Christmas came and went faster than any of us wanted it to. Millions of gifts passed out, and a million trash bags full of wrapping paper and boxes from gifts were dealt with. As awkward as I imagined it would be for my mom and Nancy, it wasn't. If you saw them, you'd think they've been friends forever. They both trash talk Josh, and Nancy praises Mom on raising two respectful kids on her own.
I do feel bad for Dustin though, even though I haven't forgiven him. I know it sucks not having a full family during the holidays, but I can't imagine what it's like for him. Having a full family one year, and the next it's gone. His dad decided to celebrate his divorce on a cruise, his sister is at some douchebag's house, and his mom will go back to an empty house.
"Ready for tonight?" Ivy asks me, and I smile with a nod. "What are you wearing?" She asks, and I know she isn't going to be crazy about my answer. Tonight, our families are having our own little New Years Eve party. The parents bought a lot of junk food, sodas, and party favors. Us kids decorated the house with streamers and other things. Which took longer than we thought it would since we didn't consider taking down the Christmas stuff.
Also, it's my first holiday with a boyfriend. One I spent Halloween with, one who called on Thanksgiving while our families cooked so our families could get to know each other, and one who spent Christmas Eve and day with me. Also, my New Years Eve kiss. "Holland and I are wearing our onesies we got." I answer, and she rolls her eyes playfully. My mom bought all of us a onesie along with a phone case with pictures that we've taken these past few months. Each phone case uses different pictures, and has a different color trim.
"I'm not over the fact you gave Rebel your car. I would never give my sibling mine." Kane butts in, and I roll my eyes. Every one of them has made a point to tell me I am insane for giving him my car, but he deserves it, and I'll be able to get another one soon. "You're insane, and I applaud you for it sometimes."
"Kids! We're going to start games in an hour. If you need to get changed, need something from the store, or need to grab something, do it now. There is a bad storm heading this way, and we want everyone together in case the power goes out." Evan bosses, and we nod. "And please, do not dress like you are going to a club. This is a family gathering, dress comfortably." He points a look at his daughter, and I laugh.
It's not that Ivy dresses provocative when we go to clubs, but she does like to show what she was born with. "Yes father." She says in a teasing voice, and he walks away rolling his eyes. "He loves me. I swear." Kane and I laugh, while she shrugs.
No one this week has changed out of comfortable clothes. We're either in sweatpants or shorts and baggy shirts. Apparently since it's New Years Eve, they think we are planning on dressing up all fancy and shit. News flash for them, if it weren't for Ivy, I'd wear a pair of jeans and t-shirt like I do everyday.
Kane leaves when Wren calls him outside, leaving us three girls. Grace- Kane's little sister- has been hanging out with Ivy and I or with Rebel since they are the same age. And we are all pretty sure that they like each other. So sure that we have a couple bets about them.
"I'm going to get ready. Just because I can't dress cute doesn't mean I can't at least do my hair and make-up." Ivy says, and I chuckle. "Oh babe, your hair is getting curled too. So chop chop, let's go." She grabs my hands, and drags me off the couch. "Grace, come. We're not going to let you be here alone with those heathens." Ivy grabs Grace's hand, and drags her as well.
We stop by Ivy and Grace's room, where Ivy informs me we'll get ready in mine and Holland's room since there is a bathroom connected to it. When we get into my room, Ivy locks the door so none of the heathens, as she called the guys, can bother us. After the door is locked, she heads into the bathroom as if this is her room, and starts plugging in her curling iron.
"Can I ask a question?" Grace voices, and we look at her through the mirror. When we give her a nod, she blushes, "How are you supposed to kiss for the first time?" She asks, and we chuckle.
When her face drops, I look at Ivy with wide eyes, "We're not laughing at you. Just at the question. There's no right or wrong way to kiss someone for the first time," I pause, "the first time I kissed Holland was a make out. My first kiss was a quick peck. It just depends on the people, and what they feel is right." She nods, and I continue, "Tonight, every couple is either going to give a few pecks for luck, or kiss for fifteen seconds or longer."
