Anna

22 - Snow

"Merry Christmas!" Lizzie and Stella's squeals of excitement filled the house, snapping Ellie from the same nightmare she had every night. She groaned in exhaustion even though no one else was in the room to hear; her roommates were the ones causing the commotion.

Another pass of the girls outside the door told her it was time to get out of bed. She slipped on a fresh flannel and brushed her teeth in the bathroom. When she reached for a towel to wash her face, she caught a glance at herself in the mirror. Anna's dull, green eyes held her gaze captive.

His words swirled in her mind, and she fought back against them.

You're pathetic. It's not my fault.

No one loves you. They want to help me.

You're selfish. I can be loved.

The rapid thumping of Lizzie and Stella's feet pounding down the hallway, equivalent to that of Ellie's heart rate, broke the trance she'd locked herself into. Tugging her sleeves over the scars around her wrists, she attempted to leave behind the girl in the mirror.

In the living room, the tree was lit, and boxes upon boxes of wrapped presents surrounded the fireplace. The girls browsed and giggled through the selection to see which ones were for them, as if the unicorn-themed wrapping paper wasn't a dead giveaway.

"Merry Christmas, Ellie," Robin greeted solemnly, wrapped up in a blanket and cradling a mug of steaming coffee. The pillow against the couch's armrest made Ellie wonder if she had slept there overnight.

Ellie sat on the opposite end of the sofa and watched the girls continue their present investigation. The smell of baking cinnamon rolls wafted from the kitchen and filled the room with warmth.

By the time the rest of the family filtered in, Lizzie and Stella could barely contain their excitement. Lizzie smiled and giggled as if the Christmas Market two days prior was a thing of the distant past.

When it came time to open presents, the girls squealed in excitement and dove in, taking it upon themselves to hand out gifts one by one.

When it came around to Ellie's turn, she blushed with all eyes on her.

"Open one," Joe gently urged.

She picked a small one with her name written in black marker. She peeled off the wrapping paper, careful only to break the tape that held down the folded ends. As she gently unfolded the meticulously dissected paper, there was a little wooden name plate with her name and snow-capped mountains. Contrary to when she first saw it, two holes had been drilled into the top, connected by a thin rope of twine.

Staring at what was now an ornament, Ellie did something she did not expect: she laughed.

"Thank you," she breathed through a smile. She glanced at Joe and Tessa, who were practically beaming with pride. They encouraged her to open more, to which she obliged.

After every present had been thoroughly inspected, the house was left ravaged by a tornado of wrapping paper. The family dispersed to recover from the early morning chaos.

"Ellie, can you come here real quick," Tessa asked. Ellie slowly stood, taking care not to step on anything, and followed Tessa to the room across the hall from hers.

"Have a seat," Joe said, patting the edge of the mattress. She cautiously sat next to him and Tessa sandwiched her in. "There's something else, but we didn't want to do it in front of everyone."

Joe held out two final gifts. One wrapped in paper identical to what was under the tree, the other covered haphazardly in flimsy brown paper. She looked at him, baffled, but proceeded to gently peel off the paper of the first one.