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We've Already Won

They made it back to Jersey by five. Mikey and Braelyn pushed through the front door and began shedding their coats when Gerard’s voice came from the top of the stairs. “Where have you fuckers been?”

Braelyn shared an awkward glance with Mikey before he answered, “Brae forgot something in the city. I ran her back.”

“You suck. I would have gone with you guys.” He was coming down the stairs. He caught sight of Braelyn’s outfit. “But maybe not if you were dressed like that.”

“Ouch. I’m so hurt,” she retorted.

“Oh, good,” Donna’s voice floated into the room. “You made it back for dinner.”

“Hi mom,” Mikey responded, walking into the kitchen to see his mother.

Braelyn followed leaving Gerard to do whatever it was Gerard was doing. She watched Mikey hoist himself up onto the counter, sitting next to the space where his mom was working, stealing a piece of carrot from the pile of chopped vegetables. Donna smacked his hand away.

“How was the trip?” Donna asked. “Successful?”

Mikey made a face. “Nope.”

“Well that’s unfortunate. But I can’t pretend I understand why you thought she’d come back in the first place.”

“It was a bit of a long shot, anyway,” Braelyn answered.

Mikey shrugged. “You win some, you lose some.” He leaned forward to kiss his mother’s cheek. “Can we help with dinner?”

“Can you help? Probably not,” Donna scoffed. “But Braelyn could stir the soup on the stove so it doesn’t burn.”

Braelyn laughed at the pout on Mikey’s face and did what she was asked. Mikey continued to filch food and he and his mother quipped back and forth until dinner was ready. Everyone ate together and then Braelyn, Mikey and Gerard went upstairs to hang out in front of the television before it was time to go to church. It was shockingly normal, given all the turmoil their little group had experienced lately. Sure, some of the jokes Mikey made at Gerard’s expense were a little meaner than the typical brother to brother banter, but he was still a little mad. His brother had kissed his girlfriend after all. Gerard seemed to understand and took the barbs good-naturedly. Donna came in to announce that they would be piling into the car at eleven and that they should all go get ready. Following instructions, Braelyn went to her room and changed into her Christmas dress, a simple dark green knee length sheath she wore with sheer beige panty hose, black ballet flats, and pearls. She arranged her curls so they fell neatly around her shoulders, glossy and tame. All set, she went downstairs to meet the others where they put on their coats and got into the car.

It wasn’t so bad, this time, being in between the boys. Probably because Gee wasn’t staring so hungrily at her. They laughed and admired the neighbors Christmas lights on the drive over.

“Now,” Donna said, as Donny steered the car into a vacant spot, “Mikey tells me, Braelyn, that you attend church when you’re not gallivanting around the country.”

“Yes ma’am,” she answered. “I try to go every Sunday.”

“Good girl.” Then she glared at the boys. “These two are no better than heathens.” There was a glint of humor in her eyes. “Can you keep an eye on these two. Make sure they stand, sit and kneel at the appropriate times?”

“Absolutely.” Braelyn’s grin was wide. And so she ended up between the two boys in the pew. Gerard fell asleep during the first reading, then Mikey and Gerard had a whisper fight over some rumor one of them had heard about the priest during the homily. Braelyn had to pinch Gerard’s arm and step on Mikey’s toes to get them to at least be quiet and respectful during the consubstantiation, but, she had to admit to herself, this Mass was highly entertaining due to the color commentary the boys provided.

“Did they change the words?” Mikey asked as they walked back to the car, arm around Braelyn.

Braelyn laughed. Donna answered, “I’m surprised you even noticed.”

“I’m hurt, ma. We were good little boys for a long time and went to church every Sunday,” Mikey answered back.

“I think ‘good’ is stretching the truth a bit,” Donny put in.

“Ouch,” Gerard said. “We did our best.”

Braelyn laughed at the family’s exchange, imagining how they had been as kids. She suspected lots of roughhousing. She didn’t have to imagine long because Donna launched into a story of the boys playing Office Chair Olympics which resulted in a black eye for Mikey and a broken arm for Gerard when they had lost control of their chairs and they had gone flying down the stairs.

“The best part,” Donna said when she finished, “Was that Gerard was-what-twenty years old at the time and Mikey seventeen? We’re talking about fully grown boys here. Not nine year olds who think it’s a great idea to skateboard while the other one tows them on a bicycle. They did that as well, if I recall, with equally disastrous consequences.”

Braelyn didn’t stop laughing until they reached the house and Mikey helped her out of the car. They all said goodnight to Donna and Donny before heading upstairs. Once changed, they reconvened in the television room watching some History Channel special on the birth of Jesus that claimed he was actually an alien.

“You hafta admit,” Mikey said, his voice a little slow with sleep. “That’s some solid research right there. I mean the Star of Bethlehem was probably a spaceship.”

Braelyn giggled and looked over to Gerard whose face was buried in the bright light of his phone’s screen. She nudged him with her foot. “Whatchya doin?”

