Singing of the dead (Novel one)

CHAPTER FOUR: CHRISTMAS

Jessica had woken up early today, she was always very fond of Christmas even at the orphanage she grew up in she would be the first child awake and annoy everyone else by waking them up screaming 'It's Christmas!'. She enjoyed Christmas even more at the foster home, the food was a lot nicer and the presents less generic and more tailored to her actual taste. When she was fourteen, she received her very first smart phone, a gift that her childhood self could have only dreamed of. But this Christmas was the one she had been waiting for her whole life, a real celebration with a family that had pretty much became her own. Even if sometimes she felt like an outsider stuck, she took solace that at least she was stuck with these people.

She turned in bed her long ginger hair brushing past Atlas face and placed her arm on his shoulder and nudged him gently, causing him to slowly open his eyes and feel her soft lips press against his as she kissed him awake.

"Happy Christmas handsome boy."

Atlas barely awake at this point responded with a dry croaky voice:

"Hey babe happy Christmas." Atlas slumped himself upwards and yawning and stretching as he yanked himself upwards and paced over to the hallway and then towards the bathroom. Jessica leapt out of the bed and practicality ran over to Isabelles room busting in the door spreading her contagious Christmas cheer, what she didn't expect to see was Isabelle sitting on the bed getting changed still topless showing the scars covering one side of her torso and ribs leading around to her back. Jessica quickly threw her hand up in front of her eyes.

"Jessica there just a pair of tits, looking at them isn't going to make you gay." Isabelle said in a teasing manner as she threw on her black jumper. "It's okay you can look now Jess." Jessica removed the hand from her eyes and smiled and repeated her Christmas greetings, and Isabelle gave hers back. Isabelle looked down at herself in her jogging bottoms and plain black jumper and then up at Jessica stood there in her white dressing gown just on ever so slightly lose after her journey from her bedroom. She started at her smile and plump lips contrasting her pale freckled faced and thought to herself how beautiful this woman was and how she envied not only her looks but her brother too. Jessica hugged Isabelle pressing her body against hers and squoze.

"I'm so excited Izzy."

"I know you are Jess."

"I'm going to go wake big Jim" and with that, the warm embrace of Jessicas hug was over as she galloped out of the room to wake up Jim.

Jessica knocked on Jims's door and waited for a response, when Atlas reappeared:

"He's already downstairs."

"Oh really" Jessica had a microsecond of annoyance cross her mind as she wasn't the first one up, but it quickly past and she brushed off the feeling as just being a little bit too excited.

"Yeh, he stayed down there after we – well it's best you just go downstairs."

"Okay..." Jessicas excitement peaking even more. She moved downstairs into the open kitchen and living room and her eye opened even wider, Jim was asleep on the sofa and the room around him was decorated, fairly sparce but still decorated with tinsel, Santa toys and a small potted plant with the words 'x-mas tree' drawn on it.

"You did this last night?"

"Yep, me and grandad, Isn't that right grandad." Atlas aimed his words at the sofa causing Jim to wake up from his light sleep.

"What was that boy?"

"I was just telling Jess how we did some decorating last night."

"Oh yes. Yes. For that girl of yours, you know the ginger one."