Surprise in a Box

On the sixth day of Christmas....

BPOV

Crash!

What the hell was that? Of course the one morning I was looking forward to sleeping in I get woken much earlier than I wanted. While I was still waking up, I heard bells and paws running all over my apartment. I groaned.

“Damn cats,” I grumbled. I loved my two cats to death, but sometimes they get on my nerves when they are hyper. Reluctantly, I sat up and got out of bed; shivering when the cold air met my skin. “I hate winter.”

Yeah, I don't get 'jolly and happy' during this time of year. I haven't had the best Christmases growing up and it's left me with a bad taste in my mouth. The people from work nicknamed me 'Isabella Scrooge'.

They wouldn't be so eager to make up names when they find out in January it's bitten them in the ass. That's what they get for antagonizing the boss. I'm the owner of the bookstore slash publishing house, New Dawn. They often forgot that I have eyes and ears all over this place. I won't be made a fool of.

I may be a bitch at work, but they have to learn that they can't walk all over me because I'm a young attractive woman. I'm sick of that shit. It happened all through college and internships till I finally got where I'm at today. Guys learned it pretty quickly when they placed a hand on me and I kneed them in the family jewels. Don't mess with me.

The only time I let my guard down is when I'm with my family and closest friends. I am a completely different person with them. It gets tiring being two people, but hey that's life. Nothing in life is fair.

But this year, I want to edge away from the bitch and more towards the person that I actually am, only stronger. I've tried it in the office; people look at me strange. So I give them a bright smile, tell them to take a picture it'll last longer, and to suck it the fuck up. It's a step, but I'm working on it.

When I opened my bedroom door, I wanted to close it right back. Mia and Snoopy had gotten into the blinds, knocked the mail off the kitchen table, and were now trying to get into the Christmas tree. For God sakes! It's not even Christmas yet; we still have a couple days.

I growled. “Seriously?! You decide to make this mess now? Ugh! So much for a holiday break.” I started moving around; taking in all the damage. They knew that they were in deep shit, so they stayed on the opposite side of the room.

It wasn't actually a lot. I was more angry about the fact that I had to wake up earlier than I had planned. I wanted to sleep in for once. Being your own boss in a large well-known business keeps me busy; my day usually starts at 6:00am sharp and ends at 9:30pm, sometimes later.

I may not be a Christmas person, but I love the long holiday I get for it.

I placed my hands on my hips and looked around the room. “Now where to start?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I had the rooms cleaned in less than an hour. I was just about to sit down and rest, when my stomach made itself known. I'm not really a breakfast person, but I guess I worked up an appetite.

I looked in my fridge to find that there weren't any suitable options. There were things that were not for breakfast, stuff that looked long past expired, and items that I had no idea what they were. Looks like a grocery stop is in my plans.

Since I was hungry I took a fast shower and was dressed in twenty minutes. Just as I was about to reach for the door a loud knock startled me.

“Fuck!” I yelled out, holding my hand on my chest. You'd think I'd be used to loud noises, having troublemakers for pets. Once my heart calmed down, I looked in the peep hole.

There was a UPS delivery man looking at his electronic clipboard. Curious, I unlocked and opened the door.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Yeah, I have delivery for a Ms. Bella Swan. Is that you?” the man asked, looking up from his electric notepad.

“I'm her,” I answered and he shoved the notepad in my face telling me to sign. I told him to put it in my living room and I'll deal with it later. I was expecting a small box, not a box that was taller than I was.

After he left, I locked up and went to the grocery store. No matter how much I wanted to open that crate, my stomach was demanding food. Luckily most people were still sleeping; I was in and out in a matter of minutes. One thing that was not on the list but bought was a crowbar. I had a feeling that I might need it.

Once I had the food put up, I grabbed the crowbar and made my way into the living room. The crate was a couple feet taller than me and looked to be a few feet wide. When I moved closer I noticed... breathing holes? Why would a box need breathing holes? It's like someone would send me a -

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed. What if there was a living thing in there and I left them in there for thirty minutes plus however long they were in there before? I ripped off the card and candy cane that was on it and pushed the crowbar in between the panels. When I noticed I wasn't making any difference, I saw that the sides were being held by the top.

I quickly got my chair and stood on it. After a few yanks and pulls, the top clattered to the floor and the sides started to fall down. I quickly stepped backwards to avoid being hit. I closed my eyes, hoping that splinters wouldn't get into my eyes.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As soon as the panels fell, a man collapsed to the floor gasping for air. He was wearing a gray shirt under an open black jacket and dark jeans. He looked pretty cute, but I'm still concerned as to why he was in the box delivered to my home.

Thankfully, I still had the crowbar in my hand. I have no idea if this guy was safe of not.

I was about to ask who the hell he was when he spoke through gasping breaths.

“What.. took.. you.. so .. long?” he finally managed to spill out. He was still grabbing his throat and taking deep breaths. So I made a quick exit to the kitchen and grabbed him a bottle of water. He drank it greedily.

“I went grocery shopping. Why the hell are you in a box?” I demanded. I may be a good hostess, but I need some answers.

“I'm a present for you,” he said in a velvety voice. Holy shit, that is one sexy voice. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I didn't need to think with my hormones right now.

“Why would someone give me a man? I don't need a man.” I said angrily. I bet it was Alice that did this. Always trying to set me up with people. She was obsessed with matchmaking, but she really didn't make good matches. First, it was Mike Newton, who was full of himself and never heard a word I said, Alec Gellar was an arrogant son of a bitch and the first to be victim to my powerful knee. No means no, asshole. The few others just wanted to get into my pants or further their career.

“Did you read the note that was on the box?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

I huffed and crossed my arms. “No. I was busy worrying about if something was breathing in the box.” He handed me the green card and I grabbed it roughly.

I opened it and pulled out the stationary paper.

Dear Bella,
As promised, one boyfriend for Christmas.
Love, Santa

What. The. Fuck? I stood shell shock, staring at the note for who knows how long. This sounded so familiar, but I couldn't get past the mental roadblock.

I finally looked up at him. He looked around the room, inspecting every decoration I had. When he picked up the small snow globe, everything came rushing back.

I was twelve years old and it was Christmas time, and I was at the mall with a few friends. We were being dorks and decided to give into the Christmas cheer and sit on Santa's lap.

I didn't know what to ask for. I didn't need any toys. I figured it out by the time I reached Santa. When he asked me what I wanted, I told him I wanted a boyfriend for Christmas. He said that he'd see what he could do.

That Christmas, I found that snow globe wrapped under the tree, with this inscribed on the bottom:

A promised gift will come my dear,
a love thats true and steady.
Between now and the twenty-eighth year
when two hearts are ready.

I never knew what it meant. Year after year, I didn't get a boyfriend or they weren't 'true and steady'; I started losing faith in Santa and Christmas. I haven't looked at the snow globe in a few years.

I stood up shakily and headed towards the mysterious man.

“Santa... is real? He did this?” I asked, barely getting the sentence out.

He nodded. “Hi, I'm Edward. I'm your Christmas boyfriend,” he said as he reached his hand out for me to shake.

My heart was beating rapidly.

I managed to squeak out a 'Hi' as I reached out to meet his hand. I didn't know if I made it because the next moment I was facing the ceiling and the world faded to dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*