I'm sorry to everyone who read the previous version of this story, I kinda needed to revise how the story started if I wanted to get it the way I wanted. Which sucks because I have to start all over again and I don't know how long that will take… *groans internally because time is precious* Anyway, I kinda need to warn you, it gets sad at the end. Hope you enjoy it! (PS, please let me know what you think! I enjoy feedback)
"I love my life! I have the sweetest momma and the best father ever!" Bella thought this to herself as she was waiting for her mom to come to pick her up from school, and she couldn't wait to go visit her family for winter break. She blew into her mittens and hugged herself, "It sure is cold today…" Bella muttered to herself as she waited in the snow with her knee-high boots, snowsuit, and big fluffy coat. She then heard a honk of a car to her left and saw her mother, smiling and waving from the driver's seat. Bella's face lit up in a grin and she ran to the car, backpacking bouncing the entire way.
She opened the backdoor and hopped into the back of the car with a thud. "Hi mom!" she said as she took off the backpack and closed the door. Her mom turned around and smiled, "Hey sweetie, how was school today?" She was wearing her purple sweater, the kind that wasn't too itchy and looked really comfortable. "It was great mom! We made snowmen in art class! I brought mine with me, it's in my backpack!" She pulled out the handcrafted art and showed it to her mom proudly. Emily, Bella's mother, smiled at her sweetly, "It looks really nice my dear, but you need to buckle up so we can go to the family reunion…" Bella smiled, "Okay!" She buckled up her seat belt and sat contentedly in the right window seat. Emily chuckled, started the car, and drove for her brother's house.
The whole trip took about two hours, in which Bella managed to fall fast asleep staring out the window. Emily smiled at Bella, who was using her coat as a pillow. She hoped that she didn't drool too much on it, but such was the life of a seven-year-old. They finally got to the house around 5 in the afternoon, luckily Charles just got to the house as well. Emily got out of the car and gently woke up Bella, "Honey, we're here…" Bella woke up groggily, "Mmm… I'm up mom…" She put on her coat and got out of the car. Emily grabbed Bella's hand to help her walk to the front steps, where she knocked on the door to let her sister know they had arrived.
They heard a lady yell from inside, "I'll get it!" and footsteps approach the door. A blonde-haired woman with a wine glass opened the door, "Well look who finally decided to show up." She smirked when she saw Emily and Bella standing on her front porch, and opened her arms for a hug. Bella gave her a big smile and ran into her yelling, "Auntie Barbara!" Barbara laughed as Bella slammed into her affectionately, almost making her spill her wine. "I missed you too kiddo," She then looked at Emily, "How was the drive sis-in-law?" Emily chuckled as she stepped in, "Long, but not bad. How long has Charles been here?" Barbara made her way to the living room with Bella still hugging her midsection, "About twenty minutes, but we haven't eaten dinner yet."
They made their way to the kitchen to find three men talking and sitting at the table. Bella let go of Barbara and ran to the man who was wearing a suit even though it was December. "Daddy!" He stood up just before Bella slammed into him, "I missed you too Bella!" The two other men chuckled, "She seems to be in a good mood," the one in the green shirt muttered jokingly. "Where are our hugs, Bella?" the man with blue glasses asked with his arms outstretched to her. She let go of her dad and went over to her uncles, "I missed you so much, Uncle Adam and Uncle Joe!"
After everyone had settled down, Barbara and Emily brought in multiple platters of food. Bella sat next to her father around the giant circular table, and bounced in her chair excitedly, "Don't bounce in your seat, Bella. It's a chair, not a trampoline…" Charles bluntly said to his daughter. She stopped and looked down embarrassed, "Sorry, Daddy..." Barbara laughed in amusement, "It's alright Charles, we have been dying to get chairs for a while. Might as well get some use out of them while we still have them…" She winked as Bella as she said this. Adam looked at Barbara anxiously, "Honey... I don't think we want Bella to bounce so hard that she breaks the chair…"
Bella hid her snickers when Uncle Joe swooped in to save the conversation, "Come on guys, it's the Christmas holiday. Let's just enjoy spending time with each other, okay?" Everyone nodded agreeing when Bella exclaimed, "I will if I can have the drumstick!" This caused everyone to laugh at her silly outburst, then she noticed that she was crying. She felt the tears as they fell onto her lap, and she touched her face confused. 'Why am I crying?' she thought, 'We're all having a wonderful time, and it just made everyone laugh…' she then noticed that her mom and Uncle Joe had disappeared, and Uncle Adam and Aunt Barbara were leaving the table. She turned to her dad but saw that he wasn't looking at her and instead at the empty seat next to him.
"Daddy? What's wrong?" She asked nervously. He then turned to her and said very tiredly, "It's time to wake up Bella." Bella then woke up to find that she was in her bed, face, and pillow wet from her tears. It took her a second, but it all came back to her, 'Uncle Joe, Mom, the accident!' She then heard her father's voice from down outside her bedroom door, "Bella… It's time to get up… You will be late for school…" She turned her back to the door. It had only been a week and a half since Mom and Uncle Joe had died, but she still was in so much pain. Memories of them made her feel sad inside, and she would rather sleep than feel the pain.
Bella curled up in a ball snuggling into the blankets, 'I wish mom was here…' she thought to herself as she tried to go back to sleep. She felt it wasn't fair that she had to deal with this much pain and sadness as a 12-year-old, but she knew she would have to grow up eventually. "But not today…" she muttered quietly as she drifted back into the comforting realm of dreams.