An Anthem Lights Christmas (Completed)

Chapter 15

*Megan POV*
(April)
Today is Nicole's birthday and we're planning a surprise party for her. Brian is taking her and Jessica out to hang out and keep her occupied while we set it up.
"Joey stop trying to eat the icing" Kelsey says
"Joseph get your butt out here" Alan yells
"Alan why" Joey whines
"Because you aren't helping so I'm going to put you to work." Alan says
Joey walks out of the house and to the back yard.
"So how has track been going for you girls" Caleb asks
"Really well. But I'm the only freshman thrower. Also it looks as if Casey doesn't enjoy it. But I know that Nicole really is" I say
"What you aren't enjoying track" Spencer asks
"No. I'm good at it but it's just not something I enjoy" she says
"Casey you are the best sprinter out of the freshman and sophomores" I say
"Yeah yeah yeah whatever" Casey says
"Chadwick let's wrestle" Joey says
"Joey are you bored or something" Caleb asks
"Sort of. I mean you guys won't let me do anything." He says
"Go play with the kids" Casey says
"You go back play with the kids" Joey says
"Joey if you can't see we're all helping" Luke says
"Oh be quiet Luke" Joey says
"Joey go help Tyler watch the kids." Brycie says
"Ugh fine" Joey says
He goes inside.
"Thank you Brycie" I say
"No problem. Now let's finish up before Joey comes back" Brycie says
We finally finish setting everything up and go inside. we find the kids and Tyler and join them.
"Hello kids and Tyler" Chad says
"Guys I'm right here" Joey says
"I know. I said hello kids" Chad says
"Chadwick stop picking on Joey" Fallon says
"Come on Chad I need you to come help me with something" I say
"Ok" he sulks
We go outside and get in his car.
"Where do we need to go" he asks
"Meg's can I come with" Luke asks coming outside
"Get in the back" I say
"Yeah" he cheers
"You are such a little kid" I say
"Am not" he whines
"So where do we need to go" Chad asks
"The party store" I say
"Alright" Chad says
He starts the car and starts driving.
"Megan Dylan is visiting for a week next week. He's staying with Brian" Luke says
"Ugh" I groan
"Who's Dylan and why are you groaning" Chad questions
"He's Brian and Luke's best friend. Me and him share a birthday. We're exactly two years apart. We treat each other like siblings and he's like a brother to me but Casey and Nicole think that we should date" I say
"Oh ok" Chad says
We get to the store and go in.
"What all do we need" Chad asks
"I need to get stuff for a party for Nick and Owen. Nick's birthday is May 3rd and Owen's birthday is May 12th." I say
"Ok" Chad says
We look around and I grab a few things for Owen's party while Luke grabs things for Nick's. We go to the checkout and buy the items. We go to the car and get in. We get back to Caleb's, where the party is, and go inside.
"Megan and Casey can I talk with you two upstairs" Luke asks
"Sure" Casey says
We follow him upstairs and to his room. We sit on the bed and he sits on his swivel chair.
"So I really like Nicole. I already asked her dad for permission to date her and he said yes but as her best friends I wanted your permission as well" he says
"Yes." We say instantly
"Good now when are they arriving" Luke asks
"Brian just sent me a text that they're ten minutes away" I say
"Ok. We better get prepared" Casey says
We go downstairs and join the others.
*Nicole POV*
This morning Brian woke Jess and I up at 6:30 because he had a siblings day planned. He took us out to breakfast, we went to the park. We played and walked around then had a picnic. We also went and did a little shopping. Now we're on our way to he got with everyone. It was a great day so far I'm just a little upset no one wished me happy birthday but my family. We get to Caleb's house and walk up to the front door. I open it and go inside. I walk in and all the lights are off. I keep walking and trip over something. The lights turn on and Spencer pops up behind me.
