Chapter 22

                                    

                                          
Today is Alec's birthday and I have never been so excited. I got him something that will for sure bring him to tears. Since that time where I found that picture in Alec's room, the one with him and his little brother. I decided that I'll make him a gift out of it. Alec had mentioned to me that his little brother loved elephants. He never told me his name so I went to see his mom about it. I told her my idea of a gift to Alec and she was almost crying by the end. I needed a little help from her as well.
                          
So my idea is that I went to this toy store where you can build your own stuffed animal. I found an elephant. I knew that I wanted this to be really special for him, so I asked his Nora if she could find any voice recordings of his little brother. And she did. 
                          
This one had him laughing in the background while Alec tickled him. It was years ago and it made my heart swell at the sound. So I used it and put it inside the doll. That way whenever he pressed the elephants collar, the audio would play. 
                          
The collar was the last thing to add on and I know exactly what do put on it.
                          
♡☺︎♡

                          
Alec would be home at any moment. I had asked him to meet me at his house because my mom would be at work. But little did he know that I was actually planning a surprise party for him. All the guys are here except Diego. I ordered him to stall Alec while we set up the living room. Both of parents are here, Cece, his cousins, his aunt and uncle, and of his other family members that live here. 
                          
It's 4:00. The time that Alec should be coming home with Diego. My heart is pounding at the nerves building up. I have his gift wrapped in a box. Two figures appear at the front door. Here goes nothing. The door opens and the lights turn on. We all shout a 'surprise!" when Alec comes into the house.
                          
And I never expected such a smile to form onto his face. I can tell he never really celebrated his birthdays. He stands there shocked. I run over to him and hug him tightly. His arms wrap around my waist, holding me just as tight. "Thank you baby." He says softly, then a sniffle comes after. Wait is he crying?
                          
I pull back to see his shiny eyes. I use my thumb to wipe away a fallen tear. "Don't cry." I say and kiss the tears away. 
                          
Everyone else gathers around us and give Alec hugs and pats on the shoulder. I grab a party hat and put it on his head. He looks adorable. "Smile." I say and bring out my polaroid camera. And he actually smiles. I take the picture and fan it in the air. Now this is a piece of treasure.
                          
♡☺︎♡

                          
The party is going great. We had cake a few minutes ago and Alec has never looked more happy. With everyone distracted, I take this as my opportunity to give him his birthday present from me. I wanted it to be private where no one else is because I know how hard this gift will take him.
                          
"Alec, I want to give you your gift." I say smiling happily. He sets down his drink and follows me to his room. We enter and I close the door with the box in my hand. "Sit." I say and we both walk over to the bed.
                          
I hold out the box to him. "So I just wanted to say that before you open this gift, I don't want you taking it the wrong way. Like you might think I'm so nosey I just had to go out of my way and do this but I wanted to give this to you because you mean so much to me. And I think being able to hold it is worth so much. So here." He looks at me and hesitantly takes the box.
                          
He carefully rips off the wrapping paper. Then he opens the box and takes out the stuffed elephant. I look at him intently as he observes the elephant. Turning it around until his thumb lands on its collar. He stops moving and stares at it and gasps. The collar reads 'William' his brother's name. His thumb grazes the light blue color softly and I can see the tears forming in his eyes. "Try press it." I say gently. He reluctantly presses the collar and the audio begins to play. A tear slips out of his eye and he is quick to wipe it. Then the audio ends and now it's back to being silent.
                          
Does he like it? Does he hate it? I can't tell. He's just staring at the elephant. So I decided to break the silence. "If you don't like it we can return it and you can just--" His lips crash onto mine. My eyes go wide from the sudden action but soon it melts into the kiss
                          
I take that he likes it.
                          
We pull away and he goes back to staring at the elephant, holding it to his chest. "Thank you baby." He says again and places another kiss on my lips. I cup his face and wipe away the remaining tears that stain his cheeks. 
                          
He carefully sets the stuffed animal on his bed and lifts me up and places me on his lap. His head rests against my chest and I let my chin land on top of his head, letting my hands run through is soft hair. "No one's ever done something like that for me." He whispers quietly. 
                          
"Well you're important." I reply back. I feel him tighten his hold.
                          
"I've never celebrated my birthday. Well the last time was with William, I just never bothered to celebrate it since. Briar......" He trails off.
                          
"Hmm?" I hum in response. Silence. He takes a deep breath before beginning.
                          
"William died on my birthday." He says it ever so quietly it's as if I wasn't meant to hear it. But I did. My heart breaks for him. I can't imagine losing someone I love on my birthday. I'd never be the same again.
                          
"Alec. I'm so sorry." I say tears starting to well up in my eyes. I sniff as a tear falls down my cheek. He pulls away and looks at me with concern. His thumb wipes away the fallen tears.
                          
"Don't cry." He says softly pulling my head to his chest, rocking us softly.
                          
"I just can't imagine what you went through Alec." I say sobbing. 
                          
"Shhhh." He says running his hands through my hair. It's as if we just swapped. Before I was the one consoling him, running my hands through his hair, but now it's him consoling me. And I'm not the one who went through what he did. "Let's just head back out, yeah?" He asks smiling, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. I can tell he's still sad.
                          
I reluctantly nod my head and we get off the bed and head outside to where the party is. Time to put a smile on our faces.
                          
♡☺︎♡