Chapter 62
The house seemed quieter than usual when I opened my eyes just before dawn. There was a moment when it hadn’t quite registered that it was Christmas morning. Once I realized it was the most magical day of the year, my first instinct was to run next door and pounce on my sister so we could race each other down the stairs like we used to do when we were little. But everything came flooding back, hitting me like a ton of bricks, and I remembered, not only was Cadence not there, Cadence wasn’t really Cadence anymore, either, at least not the one I’d known back when both of us believed the only person who might be wandering around on our roof at night wore a big red suit instead of black leather.
Nevertheless, I had made a Christmas wish, and I wanted to see if there was any chance of it coming true. So… dressed in my festive Christmas pajamas, the ones my mom had given me the night before, I tossed the covers off, slipped my feet into my Mukluks, and went next door.
Cadence’s room was exactly as I expected, and dreaded, it would be. Her bed was made and nothing was touched, just as she’d left it after Jack’s funeral. I let out a deep breath and headed for the stairs, thinking I may as well head down there and see how convincing mom and dad’s display of magic was this year.
As soon as I walked into the living room, I realized a Christmas miracle had indeed taken place after all. I couldn’t help but squeal in delight seeing Cadence asleep on the sofa and Elliott napping in my dad’s chair in the corner. Covering my mouth with both hands, I tried to hold back my enthusiasm, but by then, I’d already roused both of them. Part of me felt bad for waking them, but the rest of me felt just as excited as I had the time I’d walked downstairs to find a Cinderella castle beneath the tree.
It took Cadence a second to come fully awake, but when she did, she sat straight up off of the couch, looked around, like she was expecting danger, and then sunk back into the cushions. I would’ve thought this behavior odd if I hadn’t already figured out my sister is no longer a regular person, and since she must’ve been fighting the forces of evil recently, I imagined she might’ve been dreaming about them, or at the very least her training had taught her not to trust anyone.
Brushing it off, I waited for her to acknowledge me, my hands still clasped over my
mouth. "I see you haven't outgrown getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning." Cadence yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her. Even if her hair hadn’t been all disheveled and her makeup smeared, she still would’ve been amusing considering she seemed almost perturbed that I’d woken her so early. But it was Christmas! "Nope! I had to see what Santa brought me." I winked at her, and Cadence slowly nodded her head at me, as if she couldn’t believe how ridiculous I can be.
Elliott’s deep voice had me turning my head. "You believe in Santa?" He stretched, his long arms reaching almost to the ceiling it seemed, and I was so excited to see him, I couldn’t help but fling myself at him. He adjusted just in time to catch me, giving me a tight squeeze like I was his long-lost daughter or a friend he hadn’t seen in ages.
"You never know," I managed to get out as I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. No, I don’t suppose I really did believe in Santa, but then I didn’t believe in vampires a few weeks ago either, but I do now. I also didn’t believe my sister or Elliott was going to show up, and yet, here they were.
In response to my statement, he replied, "That's true.” As he continued to hug me, I remembered what he’d vaguely mentioned to me the night he’d snuck into my bedroom, not long ago, about how he’d been looking out for me my whole life, and I couldn’t help but grin up at him, glad to have him back, glad to know when he was around now that I’d begun to figure everything out.
After a few minutes, my dejected sister asked, "Hey, where's my hug?"
I looked at Elliott who shrugged at me, and I raised my eyebrows at him and lowered them quickly, as if to say, “She’s gonna get what she asked for,” before I took a running leap and pounced on Cadence who barely had time to get her arms around me, despite her extra quick reflexes. I also laid a sloppy kiss on her cheek for good measure.
Before she had a chance to protest, I reminded her that things just weren’t the same without her here. Thinking back to how sad Mom and Dad had been the night before, I said, "I am so glad you're here! You missed everything last night.”
Cadence looked solemn. “I know,” she began as I slid off of her lap and sat down next to where she was still stretched on the sofa. I could tell she wished she hadn’t missed church and all of our other family traditions. “I should have been here. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay,” I said reflexively. I could tell by her glum expression something was wrong, and then I remembered why it was she wasn’t supposed to be here last night. If I had gathered intel correctly, it was because she’d had a date with Aaron. I looked at Elliott, who looked almost as disappointed as my sister, and cautiously, I asked, “Where’s Aaron?”
I didn’t miss the exchange of nervous glances between my sister and her friend. Cadence looked a bit pathetic now, and Elliott gave her a sympathetic smile. I turned back to Cadence and waited to see if she would give me a straight answer. Something was up, and I began to wonder if Aaron had been killed by vampires, or transformed, or….
“With Eliza,” Cadence finally said. That was not one of the options on my short list of possibilities. She spat the other girl’s name out like it was cancerous.
“Huh?” I asked before I even had a chance to process what she’d said or what it might mean. While I had seen Eliza come and go from our house a few times in an ultra-expensive sports car, I had only met her briefly at Jack’s funeral. I immediately didn’t like her. I remember having the impression she was a Fakey McFakerson. “The girl with the purple hair?” I asked. My sister’s face somehow managed to fall even further. I couldn’t help but add, “Really?”
Tears began to sparkle at the edges of my sister’s eyes, and I felt the anger well up inside of me. How dare either one of them treat my sister that way? Cadence nodded and managed to say, “Yep.” Her voice wavered a little bit, and I desperately wanted to ask about nine million questions, starting with, “What the heck happened that he would choose to go out with that bimbo rather than you?” but I knew this drill well enough to know that the answers would be less than forthcoming.
So instead, I said, “Well, that’s stupid!” I glanced at Elliott, who seemed to agree with my assessment, and I absently wondered if it was at all possible that my sister could end up with him instead of Mr. Supermodel who apparently had really bad taste in women. I may have said a few other choice words, none of them obscene, but still borderline for me, before I finished with a reassuring pat on my sister’s shoulder and a, “Totally not worth it!”
