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Sixteen

Most families spend Christmas in their PJs all day long, but not us Chambers and Olivers. We treated Christmas dinner like it was a big event, dressing up to the nines in our fanciest clothes. I hated this tradition when I was a teenager and a kid. I'd never felt as confident as Lizzie. This tradition always made me feel insecure in a way. So, when we stopped doing it after the Olivers left. I never really missed it.

We'd spent the majority of our morning and afternoon taking our time opening our presents and playing around with all the toys that Skye and the twins received. Now, I stood in front of the mirror in my bathroom, behind my sink. Much like the rest of our rooms, Lizzie and I's bathroom was the exact same. Behind our double sinks were faded gold mirrors, and the cupboards were painted a faint lavender colour.

I took Skye's hair out of the braids we'd put in this morning, allowing her red hair to cascade down her shoulder, slightly waved. I picked out her dress for her. It's a deep red shade with thick tank top straps. Underneath it, we paired a black turtleneck. I pin back some of her hair with a black bow, "All right, you're done."

"Yay," Skye claps, smiling brightly, "thank you, Marley."

"Of course," I brush my fingers through her waves, smiling at her through the reflection in the mirror. For the last half an hour, as I helped Skye get ready for our Christmas dinner, it'd been just me and Skye. I know how important moments like these were. I've missed so much being away. She's growing up so quickly. "Go downstairs. I'll be down in a minute."

Skye nods, rushing out towards my room and then out the door. I'm partially ready. My hair was in a high ponytail with the front strands pulled out, framing my face. My makeup is done my simple everyday routine. All I have to do now is put on my dress.

My dress was burgundy, with puffed sleeves. The dress's skirt flowed slightly above my knee, tight around the top. I bought it a while ago and had never had an excuse to wear it until now. For the first time ever, I'm excited about our fancy Christmas dinner. Something I never thought possible.

Mom and Nikki were both finished bringing all of the food to the table as I walk down the stairs. Both wore black dresses, their hair tied up. Dad, who's helping them carry everything in, wore a pair of grey dress pants with a matching jacket, pairing them with a white t-shirt underneath.

"Yes!" Harper cheers as I entered the dining room. Everyone else was sitting at the table, all except Wyatt, who I assume is still upstairs. Harper's wearing a cream-coloured off-the-shoulder sweater paired over a brown corduroy skirt. She's sitting in-between Lizzie and Skye, with James on the other side of his wife.

Unlike Harper, who cheered when I entered, James mutters under his breath, annoyed. He's wearing a white button-up, the top few buttons undone. While Lizzie wears an emerald green dress that made her green eyes pop. Her hair is waved slightly, her lips lined with her signature red lip colour.

"They made a bet," Lizzie explains, rolling her eyes, "Harper bet that you'd be down before Wyatt."

"Ooo," I nod my head in approval towards Harper, taking the seat across from her, "What'd you win?"

"10 dollars." Harper smirks, "someone had been confident that you'd take longer than Wyatt. But he's a celebrity, aren't they like, notorious for being late."

"That's actually a really harmful stereotype," Before any of us could reply, Wyatt interjects, walking into the dining room. He's wearing a black turtleneck paired with a pair of black and white striped dress pant. He didn't bothered putting any gel in his hair, allowing his curls to fly around wildly. He looks good, though, as if he were heading to some fancy event that wasn't Christmas dinner.