Chapter 8

The next morning after the party, I was dreading the rest of the winter vacation. I had to eventually tell Zach and Nicholas about what Annabelle was doing, and I had to tell Stephen of my somewhat infidelity. But first, I had to worry about Annabelle's lover.

I cornered Zach the next morning after breakfast while we were sitting in the den. I shut the doors to make sure that nobody could hear us.

"What's going on?" He asked cautiously, sitting down on the couch.

"I need to tell you something," I said softly, sitting down next to him.

"Oh, god, you're pregnant," Zach said, burying his face into his hands. I laughed.

"No, that's not it," I said, wishing that it was something different that I had to tell him.

"Well, what is it?" He demanded impatiently, and I suddenly spilled it out.

"Last night at the party, I walked into a den and saw this guy sitting there. We talked for a few minutes, and then Annabelle walked in. I walked away, and later I had to fix my shoe, and I heard them kissing. Earlier yesterday, I heard the hairdresser talking about a man that Annabelle was with a lot," I said, looking down at the ground as I told him this. He didn't say anything after I finished. He just sat there, twisting his hands around and around.

"Zach?" I asked softly, so scared that he was about to explode. I looked at his face, and I was puzzled. He was stolid; unmoved by what I had told him. We sat there, for a few minutes, just staring at the floor.

"Please say something," I asked.

"Who is he?" He finally asked after a short pause.

"Jonathan Jackson," I said, somewhat flinching. That was when he exploded.

"Jonathan Jackson? That asshole?" Zach screamed.

"Zach, be quiet!" I hissed.

"No! I can't believe this! How could she do this? Especially with him! She lied about everything!" He yelled, charging out the door. I chased after him.

"Zach!" I yelled, running quickly after him. I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward me, but he pushed me away.

"Don't do this Rose! I have to take care of this!" He shouted, sprinting up the stairs. I ran in front of him and stood in his way.

"I'm not going to let you do this. It's Christmas Eve. Don't ruin the only real Christmas I've ever had," I asked pleadingly. He paused and sighed.

"As soon as this Christmas Break is over, I swear I'm going to talk to her," He said, making his hands into fists. I nodded.

"But what about your father?" I asked.

"I hadn't thought of that," he said, pausing to think for a minute.

"He's going to be crushed," I murmured softly, picturing Nicholas's reaction.

"I know," Zach whispered, backing away from their bedroom door.

"I'm sorry to throw all of this on you."

"It's not your fault," he said, seeming that he was at a lost for words. He brushed past me and walked into his room, shutting the door and yelling. I sighed, my heart feeling heavy because I had put something so horrible on him. I went upstairs in my room to do a little bit of writing to get rid of this bad feeling. I don't know what happened to me, but when I picked up a pen and starting writing in my little notebooks, I felt relaxed. I was gone from the world that caused me stress, fear, and loneliness. I was off in my imaginary world, creating a world of love, happiness and carefree feelings. I didn't realize how wrapped up I got into things, but a few hours later, I was called down for the Christmas Eve dinner. When I walked into the dining room, I gasped at the sight.

All of the walls had been bedecked with decorations, and the table setting was a theme of red and green, with gold rimmed goblets and gleaming silverware. I realized that I was under dressed for dinner, I ran upstairs and picked out one of my nicest red dresses and put my hair up, hoping that this would be acceptable for Annabelle. I walked downstairs, everyone sitting down at their usual spots, and I took a seat quickly. Nicholas walked in from the kitchen carrying a silver platter with a cover over it, and Annabelle clapped.

"It already smell so wonderful!" Annabelle exclaimed with glee as the dish was sat in the middle of the table, and Nicholas regally removed the lead. Underneath was a wonderfully cooked turkey, steam wafting off of it. I grinned, realizing that I hadn't had a true Christmas dinner since I was 13 years old, and it felt so wonderful to finally have a family and to eat dinner with them. Nicholas eagerly sliced servings for us and in a few minutes, we were all merrily eating Christmas Eve Dinner.

"Rose, you're going to need to pack a bag tonight," Nicholas announced to me. I put my fork on my plate and looked up with my eyebrow raised.

"Why?" I asked.

"We're going to see my parents and Annabelle's parents tomorrow. After we open our gifts, we'll be heading upstate," he explained. Nervousness erupted in my stomach. I was going to meet my adopted grandparents. What were they going to think? We're they going to like me? Did they even known about me? I put the questions away in my mind for later and quietly ate my dinner as everyone else conversed. I could tell by the way that Zach was looking at Annabelle that he was not pleased with her at all, and I knew that he couldn't wait until the holiday cheer was over so that he could scream at her. I dreaded that day already.

