ROOMMATES|tamber

CHAPTER FIVE: rosy cheeks.

★ TARA

Christmas is the best time of the year. The smell of gingerbread cookies that emit from Sam's oven. Watching Home Alone on repeat as if it were the first time watching it. Wrapping gifts with near perfection that made her giggle with excitement. The want to give gifts early. Christmas time is absolutely perfect to Tara Carpenter.

Nothing is going to ruin her favorite holiday this year, nothing at all.

The only problem was that the apartment was empty. There was nothing holiday themed, and it was all thanks to Amber.

"Can we please get a Christmas tree?" Tara begged from across the kitchen island, her head resting against her hands while she watched the older girl make bacon.

"It would cause such a mess, Tara," Amber let out her complain, her back towards her while she flipped the strips.

It was true, the endless pine needles that would fall that needed to get vacuumed, the apartment stinking of pine and the possibility of ornaments falling and breaking.

"Please? How is Santa supposed to bring me gifts if there is no tree?" Tara whined.

Amber held the bacon pieces against the pan with her spatula. "You still believe in Santa?" She asked back glumly.

"No. . . but there's a possibility that he is real? Tara tried to sound convincing. She let out a huge and sad sigh, trying to give Amber a pleading look although she was just staring at the back of her head.

"Why can't you just go to Sam's to look at a Christmas tree?" Amber questioned.

"But Amber. . ."

"But Tara," she mocked back, finishing off cooking.

"Why don't you like Christmas?"

Amber grabbed a plate from the cabinet, placing it onto the counter before loading some food for Tara before she started working on her own. She turned around and slid the plate of bacon with eggs over to Tara.

"I don't not like Christmas," Amber shrugged, passing over a fork before moving on to her own plate.

"Thank you," Tara said quietly before continuing. "Then why can't we get a little bit of decoration?"

"A whole-ass tree is not a little bit of decoration; do you even have the money to spend on this tree?" Amber leaned against the counter to start eating her food, she looked over at Tara, noticing her head that was low and she looked absolutely destroyed.

Over a tree?

"I was thinking we could split the cost?" Tara tried to offer, her voice going higher in uneasiness.

Amber raised her eyebrows, chewing on her food. Really? This had to also make a dent in her wallet? This meant Amber would actually have to get gifts for Tara to put under the tree, well, if she agreed to get the tree. What would she even get her? Christmas was in a week and a half, isn't it a little too late to get a stupid tree anyways.

"Or can we at least get a tiny tree? The fake plastic ones?" Tara tried to counter over with a pout. She was not going to take a single bite of her food until Amber says yes.