A Little Piece of Heaven

There was a soft knock on my door. I groaned and rolled over, putting my face in the pillow. The knock came again, so I sat up. It was bright in my room. Almost too bright, and I squinted.

"What?" I snapped.

Johnny opened the door a crack and looked in. He said, "Didn't know if you were up."

"Well, I am now," I sighed. "Whatcha need?"

He closed the door behind him and crossed the room. He sat down on the end of my bed and said, "I thought I should tell you that your dad called."

"What?! When?"

"Early, like seven. To be fair, it's nine where he was."

"Oh my god...what did he say?"

"He wanted me to tell you that they'll be here today. Sometime in the afternoon, I guess. Your mom was wanting to go Christmas shopping with you."

"What time is it now?"

"Eleven thirty."

"Holy- I need to get ready!" Luckily I had remembered to put my pajamas back on last night because I jumped out of bed without even thinking. I opened my closet up and pulled out a plain purple V-neck shirt and a pair of black Bermuda shorts. I turned to look back at Johnny.

"Oh, right," said Johnny. "The whole privacy thing. Yeah, I'll just..." He stood up and left the room.

I chuckled a bit to myself as I pulled my pajama top off and pulled my shirt over my head. When I was fully dressed, I opened the door and ran smack into Naomi.

"Oh, Lissa!" she said. "I'm sorry! I was just coming to tell you-"

"Yeah, my parents are coming," I finished.

"Oh...you know?" Naomi asked.

"Johnny woke me up and told me. I need to eat something before they get here."

"I was actually coming to ask you if you wanted anything from Dragon House. Jimmy and Brian are going to pick up some food, and I was sent to ask you."

"Chinese?"

"Matt's choice, not mine."

"I guess I'll have some sweet and sour chicken," I sighed.

Naomi nodded, and I followed her downstairs. I sat down next to Zacky on the couch, avoiding his eyes, and Johnny came up behind me. He rested his chin on the top of my head and began to massage my shoulders. I closed my eyes momentarily, but I decided to open them in case I fell back to sleep. I could sleep like a prisoner on death row if I wanted to.

"Sleepy?" said Matt, sitting across from them in the chair.

I stuck my tongue out and said, "No."

Naomi came back in the room, wringing her hands. "I hope your dad doesn't cause too much trouble," she said. She sat down next to me and added, "You know...just...I'm just glad my parents aren't coming, too. That would be chaos."

I nodded and rested my head on her shoulder. She sighed.

"I don't know," said Zacky. "I think it'd be interesting to have the whole family here."

Naomi shot him a look and said, "No, it wouldn't." She looked down at the ring sparkling on her finger. "Besides, I haven't told them."

"It's gonna bite you in the ass if you don't," I said.

"I know," Naomi sighed. "I just don't want to. You know how judgemental my mother is."

"Yeah, I do." I hugged her, and she smiled.
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The doorbell rang, and my heart sunk to the floor. They were here. He was here. And I was royally screwed.

Naomi saw my face and went to answer. We heard the door open, Johnny's grip on me getting tighter. He kissed my cheek, but it didn't make me feel any better. I took a deep breath.

"Craig?" shrieked Naomi. "What are you doing here? Wha-what..."

I stood up, confused. Craig was Naomi's younger brother. Sure enough, when I went to see, there was Craig, holding two luggage bags and a guitar. He didn't seem too enthusiastic about being here, and Naomi didn't seem to want him here.

"Mom and dad will be out in a sec," sighed Craig. "I'm supposed to tell you they came with Lissa's parents."

Naomi's breathing became shallow, and I reached out to catch her as she fell faint. Craig rolled his eyes and mumbled something about a drama queen, and he walked into the house.

"Jimmy!" I called out. Jimmy appeared a second later, and I handed Naomi over to him. I said, "Watch for the others."

He nodded as I followed Craig. Johnny came to the foyer and saw the teenage boy. He raised his eyebrows at me as Brian, Zacky, and Matt gathered behind him. Craig set his stuff down and looked around. He turned back to me, and I gave him a stern look. He nodded to me.

"Lissa," he said.

"Guys, this is Craig, Naomi's brother," I said. "Craig, this is Johnny, Zacky, Matt, and Brian."

Zacky laughed, "So the family is all here. Or at least soon, anyway."