12/24/2015

chapter seventeen ;

♡

Leah glanced briefly in the mirror – took in her chocolate curls, her long eyelashes, and her burgundy-painted lips – and sighed. Her brows furrowed in frustration.

"I am definitely not hot."

A smile grew on my mouth. "Ivy's right. You are pretty hot."

Ivy stood behind Leah in the mirror of my bathroom, smirking at Leah's reflection. She held the tube of lipstick expertly – and I had never believed someone could hold lipstick with expertise.

When the girls were gathered, of course Ivy had to practice painting a face and styling hair other than her own. As if she actually needed to practice.

And suddenly Ivy turned on me, the smirk on her red lips growing. "You're next, darling."

"Oh, no." The smile fell from my face, and I backed away, approaching my bedroom. "No, I'm not, Ivy."

Ivy's impossibly intricate curls bounced around her perfect face as she nodded, approaching me all the while. "Yes, you are, Makayla – You are not getting out of this."

"Can I get some help, Leah?"

Leah turned to face the two girls, a smile slowly curling at her lips. "You didn't help me."

"I'm guessing this is why you have mostly guy friends."

Startled, I whipped around to find Kenny and Bertram sitting on my bed. Bertram had been the one to speak, and although his words were directed to me, he was not looking at me.

"What the hell – How did you guys get in here? How did no one notice?" I breathed. And then I whirled on Ivy again. "You were facing them, how did you not see them?"

Ivy's smile was closed-mouthed, but she still somehow managed to brighten the room with it. "I did. I just wanted to see if they would scare you or something."

My mouth parted in mock hurt. "Rude."

The bathroom door slammed shut, earning everyone's attention. Leah had closed herself in. "I am not letting the boys see me like this."

Bertram grinned smugly. "Oh, we already did, sweetheart! We were not disappointed."

"Speak for yourself, Bertram," Kenny mumbled. "I mean – not that I didn't – "

"Oh, save it, DeNunez," Ivy smirked. "I work wonders. Leah, you don't need makeup to be beautiful, but I made you look like some kind of queen."

I nodded, accepting the comparison. "I could see that."

"Anyway," Kenny sighed, standing to his feet, "we came to steal the girls from you, Kayla. Benny wants you to go over to his place."

My brows furrowed, although I immediately went to slide on my shoes. "What for?"

"Don't really know," Kenny shrugged. "But I do know that the four of us" – he indicated himself, Bertram, Ivy and the bathroom door – "are going to catch a movie."

"A movie?" Ivy frowned, crossing her arms. "At three in the afternoon? Is that even legal?"

Bertram bounced to his feet and strode forward, linking his arm with Ivy's. "If it's not, we'll have even more fun, won't we?"

Ivy pondered this, perfect brows pulling together. And then she nodded. "I guess you're right about that, Weeks. I don't mind the occasional police chase."

I shot the pair a knowing frown, lips curled slightly against my will. "I'm glad I'm not going with you guys."

Kenny moved toward me, then placed a hand on my shoulder. His dark eyes locked on mine, and his face hardened with seriousness. "If they get the police on our asses, will you be my alibi?"

A laugh escaped my lips, and I placed a hand on his shoulder as well. "Yes, I will," I nodded, mocking his serious air. "You were with me and Benny all day."

A smile broke onto Kenny's mouth, and he nodded. "You're my best friend."

Bertram threw his free hand into the air, mouth dropping. "What?"

"Oh, you'll be all right," I smirked, glancing at Bertram as I crossed the room to grab my cell phone. "You have Ivy."

Ivy rolled her eyes. "No one has me."

"Hey, Leah." Kenny knocked lightly on the door. "You okay in there?"

The door swung open, revealing Leah's airbrushed face – she looked absolutely flawless. "Do I look okay?" She pointed to her face, indicating the makeup that she was so displeased with.

Kenny's brows rose, and for a moment he was silent. "You look more than okay," he finally admitted.

I hadn't thought it possible, but Leah's natural blush bled through the rosy blush Ivy had applied to her cheeks. Without another word, she closed the door, disappearing once more. Kenny turned to face the others, biting his lip.

"Should I not have said that?"

Ivy grinned. "No, that was perfect. Now she has no choice but to leave without taking off the makeup."

"That isn't true, Ivy," Leah's muffled voice rang from behind the bathroom door. "I could wash it all away right now."

A mischievous, triumphant smirk pulled at Ivy's mouth. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, baby."

Shaking my head and smiling, I slipped out of the bedroom. No one was paying attention to me anyway, and they would know where I had gone. Out the front door, across the yard, the road, straight for the door of Benny's house.