Dinner and desert was finished with, and Zach and I were allowed to open one present each. Nicholas went upstairs to retrieve them, and Annabelle, Zach and I sat in the den, next to the Christmas tree, which was decorated to absolute perfection. The lights glittered like colored crystals in the sun, and the ornaments hung proudly on their branches, gleaming in glory. I gaped at the tree, remembering back to the days when I had a true biological family, and we would sit near the tree in the early morning, opening gifts and having a truly wonderful time.

Nicholas returned and handed us large boxes wrapped in shiny green paper, and Zach and I eagerly ripped them open, revealing our gifts. Zach got a sweatshirt with his favorite basketball team on it, and I got a set of perfect writing journals and an editing software for the computer. I thanked both Nicholas and Annabelle heartily, and went upstairs to experiment with it. Later on, I realized that it was Nicholas who had bought me the gift, knowing that Annabelle didn't know anything about me to purchase something like that. I was upstairs, typing and working on a story when Nicholas knocked on the door.

"Come in," I called, not removing my eyes from the story. Nicholas entered and waited for me to turn around.

"How do you like the gift?" He asked as he sat down on my bed.

"I love it. Thank you very much," I said with a beaming smile.

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a big smile. "I wanted to tell you something about tomorrow."

"Do you have a procedure for opening presents?" I asked him. He laughed.

"No, it's about going to see Annabelle's parents," he answered, and I could feel the state of nervousness falling back inside of my heart. "They're not exactly your ordinary people," he said with a chuckle to himself. "They know about you, don't worry." He stood up suddenly and paced the room.

"Annabelle was raised in a strict household. Her parents were firm believers in housework, chores and house rules, and there were consequences if you didn't cooperate. Her parents are cold and harsh, and they don't show very much love toward Annabelle. Just a peck on the cheek to substitute as a true kiss," he said, as if he could know how she grew up. "They might be a little harsh toward you Rose. They don't exactly approve of me taking you in, but please don't let them ruin your holiday. They're in their sixties now, and they really don't know what's going on. So please, bear with them," He asked. I looked down at the floor and nodded. I figured that's how they would be; unwilling, harsh, un-accepting towards me. But I promised Nicholas and myself that I wasn't going to let it bring me down, so I put the thought aside until I came face to face with them.

"What about your parents?" I asked softly. That was when he smiled.

"My parents are the best parents in the world," he said with a rich laugh. "They are going to love you. They've always wanted a granddaughter, and I know that you're not 'biologically' part of our family, but my parents don't care. They're going to treat you like the granddaughter that they've never had, so don't be surprised when they lavish praise on you." The tension on my heart eased up when he said that, and I smiled with relief. "I just wanted to warn you about tomorrow. You'll need to pack a overnight bag for two nights; we'll be staying at my parents holiday home," Nicholas announced, and I nodded. A holiday home?

"I'll see you in the morning," Nicholas said, walking over to kiss my cheek before I went to sleep. I changed into my pajamas and slid into my bed. Immediately I was asleep, but dreams came to me in the middle of the night. Instead of dancing sugar plum fairies, I was dreaming of a Christmas past. I was five years old, before my mother died in the spring, and it was glorious Christmas morning, with the gifts stacked high underneath the tree. I remember stumbling down the stairs, eager to rip open the packages, seeing my mother in her robe, drinking a cup of coffee and beaming when I came running into her view.

"Go ahead, open them!" She exclaimed, and with that command, I went to tear open meticulous wrapping and rip open boxes.

"Thank you Mommy and Grandma and Santa Claus!" I cried, running over to my mother to hug her and my Grandmother also. They watched as I played with my brand new barbies and wore my brand new clothes.

Time had passed, and it was the Christmas after my mother had died, and things weren't the same. My mother wasn't waiting at the table for me to rip open my gifts and smile as I showed her everything that I had received from Santa Claus. Grandmother watched, with happy, tearful eyes and the same sorrowful smile she always wore.

"Grandma, can Mommy see me right now?" I asked as I sat in her lap, playing with a new doll. She brushed my locks of hair back and nodded.

"Of course she can sweetheart. She sees everything," she said, hesitating to break down into tears.

"Can she see me when I'm in the potty?" I asked, and Grandmother laughed.

