% CHAPTER 5 %

"Ready or not Lorelei, here I come!"

I hear a high pitched giggle coming from under the sink before it's muffled. So she's hiding under the sink. Smart girl. I take quick note of that before walking out of the kitchen.

"Lorelei where are you?" I ask loudly, so that she can hear me. The sound of pots and pans clattering around in the kitchen attract my attention. She's moved. I pretend not to hear it. "Are you..." I look under the bed, "here?" Nothing's there of course. "Hmmm. Maybe," I head towards the closet, "you're here?" I walk back to the kitchen. "Where are you Lorelei? You're so good at this game!"

More giggles escape from my little sister's mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a cabinet door opening until I can make out a child's eye watching me. "Found you!" I say and open the cabinet door swiftly. "You were hiding in the pantry!"

Lorelei giggles uncontrollably. I'm in Oregon, visiting my family for the Winter break.

Lorelei's cute grey eyes look into my blue ones. She has brown hair like my mother and her skin is like a porcelain doll's. Just like mine. I've always hated having such fine skin. A lot of guys pay attention to me because of it. It doesn't help that I have fiery blue eyes to go along with it either. It's amazing how unlike water my eyes can be.

"Kids! Dinner's ready!" I hear my mother say, before the pantry door is agape. "What the-?! What are you kids doing in the pantry?" Both Lory and I can't control out laughter. Soon enough, my mom joins in. "You two little rascals," she says as she messes up Lory's hair. "Come on Lorelei. Let's go pick out your juice for dinner."

All of us get out of the pantry just as my stepfather is walking in. "What the-?! What were you three doing in the pantry?"

We all start laughing again. "Wow what a day," I say.

My stepfather -- I call him dad because he is much more of a dad than my father will ever be -- has gray eyes and dirty blond hair. His skin is a bit tan, which is really uncommon in the northern part of Oregon, but since we're closer to California, he's managed to retain his caramel skin tone.

I pinch the baby fat on Lory's cheeks before helping her on her chair. She's five now and growing fast. Lorelei is actually my stepdad's child. She's my half sister, but I like to think of her as my full blooded sister. Just because we only have half of the same blood doesn't mean we should treat each other differently because of it.

"Just one more day Tay and you have to go back to work," my mother says with a trace of sadness in her tone. I nod.

"Aw I don't want Tay to leave! Mommy make Tay stay!"

I wrap my arms around Lory's chubby little waist. "It's okay Lory. Tay will be back. And when she's back she'll have more," I reach into my back pocket and get out what I'm looking for, "lollipops!"

"Lolli! Lolli! Lollipop!" Lory chants.

"After dinner." I wink.

She nods vigorously. I smile. She is just too cute.

We eat dinner and I give Lory the lollipop, just like promised. After that, I walk her to her room and open the movie case.

"What movie do you want to watch?"

"Princess and Rock star!"

I smile and look for Barbie: the Princess and the Rock star. Lorelei's obsessed with that movie right now. To me, its okay, but they totally based it on Barbie: Princess and the Pauper. I love that movie to bits! I'm a fan of old Barbie movies. After tucking Lorelei into bed, I turn on the TV and put the movie in.

"Sleep tight my little one," I say and kiss her forehead before walking out of the room.

"Taylor sweetie," my mother says. "How has the movie been?"

I roll my eyes. "Well to be honest, my 'lover' is quite a jerk in real life."

Dad chuckles. "Boys are like that when they have a crush," he taunts.

"Oh stop it dad," I say, a faint blush rising to the surface. "He's a complete and utter pain."

My mom laughs. "Well we were wondering for the last day if you wanted to go to Hollywood Studios with the family."

I gasp. "I would love that!"

This Winter break had been amazing already. Lorelei and I went swimming, shopping, and fishing. We watched lots of movies as a family and went to the zoo. And now we're going to Hollywood Studios!

"We'll pack in the morning," Dad says.

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Did you put some trash in the plastic recycling bin?"

I feign innocence. "That must have been some other adorable kid named Taylor Bradwick," I say.

Mom chuckles. "Go get it out really quick. They won't take the recycling bin if you don't get it out Taylor, remember?"

I grumble. "I know."

After taking the trash out of the recycle and putting it where it actually belongs, I make my way to Lory's room. The movie is still playing, but she's sound asleep. I turn off the TV before getting into bed and wrapping my arms around her tiny little waist. My last thoughts are about Hollywood Studios and California as I drift off to sleep.

***

"Rise and shine princesses! It's time to get ready!"

I reluctantly rub the sleep from my eyes before getting up. Lory is already bouncing up and down, excited for the new day.

"Hollywood Studios here we go!" I say out loud.

I pack my bags for the trip to California. I'm going to bring a few new clothes and shoes with me for work. I decided that when I'm off the set, I want to look good, not like a girl with a bedhead and morning clothes. I pack some photos of me and Lorelei as well as some with my stepfather and mom. Those two are made for each other.

After the packing is done, I bring a camera and my new phone. It's a touchscreen flip phone. It's an old model, but I honestly don't care. I don't need a fancy iPhone or anything. I've already got my mom and stepfather's number in there. I also have Derek's just in case of an emergency. No one else though. After the movie, I'm hoping to catch up with my friend Whitney. I haven't seen her in a while.

"Tay! Hurry up! Or we'll start driving without you!" My dad shouts throughout the house. Of course he's only joking.

I run out of the house with my bags. It's gonna be a great day.

While riding in the car, Lory and I watch the scenery change and talk about fairies and Christmas. My Christmas was amazing. We all gathered around the tree and opened presents like a real family. I always love doing that. Before my mom met my stepdad, it wasn't really like that. I mean my mom and I would open presents together and everything, but it just didn't feel like a family. Now it does. And I'm thankful for that.

Throughout the ride, after Lorelei falls asleep, my mind begins wandering towards the movie, and to one person in particular. Bret. What did Bret do for Christmas Break? Did he have as much fun as I was having? Was he hanging out with his friends and family and, possibly, a girlfriend? I frowned to myself at that last thought. What did that have to do with anything? I thought back to yesterday, when my parents had questioned me about him. I had said he was a jerk and a pain, but who was I to judge? Maybe I was remembering him far worse than he actually was. Maybe I had been a little too harsh.

In the end, I dismiss my thoughts about Bret and take a nap. He's probably actually a jerk anyway.

We reach the Hollywood Studios. This is where some of the sets are for some movies like The Grinch. I love the design of that one. It's so original. I watch Lory's eyes widen as she looks out of the little tour train and sees the Grinch set, with it's snow and cool building structure. Lorelei, like me, loves The Grinch movie.

After touring some sets on the train, we take a family photo. Then Lory leads us to the kiddy rides. Of course I don't mind though. Her face glows as she goes around on the Mary-Go-Round. When we stop for ice cream, we all laugh as Lorelei gets it all around her mouth. This is one of the greatest amusement parks I've ever been to. And we all went as a family.