House Of The Witches

Chapter 30: Krissmas Dinner

Christmas Dinner!

The final part of a beautiful Christmas day, where families unite and share a meal. Uncles, aunties, distant cousins, grandparents, friends, coworkers, and even neighbors all sit together, telling jokes and laughing while the stereo sings "Jingle Bells".

A moment that sums up a day of love and togetherness. A moment that we carry into the next year and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.

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This wasn't the exact kind of Christmas dinner the kids were having. Despite Nelly's efforts, there wasn't really anything to smile or laugh about. They were sad and they were missing their families. Being away from them for so long seemed to be making them realize how blessed they were but had refused to see.

"Jamie is such a smart kid. He's kind and funny, he can be very annoying at times but I love him." Samson said at the table while his friends listened.

"When our dad died," he continued, "I knew that it was up to me to be the man of the house and look after my mom and Jamie. I wasn't ready for such a huge responsibility so I acted out. It took a while for me to realize that I had to man up and take care of my family. But even after that, I still chose to come here with you guys rather than spend time with them. I hate to admit it but I wanted a break from them, from the responsibility and the expectations. I kept this a secret but the truth is, I always felt like they were a burden to me."

"I've felt that way before! It's not something I'm proud of but I sure have felt it." Peace started to say.

"My parents started having their problems about a year after Jasmine and Lilly were born and it automatically became my responsibility to take care of them, and I hated it. They were always crying and pooping, always hungry and it was too much for me and it made me hate them." Peace said and stopped to drink some water.

"One day, Mom and Dad were fighting and I was giving the girls a bath. Jasmine started to cry so loud and I was so frustrated that I thought about drowning her in the bathwater. Maybe I would have done it, but before I could act on those thoughts, my mom showed up and finished giving them their baths." Peace finished.

Everyone was silent, a bit rattled by Peace's confession so Jennifer decided to break the silence.

"I kinda hate my parents!" She blurted out.

"What? Why?" Nelly asked, he couldn't understand why since they were so rich.

"Because they don't care about me!" Jennifer answered.

"That can't be true!" Peace said to her.

"But it is, Peace! My parents have always been more interested in their businesses than they were in me. Do you know that for as long as I can remember, the three of us have never spent an entire day, just hanging out? They always have a meeting or a retreat or a business deal, there's always something more important than me." Jennifer said, sad but trying to conceal it.

"They always pressure me to be the best Goldberg I can be. For them, public image is what matters most which is the only reason they funded the cafeteria with better lunches. They didn't do it because they cared about the kids not eating junk, they did it for themselves and the recognition it would bring to them in the society. They're selfish and I hate them." Jennifer finished.

They were all silent again.

Hearing all his friends pour their hearts out made him feel comfortable about telling his own secrets.

"My dad hits me when he gets angry!" Darryl suddenly said.

Everyone was shocked to hear this except for Peace as she already knew.

"He'd been doing it since I was a minor and he's still doing it now. One night, after he put his hands on me, I was so angry that I snuck out and went to his car. I cut the brakes so that he would crash the next day on his way to work. He came into my room later to apologize for hitting me. He talked about how lonely he felt without my mom and how sorry he was and begged that I forgive him...and I did. I went back to the car and fixed it so it wouldn't crash...and sometimes, I wish that I had let him crash so he wouldn't hurt me again." Darryl finished.

Samson patted his back, letting him know he was sorry about his problems with his father.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to tell some awful truth about my life, isn't it?" Nelly said with a serious smile.

"Well, we all said something. Your life can't be perfect!" Peace said to him.

"Nope," he chuckled, "it isn't."

Nelly drank some water and sat up.

"I kinda lied when I said I never saw my Dad again after he left. About a year ago, I tracked him down and I went to visit him. I stood behind a tree and watched him say goodbye to his wife and kids as she took them to school and after they left, I approached him. He barely even recognized me." Nelly took a pause.

"What happened when you saw him again?" Jennifer asked.

"I asked him why he left me and he couldn't give me an answer. He just stood there silent and I begged him to say something. You know what he said to me? He told me to leave and to never look for him again."

"I really hoped that he would say that he was sorry for leaving me, maybe try to still keep in touch and we'd be able to pick up where we left off but he chased me away. And that's why I hate him!" Nelly finished saying, staring at Jennifer.

She understood now his hatred for his father and couldn't blame him for it even if she wanted to because she also hated her parents for something not even half as worse.

"Our lives really suck, don't they?" Peace said. No one could disagree with her because they knew that she was right.

Samson took out his phone. It was still on but there was absolutely no signal. So, he went to his music playlist and selected the Christmas song, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey.

He placed his phone in the middle of the table and they listened to the beautiful lyrics while staring at each other.

It was almost as if the lyrics of the song were meant for them because, at that particular moment, all they wanted for Christmas was to be home with their families.

At that moment, Darryl didn't want Santa to make him rich and give him and his Dad a new and fancy house. He only wanted to go home and try to fix his relationship with his father. All he wanted for Christmas was a second chance at a better relationship with his Dad.

Samson didn't see his Mom and his brother as a burden anymore but as a gift to him. He knew his duty was to take care of them and that was all he wanted to do; that was all he wanted for Christmas.

All Peace wanted for Christmas was to be with her sisters and wanted her parents to stop fighting all the time. She had wanted them to get a divorce but now she didn't want that anymore. She fixed her relationship with Jennifer when it seemed impossible which made her feel that her parents could fix their relationship too and her family could finally be a happy one.

Nelly had made his peace with the fact that his father abandoned him. He didn't want to feel hate towards him again. All he wanted for Christmas was to go home to his Mom and his Pops and take care of them as much as was possible.

Jennifer felt as though she could have a better relationship with her parents as they also needed to play their part. She decided that she would tell her parents how she felt and hope that they put in the effort to always spend more time with her instead of at work. All she wanted for Christmas was her parent's love and time.

"Guys, I wanna go home," Jennifer said with a solemn expression.

"Me too!" Nelly said.

"Me too!" They all echoed.

"And so do I, so that's enough of the emotional mumbo jumbo!" Moriah said as she appeared before them.

She entered into Jennifer and used her powers to make the table of food disappear.

"Let's go get that bloody Dagger!" She said, eyes glowing bright red.