Unravelling

Chapter 55 - Confrontation

I startle awake at the sound of a door being forcefully shut.

"No slamming of the doors! How many times do I have to repeat myself?" Alex calls from somewhere in the house.

"No point in yelling after he's already left the house," I hear Sam tease him, amusement lacing his voice.

My eyes are still shut and I have no idea where in the house this conversation is taking place. I also don't really care. I would just wish for them to shut up and go back to being quiet so that I can sleep a bit longer.

"That was supposed to be a reminder for the rest of the kids and recreational door slammers in this household," Alex retorts sarcastically. "God knows they need it. I don't get why they always have to slam the doors."

If I weren't so tired, I would probably remind him that it is unfair to lump everybody together. I, for one, don't slam doors. That is one of the rules I try to stick to – unless I am super angry, of course. Then all bets are off. Generally, the hardest rule for me to follow is the one about not running in the house. I don't really see the point in that one, to be honest.

A hand lands on my head, gently stroking my hair and making me jump once again.

"Have a good nap?" Sean's voice sounds from somewhere above me.

I finally open one eye and find him smiling down at me, standing behind the sofa. My sluggish mind slowly starts to make sense of where I am and what is going on. I must have fallen asleep in the living room after we had a few snacks for lunch, once I had successfully put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree. I remember snuggling up against Sean and how my eyelids started to become heavy. Getting up at 4:30am naturally has taken a toll on me, so it is not very surprising that I nodded off shortly after eating.

"Mhmm," I mutter, unable to form words yet because I am still half asleep.

"Good. You were out for almost four hours. That should be plenty, even for a sleepyhead like you."

"What?"

This information is enough to wake me up completely.

Four hours?

I stare up at Sean with wide eyes and he just laughs at my shocked expression. Grabbing my hand, he pulls me into a sitting position.

"Why did you let me sleep so long?" I complain.

"You clearly needed it, sweetheart. You were out like a light within minutes after lunch. Which is just as well, since that'll ensure that you won't fall asleep at the fire pit tonight, which would be a real shame, wouldn't it?"

I am not sure what to make of this statement. As far as I am aware, I have an 8pm curfew. Which means that I won't be able to enjoy much of our Christmas Eve Celebration, anyway.

"I'll have to go to bed early anyway," I remind him bitterly.

Again, Sean just laughs at me and it kind of annoys me. I don't know what he thinks is so funny about this. Missing out on our Christmas tradition doesn't sound very amusing to me. But since I brought it upon myself, I don't think there is much room for me to complain. I will just have to suffer in silence and feel sorry for myself inside my head.

"You don't have an early curfew tonight, baby girl. Or tomorrow. We managed to convince Alex that he should suspend that part of your punishment for a few days. At least until all the annual Christmas festivities are done and over with."

"Really?" I stare up at him in disbelief.

How did they do that?

"Yep. Didn't take that much convincing, actually. He's too happy to have you back to spoil that by enforcing your punishment just yet," Sean says in a quiet voice.