my cheeks before I turn around and give him a quick kiss.
The dress Hayley lend to me is an emerald green colored heart shaped dress that flows down all the way to my feet. I'm still surprised the dress fits me.
" Here." Tyler says as he pushes a black box into my hands that has a red ribbon wrapped around it.
" Merry Christmas." he adds with a light chuckle.
" But it's not-"
" Open it at 12am. Then it's officially Christmas."
A small smile reaches my lips as I pull Tyler in for one more kiss. The kiss gets cut off when we hear our names being called from down stairs, initiating that the guest are going to arrive soon.
Ho-Ho-Ho.
More like No-No-No.
Agreed.
_______________________________________
Heyyy!
What do you think Tyler got for Ally? ð
The next chapter is going to be chaotic ð³
Peace out âï¸