"Yes, sweetheart, she can," she answered, wiping a few lone tears that had trickled down her cheeks.

"Is she drinking her coffee?"

"Yes, she is. In heaven, with God," Grandmother replied. "Go upstairs and play with your new toys. We're going to visit Great Aunt Linda later," she said, setting me on the floor and walking to the stairs. I nodded and ran upstairs, turning around to look at the tree for one moment. And for a brief second, I could see my mother sitting at the table, in her purple fuzzy robe, drinking her coffee, and smiling.

In the morning when I roused myself from my dreams, Zach knocked on my door and then entered.

"Come on!" He cried like a child. I couldn't help but laugh, and he took my hand and we rushed down the stairs to open up our gifts. Nicholas and Annabelle were already there, laughing and watching as we tore and ripped open presents. Finally, after everything had been opened, we went into the dining room to have a Christmas morning breakfast. We conversed lightly about our gifts, and then stuffed our faces, savoring every bite of Nicholas's wonderful cooking. Finally, we brought down our things to be packed in the car.

"Do you want to ride with me? I'm taking my car," Zach offered. I nodded, thinking that the car ride with Zach would be a little better than with Nicholas and Annabelle. I packed my things in Zach's car and we hit the roads quickly, following behind Nicholas's car. Zach put on some rock music, which made some of the time fly, and I started to play with my new laptop that I had received for Christmas.

"Your parents spend a lot on Christmas," I noted as I was uploading some software.

"Yeah, I know. They really don't get the meaning that it's a celebration, it's a free for all at the stores," he said with a laugh. I nodded and watched as the road passed by. We drove silently for a while until we stopped for a late lunch as a road side restaurant. I could tell Nicholas didn't like the food; he was used to eating four star food, but we all swallowed down some lunch and went back to the cars. The ride up to the house wasn't much longer after that, and once we got into a neighborhood, I could tell that these people were extremely rich. The houses were 3, even 4 stories high and were elaborately decorated for the holidays. My heart started pounding as Zach pulled up into the driveway and parked the car. Nicholas and Annabelle had already arrived at the house and were waiting outside.

"Ready?" Nicholas whispered in my ear as we headed to the grand entry. I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat and putting on a warm smile as Annabelle opened the door. We stepped inside, Zach and Nicholas by my side, and I gasped at how ornate the house was. The staircase reached the third floor and wound on the way, the carpet a rich gold. The foyer was painted a light beige, and portraits of Nicholas's family lined the walls. We walked inside to the living room where the parents were sitting, lightly conversing over coffee. Immediately after I saw them, I could tell whose parents were whose. Nicholas's parents leaped from the couch and ran toward him, enveloping him in a giant hug. The laughed and smiled, connecting with each other.

"Nicholas!" His mother cried. He laughed heartily and smiled. He turned his head over his shoulder and looked at me.

"Come here," he whispered, gesturing over to me with hand. I tentatively walked over to them as Nicholas's parents stared at me with awe.

"Rose," Nicholas's mother said, her eyes glittering with excitement. I nodded, sighing as I walked over to greet them. She grinned and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tightly. I could see Nicholas next to me, and I saw that he was beaming with happiness. After I had hugged Nicholas's father, we went in to the living room where the grand tree was. As we were walking in, I saw Annabelle's parents look at me with questionable looks on their faces. Annabelle was softly chatting with them, and as we took our seats at the expensive black leather couch, I could tell that they didn't like me already. Zach sat next to me and leaned over to whisper something in my ear.

"Don't worry about them, they're assholes," he said, keeping his eyes on them. I tittered and hid my smile because they suddenly looked at me.

"Are you guys hungry?" Marie Fugue asked the group.

"No mom, we stopped for lunch on the way, although I wish we didn't," Nicholas said, holding his stomach. His father laughed.

"Oh, stop. It's only because you're used to fine dining," Christopher Fugue replied. I smiled.

"Well, how about anything to drink? I bought some fine wine," Marie asked.

"I'll take a glass," Annabelle said, looking over at Marie. She went into the kitchen as we were left with Annabelle's parents and Nicholas's father.

"So, Rose, what do you like to do?" Christopher asked.

"I'm a writer actually," I said, trying to be modest. I heard a snort from one of Annabelle's parents.

"Writer's don't make very much money, and the sales of their first book could either make them or break them. Most of them bust," Calista Richards snorted. I chewed on my lip, looking over at Nicholas. He shrugged and looked at his father.

