Mixed up families, huh?

Chapter Six: Reagan's POV

In the summer, I don't have to worry about school. Summer is like every kid's safe haven. Not me, though. I love school. It has always been a place to get away from Joey and Sarah, and I didn't get to see Hayley as much. Summer was never my favorite time of year, that's for sure.

It was terrible, summer. Not only was the heat unbearable in Dallas, Texas, but there was nowhere to go. I had no money, so I had no way to leave Dallas or runaway, not that I would. I couldn't leave this place. Hayley was here, and I had nowhere else to go.

Joey and Sarah might suck to live with, but most of the time they provide me with food. I scavenge for clothes, or just borrow Hayley's. I had nowhere else to go. Aunt Dot, who helped me with Sarah and Joey when I was younger, died 2 years ago from blood disease.

I don't trust anyone else. So, I'm stuck in this terrible city with my horrible 'parents' and Hayley. Hayley found a job 4 months ago, when she turned 16, and she spent most of her time there or at the diner owned by the Timber's.

The Timber's were nice people. A couple, Izzy and Tanner, took over for Tanner's dad when he died. The diner goes back decades. Aria and Cassie were there only children. Twins, actually. The girls were nice, never too mean to me. They often stood up for me at school when Hayley wasn't around.

Anyone, with Hayley's job and my parents being preoccupied with making my life a living hell, I found myself wandering the streets of Dallas more often than not. I brought my camera with me most times, trying to catch a glimpse of the local raccoon.

My camera was my pride and joy, never a dull moment with that thing. Aunt Dot bought it for me on Christmas 4 years ago, considering Joey and Sarah never bothered to celebrate.

Flashback

I spent the day cleaning. I was only 11, but Sarah and Joey made me clean the whole house. It wasn't too hard, just took me around 3 hours. I had to be thorough, or else Joey would be very angry with me. He said Aunt Dot was coming, which made me excited.

Aunt Dot was always happy to see me, which was new for me. I had never seen anyone smile as big as she did when she saw me sometimes. I think she was just relieved I was still alive.

Aunt Dot was the one person Joey was always hoping to impress. Sarah couldn't care less, but Aunt Dot was Joey's older sister, which made her important in his eyes.

It wasn't even that Aunt Dot was nice, most times she could be quite cruel to everyone, including me. It was just that she seemed to genuinely care about my well-being, which no one had ever cared about before.

Today was what Hayley had called Christmas, but I wouldn't know. We never celebrated Christmas at my house, I wasn't sure why. The school and the church that I occasionally snuck into seemed to make a big fuss over Christmas. Sometimes I wish someone would care about me the way these people cared about Christmas.

Anyway, now that I knew what Christmas was, I longed to celebrate it. I wanted to eat chicken and turkey and pumpkin pie. I wanted to open presents and leave out cookies for Santa, who seemed made up to me. I wanted to wear a pretty dress and do my hair in thick, beautiful black curls. I wanted everything that other kids had.

I knew it wasn't as simple as that, though. Joey and Sarah would never allow me to put up a huge green tree and decorate the house with bright Christmas lights or make a huge feast with all the best foods. It was never going to happen, although I couldn't help but hope.

I lied down on my sorry excuse for a bed, in my tiny bedroom, and waited for the knock on our front door. As soon as it came, I sprang from my bed and ran down the stairs, not at all concerned that I would get in trouble for making a ruckus. I threw the door open and flew into my Aunt's waiting arms.