Grace seems to take that into consideration for a few moments, then asks, "When did you two have your first kisses?"
I look to Ivy, letting her do the talking this time. I know why Grace is asking, and I know by the end of tonight I will be a hundred dollars richer. After Ivy tells her she was fourteen, and how it was, I take it upon myself to answer the unasked question. "My brother hasn't had his first kiss yet, and he's sixteen. There's nothing wrong with it. Everyone moves at their own pace. You might not be ready until you are out of high school, you may decide you're ready when you go back." I shrug, but don't miss the blush that creeps on her cheeks.
As the hour passes, we answer any questions Grace asks, and I have to admit it makes me wish I had a sister. Someone I could ask questions too, and not feel weird about it- not that I feel totally weird asking my mom questions. We also assure Grace that she can ask or tell us anything and we won't tell anyone. We get only having a brother, and want her to feel comfortable enough to talk to us about things.
"All done. Now we just have to get dressed, and head down to everyone else." Ivy tells us, and we nod. We all change into our onesies, and head to the stairs. There is music playing, the house smells of pizza rolls and chicken nuggets, and you can hear the laughter of everyone at the top of the stairs.
When we get to the bottom, we are greeted by claps and cheers, "About time you three decide to join us. We're about to start Family Feud." Wren tells us, and I flip him the bird while taking the seat next to Holland. "Parents insisted on doing kids versus parents. I'll go against Nancy." We nod, and he glares at her playfully.
Asher shuffles the cards, picks one up, and reads it, "Name a Marvel Avenger." After he reads it, he pushes the card against his body, likely afraid someone will cheat. Smart man.
Wren hits the little button between him and Nancy, "Captain America!" He yells, and Asher nods. "Yeah baby! We're gonna play."
Asher nods, points to Dustin, repeats the question, and waits for Dustin's answer. "Iron Man." He says, but it comes out more as a question.
"It's... correct." Asher announces, and we all grin.
We played the whole deck of Family Feud, in two hours. The scores were pretty even, each team taking a turn winning, and by the last card we were all ready to tear each other apart. "The winner is..." Asher trails off, pretending to think. "Kids!" He announces, and we all cheer.
"Eat, party, do whatever. We have a few hours until the ball drops. Stay down stairs please, and don't go outside." Owen tells us, and we nod. "We'll meet back here later on and play some more games." He says when he notices none of us bother to move. We give him a thumbs up, to which he walks away.
I cuddle against Holland, and he smiles, "Having fun?" I nod, against his shoulder. "Wanna make our own bet?" I pop off of his shoulder, and nod enthusiastically. "Okay. I bet twenty dollars that Ruth will go into labor right as the ball drops."
"I bet it'll be before. Within the next two hours." I bet against him, and he sticks out his hand. "You're going to lose babe." I taunt, and he laughs. He'll see here in a bit when her water breaks that I've been right this whole time, and no one listens.
As the parents break out the margaritas and beers, us kids have a dance party. We set up a queue of music, dance our hearts out, and at some point Ivy starts throwing money all over us. We all dance for an hour, then drop on the floor as if our bodies have given out. None of us say a word, we just let the music and our parents' laughter surround us.
I really listen to Mom's laughter. She rarely laughs around her friends back home since they think now that they are adults with full time jobs and kids that they aren't allowed to joke and have fun, outside of a few drinks every couple of weeks.
"We should totally play with the nerf guns we got." Kane tells us, and we all laugh. "What? We have like five hundred bullets, each of us has a big ass gun, and as long as we stay in here and towards the parents' bedrooms, none of them will be in the crossfire." He points out, and we nod.
"Let's do it!" Wren yells, and we all get up. "Everyone grab theirs, we'll meet back here to set up rules and whatever else we need to set up." He claps, and we all race up to our rooms to get our guns.
