Stay Awake

The shopping trip was hectic. Cass, Lisa and I did a ton of shopping, stopping at almost every store in the mall. And with a hangover on top of that, it made for a very long day. The crowds were crazy, along with the lines to check out. I bought some presents for my sister, even though I may never see her again. I would find her family if I had to, just to give them to her.

Before I left, she’d been bugging me about new outfits, CDs, and other things that 8 year olds like. I even bought a gift for Joe, May and Jack, Joyce and Bassam, since they’re my new family. Arms full, we walked out of the mall with smiles on our faces, happy with our purchases. We crammed everything into the trunk and in the backseat, speeding back to the house. We made sure that no one was around while we unloaded everything into the guest room. Since we were in the Christmas spirit, Lisa thought that it would be a good idea to set up the Christmas tree, something I haven’t done since my parents have died.

“Alex and I usually do this together, but oh well!” Lisa laughed as she brought up the box with the tree in it from the basement, Cassadee following behind with boxes of lights and ornaments. I grinned, taking a box from Cass and following Lisa into the living room. We emptied out the contents of the box with the tree in it, quickly getting it set up, tree skirt and all. We turned on some Christmas music, dancing around and laughing as we strung lights and hung ornaments.

“Hey, we were supposed to do that together!” Alex shouted as he and the rest of the guys walked through the door, arms full of shopping bags. They scurried off to a room to hide the things they bought before coming back out into the living room.

“Sorry, babe!” Lisa giggled, turning down the music and skipping over to Alex, wrapping her arms around him, pecking his lips. “You can help us hang lights outside. We’re doing that as soon as we’re finished with this!” she smiled up at him before returning to the tree. I hung a few ornaments before I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist, picking me up and spinning me around.

“WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND!” Jack sang loudly as he spun me around. I screamed as he put me down, and I punched him in the arm. “Ow!” he yelped, rubbing the spot where I had punched him.

“God damn, do you ever take a chill pill?” I grinned and started laughing.

“Nope, who needs chill pills!” Jack said as he around around the kitchen

“Damn, she got you good, man.” Rian chuckled as he hung a mistletoe over the doorway, that lead from the hall to the kitchen. Jack glared at him and grabbed a drink from the fridge.

“It’s a good thing I’m his sister, so if he does something stupid, I can just tell Joyce or Bassam.” I grinned. Rian laughed.

“Why don’t you just call them mom and dad? They’re your family now! I mean, you’ve been around long enough to be considered part of our family.” Rian said. I thought about it for a second, and I have, in fact, been living here for a while now. I shrugged and went into the living room and threw myself onto the couch, watching everyone scurry around, hanging decorations and dancing to Christmas music. Of course alcohol was soon to be involved, and Rian offered me a beer. I declined, just the thought of alcohol made me want to spill my guts. Happily skipping, Lisa came into the living room, her phone in her hand. She went over to the sound system and turned down the music, which caused Jack to whine, telling her to turn it back up. She just laughed and shook her head.

“I have an announcement to make!” she said happily. This got my attention, and sat up, looking at her.

“What is it?” Alex asked, sitting down next to me.

“My parents are getting a foster child! I’m going to have a little sister!” she announced. I couldn’t believe it. It made me think of my sister, knowing that other foster children are being adopted, while she’s probably stuck in that nasty place in Chicago. I just gave Lisa a small smile, while everyone else congratulated her on being an older sister.

“When is she getting here?” Rian asked.

“She’ll be here for Christmas, for sure. I can’t wait! I’m going to my parents’ house later to help decorate her room and whatnot.” she explained.

“That’s great! Do you know her name, or where she’s from? How old is she?” Jack asked.

“You would want to know how old she is, Jack.” Cassadee chuckled. Jack just glared at her and stuck his tongue out in the childish way that he does, and turned back to Lisa.

Lisa just laughed and rolled her eyes. “Um, no, all I know is that she’s from out of state and younger than me. Younger than you too, Summer.”

“Oh wow, she must be really young.” I said. Everyone nodded in agreement. We just kind of left it at that, and soon the music was turned up once again, leading to more dancing and shouting of lyrics.

***

It is now Christmas Eve, and we’re all gathered at Alex and Lisa’s house, getting ready for guests to come for a small party to welcome Lisa’s new addition to her family. I stood in front of the full length mirror in the guest room,fixing my beanie and sliding on my shoes. I touched up my makeup before shutting off the light and heading into the kitchen to help with final preparations before the party.

“Lookit you, dressed up all fancy.” Jack grinned at me as I started boiling some potatoes. I turned around to face him, looking him up and down to see that he was dressed in casual clothes as well.

“I want to make a good impression.” I smiled, before turning back to what I was doing.

“Okay, I just got off the phone with Lisa, she said that they’re going to be here in a few minutes. I know things aren’t ready yet, but that’s what happens when Lisa’s not here.” Alex explained. Cass and I just shook our heads and started putting together salads. We put the finishing touches on the table, and finally some of the food, when we heard the dogs starting to bark and Lisa greeting them. We quickly went into the living room, watching as Lisa and her brothers walk in, their parents, and finally the little girl that Lisa now called her sister.

“Hi, everyone!” LIsa said happily, going around giving everyone hugs, and Alex a kiss. Her brothers and parents followed suit, and I finally got a good look at the little girl. She had short dark hair that went to her shoulders. She looked familiar, I know I’ve seen her before. When she looked at me, her eyes widened.

“Summer?” it was when I heard her speak that I realized that it was my sister.

“Jenny?! Is that you?” I asked, my eyes widening as well. I felt shock overcome me as she crashed into me, tightly wrapping her arms around my waist. I couldn’t believe it. Lisa Ruocco’s parents adopted my little sister.