3:26 am

e i g h t

e i g h t

"Oh, Quincy! You get prettier every time I see you, darlin'," I smiled as my Aunt Vera pulled me into a hug and I breathed slowly, not wanting too much of her perfume to fill my nose.

"Thanks, Vera, it's good to see you," As soon as she pulled away from me, she walked to Walt and hugged him tightly. All afternoon had consisted of inviting people in and giving them hugs. The annual Thanksgiving dinner never failed to remind me how introverted I was.

I excused myself for a moment and walked upstairs. I had left my phone in the bedroom to charge, and kept feeling as if I needed to check it. Once I got into my room, I walked to my phone and picked it up. I was disappointed to see I had no notifications, and I set it back down.

I pushed myself off my bed and as I got to my door, my phone buzzed. I turned around on the ball of my foot and walked back to my phone with a smile on my face.

1:27 pm
holden
help me. please. i told eric i would celebrate with him this year and i thought i would be able to help cook or something, but im on kid duty 😩

1:27 pm
holden
i mean don't get me wrong, i love kids, but their son is actually insane and all he's doing is hitting me with various toys.

1:28 pm
quinn
aww, that's precious. let him do what he pleases.

1:28 pm
holden
i'll update you if i don't die

I unplugged the charger from my phone and brought my phone with me downstairs. I made my way to the kitchen and decided to offer my mom help with anything she needed.

"Could you just... uh, make sure the snacks don't run out?" Mom asked seeming frustrated as she continued to cook.

"Sure thing," I said before walking out of the kitchen and out to the front room, checking on the food that was out for everyone to snack on. There was still plenty, so I knew my job was done.

I walked through the house and made my way to the furthest room back, where my brothers and I would spent our time playing when we were younger. The room had a family breakfast nook, and it was my favorite thing about the house. I crawled onto the cushioned bench and covered my legs with a blanket that was draped over the back of the pillows.

1:37 pm
holden
i have been lifted from my babysitting duties for awhile and i survived

1:43 pm
quinn
im so proud of you!!

1:45 pm
holden
thanks !!

1:45 pm
holden
how's the thanksgiving party?

1:45 pm
quinn
it's okay, im already hiding

1:47 pm
holden
there's only four of us here and im hiding too

1:47 pm
holden
surely they won't notice im gone

1:48 pm
quinn
nah, how could they ever tell? im the one who's in trouble with nearly forty people in the same house as me.

1:50 pm
holden
your mom will kill you if she finds out you're trying to skip thanksgiving

1:51 pm
quinn
i know, im gonna have to go back in soon.

1:53 pm
holden
the kid just started yelling for me, nobody's safe. i'll ttyl

I sighed and sat my phone down on my lap as I raised my hands up to my face. I made sure not to rub my face knowing the makeup I had on would definitely smudge if I was rough with it.