Before I could even knock, Lynn pulled the door open, panting but grinning. "Hey, baby. Come to help?"

A moment of hesitation froze me in place, but then I nodded, albeit confused. Lynn pulled me into the house then, closing the door behind us. And then I realized why Benny had asked me to come.

In the corner to my right, a tall Christmas tree had been set up. Benny and Elizabeth both struggled to wrap the tree with white and red garlands and strings of lights. Three large cardboard boxes were set on the ground, each wide open; one box was empty. One of the boxes was filled with colorful ornaments.

A grin broke out onto my face, as I studied the scene before me. Elizabeth and Benny seemed quite aggravated, and continually pushed each other or smacked the other's hand.

"Not there, Benny!" Elizabeth groaned.

"Where, then?" Benny demanded, throwing his arms in the air.

"You just – !" Elizabeth growled, smacking her palm into her forehead. "Great job, Benjamin, you let the whole thing go."

Benny scrambled to grab the unwinding red garland. As he couldn't find a proper retort, he mumbled, "Elizabeth," injecting her name with as much venom as he could muster.

The boy's response sent me into a fit of loud laughter. Lynn shook her head and rolled her eyes, but not without a smile. "Crazy kids," she chuckled.

Having gained their attention, Benny's head snapped to face me. The darkness in his attitude vanished, replaced with brightness. He had been expecting me, so there was not much surprise, but his lips curled into a gentle smile anyway.

"You two remind me of myself and Luke," I giggled.

Elizabeth returned her gaze to the tree. "Where is Luke?" Her tone was casual . . . Maybe too casual. Forced enough to raise my brows.

"Pretty sure he's with his skank," I mumbled. "Sorry, Lynn."

The woman had gone to the kitchen, pressing a hand to her forehead. She waved her other hand at me, without turning to look at me. "Don't be sorry your brother is dating a skank."

Benny and I giggled. Elizabeth asked, "You all right, Mom?"

"Headache," the woman gasped, reaching a shaking hand for the refrigerator door – which she missed at first, as if she couldn't see it. "I – Liz, get me some medicine, please, baby – "

Elizabeth rushed forward immediately, abandoning the white garland. Unlike Benny's, it remained in place, perfectly spaced around the plastic tree. Benny did not look pleased about this; in fact, he glared at the garland and even poked it.

"Don't abuse the garland," I said, shaking my head in disapproval. "It did nothing to you."

Again the boy's focus returned to me. Still standing quite a distance apart, he held out his arms – an invitation. And I accepted without a thought, instantly moving to walk into the circle of his arms.

"I missed you," he mumbled into my hair, once his arms tightened around me.

"We were together all day yesterday."

"So?"

I laughed, burying my head into his chest; he smelled of cologne and coffee. "I miss you all the time."

Elizabeth had disappeared into the hallway between the staircase and the main couch, and she emerged with a white pill bottle. Her eyes landed briefly on the couple near the tree, and she said, "Finish your garland, Benny."

♡

Quickly I learned that assisting the decorating of the Rodriguez Christmas tree was the best decision I had made all day. There were old hand-made ornaments from Benny's and Liz's elementary days, their young faces glued to green foam miniature trees.

Of course, I snapped photos of all of the ornaments of those sorts.

Lynn's migraine dulled, and halfway through the ornament-hanging, she joined Benny, Liz and me. Together we were a family – I felt just as comfortable with the Rodriguezs as they felt with each other.

Finally, all three cardboard boxes were emptied, and the four of us stepped back to admire our work. The tree was absolutely covered in various ornaments; the floor beneath the tree was covered with a red and gold fabric; and the tree was topped with an angel of silver wire.

"Masterpiece," Lynn grinned.

"Wait." Benny moved forward and dropped to the floor, hidden from our view. "Someone go turn off the lights."

Since I was the closest to the light switch, I obeyed. Moments later, as I joined the girls, the darkness evaporated with the sudden colorful Christmas lights. Benny joined us, standing to my side and throwing an arm around my shoulders.

I was no stranger to Christmas trees and the beauty of the finished product. But this time it was different, standing with another family – a family that could have been my own as well. I could believe that Elizabeth was my sister, that Lynn was my mother. And it felt like my first Christmas now, the excitement overwhelming.

Unable to express my thoughts in words, I leaned over and pressed my lips to Benny's warm neck. Then I allowed my head to rest on his shoulder, and he tightened his arms around me, and the four of us admired our work in silence.

♡

this chapter is boring. so boring. so boring. so sorry.

i had this chapter finished three days ago. sorry i didn't publish it then – i couldn't find the time or desire to read through and edit. it was short, but hopefully you guys liked it anyway. if you did, thank you. (:

August 17, 2017