"Surprise" everyone says
"Happy birthday cous" he says
"I hate you" I mumble
"It doesn't mean anything if I can't hear you" he says
"I hate you all" I say
"Oh Nicole. Sweetheart. You can't stay mad at me and Megan for long. We're your besties" Casey says
"Luke was going to say happy birthday to you in the morning but I tackled him" Megan says
"Ok Luke is the only one I don't hate besides my family. That doesn't include you Kane" I say
"Didn't want it to include me Jones" Spencer says
"Let's party" Nick yells
We all start laughing but the party goes on. About half way through its time for cake. They sing happy birthday and I blow out the candles. While Fallon is cutting the cake Luke walks over to me.
"Hey Nicole can we talk" he asks
"Yeah" I say
We go upstairs and up to his room.
"What's up" I ask
"I really like you. I've liked you for a few years now. I was wondering if you would be my girlfriend" he asks
"Yes" I say
We hug and then pull away. We interlock fingers and go downstairs. Megan and Casey see us and run over.
"Bro you hurt her you'll have many people out to hurt you" Megan says
"Calm down Megan. Who are the many people" I ask
"Me, Casey, Brian, the guys" she says
"Mmhmm" Casey agrees
"Ok sis and Case. I won't" Luke says
Nick runs over here and grabs onto Luke's leg like picks him away and walks out back with him. Us girls are about to walk away when all five guys corner us.
"Hello" we say
"Why hello girls. Are you having a great time" Alan asks
"Yes. Nicole and Luke are dating. Luke isn't anywhere in sight. Although" I say
"We are surrounded by a dork a doofus and three morons" Megan says
"Can you guess who's who" Casey asks
"Let me see here Caleb is the dork" Joey says
"Alan's the doofus" Spencer says
"And the others are the morons" Caleb says
"Wow you guys are good" Casey says
"Neh it was really lame. Anyone could of guessed it" I say
"Now what do you give have planned to do to us" Megan asks
"What makes you think we don't want to just talk with you" Alan asks
"Because Chad hasn't said a word and keeps glaring at me" Megan says
With that Chad grabs Megan and runs outside. We all follow. He goes to the pool and jumps in.
"Chadwick I hate you" she says
"What did I do" he asks
"You got me wet" she says
"Oh boohoo. You're not a cat. Therefore water won't kill you" Chad says
"Water doesn't kill cats you moron." She says
"Eh doesn't matter anymore. Your in the pool and that was the main objective" Chad says
"Woah guys do you all hear this Chad knows big words. He just used the word objective instead of goal" I say
"Oh shut up. You can end up in the pool to" Chad says
"Meg can I talk to you" Luke asks
"Yeah" Megan says
*Megan POV*
I get out of the pool and Luke hands me a towel. I wrap it around me and we go out front. We sit on the porch steps and he starts talking.
"Megan I got a package a couple days ago and it had some of Kyle's and John's stuff in it. There was also a letter. They wanted you to have their dog tags so here" he says
He places the dog tags in my hand and I look at them. Seconds later years are streaming down mine and Luke's face.
"Hey guys wha- are you two ok" Chad asks
"Yeah. Just missing our older brothers" Luke says
"They'd be proud of both of you. Luke is going to be going to college and Megan has a job doing what she enjoys. Also we got her singing again and you aren't having to take care of your brothers on your own anymore" Chad says
"Thanks Chad" I say
"Megan I don't want you to say thank you to me anymore. You've said thank you to me more than enough. For every time you say thank you from now on I'll reply with my pleasure. So if you don't want to hear my pleasure don't say thank you to me" he says
"Ok" I say
"Now how about we go and watch Nicole open her gifts" Chad says
"Alright" Luke says
We get up and go inside. I put the dog tags on as we walk in. I go over to where Casey is sitting and sit on her.
"Megan get off" Casey says
"No" I say
"Please" she asks
"Nope. Hey Nicole do you need a place to sit? I have a lap you can sit on" I say
"Sweet" she says
She comes over and sits on my lap.
"Joey come help me" Casey complains
"No can do cous. I'm busy helping Jason and Nick with stuff" Joey says
"Chad" Casey asks
"Feeding Owen some applesauce" Chad says
"Alan"Casey questions
"Sorry Case. My girls are attacking me" he says
"Spencer please help me" Casey begs
"Nope. And Caleb can't either. We're playing Mario Kart" Spencer says
"Brothers" Casey pleads
"No way Jose" they says
"Jess you should come join us" Nicole says
"Ok" Jess says
She comes over and sits on Nicole's lap.
