Escape (Dana Vaughns) *EDITING*

Chapter 8: Thanksgiving!

"Rachel Noelle Lindsey if you don't get out of that bed right this minute I swear I will sell all your clothes." My mother called from outside my bedroom door. I groaned as I saw the five twenty-four flash on the screen. Why my mother insisted I get up early with her every Thanksgiving would always amaze me.

Making my way to the door, I tripped on some clothes lying around and fell on top of my chair in the corner. Smooth.

"Why must you play dirty mother. Who would I be without my perfectly blacked out closet?" I asked her as I finally opened the door to show her my alertness.

"Just go brush your teeth and come downstairs so we can begin." She scolded as she turned her back to me. I closed the door and checked my breath. Scrunching my nose up at the smell, I figured she was right about at least that and made my way to my bathroom so I could freshen my breath. I put my hair in a high bun on top of my head so it was out of the way and made my way down the steps in my very festive pajamas. The turkey on my shirt had bright glittery feathers and my pants had his image printed all over.

My mother laughed at my apparel as I did a little twirl for her. Shaking her head slightly she got back into Thanksgiving mode and made me start preparing the fillings for the pies.

Approximately twelve hours later I was still in the kitchen pulling the Turkey out of the oven and placing it on the wonderful tray display I designed. I had been on oven duty while my mother went to get changed and was pulling everything out for the guests that were coming over. Joni was in the living room tidying up and making sure all the appetizers were still warmed and ready. She showed up at around four and the three of us made all of the food and desserts. I was completely ready to go and take a well-deserved nap when my mother put me on oven duty.

I heard her come down the stairs in her new dress she bought as I was taking the macaroni and cheese out of the oven. Sighing in relief as I finished putting it into its proper dish, I made my way to the stairs.

"One more thing please honey before you go get dressed." my mom called out to me. I turned to her with the least amount of attitude I could muster and waited for her request. "Make the table please?"

I nodded and went to go get the place mats and silverware. We were eating in the dining room and there were going to be a lot of us. I decided, to make this go faster, I would put my headphones in. I had just hit the third song on shuffle when noise from the entryway startled me. I yanked out my headphones, expecting to see my mom and stopped short at the five laughing teenagers. I rolled my eyes and put my headphones back in, continuing with my task. I felt a tap on my shoulder and came face to face with Will.

"What's up Will?" I asked a little annoyed because I woke up early and wanted to finish.

"We're here to help you. What do we do?" He asked me as I nodded in understanding. I assigned tasks to everyone and we were almost done when Dana came up behind me and scared me.

"Nice pajamas." He said as I hopped in the air, not expecting that. Luckily, he caught the silverware I had in my hand and laughed. I looked down at my choice for the occasion and instantly a blush made its way onto my face.

"I'm going to change. You guys have got this right?" I asked them as they all nodded to me. I left and ran up the stairs as quickly as I could before I got called on to do something else. After my shower I got dressed in a simple black dress, some burgundy tights and my black booties that I just bought yesterday. I did some natural makeup and made my way back downstairs.

It seemed like everyone we were expecting was here. I saw my aunts, Joni and my mother talking to each other next to the appetizers. My younger cousins were both sitting at the bottom of the steps playing with each other and my dad, Dana's dad, my uncles and the guys were all on the couch watching the game. I rolled my eyes at their typical male behavior before making my way to my aunts.