"What else do you like to do?" Christopher questioned.

"I like to swim," I offered, thinking of things that enjoyed.

"My dear, you frame is too thin to be a swimmer," Charles Richards criticized. I sighed, not attempting to answer any more questions. Marie came back with a glass of wine for Annabelle and one for herself.

"How have things been at the restaurant?" Marie asked, sipping at the wine.

"Very well," Nicholas answered with a big smile.

"And how is school Zach?"

"Eh, it's alright," he answered with a shrug, looking over at me.

"Good. Well, why don't we start opening the gifts; some of the other guests will be here soon," Marie said, walking over to the tree and grabbing a Santa hat. All of us stood up and went over closer to the tree. Marie walked over to Christopher and placed the hat on his head.

"You're Santa Claus," she sang with a bright smile. He grumbled about it playfully under his breath as he stood up and went to the tree. The gifts were piled three feet high off the ground, wrapped in many different colors of wrapping paper. "Santa Claus" started handing out gifts at random, and the sound of people tearing wrapping paper and opening boxes filled the room along with some soft jazzy Christmas carols in the background. An assortment of gifts were presented to me; a few gift cards to some clothing stores, clothes, books, and decorations from my room. My most valuable gift from my new grandparents was a necklace with a gold pendant shaped like a rose, and the petals on the rose were dark red, clear stones.

"Put it on!" Marie cried with excitement as she put it around my neck. I felt the smooth gold underneath my fingertips and smiled, knowing that what I was wearing was something precious. Everyone had finished opening there gifts and were cleaning up the disastrous room when the doorbell chimed. Marie went to go answer the door as Zach and I were left to pick up the remains of the wrapping paper. Calista and Jackson sneered at me; I probably wasn't picking up the trash like they wanted, and I was building a type of hatred inside of my heart for them. More guests began to rapidly arrive, and soon the living room was packed with people. Zach and I stayed out the way, going outside and watching the gray clouds pass by as we sipped at some wine that Nicholas has slipped us.

"Why are your grandparents so mean?" I asked him as he stared off into the distance.

"I don't know. They grew up with bad times I guess," he suggested, sipping at his glass.

"Do you think that they know about Annabelle's affair?" I questioned him. His fingers tightened around the glass he was holding and he sighed.

"I don't know. I don't even know how they would react," he answered, shaking his head. "They would probably be really pissed off."

"Why?"

"Because they're hungry for money, and obviously my dad has a lot of it, and if mom decided to leave my father for that poor bastard Jonathan Jackson, they would disown her from the family," Zach concluded, and nodded, thinking that it sounded just like something that would happened to the family. Thunder was heard off in the distance, and Zach scoffed.

"Kind of a gloomy Christmas this year weather-wise," Zach muttered, watching as the lightning streaked across the sky.

"I like the gloomy weather actually," I admitted, watching as some of the rain started to splatter on to the ground. We headed for cover, the rain quickly getting heavier, and we went upstairs to get away from the noise. Once we found an empty guest room, we sat down on the bed and stared out the window.

"Is it always like this for you?" I questioned him.

"Yeah, pretty much," he said with a shrug. "But now that you're here, I'm not so bored," he said. Suddenly, he sat up straight and smiled.

"Let's play a game," he burst out, going to the closet to see if they had any board games around. I started to laugh.

"Why?"

"Because we'll be half drunk and it'll be funnier that way," he said, going out of the room to find the games. He found some in the hall closet and put them on the bed.

"Monopoly!" I cried, running over to pull it out of the stack. He shrugged and we plopped down on the thick carpet and set up the game. We got into the game, Zach running downstairs to steal another bottle of wine as we continued to bill each other for hotels and tease each other.

"You owe me $500 for Mediterranean!" I cried, pointing at the board game. Hours had passed and night was falling quickly. The rain still pounded on the roof harshly and the party was still going on downstairs.

"What! That's preposterous!" Zach yelled, shaking his head. "You owe me $300!"

"I do not!" I shrieked as I poured myself more wine. We kept yelling and screaming for a while, we finally got things settled and continued playing the game until I ran out of money and had to start selling properties for money. After a few hours, we called it quits, Zach winning the game and an entire bottle of wine was finished.

"I told you I would win!" Zach slurred slightly, a rosy tint to his cheeks.

"Whatever Zach!" I answered back. Suddenly, the door flew open and Calista Richards was standing there, her eyes wide from shock.