There was a hard set to his mouth and he didn’t look up when he answered, sullenly, “Trying to get Quinn to text me back.”

Braelyn looked up at Mikey who shrugged and said, “Good luck with that.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic,” Gerard mumbled.

“Merry Christmas, I’m not.”

Just then, Gerard’s phone beeped. He stood quickly, a slight smile on his face. “I’m going to bed now. Night.”

As he left the room, Braelyn asked exasperatedly, “Did she text you back?!” He continued on like he didn’t hear her and she huffed, “Rude.”

“I would say probably,” Mikey answered for her. “Can we go to sleep now?”

“Yes please.” Braelyn snuggled up closer to him. “Night. Love you.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Love you, too. Merry Christmas.”

~~~~

Braelyn woke before Mikey did the next morning to Gerard’s footsteps in the hall. She sat up and stretched. She kissed Mikey’s cheek as he stirred. “I’m gonna go get some coffee, ok?”

He nodded in response, eyes still closed. Braelyn went downstairs and into the kitchen where Gerard was sitting at the table and his mother was cooking breakfast. She immediately asked if she could help.

“Oh no, dear,” she said, voice bright. “You sit down and relax. I can’t imagine sleeping on the couch could be very comfortable.”

She could feel her face turn red as a tiny groan escaped her mouth as she took the indicated seat.

“Now I don’t pretend that my boys aren’t young men of the world, but when they are in my house, I expect them to behave like-”

“Mom,” Gerard interrupted. “You should just stop.” To Braelyn, he said, “And you should probably explain.”

“Explain what?” Donna said, now haughty, her hands on her hips facing them.

Braelyn sighed. She didn’t know how she felt about telling anyone else who didn’t already know, but at the same time she didn’t want Mrs. Way to feel disrespected in her house. “I’m sorry,” she started. “I really did intend to sleep in the room you provided...it’s just...”

“Braelyn’s life is complicated,” Gerard tried to finish for her.

It wasn’t a satisfactory answer for Donna, obviously, who huffed. Braelyn tried to continue. “Some things have happened to me. Sometimes I get nightmares. Especially when I’m part of a-er-dramatic event.” She glanced over at Gerard. “They’re really vivid and frightening and I used to deal with them by not sleeping-”

“Which is sooooo not healthy,” Gerard pointed out.

“Right.” Braelyn looked Mrs. Way in the eyes. “But your son seems to banish those dreams for me. Without him, I don’t know if I could have ever gone back to sleep after To-” She stopped abruptly, not wanting to bring him into this otherwise pleasant space.

Donna’s face softened and she asked quietly, “And Gerard’s little display triggered these dreams again? Is that why you went still on the ice?”

All Braelyn could do was nod. Suddenly, she was being squeezed in a hug from Donna. The woman whispered without hoping for an answer, “What happened to you, dear?”

“She doesn’t talk about it much,” Gerard answered for her.

“I’m sorry, ma.” That was Mikey who was in the doorway now. “We should have just told you instead of sneaking around...”

Donna let go of the girl. “Oh, well,” she said, cheerily. “What’s done is done. We’ll move Braelyn’s things to Mikey’s room later. Now come help me ice these sweet rolls.”

Braelyn wore a relieved smile as she slathered on the icing. Mikey came up and stole some before kissing her cheek. Donny shouted from somewhere else in the house for Gerard to come help him. As Donna, Braelyn and Mikey put breakfast on the table, Donny and Gerard entered, each with an armful of gifts. All of them sitting down, Donna began passing out the presents, saying, “This is a family tradition. We all open one present before breakfast.”

Braelyn, Mikey and Gerard’s gifts were from Donna and Donny. They opened presents from their sons. Braelyn got a scarf, which she loved and needed because in Texas, you didn’t have to wear scarves...like ever. Mikey and Gerard opened up superhero t-shirts that made them as giddy as nine year olds. They had gotten their mother new Canasta cards and their father a funny tie. Braelyn noticed Donna’s eyes get misty over her husband’s present and Mikey leaned over to whisper, “We’ve gotten that man a tie every Christmas since Gerard was 12. Mom gets all sentimental about it.”

Presents opened and wrappings cleared, they ate breakfast and cleaned up. “Now,” Donny said, leading the way to the living room, “For the main event.”

Braelyn felt her eyes widen like she were a toddler experiencing Christmas morning for the very first time. There were so many presents. Way more than the five adults needed.

“Told you she goes a little crazy with this day,” Mikey said from behind her. When she didn’t continue to move, he took her hand and led her to the couch where they sat. Donny sorted out the piles for everyone. When it was finished, they all took turns opening and watching others open presents.

When Braelyn realized that most of everyone’s piles were small gifts like candy wrapped up and labeled ‘From: Santa’ she relaxed a little bit with the number of beribboned packages at her feet. She was pleasantly surprised to see presents from Tom and Marissa as well as from Addi and Gemma in her pile.

“They asked me where we were spending Christmas and I gave them this address,” Mikey explained.

