ANOTHER LONELY DECEMBER, Riley Johnson

Thicker than Water

🎧: You're Gonna Go Far - Noah Kahan

I woke up to the sound of a text being delivered on my phone. I hadn't planned anything for the day since the day after was Christmas Eve and Riley was supposed to help me pick out a white elephant gift. I got up, opened the blinds and sat back on the bed.

Heading to the mall to get a white elephant gift, want to join? Abby texted a few minutes ago. As much as I wanted to go with Riley, going with Abby could be a great way for us to talk about what has been going on these past few days.

Sure, I'll be ready in 10 minutes :) I texted back rushing to the bathroom to take a quick shower and jump into some warm clothes. I was surprised to see Sloane's car stop to pick me up. Her kids were sitting in the back while Abby was on the front passenger seat. I had to squeeze in between the twins.

"Who are you?" Matilda asked as if we hadn't seen each other the day before.

"I'm Amelia, Abby's sister" I answered forcing a smile. I didn't completely dislike kids but I didn't appreciate them either. For some reason these two stressed me out.

"Who's older?" Magnus followed his sister's lead, asking question like scary mini FBI agents.

"She is, you can tell though, can't you?" I joked followed by an awkward silence. This was going to be a long shopping session. The rest of the ride was silent. Abby kept looking at me through the rearview mirror, I knew she wanted to talk about last night's argument. Hopefully we'd be able to get away from Sloane and her kids to have this conversation which is exactly what happened. As soon as we walked into the mall we went to get a coffee while Sloane and the twins went looking for a white elephant gift.

"I'm sorry about last night" Abby started as we sat down. "I shouldn't have acted like it was all your fault. It was just..." she hesitated, not knowing what word would fit.

"Easier?"

"Yeah, things with Harper are just so complicated right now... I didn't want to make it worse" she sighed looking down at the half empty cup in her hands.

"It's only complicated because you let it be. I don't exactly know how scared she is right now, I can only imagine, but she's making it way more complicated than it needs to be. She's forcing you to lie, she's projecting her issue on you... It's not fair. No one should have to stand back and watch her flirt with her ex-boyfriend just because that's what her mom wants her to do" I tried to remain calm and not be too judgmental but that whole situation was getting out of hands and I wanted, more than anything, to protect my sister.

"You're right, you don't know." Abby simply said. I could tell she didn't like my little monologue before she even answered. The main reason why she didn't like it was because she knew I was right. There was nothing forcing her to stay and endure this.

"I love her, Amelia. You couldn't possibly understand that, but despite everything she's doing, I love her. I want to spend my life with her, there's nothing I wouldn't do for her." she explained. She wasn't completely right.

"I've never romantically loved anyone but it doesn't mean I've never loved another person. I love you, Abby, with my whole heart, in the most genuine way a person can love another. I would drop anything, walk barefooted to the other side of the country if you needed me to. So no, I don't understand what being in love with someone feels like, but I know what it's like to be ready to give up your whole life for another person" I fought the tears forming in my eyes, not willing to show my vulnerable side in a public place.

"Lia... I'm so sorry, I'm- It wasn't fair of me to say that, I'm sorry" she seemed genuinely sorry and embarrassed.

"It's okay" I smiled, placing my hand on hers, letting her know it really was okay and I wasn't mad.