COMPLETE ✓| Charlotte Hastings found herself between a rock and a hard place when she aged out of the foster system. With only a car to her name, she set out on the open road, hoping to find long lost relatives. Winter hits her hard. When she meets...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX | A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS
Charlotte Hastings
That night, sleep had never come so easy. The second I closed my eyes, I was out like a light and I fell asleep with no worries playing through my head. No doubts. Just the serenity of pure happiness. The spirit of Christmas created a warmth that radiated throughout me, warming a place inside of me that I thought would stay cold for eternity. Even if this was just temporary, I was going to let myself want it. I told myself that this was a good thing that I couldn't ruin. At least not this time around.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. And Eli was no fool, neither was his mother.
After years in foster care, I thought I'd finally mastered the art of sleeping through anything. But I was wrong. Two kids bursting through the bedroom door and hopping into the bed shook me from my slumber. Excited screams echoed in my ears.
"Wake up! Wake up!" A little girl's voice pipped. "Santa came!"
Her screams were followed by a toddler's hands pressing against my cheeks. "Presents! Presents!"
My eyes flickered open as Eli pulled his niece and nephew down on the bed, immediately jumping into uncle mode. "What? Santa came?" he said, surprised. Putting on a show. Sarah and Ben giggled loudly, only making Eli's smile grow. It was easy to see how much he loved his family. Unconditional love.
I sat up and leaned against the headboard, watching as Eli set the kids down on their feet. Both tugged at his sleeves, pulling him out the door. "Come on, Uncle Eli! It's time for presents!"
"Okay, I'm right behind you!" he said, but instead of following them down the stairs he turned back to me. His smile grew as he neared, leaning over the bed to give me a quick peck on the lips. "Merry Christmas, Lottie."
"Merry Christmas," I quickly echoed, still in awe. After I slipped out of bed, I pulled a sweater over my head. "Come on, we don't want to keep them waiting."
"Oh trust me, they've probably already started ripping into their stockings. In this family Christmas morning is a free-for-all," he chuckled and intertwined our fingers, guiding me slowly toward the staircase.
As we made our way down, the Christmas tree slowly came into view and I had to stop my jaw from falling to the floor. Christmas music played quietly in the background as Resa hugged her mother and father. Presents overflowed out from underneath the tree and right in front was a pink Barbie dream house with a bow on top. I remembered when I was younger tearing a picture of one out of the wish list catalog to include in my letter to Santa. Though I quickly learned that Santa was a mere myth, I wanted Sarah and Ben to hold onto the magic of Christmas for as long as possible.
