Never Again by Julie C. Gilbert

Author:Julie C. Gilbert [Gilbert, Julie C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8:

Christmas Gifts

On Christmas morning, Alana called her family, settling into her favorite chair for a long chat. Her eleven-year-old sister went into excruciating detail about every wonderful gift she had received. A red, ten-speed bike, a stuffed momma-and-baby manatee pair, three Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, and two new dolls. Her step-mom’s attitude remained slightly frosty, but she said all the right things to convey that they would be there for her when she was ready. Her father expressed disappointment at not getting to see her but then dove straight into daddy mode.

“Would you like us to come to you, Peaches?”

Momentary panic surged through Alana. She sat up straighter like she had done once upon a time when she’d been caught napping in Pre-Algebra.

They would totally do it.

Her parents had always been pretty cool with improvising plans, but her place was a wreck. The laundry pile overflowed. Mail she hadn’t bothered opening took up a third of her kitchen table. Dust bunnies mocked her from under the TV stand.

My whole life’s a wreck. Why worry about a little dust and clutter?

“You hate driving in LA,” Alana pointed out, returning her focus to the conversation. If her father sensed something wrong, he’d derail any and all plans to come be with her.

“It’s Christmas. Who could possibly be on the roads now?”

“Thanks for the offer,” Alana said, surprised by how much she meant it. “But I’ll be fine alone. If I need company, Jakey’s only a call away.”

She stretched and shrank the phone cord repeatedly, then ran her fingers over the ridges when the cord was compressed. Two seconds of silence passed.

“We’re only a call away too.”

“I know.” Alana sensed she ought to end the conversation soon. How could she explain it to her father? Everything normal hurt.

“Cream wants to speak to you again. Is that all right with you?”

“Sure. Love you. Bye.”

Melanie would be much easier to talk to because she tended to fill any conversation without much prompting. Her father’s farewell was muffled as the phone got hijacked by her little sister.

“Hi! I forgot to tell you what I got you for Christmas. Mom says I shouldn’t tell you because you’ll be home again soon, but I want to. Can I tell you? Please! It’s soooo good. Promise!”

Alana honestly didn’t care at the moment, but she knew it would break the kid’s heart to wait.

“Okay, shoot.”

“It’s a necklace and it has a cute little gold locket in the shape of a heart with room for your picture and mine, but only if we get them done really small. Mom said she can help with that. She likes doing crafty things like that. Can we do it when you come home again? When are you coming home? You left so suddenly. That wasn’t very nice. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Ouch. Thanks for the guilt trip, sis.

“Sorry. I’ve been out of sorts lately,” said Alana.

“That’s not a good excuse,” Melanie scolded, sounding so much like her mother that Alana had to chuckle.

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