Satisfaction

Chapter 9

I wore my necklace everyday after Jackson gave it to me. Brissia was the only one that noticed it on me, but other than that, no one really cared.

It irritated my neck because it always got caught in my stitches, but I didn't care. It was a symbol of the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I practiced talking about everything important that's happened to me in the last couple of months. I would start with critical anxiety and end with Sam being a brat.

Brissia made a new friend, Mimi. Now, don't get me wrong, I liked Mimi. But sometimes she could be a little....strange. she had a necklace with a four leafed clover on it, blonde hair, and an Australian accent.

Brissia was convinced that Mimi was a witch or something. She was also convinced that nothing ever goes wrong in Australia. I wonder about her sometimes....

Anyway, back to Mimi. Mimi was a little strange. She was an only child but she lived in a mansion. Spoiled, I know. Her pet turtle, Shelldon, was a snapping turtle that bit anything in his way. Brissia had only been there once for a sleepover, but she said she was never going back. Apperently Mimi's room is filled top to bottom with creepy dolls. You know, the ones in those stupid horror movies. Yeah, those ones. Sam used to collect stuff like that- for her it was teacubps- but dolls just take it to a whole different level.

I was glad that Brissia finally made a new friend, but I thought she would be smart enough to know that Mimi's dad was the director of Annabelle. No wonder her room if stuffed with potential killers.

My room, on the other hand, was very teenager-y . With the walls painted lilac purple and Eiffel towers on each wall, picking a bedspread was surprisingly easy. I picked one with purple flowers and a black background. Since my room was small, making the most of what I had was difficult. Several trips to Target were made and Homegoods became my favorite store.

We once lost Brissia in Homegoods, back when she was in preschool and I was in third grade. She was hiding in between the clothes on the clothes rack, having a good old time. Little did she know, the entire SWAT team was searching despratley for her. When we finally found her, I was already making a deal with Dad to get my own bathroom again.

Anyway, I got up from my bed and walked into the bathroom I shared with Brissia. I looked at my reflection. I had gotten older since the last time I checked. I touched my stitches, then my forehead. A sudden anger rushed into me. I felt like passing out again, but before I could, I screamed and threw my brush into my mirror. The glass burst into a million different pieces, some on the floor, some into my hand. It felt good to be able to let my anger out. I grabbed my hairspray and pounded it into Brissia's makeup mirror.

I looked at my fists through tears. They were throbbing, purple from bruises. Brissia suddenly walked in and let her jaw hang down. She bellowed for help over and over again until Mom ran in. I kept crying, trying to pull my hair out in the process. Mom lifted me up and pulled me into her minivan.

Back to the hospital, I guessed.

Once again, I woke up to the steady beat of the heart monitor. This time, Brissia and Mimi sat on the opposite side of the room, giggling about something on Mimi's iPhone 6.

Briss walked over to me. She looked furious.

"What gives you the right, huh? You get 1 little illness and you think you have the right to just forget that I exist?"

I stood up, bent down close to her face, and slapped her as hard as I could.

"Listen up, doll. I have no control over what I do anymore. I can barley remember what I did yesterday, let alone the fact that you have some weird obsession over me. So to be honest, I don't give a crap about what you do with you're little friends, but when you feel like coming over to visit your poor, old, dying sister, I'll be right here, waiting for the old Brissia to come back."

And just like that, I stormed out of the room.

Mom scolded me for doing that, but honestly, it felt great to put Brissia in her place. Right now she's giving me the silent treatment , but that's awesome because now I can spend more time Jackson. He just got a new haircut and he got his ears pierced, so waiting to see him is like waiting for morning to come on Christmas eve; almost impossible.

After missing Thanksgiving, the only holidays I had to be excited for were Christmas and New Years eve. Every hear drives 2 hours out of their way to get to New York so we can watch the ball drop. We live in Canada, so I don't know if I could handle 2 hours with Mom singing Christmas carols and Brissia laughing hysterically at nothing.

This year would be horribly hard because Mimi and her parents were taking us in their private jet. And I'm afraid of heights. Jackson will be there, but it won't feel the same without Sam. She usually comes with us, but she's still mad at me. Jordyn broke up with her, and now she thinks its ALL MY FAULT. She's so stupid.

I was so excited to see Jackson that I almost screamed when I saw him. Yeah, we had only been apart for 3 days, but I still missed him.

I ran up the steps to his house and rang the door bell. Mrs. Peterson answered the door with an oven mit and apron on her. Her blonde hair was in a bundle of curls which bounced around every time she took a step.

"Hey, Sissy! Come on in!"

I thanked her and walked into Jackson's house. It smelled strongly of gingerbread and sugar cookies. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. When I opened my eyes, Jackson was strolling towards me.

"How's my sunshine doing on this terribly cold, wet day?" he asked.

I laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "Very well, very well. And how is my wonderful little angel doing on this dreadful day?" I asked.

He sighed and glanced back into his living room. "Ah, I'm am nothing but a small fragment in my mothers world. It's 3 days after Thanksgiving and she's already getting ready for Christmas. She probably couldn't care less about my birthday."

His birthday was on Christmas eve, so every one in his family slept over his house on his birthday so they didn't have to drive back the next day. My birthday is on St. Patrick's day, so I'm kind of lucky. (Haha. See what I did there?)

We sat on his sofa and watched Monsters Inc. until Mrs. Peterson told us it was time for dinner.

We all ate like pigs, stuffing mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese, and turkey into our mouths faster than we could chew. It was so nice of them to throw an entire re-do Thanksgiving just for me. I kind of liked his family more than mine.

Jason and Jocelyn, Jackson little siblings, sat on my right while Jackson sat to my left. he was holding my hand under the table, squeezing my hand every time Jason threw mashed potatoes at Jocelyn.

"Please don't talk to me with chewed up turkey in your mouth." Jackson's mom pleaded. "It's disgusting, and I don't think your dad would approve."

The room went silent at the mention of Jackson's dad. He was stationed in Iraq, so none of us knew when he would come back.

The silence was interrupted by Jackson's iPhone ringing in the kitchen.

We excused ourselves and walked into the kitchen together.

"Hello?" Jackson asked. "Oh hey Jim! Whats up?"

Jim was Jackson's dads friend, sort of like an uncle.

Suddenly, Jackson collapsed into my arms. His face was transparent, like a ghost.

Mrs. Peterson ran into the room and snatched the phone from Jim.

"What?!?!" she screamed. "How?!"

My face turned red from realization.

Jackson's dad had passed away.