The Stranger on the Train

Chapter 59: Christmas morning

Pov y/n

The rest of the day was great. While Scar and I unpacked, Rose was in the kitchen with my mother and they were making more cookies and decorated the finished ones.
Since our house isn’t very big, we had to arrange a few things to find a sleeping spot for everyone.

Of course, my Mom stayed in her bedroom, Marla, who moved into my old room, sleeps in a room with Bennett while we stay over and Scarlett, Rose and I will stay in my old bedroom.

Marla hasn’t changed a lot, apart from the books in the shelfs and a few decorations. It now feels like a strange combination between Marla’s and my room but I pushed that thought away, thankful to be here.

When we came back down, Bennett was chasing Rose around, who had some cookie frosting on her face and was giggling. Seeing my siblings interact with Rose fills my heart with love every time. They don’t seem to mind at all that Rose is my girlfriend’s daughter and only six, they goof around with her and make her laugh.

Scarlett and I joined my Mom in the kitchen and helped to put the cookies in boxes to keep them fresh. I noticed a few pots on the stove and knew that she had dinner planned as well.
Since we were on a train for quite some hours yesterday, it was already a bit later and dinner time wasn’t far away anymore. I offered to help her but she sent me out of the kitchen, telling me she’s got it and I should rest and spend some time with my siblings and Scar and Rose.

And that’s what we did, we spend some time in the living room and watched Marla, Bennett and Rose run around a bit, Rose’s action figures in their hands and playing something. It was very sweet to watch since Marla and Bennett are both 18 by now but still played with the same excitement as Rose.

After that we played a board game together, which I won, making everyone else accusing me of cheating on the game, which was pretty funny.
Soon after dinner was ready and we sat together at the table and ate. It was delicious and when I glanced around, seeing my family getting along great with Scar and Rose, I thought that I could get used to this.

The long train ride left it’s marks on us and soon after dinner we got a bit tired and after cleaning up the kitchen and stuff, we said goodnight and headed upstairs to my old bedroom.
We quickly got changed and went to the bathroom and finally were ready for bed.
Rose was seemingly tired from all the excitement today and got a bit clingy, which I didn’t mind at all. She wanted to sleep in the same bed as Scarlett and me and since there was space for her, we let her sleep between us.

Scarlett read a story to Rose to fall asleep to and it pretty much had the same effect on me since I can’t remember if the girl found her pony in the end or not, sleep having robbed me of this answer.

The next day I’m woken up by someone bouncing on the bed. I open my eyes and see Rose jumping up and down excitedly between me and Scarlett, who also seems to have just woken up.

“It’s Christmas!” Rose exclaims and I smile sleepily at her.

“Yes, it is.” Scarlett says and yawns before stretching. I rest my head back on the pillow and watch with a smile how Rose sits down again, wiggling around a bit.

“Can we go down to unpack presents?” She asks and looks from her mom to me. I turn my head and look at Scarlett. She thinks about it before taking a look at the clock. It’s 8 am, which is quite late, considering it’s Christmas morning and we have a child with us.

“I don’t know if the other’s are awake as well and I think it’d be nice to unwrap presents together with them.” I say and brush some hair out of Rose’s face. She pouts a little and lets herself fall back onto the matrass.