"Alright girls no killing Casey." Kelsey says
"Aww Kelsey" Nicole whines
"Let's go girls up up up. You heard the chief" Fallon says
"Woah why is she the chief? I believe it should be Chadwick Graham Cracker" Chad says
"Why is sit Graham Cracker referring to himself in third person" I ask
"Graham Cracker has no clue" Chad says
"Alright everyone. Girls get off of Casey. Nicole you can open presents and Mr. Graham cracker settle down" Brycie says
"Yes ma'am" we all say
We get off of Casey and Nicole sits down by the presents.
"Alright so we have a tradition where Megan's present goes last. That's because it's usually the best" Luke says
"Can we keep it that way" Tyler hopes
"Of course" Fallon says
Nicole starts opening the presents. She finally gets to the 'family' presents. Casey gave her a necklace with a small track spike shoe on it. Casey's family gave her sunglasses and SnapBack. Joey got her an animal charm bracelet. Luke got her a cross necklace. Tyler got her a picture frame of her, her siblings, and parents.
"Thank you everyone. Now Megan what's the gift that you always have ready the day right before the party" Nicole asks
"Well you see here sweetheart I had everything ready but I forgot my backpack at Chad's which has my laptop in it" I say
"Oh I grabbed your backpack. It was sitting by the door. I didn't know if you were gonna need it or not. It's in the trunk of the car" Chad says
"Is the car unlocked" I ask
"Yeah" he says
I quickly go outside and to the car. I grab my backpack and go back in. I pull my laptop out and turn it on. Once it's on I find what I need then hook it up to Apple TV. I press play and everyone watches it. Once it's over I'm attacked in a hug. I look and see that everyone hugged me.
"This is the best part of the parties. When Megan gives a gift is for everyone. Not just the birthday person" Brian says
"Wait Megan how did you get a lot of those videos and pictures" Caleb asks
"Oh boys boys boys. We have a tech wiz amongst us. You know those hats and sunglasses we always wore" Casey asks
"Yeah" Chad says
"They were actually cameras. They were capturing everything. Also, Megan can take a lot of sentences and turn them into one really sweet sentence." Nicole says
"Come on guys I'm not that good. There's a lot I can't do" I say
"Let's see here you can play instruments, sing, bake, do field events, run, tech wiz, and really well in school. What can you not do" Tyler asks
"I don't know. Sleep well, eat a full three meals a day, care for my brothers" I mumble hoping no one can hear me
I look around and my eyes meet with Chad's. He has that 'we'll talk about this later' look in his face.
"Ok well Jason is getting tired. Casey and Tyler you two ready" Joey asks
"Yep" they say
They leave and then Alan and his family leave.
"Ok Nicole we should probably leave before Jess gets cranky. It's 10:30." Brian says
"Alright bye Jackson's Grimm's and Graham's" Nicole says
"Bye Jones" I say
They take a the presents and leave.
"Hey Meg we should probably head out. Owen and Nick are asleep" Chad says
"Ok" I say
"Bye megs" Luke says
"Bye Luke" I say
"What about me" Caleb asks
"Fine bye Kelsey and Dork" I say
"Bye Megan" Kelsey says
"Bye Jerk face" Caleb says
"Rude. Chad did you hear what he just called me" I ask
"Yes. Now forget it and let's go." Chad says
"Alright" I sigh
I go to Fallon and take Owen from her. Chad picks Nick up from the couch and we go outside. We get in the car and Chad drives to his house. We get out and go inside. Fallon heads to bed and Chad and I take my brothers to their room. I carefully change Owen into a onesie and put socks on his feet then lay him in his crib. Once Chad and I are done I go to my room and Chad follows. He sits next to me on my bed and I lay my head on his chest.
