The Christmas Gift

Jane was busy decorating the tree with her son, feeling a sense of pride for him, before the doorbell rang. She ran over to get it, and her son continued on without her, choosing the 'most empty' spots to place the ornaments. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, thinking of how far her son has come. She answered the door, and was surprised to see that one of her old neighbors was standing on her front porch. 

He held a wrapped present, and offered it to her. 

"Hey, Ms. Winters. I heard about the hardships you have recently been going through, and I thought that maybe you needed a gift like this to cheer you up."

Jane's smile faded. She wished that no one in her neighborhood had witnessed that awful spectacle last Christmas, when her husband was led out of the house in handcuffs. She had no idea what he was, and it tore apart her whole world. She was angrier with herself than what she learned, all because her son also learned the truth. They had to move out of their small town, and go somewhere where they wouldn't be recognized. 

Despite several idiots wanting to ask her why she had married a monster like her husband, at least it wasn't as bad. And her son got to have a much normal life, actually being able to have friends, instead of being seen as an outcast back home. But she unfortunately had to move to a neighborhood where one person recognized her, such as this strange neighbor, holding a gift for her. 

She always forgot his name, and she strongly suspected that he was a bit creepy. Jane could have sworn that he was stalking her, but her biggest fear was calling the cops, and alerting everyone to where she lives. The last thing she needed was starting all over, being forced to move somewhere else with her son.

"Thank you, sir, but I don't like to accept gifts from strangers. My boyfriend wouldn't like it too much."

"I think we both know that you're not seeing anyone, Ms. Winters."

He barked out a laugh, and Jane felt like punching him in the throat. 

"Sir, I think you should leave."

"I didn't mean to offend you. Please, accept this gift -''

Jane slammed the door in his face. The man let out several expletives, and dropped something on the front porch. She wouldn't doubt that it was the gift. She froze in her tracks, wondering if now he was going to rat out where she lives, ruining her son's chance at happiness again. 

"Mom? Who was that?"

Her son was holding up a random ornament, confusion on his face. She was thankful that he looked so much like her. 

"Just some guy. It wasn't important."

"Mom, you know that you don't need to keep protecting me anymore. I know that you're still going through it, but trust me, I'm fine. I promise."

Jane felt tears well up in her eyes, and she went over to hug her son. A sudden explosion rocked Jane forward, knocking her on top of her son. In her shock, she didn't realize that he had crawled on top of her, shielding her from this unknown threat. A low moan was echoing from her throat, she sounded like an animal that was about to be put down. 

She slowly stood up on shaky legs, her son with his arms wrapped around her waist, helping her stand up. The front door was gone. Well, the entire area where her front door once stood, along with the front porch, had been completely obliterated. Jane let out a loud sob, realizing that both her and her son would have died, if she had accepted the gift. 

Her son held her, as police sirens were getting closer to the house. Someone had called 911, and Jane no longer cared about people finding out who she was. She was grateful that her son was alright, and that was all that mattered. Whatever came next, she knew she would be alright. Her son said so, and she believed he was right. 

They were led out of the house, and the madman was arrested after Jane told them who it was. They had discovered multiple diaries of his obsession with Jane and her son, believing that he had found the perfect family, all because of their past. He believed that same darkness found in Jane's husband was in her, and this man knew he wasn't normal himself. 

She had apparently rejected his advances a long time ago, which Jane had no memory of. He saw this rejection as the end of the world, and he built a bomb to ensure both Jane and her son's death. He had dropped the gift on the front porch, hoping that they would both still die, but if it hadn't been for the speech from Jane's son, she would have died if she had still been in the vicinity of the explosion. 

Jane and her son had stayed over at another neighbor's house, one that welcomed them both with kindness. She didn't care about their past, and respected Jane's son, for always volunteering to mow her lawn for free. 

They both had a wonderful Christmas, despite the media going into a frenzy over the attempted murders of Jane and her son, who were once in the close proximity of a serial killer that lived in their home before he was arrested. 

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn