Chapter 5 (Vicky's POV)
If I told you once upon a time I was this bitter hateful girl, I bet you would never believe me.
But I was.
You could say Aron came into my life at just the right time and saved me from my own destruction.
My parents were never in the picture.
Sure, I lived with them. They just weren't around.
My mother was either sleeping with her new flour of the week or she was looking for him.
And my father you ask?
Well, to be honest, he did try.
He worked 2 jobs, in the summer even 3, and came home destroyed and exhausted but still tried to spend some time with me. But his eyes were empty. Destroyed by my mother's betrayal.
When I was only 9 years old he mysteriously passed away.
My thoughts are that he was murdered.
Probably you wonder why such thoughts…
A few weeks before I received the awful news, I overheard him on the phone with someone that didn't sound nice to me at all.
So I think my father got tangled up in some not-so-legal businesses and paid the price.
Still, I wasn't ready to give up on his case and I was still looking for new evidence.
After my father died my mother was even more absent, until one day she left and never came back.
I was 10 years old at that time.
Since I am too stubborn to admit defeat I simply took care of myself until Aron came into the picture.
He learned my story and made sure to invite me over to his house for dinner as often as I would allow him.
Aunt Liz was amazing and I can't thank her, Aron, and Ana enough for making sure I survived those years.
So that's why I would never turn my back on any of them.
They were my only family.
But back to the present.
I was standing in Mason and Rachel's living room, surrounded by all the new additions to my chosen family.
And I was just trying to understand what good I did in my life to deserve them.
I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly someone's arms circled my waist.
I turned around to find Ana there smiling at me.
She was the sweetest person I ever met and I was so grateful to have her in my life.
But that spark of mischief that was in her eyes let me know she was up to no good right now.
And surprise, surprise… Nah not really…her next words prove my theory to be correct once again.
"Oh my dear Vicky. Why are we hiding our feelings? They are all so in love, don't you think we deserve some happiness as well?"
I was barely able to contain my laugh, especially when I turned my eyes to the other four people in the room and saw shock written in their eyes.
In the next moment, I was already on board with her evil game.
I lowered my voice but made sure it was still heard clearly by everyone.
"But Ana, we talked about this. What if they reject us? And don't forget about your mother. She would have a heart attack for sure."
A small giggle escaped Ana's lips, but she made sure it was too quiet for others to hear it.
"Come on Vicky. Let's do this. Aron, Becky, Mason, Rachel. I want you all to know that me and Vicky are secretly dating for months."
Aron was trying to get any kind of words out of his mouth, others were simply standing frozen in place, looking at us with eyes wide open.
But I couldn't hold my laughter anymore, so I popped like a balloon and Ana joined me a moment later.
It took our audience to realize what was happening in just a few minutes but by then we were already laughing so hard, tears were running down our cheeks.
"You bitches! You really had me there!"
And a moment later both Becky and Rachel jumped on us and we were laughing like crazy.
It was good to have a family as crazy as you.
There was never any bad blood between us and I liked that. Alot.
And I can't even describe how much this feeling of belonging meant to someone like me.
They accepted me with all my flaws and past mistakes.
They were more than friends. The people surrounding me at this moment we're my siblings.
They were a shoulder to cry on when needed, a voice of reason when I was on the verge of making a mistake but never turned their backs on my stupid ass.
After a few minutes, we finally managed to calm down a little and sat down on the sofa again.
Aron was the first to speak.
"You girls are crazy, I hope you know that. You gave me a heart attack. But not because of me, I was trying to figure out how to tell aunt Liz that Ana actually wasn't kidding when she told her she is changing sides."
We were again giggling like little schoolgirls and even Aron managed to chuckle.
"Now we need to figure out where to have our Christmas party. I know we all have our own houses, but I doubt any of us would love to cook and clean after the whole bunch, including all our parents and everything."
We all shook our heads in unison, but suddenly a thought hit me.
"Wait, guys. What about my place? I mean not my house, but the restaurant? I can prepare everything during the day already, and we will clean it with my staff after the holidays."
Becky gave me a stink eye at my words and I had I idea why.
"You missy can prepare everything. On two conditions. We bring presents for your staff, and I want to know how many of them have kids. Also, we will clean together after. Other people won't clean after me and my family. It's just not right. They are already preparing everything and they should also clean it. No way"
Now I understood that stink eye and I gave her a huge Cheshire cat grin.
"I can deal with your conditions. So is everyone on board with the plan?"
They all gave a nod and suddenly I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
It would be the best Christmas any of us ever had.