"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."
— George Washington
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Bella
Christmas dinner at the Garcia's had been interesting, tremendously lively, and very Christmas-y.
The Garcia's had gone full throttle when it came to the decorations. Their house seemed to have been cut out from a pristine home magazine then placed amongst the other— from the blinding colorful lights that had wrapped the two-story house to the inflated Santa that was perched at the front yard repeatedly singing 'ho ho ho merry Christmas', amongst others– there were reindeers, gnomes, and miniature Christmas trees that were scattered around the yard.
Inside was no exclusion from the red, green, and white vibe. Their fireplace was modernly decorated with Christmas socks that had emasculate cursive writing with their names ranging from small to large.
Stair railings had small fairy lights encircled on them that flashed yellow and white hues correspondingly.
After we'd had a rather uncomfortable gathering at the dinner table—thanks to Zoe's father showing up shitfaced and reeking of booze— she and her mother apologized profusely on his behalf. Grace being an understanding woman took no mind of Mr. Sherman's tactics but instead sent him a warm smile. Kill them with kindness as I'd like to call it.
The table had been a clear buffet feast. It ranged from all Christmas food such as; chicken, mash potatoes, cubed beetroot—though I preferred it grated— salads of all kinds, meat dishes of all kinds, chocolate eggnog, starches ranging from rice to different kinds of pasta; as well as non-alcoholic wine and juices.
We had split into groups to play charades— the Christmas edition. A Garcia Christmas tradition.
My team consisted of Liam, Zoe, and Dad. We were ahead by a long shot of points.
"This is a classic movie that everyone in this room has binged during the Christmas holiday." Liam had stated when it was our turn to guess the answer. My brain had reeled with countless possibilities, but one stood out.
"Home Alone!" I screeched out with utmost confidence before the others could snag our points.
"Cooorrect." He praised, flinging the paper he held in his hand he walked towards me and embraced me in a warm hug. Pulling back, I felt the immediate loss of heat shared between us. My cheeks reddened at the affectionate way he looked at me, his hand lingered on the small of my back sending electric shock waves all over my body. Reciprocating his gesture, I smiled back revealing my perfect set of pearly whites enhanced by metal cages I used to loathe—braces.
Games unwounded, by the end of them all I had seen a different side to Grace; the competitive go-getter, that had a lot of tricks up her sleeves.
All in all, it had been the best Christmas I'd had.
---x---
YOU ARE READING
|PARALLELS| ✔
Teen Fiction-Completed- ★UNDER EDITING AND/ REVISION★ Two and a half years after the tragic incident that took the life of Bella's mother Hanna Hernandez, Bella struggled to live as she felt like a part of her died that day with her mom. All the sympathetic sta...