When we meet in the living room, I take note that we all have some sort of glasses on. I have my normal seeing glasses on- that I neglect- Holland has on a pair of safety ones he got at some point, Ivy has on her sunglasses, Wren has on fake glasses, Kane has on a pair of swim goggles, Levi and Bryce have on ski glasses, Dustin has on his glasses, and Rebel and Grace have on their vipers they got from Owen.
"Ground rules. Whatever Owen said was off limits, is still off, and we'll add the kitchen to off as well. We'll pair up into five pairs of two. Grab your partners." Wren announces, and we all get a partner. "Great! Now, when you are almost out of your bullets, yell orange, and we'll go on pause to reload our stations. Try not to aim at the face. Try not to break anything. And lastly, we'll all have a section that we can't pass. For example, the team who takes the back where the bedrooms are, aren't allowed to cross the threshold unless you are reaching for ammo." He finishes his speech, and we nod.
We break up into our team, and head to where we want to be. Holland and I take the back where the rooms are because no one wanted to be back there. The others are speeded out around the front of the house. Ivy and Dustin are in the big walkway by the front door, Kane and Wren are in the hallway between the kitchen and stairs, Bryce and Levi are in the living room, and Rebel and Grace are in the little sunroom. None of them seemed to think this through because Holland and I have perfect aim at every single one of them. It'll be their mistake when we start.
"Three... Two... One!" We all shout, and start shooting. Holland takes one side of the threshold, and I take the other, so we are back to back. Bullets fly around us, and we all laugh.
A good hour passes of us running around shooting, and getting shot, and stealing ammo from each other when Ruth yells, "Guys, my water broke!" We all abandon our guns quickly, and all run into the kitchen. "Hey guys. Decide you're hungry yet?" She jokes, and all the guy's eyes turn wide seeing the water at her feet.
At once, they all yell, "What the fuck do we do? Is she going to fall out right now? Right here?" All the women, and dads laugh at them. "We didn't learn about this in school! I'm not ready for my innocence to be taken!" All of us are howling at them right now.
"We need to get her hospital bags, and we need to load up cars fast." Owen says when he stops laughing. "We'll put parents in our van." He turns to Mom, "Can the kids take yours?" She nods, and he goes to help his wife stand up. "We have to go now. Hol, can you grab the bags?" Holland nods, and the parents start heading towards the door. "See you at the hospital!" A couple of them yell, and the door slams closed.
When we hear the door close, we all start laughing, nervous laughs. When my laughter clams down, I start giving out orders, "Land, grab the bags. Ivy and Grace, grab blankets for everyone, Rebel, start moms van, Dust and Wren, grab a few snacks for everyone, Bryce and Levi, grab a few caffeinated drinks. Please!" I yell after they start running to do as I ordered. While they do that, I grab everyone's snow boots from the little entryway, and throw them into a bag. Thank God we had a snowball fight a few days ago.
After everyone meets in the living room with whatever we'd need for an overnight stay, we head out to the van. We load in, and race to the hospital as fast as we can on the icy roads. We pull into a random parking spot in the parking lot, and rush into the hospital.
If you saw it, you'd be confused because you'd see semi adults in a whole bunch of onesies. Wren in a Scooby Doo one, Dustin in a dinosaur one, Levi and Bryce in ones that are the aliens from Toy Story, Ivy in an Angel one from Lilo and Stitch, Holland and I in Mike and Sully, Rebel and Grace in Care Bear ones.
Our hands are full with bags of the things we brought, and we are frantically trying to get to the nurses desk. When we reach it, Holland taps it a few times, "Hi, we're looking for the room of Ruth Maddox. I'm her son." He says, and she rambles off a number. After he thanks her, we run up the stairs- because the elevator would take longer- and find the room Ruth is in.
My mom, Kane's parents, the twin's parents, Dustin's mom, and Levi's mom are standing outside of the room. "We'll be able to go in, in just a second. They want to see how much she's dilated, and give an estimate of when she'll start the actual birth process." Mom tells us, and we smile. "And the nurses are going to try to bring a few more chairs, since Ruth demanded we're all in there until it's time to push." She adds, and our smiles grow.