"What are you two doing!" She screamed. We scrambled to our feet, kicking the empty bottle underneath the bed and just stared at her. My head was light and I was feeling a little dizzy from the wine. She hastily walked forward and grabbed then neck of the bottle from underneath the bed and held it up.

"A whole bottle!" She shrieked.

"And two glasses," Zach added. I looked over at him, slightly giggling, but ceased when she wasn't laughing.

"You two, come with me!" She hissed, grabbing us and throwing us out the door. I almost fell flat on my face as we walked down the hall and down the stairs to the back entrance of the kitchen where Nicholas and Annabelle were standing, talking with their parents. Nicholas turned to us and frowned, knowing that something was not right.

"Nicholas. Annabelle," Calista snapped so hard I flinched as she said their names. They stepped forward and Calista ushered us out of the kitchen and into the back rooms where no one could hear.

"Do you know what I just found these two doing?" she said so sharp, I was getting a headache.

"What's going on here Calista?" Nicholas asked.

"Zachary and the girl were upstairs playing a board game and drinking alcohol. A whole bottle!" She hissed, holding up the evidence.

"My name is Rose!" I cried. "Not 'the girl'!"

"Do not speak unless it is ordered!" Calista screamed at me. I turned to her and got a good look at her. She was in her late sixties, with graying brown hair and cold, black eyes. Her nose was long and pointed and at the moment she had a snarl on her light pink lips. I stared at her with narrowed eyes and watched as she turned away. "Get control of these children!"

"They're not children Calista; they're juniors in high school," Nicholas defended us.

"Nicholas, you must not be understanding the point. They drank a whole bottle of wine, expensive wine, and you permitted them to be alone! Upstairs! God knows what else could have gone on up there!"

"Nothing else went on up there!" Zach bellowed, turning to the old woman.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that Zachary!" Calista yelled. My headache was growing worse, and every time she yelled, I flinched.

"Stop yelling!" I said, putting my hands over my ears. I caught a glimpse of Annabelle and all I could see was the disapproval on her face.

"You must punish these children," she replied. "A good whipping is in order!"

"NO!" Zach, Nicholas and I screamed in unison. What year is she living in, 1950?

"I will deal with this," Nicholas decided, grabbing our hands and pulling us away from Calista. "They are my children, and I will deal with them!" He took us out of the kitchen and back upstairs to where we were playing Monopoly.

"A whole bottle Zach?" Nicholas asked with great question in his voice.

"I know, I got carried away, I'm sorry," Zach answered, looking down at the ground.

"Where did you get it anyway?"

"I snuck downstairs and got it while you were out in the living room," Zach confessed.

"We're sorry Nicholas," I said softly, hoping that he wasn't too mad at me.

"Now it doesn't even look like I can control my own children!" He bellowed. I flinched because he was so loud, but I understood everything he had said. "I wouldn't be this mad if we were at home, but since we are here, with the grandparents from hell, it's even worse." He paced the room and shook his head.

"I'm going downstairs to put a pot of coffee on for you so that you can sober up. Clean up the board game while I'm gone," he commanded, storming out of the room. Zach and I looked at each other, a world full of regret in our eyes as we cleared the streets of Boardwalk and Park Place and put the game back in the closet. We sat on the bed, waiting until Nicholas has brought us coffee, which was black.

"Drink this," he said, handing us each a warm mug.

"Is she flaming mad?" Zach asked. Nicholas sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes. She's screaming in the kitchen at Annabelle and I, but the guests have no idea, as usual," he said, sitting next to us.

"Well, it'll be a memorable Christmas for everyone then," Zach said, slurping up his coffee. I chuckled, realizing I had come into their lives with a bang and would leave an impression that would never leave them. Nicholas couldn't help but laugh and then sighed.

"Maybe they'll never talk to me again. That would only be too good to be true," he muttered, chuckling. "Finish this coffee and get ready for bed. It's getting pretty late," he advised, standing up. "I"m sorry that I yelled at you guys, but you have to understand that I was a little peeved," he said as he went to the door. "Let's just forget about it, OK?"

"Sure," Zach and I both answered. Nicholas smiled walked out the door and I turned to Zach.

"They probably won't be coming back next year, will they?" I questioned him as I stood up.

"No, probably not," Zach said with a laugh.

"Good." I paused as I walked to the door. "Zach, thank you for a good, memorable good Christmas."

He stared at me for a second. "Shut up and go to bed," he said, turning away. "But you're welcome."