The Incredible League of Goth Pizza Haters (RH)

Part 44

---Sylvia---

I awoke Christmas day to a figure in the dark corner of my room watching me sleep. I didn't move and he soon left with the waking of my mind and eyes. I lay in my room for another forty minutes thinking about demons and evil spirits.

I got up when I heard Dani waking everyone and we all sat in the jolly living room. My brother had been pissed at me for a while, but smiled at me Christmas morning and passed me a box. We filed through presents, taking time to ooh and aah and everything. No one mentioned Abby's absence but we all felt it. I guess my mom couldn't decide on whether to hang up her Christmas stocking or not because it sat on the chair in the corner of the living room. Apart but never forgotten. 

After we were done we all sat in the living room looking through our new shit. I was intensely satisfied with my presents. 

Some earrings and colored eye contacts from Dani. (Red contacts are great for scaring the shit out of Walmart people.) 

A handcrafted sword from Nick. (Holy shit.) 

And a new ukulele from my mom. (I named him Lawrence.)

***

We spent the rest of the day in a light cheery mood. We marathoned the newest season of The Walking Dead, as it was on tv as a Christmas special. I'm not exactly sure how killing zombies pays tribute to Jesus, but I wasn't religious and I liked The Walking Dead so I decided not to give a flying fuck and eat the precious lemons life had laid before me.

We had watched tv as a family, though usually at least one of us was on our phone checking social media, and at the end of the holly jolly Jesus day, we ate dinner together. As a special treat, my mom poured us some wine (or as Dani and I call it, Jesus Juice) at dinner. We ate the pot roast and I thought about how relieved I'd be about not having to hear anymore Christmas music. And the Hallmark channel would finally stop playing corny lovey-dovey Christmas movies (all with the same fucking happy ending) and FINALLY go back to showing re-runs of The Golden Girls. 

***

Later that night I decided to go out, mostly because I was bored and kind of sad. I got in my car and drove to a nightclub out in town. I knew the guy who ran it, Phillip, so they let me in without checking my ID or anything. My band has played here a few times. When I entered, he walked up to me, grinning ear to ear with a drunken smile.

"Sylvia... my lovely songbird." he threw his hand over my shoulder and pulled me in closer, his breath stinking of booze. "I just want you to know, honey, that you and your band are welcome here anytime... My club goers love live entertainment and I'd be willing to hand you the spotlight... So long as you wear one of those tight dresses..." I smiled and set some performing dates here.  Phillip was a nice guy, just a little pervy when he's buzzed. 

He let me go and I wandered about in the crowd. There were lights flashing and loud music deafening logical thought to many of the people here. I strayed back to the lounge but found some men seated around a table where a girl danced and removed her clothing. I left to take my sober mindset elsewhere. This place wasn't a strip club, but sometimes drunk party people liked to make it into one. 

I avoided the bar which turned me to the dance floor. I didn't feel like getting illegally hammered and disappointing my mother. Yeah, I've done it before but she never knew and I didn't want her to find out because I drunk drove myself into a tree. The dance floor was full of many people in varying degrees of drunkenness. 

I was too sober to dance, so I instead lingered at the edge of the dance crowd, pretending to look around and be fascinated by the ceiling. Then someone grabbed me from behind and pressed up against me. I spun around to see a familiar face. 

"Hello, Ian. Have a good time with your family?" I asked

"What?" he called over the music. I could tell from the way he was stumbling that he was drunk. He pulled me closer, grabbing my hips and all. It dawned on me then that I had a boyfriend. I was in a relationship. An actual relationship. Why am I even here? 

"Nothing," I said and tried to subtly slip from his grasp. I didn't want to tell him I had a boyfriend, not while he's drunk. 

"How's living with your mom?" he asked

"Okay, I guess. I should be getting paid soon so I was gonna start looking at cheaper apartments." I was feeling kinda self-pitying so I added, "I'm not really wanted there, so..." 

"You can always come live with me for a while," he says, slipping his hands up and pinching my sides. I flinch at his motion and he laughs. "Just for a little while... Meg's there, too. So you girls can get along together." he smiles and I smile back, completely uninterested. I stay with him a while longer until I can slip away, all the while he's trying to feel me up. I go to the lounge, find it still occupied, then decide to just leave. 

The drive home was long and quiet and when I slipped back into my house all the lights were off. I tip-toed to my room and got into bed, trying to go to sleep. Dani slipped into my bed later that night, which is something she hadn't done since she was ten.