If you would have told me a year ago that I'd be going to my dream school, have a boyfriend, and have a big family, I would have laughed in your face. I never would have guessed that we'd meet people who are open to take us in as their own family, and want us to be there for their bg milestones.
A nurse walks out, and smiles at our group, "You guys are good to go back in." We nod, and shuffle into the room. Ruth gives us a smile, which we all return. And everyone falls into an easy conversation.
After a while, Owen walks over to Holland and I, who have made friends with the floor. "I guess this is yours Oak. You got the date right." He laughs, handing me the eighty we all added into the bet, shaking his head. Then he turns to Holland, "You have to give her twenty don't you?" He teases, and Holland nods.
"I made a bet that Ruth would go into labor after the ball dropped, she bet it'd be a few hours before." Holland huffs, pulling out his wallet. I hold up my hand, and he gives me a confused look, "What?"
"You'll have to hold my money. I don't have pockets, and I didn't bring my wallet." He nods, takes the money I was just given, and puts it into his wallet. "Never bet against me. I have a good intuition when it comes to these things." I tease, and he rolls his eyes. Fine then, bet against me asshole.
Owen walks back to sit beside Ruth, and slips into the conversation with everyone else. Not long after he walks away, a new nurse comes in the room, and eyes all of the guys. She bats her eyelashes at every single one. The funny part about that is none of them notice her, they are all engrossed in their own conversations.
"The room is too full. We need everyone except family to leave." She says with a lot of sass. When none of us move, she rolls her eyes, "I could get security if none of you start leaving."
Ruth's eyes snap to the bitchy nurse, "Go get them sweetie. I'll tell them what you already seem to have figured out, but seem to not grasp because your to busy eye fucking every man in here. We. Are. All. Family." Ruth snaps, and slowly all of us grow a grin.
Mom clears her throat, "If you'd read that chart on the wall, it says that there will be twenty people, including the women in labor, in the room at all times. If you read under that, you'll see the names, and ages of every single one." She stops when the nurse looks at the chart. When the nurse looks around the room, Mom continues, "As you can see, there is exactly that amount. If you have an issue with it, you and I can walk down to the nurses station and request the big boss. But I can bet you won't win." The nurse huffs, and Mom gives her a sweet smile.
"It's against the rules for this many people to be in here. In case something happens, we need to have easy access to our patient." The nurse argues, and I shake my head at her back. This nurse is going to bury herself deep.
Mom nods unconvinced, "No it's not. I'm a nurse, and all rules are the same when it comes to the patient's request. If you still seem to have an issue with it, we can take the trip to the nurses station, where the rules should be in a binder somewhere. If you don't have an issue or don't care about your job- which seems to be the case- then send another nurse in here." The nurse scoffs, and storms out of the room. And as if nothing happened, all the parents go back to their conversations.
A few minutes later, the first nurse comes in, "I am so sorry for the last nurse. She was not supposed to be in here in the first place." She apologizes, more to Mom and Ruth than anyone else. When they nod, she continues, "We're working on getting the chairs in here. How many do you think will be needed?" She asks, as her eyes scan the room.
"How ever many you can spare. They're young, and can sit on the floor." Mom jokes, and the nurse nods.
"I'm going to need to check the dilation again. If you guys can please st-" The nurse is cut off by Ruth saying we can stay until it's time to push. "Okay, I'll check real quick, and depending on how far you are it might be time." She says, and Ruth nods.
The nurse gets to work, and we all go into a conversation about how we met. Apparently Ruth and Owen told her we're not all blood related, so she gets to hear our story of how we all met. When she's finished checking Ruth's progress, she smiles, "It's time. If we can have whoever isn't staying please go to the waiting area. I promise I'll personally come get you guys after baby is here." We all nod.
As we head out of the room, we drop a kiss on Ruth's head or give her a quick hug, then head out the door.
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Hell loves! How are you?
NEXT UPDATE: 11/14/23