Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa-la-la-la-laa-la-la-la-la!
Wake up from the bed baby Ellie,
Fa-la-la-la-laa-la-la-la-la!
T's Christmas Eve and your b-day,
Fa-la-la-la-la-laa-la-la-la!
Strike the alarm and join the par-tay!
Fa-laa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
"Not again." I groan into the pillow. I switch the alarm off with one hand and rub my sleepy eyes with the other.
It was all the work of my oh so great brothers.
They thought it would be wonderful to wake me up early in the morning every year since I could remember, with a special song as my alarm on my birthday. And since my birthday is on the eve of Christmas, it doesn't help the situation.
Once I'm done brushing and showering, I change into warm clothes. It consisted of a faded blue jean, a plain black shirt along with a black jumper which had a reindeer embroidered in the front paired up with my black sneakers. I brush my hair down into soft brown ringlets and apply my mascara and lip-gloss.
Tucking my amulet, which for once did not glow like it did the other night under the sweater, I smile at my reflection in the mirror. The amulet stopped glowing after a few minutes of tapping and turning it over. I still had no clue why it did, what it did.
The house is eerily quiet as I make my way downstairs for breakfast. The sound of my footsteps could be heard echoing through the kitchen.
That's strange. Usually, the whole lot would be here to wish me or at least to gobble up the special birthday breakfast.
"Kyle?" I call out.
No response.
"Cole?"
Again, no response.
"Hailey? Mel?"
Nope.
"Jase?"
Nothing at all.
Where is everyone? They better have not left me alone in the house.
I open and shut different doors, but not a soul I found. That's when I hear something.
A clatter of plates to be exact.
I smirk as I jog to the door leading to the backyard from the kitchen. I open it to find a balloon bursting it's confetti on my face.
"What the-"
"SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE!!!"
I blink, my lips parting in surprise. Six faces with fully blown smiles stare at me with eager eyes. So, this what they were up to. Kyle is the first one to break the silence.
"Well, are you just going to stand there and gawk or are going to come up here and give me a hug?"
I chuckle and run, latching myself onto him. He stumbles a little at the impact but returns the hug, nevertheless, squeezing me tight and laughs along with me.
"Where is my hug?" Cole pouts and gives me an offended look.
I smile and jump into his arms. He twirls me around making me squeal like a little girl.
"You're getting heavy boo bear." He says wiping away the non-existent sweat on his forehead. I punch his arm lightly in response.
"Girl hug!"
Hailey and Melissa pull him away from me and give me bone crushing hug.
"Can't. Breathe." I wheeze out. I must have sounded like Guy from The Croods after Grug squeezes him. The girls let me go and Jase pulls me into a hug, ruffling my hair.
"Not the hair! I just spent fifteen minutes taming it." I groan. He smirks and ruffles it again just to spite me.
"My little girl is all grown up!" I hear Nana fake sobs as she dabs her eyes with her daisy printed handkerchief.
"You are not even crying, Nana. And I'm eighteen not eighty!" I laugh as I put my arms around her and hug her tightly. She kisses the side of my head and pulls apart to an arm's length.
"Oh, shut up you! Always ruining the moment." She says as she waggles her finger in front my face but there is an amused twinkle in her eyes.
"Alright, enough of all the touchy-feely gestures. I'm starving!" Kyle whines as he pulls me away from Nana and pushes me towards an enormous cake with eighteen candles.
"Do you want some cheese with that whine?" I ask him, getting everyone to laugh except my brother who gives me a look.
"Yeah, whatever. Blah blah blah, that's all I hear. Now feed me already." He retorts as he shoves a blue plastic knife into my hands.
I smile awkwardly as everyone sings the birthday song, fumbling with a loose thread on my sweater.
"Blow the candles and make a wish!" Kyle yells in my ear and I wince.
"I am seriously wondering who is celebrating the birthday today." Hailey sighs.
"You are all meanies." Kyle pouts and crosses his arms over his chest.
I blow the candles and cut a piece of cake.
"What did you wish for?" Kyle asks me. Hailey elbows his side with a glare.
"Ow, what was that for?" Kyle growls as he rubs his stomach.
"For being such a big baby." Hailey tells him as she smacks his shoulder.
"Stop being so violent! Are you trying to kill me?" Kyle says, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I can't wait for the day that wish of mine will come true." Melissa mutters under her breath. Kyle huffs at her.
We eat the cake, well most of it. Nana packs the rest of it in a box and puts it in the fridge.
"We got you a little something for your birthday." Cole tells me. Melissa hands me a box with a tiny ribbon bow. I gently take it and glance at them.
"Go on, open it." Jason urges.
I gasp at the little silver key placed neatly inside. Kyle produces a keychain with the numbers, '1' and '8' hanging from it.
"We know it's not much, but-"
"Not much?!" I say, my voice several octaves higher. "This is like the best present ever!"
"What are you waiting for then? It's parked in the drive." Hailey says, her eyes shining with excitement.
I half walk, half run to the drive and stop when I finally see her.
My little blue baby.
"You're so beautiful..." I whisper, running my along the silky surface of the baby blue beetle. "I'll name you Berry."
"When you're done whispering sweet nothings to the car, Nana's got cookies and apple pie for all of us." Kyle calls out from the main door. I roll my eyes and give one last longing glance at Berry before making my way to the house.
It's almost night when everyone leaves, too tired to do anything else. We say our goodnights and go to our rooms. Nana, as usual, checks in on each of us. She strokes my hair and smiles.
"It feels like it was just yesterday when you were holding Cole's hand and going to your first day at school with a huge smile unlike your brother, who put up a tantrum. And now you're an adult, who can take care of yourself."
I laugh at the memory. I miss those days. It seems like such a long time now.
"Alright, you better go to bed. You must be really tired." She kisses my forehead and shuts the door gently after her.
"It's still days away from your birthday. I guess time flies faster here." A familiar voice says soon after she's gone.
"You really got to stop with the night time visits."
I reply without turning around. It's scary how I know it's him after just a few nightly visits. His light chuckle resonates in the room and I find myself smiling.
"And what do you mean, time flies faster here?" I turn around to face him. I find him sitting on the bed with his legs crossed.
His usual black hoodie covers his torso. He pulls back his hood and runs a hand through his chocolate brown hair. My eyes glance at the familiar mask disguising his features. His pale fingers move to his neck, where he scratches the skin there.
"I told you I wasn't from around here. And well, what I meant is that time goes slower here than where I am from." He says slowly like it was obvious. I guess he's referring to the different time zones. I wonder where he is from though. He never mentioned.
"Right. I remember you mentioning something about that."
His lips curve into a smile and bright blue eyes meet my own dark brown ones. I yawn and climb onto the bed.
"I'll let you sleep and get going then." He jumps off the bed and walks to the window.
"Goodnight Reese." I mumble sleepily.
I see him pause and shoot a glance in my direction. He turns around yet again and surprises me with a hug.
"Happy early birthday. Goodnight princess."
In a blink, he vanishes through the window. A small smile forms on my lips. When I'm almost asleep, I feel slight heat surge through my neck. My amulet gives a flicker of light and the heat vanishes.
Not paying much heed to it, I go into a dreamless sleep.