come out and play (billie eilish christmas story)

2

"Do you need a ride?" She yelled over the wind, holding her hand out to me. I glanced behind her and saw a Toyota mini van idling by the curb, with the older lady she had been in the store with, in the driver's seat looking out the window anxiously.

I unplugged my phone and stuffed it all back in my bag, then grabbed her hand and let her help me up. She led me into the car and sat in the back seat with me.

Once I had my seatbelt on, I took off my hood.

"Thank you so much, I just moved here last week and my phone died so I got lost," I chuckled to cover up my embarrassment.

The lady up front responded kindly. "Don't you worry about it, dear. Could you tell me your address?"

I told her the name of the apartment building I was living at and relaxed against the warm seat, my frozen face and fingers finally defrosting.

"I'm Billie, by the way, and this is my mom, Maggie," The girl who looked my age- Billie- introduced them, smiling at me.

"I'm Willow," I introduced myself, smiling back bashfully before quickly looking away.

"Willow..." Billie repeated, dragging it out slowly. "I like that," she said, a smile in her tone.

I blushed and quietly thanked her, grabbing my bag as we pulled up to my apartment building.

"Thank you again, I really appreciate it," I said, opening the door and shivering as cold air washed over my face.

"Wait, let me get your number so we can hang sometime!" Billie insisted, grabbing my arm before I could escape.

I paused. "Okay, give me your phone," She beamed at me, and handed me her phone, open to a new contact. I hastily typed in my number and name, then gave it back.

"Okay, see you around, I guess. Bye, thank you!" I repeated once more before I shut the door gently and made my way inside, sighing with relief at the warm lobby air.

I used my key to get inside and entered the elevator, hitting the number '4' and the 'close doors' button before anyone else could weasel their way into the elevator, where we could stand in awkward silence for a minute before one of us got off.

Yeah, no thanks.

Entering my new apartment, I wrinkled my nose at the boxes in the living room still waiting for me to unpack them. I wavered, debating if it was worth putting it off for later.

Deciding I would hate myself if I left it for later, I put all my groceries away before heading over to the first box.

Two hours later, everything was sorted. I smiled happily at my colour-coded wardrobe (that was mostly hoodies...), then put all of the boxes inside of each other before making my way to the recycling dumpster in the parking lot.

And now, finally, I get to make cookies!

I eagerly found all the ingredients I had just purchased and found my great-grandma's recipe that my mom had saved when she had died. While they were in the oven, I went and changed into my pajama pants and did my nighttime skin care. It was only 7:30, but it was dark out and once my cookies were done, I had no intentions of getting off my bed until tomorrow morning.

Ugh, I start work tomorrow, I thought grumpily, glancing at the alarm that was set for 6:30 AM the next day.

I jumped as the oven timer went off, quickly rushing over to pull the cookies out. When I opened the oven, the heat made me jump back, but the warm aroma of the familiar cookies washing over me made me smile.

I left them to cool on the pan for a little while before moving them over to the cooling rack. I may have bit into one a bit too soon and burnt my tongue, so I made myself some hot chocolate while waiting for them to cool enough to eat.

I set a few on a plate and put the rest in the container, taking the plate and the hot chocolate into my room. I set them beside my bed while I grabbed my laptop and got cozied up in my brand-new duvet.

I turned on The Lion King and pulled my cookies onto my lap. Just as I bit into one, a wave of loneliness washed over me.

I chewed slowly while looking at the cookie. It seemed suddenly bitter now that I had let my guard down and thought about how I used to do this with my mom... before the accident...

I swallowed and shoved the plate back onto the bedside table, tears pricking at my eyes.

I'm all alone. I thought gloomily. I was in a big, new city, by myself. And it wasn't like I could go visit my family... heaven was a one-way trip, and I wasn't ready to make it yet.

it gets more interesting soon i promise!