“It’s not Christmas without a tree,” I said, feeling my face heat and my eyes fill with tears.
I didn’t want Enzo to see me cry over something so stupid, so I ran to my room and locked the door behind me.
A few seconds later, he knocked on it. “Hey, kid, don’t be upset. It looks great out here, you don’t even need a tree.”
I laid down on the bed. “It’s not Christmas without a tree,” I sobbed. The reality of the situation, including being without my family over the holidays and the danger that had been looming over us since we’d arrived.
I started crying into my pillow, wishing it was my own. Homesickness crept in, especially since I didn’t know when I’d be able to go home or see my family again.
I could hear Enzo talking, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. All I could focus on was how sad I was about Christmas, my family, and the danger I’d put everybody in.
I must’ve drifted off to sleep because I woke up to the sound of something breaking. Panic gripped me and I hopped out of bed and rushed out of the room. “Enzo?”
The scene I walked into wasn’t what I’d expected. My jaw dropped as I took in the sight of a huge Christmas tree, fully decorated with lights and ornaments.
I darted my eyes to Enzo, who knelt down to sweep up the broken pieces of an ornament. “I wanted it to be finished before you came out here; thought it would be a nice surprise.”
My stomach fluttered. “What? How?”
He laughed at my stuttered questions. “Did you not see the trees around here? They’re everywhere.”
“No. I was asleep on the way up and didn’t really pay attention when we’ve been outside.” I looked back at the tree, noticing that snow still dusted some of the branches.
“Wait…” My brows furrowed as I pieced together what Enzo had done. “Did you cut down this tree yourself?”
He smirked. “Yeah. We have some on the property so I went to chop one down.”
I scoffed in disbelief. “No big deal, huh?” Warmth filled me, and my chest tightened at the gesture. “You didn’t have to do this for me.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away as he cleared his throat. “I know, but I wanted to. It’s bad enough I had to drag you out here away from your family.” He went over to the table and grabbed the star topper and held it out to me. “Do you want to do the honors?”
Taking the topper from him, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew my cheeks were pink from the heat I felt in them. “I’d love to.”
Enzo pulled a chair over to the side of the tall evergreen, then helped me step up on it. Then, I reached up and placed the star on top of the tree. When I got down, I plugged in the lights, thentook a couple steps back and appraised the finished product. “Now it looks perfect in here.”
I looked up at Enzo in a combination of disbelief and glee. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me.”
Smiling back at me, he put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me against his side. “No problem, kid. I’m glad you like it.”
Even though I’d been spoiled my whole life, I couldn’t remember a time where someone had gone out of their way to do something like this for me. Of course, my parents bought me whatever I wanted but it wasn’t anything like this.
We stood in comfortable silence for several seconds before Enzo removed his arm from around my shoulders and cleared his throat. “I’m starving. I’m going to make dinner.”
“Okay.”
After dinner, I sat in my favorite chair and sketched the outside. The snow had stopped falling and the wind didn’t whistle as loud. Enzo was standing at the window, watching outside like always.
Uncertainty started to creep in as it usually did when things were quiet. “Do you think we’ll make it out of this?” I whispered.
His jaw tensed, but he didn’t look at me. “Doesn’t matter.”
My chest tightened. “Why not?”
“Because we’re already in it.”
That didn’t make me feel better. I stood and walked the few feet between us to grab his hand, lacing my fingers through his. He didn’t pull away.
The firelight danced on his face, softening the sharpness in his jaw, the tight set of his mouth. For once, he looked… human. Not the man sent to clean up messes. Not the shadow who followed blood.