"Megan I want to talk about earlier today" he says
"But I don't want to talk about it" I say
"Please. I want to help" Chad says
"Do you love me" I ask
"Of course I do. All the guys love you. We care about you very much. You're my daughter. I don't care if I adopted you or not. You and your brothers are our family now." He says
"Do you think I have a purpose for living" I ask
"Yes. Everyone has a purpose. You just have to wait for God to show it to you. You have to let him show it to you. Mine didn't show until college when Alan and I wanted to do music" he says
"Now why are you asking all this" he asks
"I might've gotten a few DM's that are telling me I have no reason for living and no one loves me." I say
*Chad POV*
She's been through so much and she's still getting hate.
"Can I see the messages" I ask
She grabs her phone from a drawer and gives it to me. I look at it and the screen is shattered.
"What happened" I ask
"I h-had enough o-of th-the messages and c-couldn't take it a-any longer. I th-threw my phone and it h-hit the w-wall and sh-shattered." She stutters
She looks down and breaks down crying. I put her phone on the night stand and pick her up. I set her on my lap and let her cry.
"Hey Megan. It's ok. Calm down. Your going to make yourself sick." I whisper
She finally calms down some and looks up at me. I wipe her tears away and kiss her forehead.
"You're a great big sister. Your brothers love you. You would do anything to save them. You always worry about them before yourself. I've never met any other siblings who were as close as your family, Casey's family, and Nicole's family." I say
"At least Nicole and Casey still have family around to care for them" she mumbles
"Hey Megan you're here for your brothers and Luke is here for you. Then we are all here for Luke. And with those dog tags around your neck Kyle and John will always be here. They are always watching over you guys. They would be proud of you. So would your grandma. And the proudest of all is God. He's always with us. You just got to remember that" I say
"Yeah but I'm still barely eating and sleeping" she says
"Yeah but you're getting better. With You living here Fallon and I are able to wake up and take care of your brothers so you can get more sleep. Plus I'm making sure that as months progress you're eating more." I say
"Arigato" she says
"Dōitashimashite" I say
"Ugh I hate that word." She says
"I know and I told you if you said thank you I would say my pleasure. I'm smarter than most people think I am" I say
"When did you even learn Japanese" she asks
"A few years ago. I take a year-6 months to teach myself a new language every other year." I say
"How many do you know" she asks
"Um well obviously English but also Spanish, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Swedish, Irish, Swahili, Greek, and Korean. So 12 of them" I say
"Wow" she says
"Eh. I'm not fluent in all of them. Just Spanish, English, and German" I say
"Still that's a lot of languages" she says
She stifles a yawn and shuts her eyes then opens them again.
"You should probably head to bed. It's getting late" I say
"I'm not tired" she yawns
"Yeah right" I say
I pick her up and pull the covers back. I lay her down and pull them over her.
"Goodnight Megan" I say
"Night Chad" she says
She instantly falls asleep and I grab her phone. I go downstairs and outside. I get in my car and drive to AT&T. I go inside and someone comes up to me.
"Hi may I help you" the guy asks
"Yes I would like to get an iPhone 5s to replace this iPhone 4" I say
"Ok. What color phone" he asks
"White" I say he walks off with Megan's old phone and I look at cases. I find a blue and green case and grab it. The guys comes back and hands me the phone. He rings everything up and I pay for it. Then he sets everything up.
"Thank you very much." I say
I leave and head home. I get back and go up to Megan's room. I set the phone down beside her bed the go to check in the boys. I go in the room and Nick is still asleep. I go over to the crib and see Owen laying there wide awake just grabbing at his socks. I pick him up and go downstairs with him.
"Now what are you doing up at midnight little mister" I coo
He just looks at me and giggles.
"Yeah you just think I'm funny don't you" I ask
I go to the kitchen and get a bottle ready. Once it's done I go to the living room and sit on the couch. I cradle Owen in my arms and feed him the
Bottle. Once it's done I take it to the kitchen and put it in the sink. He lets out a yawn and his eyes start to close. Right before he falls asleep he says something I never thought I would hear.
"Dada" Owen says before falling asleep in my arms.