She beamed at him. Braelyn enjoyed watching Donna open the soft sweater in pink that Mikey had assured her was Mrs. Way’s favorite color. She had gotten Mr. Way a book that Gerard had suggested. For Gerard, she bought a coffee mug so he could leave it at her apartment and stop stealing hers. He laughed and vowed never to drink from anything else again. Braelyn watched with anxiety as Mikey opened his present from her. She had never really bought for a boyfriend before. Certainly not for someone who made her feel like this. When she and Will had done Christmas, they didn’t have much money so they mostly did small handmade things. She always had bought Tom and Marissa things like picture frames. And Todd...well he had always told her exactly what to get him, no deviations from the list. So buying for Mikey was a complete mystery for her. Thankfully, while they were out shopping for his mom and looking at the Christmas decorations in Macys, she had noticed him eyeing a leather jacket. She had gone back a couple of days later and bought it. Now she waited impatiently as he tore at the wrapping paper.

“This is awesome!” He exclaimed as he pulled the jacket out of the box. Relief washed over Braelyn as he put it on. Then he put an arm around her and kissed her before saying, “Thanks Brae.”

She smiled up at him. “You’re welcome.”

They continued around the circle. Braelyn had opened up her very own set of Canasta cards, the French press she had wanted, a pair of sweet headphones from Gerard, as well as a framed picture of Addi and Gemma together at Addi’s birthday party from the girls, a new handmade bracelet from Marissa and Tom’s traditional gift of alcohol, this year a nice bottle of tequila, plus a Christmas card signed by the staff and regulars at the Rover accompanied with a picture. Then Mikey slid a box into her lap.

“This is from me,” he said a touch of pride in his voice.

She looked at him a bit suspiciously, but grinned wide and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver bracelet that had a star charm with pink crystals dangling off it. She gasped and immediately began to put it on.

Mikey explained, “You said you didn’t want anything so I asked Quinn and Stacy for advice, but it was Riley who saved the day. She said to me-no lie- ‘Girls are way easier to buy for than boys. Seriously, chocolate, puppies, and jewelry. Done.’ I thought chocolate wouldn’t be enough and you can’t have pets at the apartment.”

She leaned over and kissed him. “Thank you. I love it.”

He squeezed her around the shoulders.

Soon the present opening was finished and Donna brought out cookies while Donny queued up ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ on the DVD player. They watched the movie then Donna declared that they had to break Braelyn’s new cards in so they played a game of Canasta, Mikey playing with Braelyn, before they had lunch. Then people started arriving. First it was Frankie and Chelsea, then Ray turned up with Krista. Some people who Braelyn assumed were friends of Mr. and Mrs. Way came, too. Then the door opened the last time and in walked Bob. Frankie, Gerard, and Mikey all froze. Ray shrugged as Donna exclaimed, “But Bob always comes to Christmas dinner!”

It was Braelyn who moved first. She hugged Bob tightly and said, “It’s good to see you. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” he said back giving her a tentative smile.

Mikey was behind her, ready to shake Bob’s hand and the rest of the boys followed suit. It was super awkward, but Chelsea and Braelyn managed to keep the conversation going by updating Bob on Braelyn’s career. Luckily, it wasn’t long until dinner was served. The conversation at the table was lively and the meal passed quickly. Mikey, Braelyn, Gerard, Frankie, Chelsea, Ray, Krista, and Bob all went into the kitchen to do the dishes. Bob graciously excused himself as the tension rose a tiny amount saying his mother wanted him home to say goodbye to his extended family. Again, the boys shook his hand and Braelyn, Chelsea, and Krista hugged him. When he was gone for a few minutes, Frankie broke the silence and asked, “We don’t have to hang out with him again, right?”

Chelsea smacked him lightly.

“I mean,” Frankie defended, “I don’t hate him, or anything, but, you have to admit, that was awkward as fuck.”

The rest agreed and they moved on to their tasks, which really ended up as the boys doing the dishes and the girls sitting at the table admiring Braelyn’s new bracelet, Chelsea’s fancy watch, and Krista’s new bag.

Then it was time for everyone to leave. They all promised to see each other soon, at New Year’s Eve. Braelyn and the boys helped clean up the last of the evening’s glasses and dishes before dragging themselves upstairs. Braelyn decided to leave her stuff in her current room, changing into pajamas before padding down the hall to climb into Mikey’s bed, which was admittedly way more comfortable than the couch.

“Good Christmas?” He asked, sliding an arm around her.

“Great Christmas,” she answered.

He kissed the top of her head. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she answered, sleep already slurring her words slightly.

A/N: I'M SO SO SO SO SORRY. Thanks to Izzy, Melody, T, and Nicole for the reviews. I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I'll try to be better. Because it's been so long, I got you an extra long, happy, slightly mushy chapter. I hope you enjoy and that you haven't given up on me! Review please!! hearts, Corri