"Did you know they cast Jim Carrey as the Grinch over on Earth Aleph?"
I blinked and shifted on the couch a little. Wendy followed my example as we both looked over at Vicky.
"Really?" Wendy asked, and Vicky nodded.
"The Grinch Stole Christmas has Jim Carrey instead of Johnny Depp in the Earth Aleph version." We all glanced at the TV screen, watching as Johnny Depp hammed it up.
"... Jim Carrey. The guy who played James Bond. He played the Grinch over on Aleph?" Despite how ridiculous it sounded, Vicky nodded at me.
"I can't see it," Wendy commented, and I nodded. "You need to be goofy for that. Or do they play him up as a monster?"
"It's still a comedy," Vicky explained as an echoing laugh escaped the TV. "He's got that great range of facial expression, so he just uses that for silly faces instead of what we're used to over here."
"The fact that both are still actors in both Earth Bet and Earth Alpeh is ridiculous when you think about it." I pointed out. "I mean, what are the odds that both would wind up successful actors, all things considered."
"I'm not sure I'd count our Johnny Depp as successful." Wendy glanced back at the TV as he kept hamming it up. "What's one non-comedy role you can think of for him?"
"He starred in Brokeback Mountain." I offered and Wendy gave me a flat look.
"One role that's widely praised and not controversial." Grumbling a little, I just turned to Vicky.
"I hear he's going to be in a leading role for some new fantasy TV series soon?" She offered hesitantly.
"Oh, yeah, I heard about that." Wendy nodded along and hummed. "They bought the rights to it from Earth Aleph. Song of Ice and Fire, right?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's it. He was mentioned as having a major role in it." I snorted at that.
"Probably because they could hire Jim Carrey or anyone else." Vicky just shrugged as Wendy rolled her eyes.
We all settled back onto the couch to keep watching The Grinch. Vicky had insisted we do something together before Wendy went home to her family. Something that wasn't eating breakfast at least. Carol had gone over to talk to Sarah, and Mark had trudged back to their room.
Watching Christmas movies on the couch was about as good a distraction as I was going to get, away from the worry of what Carol might be planning as a punishment, away from the guilt of probably causing Mark to lose his good streak.
Vicky tried her best to keep Wendy and me focused on the movies and engaged. If either of us seemed to lose interest, she'd throw out some random fact or question to draw our attention back to the film. We'd only gone through one so far before this, an Earth Alpeh import called the Polar Express and had moved on to the live-action The Grinch.
It was coming towards the end though. Wendy's dad was coming to pick her up soon. Which meant it'd just be me here with the rest of the family. Facing down Vicky, who knew too much. Facing down Carol, who I disappointed. Facing down Mark, who I had hurt. How I was going to deal with it, I still didn't know.
"Hey, Ames." I blinked as Vicky stopped my spiral again, glancing over at her. "We still got the stuff for gingerbread cookies?"
"... How would I know?" I tried to remember all the same. "I think so? You're the one who bought the mix and everything else."
"Well, we're gonna have to make them tonight to be ready for tomorrow." I opened my mouth for a moment before closing it.
"You forgot that we were gonna make gingerbread cookies for the party tomorrow, didn't you?" Vicky gave me a grin and I grumbled.
"I had a lot on my mind, can you blame me for forgetting something like that?" Vicky didn't stop grinning at me, and Wendy giggled a little.
"No, not really, but I hope they turn out well." She smiled, a little fragile, but genuine. "My mom insisted I help her make a fruit cake tonight, before well, you know. If I want it to be any good I have to help her."
"Oooooh save us a slice." Vicky looked up a little as she thought. "We don't make fruitcake huh?"
"I don't think anyone likes fruitcake Vicky." Realizing what I just did, I gave Wendy a nervous glance. "We'll try yours though."
"I don't like fruitcake Amy." She laughed and shook her head. "It's just if I want it to be edible, I have to help her. I love her, but she's not any better at baking than she is at regular cooking."
