"Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but what we give."
~Ben Carson
"Dammit. I think I got another paper cut."
I set the wrapped package down in front of me, looking down at my already cut index finger. Ty was looking up from where he had finished wrapping another present on the loveseat and dropped it into the red bag on the floor beside him.
"Are you okay?" He asked, resting his hands on his knees as he prepared to stand up.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." I muttered, "How are you managing to wrap all of those without getting paper cuts?" He shrugged, looking down at his perfect hands, clear of any sign of cuts.
"I guess I just have a way with wrapping things. Know any place that hires people that can do that?" He joked, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Actually, I-"
"I was being sarcastic, Alyssa." He stood up, shaking his head as he walked toward the kitchen to grab more tape.
I continued to wrap the Barbie doll in my hands in Christmas tree wrapping paper, hissing whenever the cut would brush against the paper.
"You need some help?" Ty asked, crouching down beside me, holding the tape out in front of me. I looked up and over at where the pile of the toys he should have been wrapping were supposed to be, but were no where in sight.
"You're done?" I gasped, surprised. I still had most of my pile beside me.
"Yeah. I can help you if you want." He whispered, sneaking a smile in my direction. I moved over a little and tossed a board game into his hands, then the wrapping paper.
"Thanks." He nodded, reaching across my lap to grab the scissors. We stayed quiet for a while, sitting side by side and wrapping the remaining presents. Sometime during it, I started humming an old song my sister had been obsessed with under my breath, Ty glanced toward me every once and a while and just stared, as if he were trying to place the song.
"Can you sing?" He finally asked after we cleaned up and shoved the supplies back in the closet.
"Steph used to say I could, but I hate my voice." I responded, shifting on my feet awkwardly under his curious gaze. He reached up and rubbed the five o' clock shadow that had begun to grow again, his lips tugging into a smile again.
"I'm sure you're great." He said, making a gesture with his hands, "Sing something." I shook my head, tucking my hair behind my ear as I grabbed one of the red sacks full of presents from the floor and set it on the couch.
"Come on, Alyssa. I want to hear it." He tried again, taking the other sack from the floor before I could and setting it on the couch in front of us.
"Fine. But if your ears start bleeding, it's not on me." I joked, shutting my eyes as I let out a nervous laugh. I started to sing my sister's favorite song, shutting my eyes as I listened to myself. I barely made it through the chorus when I felt tears starting to sting my eyes.
"Man In The Mirror?" Ty cut my singing off, obviously aware I was about to start crying, "By Michael Jackson. Was that her favorite song?" His tone was so soft that I barely heard him. I reached up and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Yeah." I mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to start crying." He smiled sadly, touching my shoulder comfortingly.
"I understand, you don't have to apologize." He whispered, and he slowly opened his arms up, offering me a hug. I hesitated for a second before taking it, burying my face against his shoulder.
YOU ARE READING
The Wish List
Teen Fiction"Her dying wish was for me to complete her list, and I wasn't going to stop until it was completed." When Alyssa Morrison loses her little sister to cancer, the last think she wants to think about is completing the ridiculous list she left beh...
