My Crazy Years

Family reunion. Part 2. The desire to protect

The dinner table was noisy with your relatives' conversations, words being thrown from one end of the room to the other. The food was delicious, but the yearning in your heart was strong enough to turn even your favorite meals sour. The carols began to annoy you, the lyrics distorted by the voices of your relatives feeling like nails on a blackboard. The children were down there too, with that woman's brat being the loudest of them all, screaming for no reason. You had to wonder what on Earth he was feed with back home to have such strength. Granted, he could make a good singer one day with that lung capacity. However, none of the adults cared to say anything to quiet him down, some almost drunk, while others, like your father who albeit sober, simply didn't care.

You looked at your mother and Camelia who were staring daggers at each other. Who's bright idea was to sit them together? Your mother took you by a complete surprise when she threatened that woman at the doorway. She had her moments like that, especially after the accident.

You felt movement in your muffler, which you refused to take off despite everyone's insistences. You peeked down to see Broken and Flower trying to get out and take a look at what could cause so much noise, Hornet covering her ears and Pure trying to soothe Ghost and Grimmchild to sleep, but the screaming didn't work in their favor.

"Are you ok, dear? You're sort of pale." your mother asked all of the sudden distracting you from the little ones.

She got up from her seat and came to you. She pressed the back of her hand on your forehead, concern written all over her face.

"You're so cold. Sebastian!"

"What?" your father answered, interrupting his conversation with his cousin.

"Let's go home. (Y/N) is cold as ice. I think she's getting sick."

Now that she mentioned that, you did feel a tad strange. However, you thought the headache was due to that devil's spawn screeching.

"No! You can stay." Sarah interfered and then she turned to you. "(Y/N) go to the bedroom to get some rest. You'll feel better afterwards."

"No. I think I want to go home." you said, beginning to feel a tad dizzy.

"It's ok, Felicia. I'll take her and Norah home and then I come back. May, Rea, behave in the meantime, ok?"

"No guys. I'll give (Y/N) some medicine and after she rests, she'll be fine. I guarantee you. (Y/N) go to the bedroom. You know where it is, right?" Sarah continued. "We only see each other once a year, Norah. It would be cruel to leave now, when the party is not nearly over."

You obliged, glad to get away from all that noise, even if your mother wasn't pleased at all with it and honestly, neither were you. Still, your family owned Sarah from a time when she helped your father out with something and apparently, that debt could only be repaid by coming to these stupid reunions.

You went to the bedroom after taking the medicine your aunt gave you and laid on the bed on your side and with your back against the door, thankful for the warmth and the quiet. Since you were alone, you let the little ones come out and roam around. Pure laid by your side with their siblings sleeping in their arms, finally able to, now that the noise was gone. Flower and Broken were looking at the pictures on your aunt's dresser, at the faces smiling in front of the camera. Hornet went to the window and stared at the snow, feeling a bit homesick. She missed her mother, just like you missed the rest, but to go home now was impossible.

"It's going to be ok. Time will pass by fast." you said, half-opened eyes looking at the young bug.

Hornet turned to look at you, and nodded, thankful for your attempt at comforting her.