Accidents Happen

Chapter Twenty-Four-Purple Hair

Christmas was the next holiday to arrive. Once an exciting day, even for the likes of Michelle, it was now just another red 'x' on her calendar, all leading up to the green circle around April 7.

After the 'incident' at Thanksgiving dinner, Michelle's parents ultimately decided that they would stay home for Christmas that year. She was relieved, to say the least. Michelle hadn't so much as texted anyone other than Lila since they left.

Her relations with her father, however, had greatly improved. Ever since he had defended Peter, Michelle, and their decisions in front of their family, he had begun to speak to her again. It sure as f*ck didn't make up for the three months of almost-silent treatment, but it was a step in the right direction. She finally felt like she was his daughter again, instead of just a disappointment.

Michelle was usually eager to get the Christmas Eve traditions over with, but she hated them less this year. Maybe it was because her emotions were all out of whack, or maybe it was because there were only four of them instead of the usual herd.

But somehow, she survived the night.

The traditions start with attending the service at a church down the road. They aren't a religious family, but Katherine's parents did it for her as a child, so she dragged the other three along every year. They mainly went for the carols, but also to listen to the story. They told the same one every year. Every year. And not that it wasn't an interesting tale, but seriously. Every year.

After the service, they rush home to avoid mingling. Katherine and Franklin make dinner, while Michelle and Amara play cards in the living room, marathoning their old DVD copies of I Love Lucy. When dinner is done, they all sit around the table and eat.

After dinner, they marathon Christmas movies from the nineties until midnight. Amara had finally come to terms with the fact that Santa wasn't real, something Michelle had discovered at the age of six, so the family could stay up as late as they pleased. Around twelve, though, Katherine and Franklin grew tired and went to bed, and Michelle wandered to her bedroom, too tired to sleep on the couch.

She didn't bother setting her alarm. Amara would wake her up sometime around five. So she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of various different scenarios that she would forget as soon as her head lifted from the pillow the following morning.

As it turns out, Michelle was wrong. Amara woke her up at 4:45am, shaking her and calling her name. "Michelle! Michelle! Wake the fuck up!"

"Hey," Michelle scolded softly, still half asleep. "Don't use that language."

"You use it all the time," Amara pointed out defensively. She really just wanted her sister out of bed so they could move on to her favorite part of Christmas.

"Well I'm older and pregnant." Michelle slowly got out of bed and followed her sister, who dragged her through the apartment and to the living room, where the Christmas tree stood tall, or as tall as it can be in a three-bedroom apartment.

Franklin and Katherine were already seated on the ratty couch, taking slow sips from steaming mugs of bitter coffee, having been previously dragged out of bed by Amara. As Michelle caught a whiff of their drinks, she wanted nothing more than her own mug. Unfortunately, Katherine had cut her from caffeine back before Halloween. Amara pranced over to the kitchen, returning with two mugs, one of coffees and one of water. She, of course, handed the water to her older sister, keeping the coffee for herself.

Michelle glared at her sister bitterly as she took a sip of the clear ice-cold liquid, freezing her teeth. "Thanks." There was an edge to her voice, annoyed with the world, but if Amara caught it, she ignored it.