"Hey," A thought popped into my head. "Do you know what's going on with Emma? How is she doing?"
"I hadn't even thought about her." Vicky frowned a little. "Is she doing okay? Even if she's a bitch, this was more than she deserved."
"I haven't… heard anything." She looked down at her hands. "Mom hasn't brought up the Barnes, and I hadn't thought to ask… I'll ask Dad if he knows anything later. We're not exactly close, as families, you know?"
I nodded and turned to see the ending credits begin to roll for The Grinch. We had talked right through the climax. Not that it mattered, we had all seen the movie dozens of times over the years.
We just sat there and watched the credits roll, the happy theme song doing little to uplift my mood. There was no more delaying, no more trying to pretend. Wendy was going to go home, and I would have to face the music soon.
We all were having similar thoughts, as the credits finished and the commercials began to run, none of us moved. Glancing over at them, Wendy's expression was easy to read. She was nervous, glancing over at the window every little bit. Vicky's was a little more difficult to read, her lips pursed slightly and her brow knit. She was thinking about something.
Shifting my hand, I wrapped my fingers around Wendy's wrist and squeezed it lightly. I watched in real-time as endorphins were released into her bloodstream as she looked at me. The small smile from before came back a little stronger.
I smiled back. Even if I couldn't help my situation, the least I could do was help Wendy feel a little better about hers. She shifted her arm a little, twisting it and pulling it back so she could squeeze my hand. It helped, knowing if nothing else, Wendy was in my corner.
The "Ring-Ding-A-Ling" of Wendy's phone jarred me to reality, and Wendy quickly snatched her hand back. A faint blush lit her cheeks as she dug it out of her pocket. I glanced past her to Vicky, who had looked over at us and gave me a small smirk.
The little bit of heat in my face told me I was blushing a little as well.
"My Dad's here." Wendy pushed herself up from the couch, taking a breath. I followed after her and heard Vicky get up to do the same. We all moved to the front door, lingering as she slowly put her coat on.
"Like Carol said…" I slowly offered. "If you want to come back, you can. No question's asked."
Wendy looked back at me again and suddenly surged forward. I yelped as she wrapped her arms around me tight, squeezing me as hard as she could. Letting out a little squeak as she forced the air from my lungs, I tried my best to endure it and hug her back. Through my power, it was easy to tell she was holding back tears.
"Thank you, Amy." She squeezed even tighter, somehow. "For saving me, and for everything."
"I was… happy to do it." I managed to gasp out with what little air I had left. She let go of me, and I got a breath. "Seriously… I was happy to."
She gave me another smile before glancing over at Vicky, who was giving us another stupid smirk. We both glanced away, blushing a little, as she reached for the doorknob.
"Wendy, do you mind if I fly escort for you and your dad?" Vicky suddenly asked, and I blinked.
"Weren't we supposed to make gingerbread cookies?" She shrugged as I gave her a suspicious look.
"I'll get back in time for it, and I wanted to get some flying in to think. You know I think best when I'm flying." She offered it as an explanation, but I didn't buy it. Either she wanted a chance to talk to Wendy in private, or she was going to try to talk to someone else.
"Sure." Wendy just gave her a slightly relieved smile. The worry had to have been in the back of her head. "Thanks, Vicky."
"It's nothing." She just gave Wendy a grin.
A blast of cold air streamed in as she opened the door, making me shiver. They stepped out and I stepped into the doorframe. Crossing my arms against the cold, I watched as Wendy made her way to her dad's car. Vicky floated up into the air, taking a position above it.
She opened the door and climbed in, looking back at me. Our eyes met again, and I raised a hand to wave goodbye. She returned the gesture, even as her dad pulled away from the curb and into the street proper.
I watched them leave until they were no longer visible. Stepping back and shutting the door, I could hear the TV playing. Slowly walking through the house back to the couch, I lowered myself onto it. Whatever was on the TV didn't matter to me.
It just needed to be a good distraction.