"Merry Christmas!".

I stepped into Nick and Mary-Anne's warm house, out of the cold evening. It was Christmas Eve and everybody was in a happy, peaceful mood.

"Lila, great to see you!" Mary-Anne said, leading me into the sitting room. "What's that you've got us, presents? You shouldn't have!".

Nick was sitting in the living room watching TV. He looked really cute, wearing a blue sweater and jeans. When he saw me come in the room he got up and smiled warmly. "Li! Happy Christmas! We've got you a little something, I'll go fetch it,".

I handed Nick and Mary-Anne their presents from me. In the past week or two I had seen them both a lot. After going to the movies with Mary-Anne, we became pretty close and she had invited me over several times and we had been shopping. She was new to the Tampa area since moving in with Nick so I was her first real friend and we got on well, having so much in common.

Mary-Anne took the present from me. "Oooh!" she squeaked. "Thankyou! I'll open it tomorrow, on Christmas day,".

I handed Nick his present. It was a rare video game I knew he wanted and a nice gold chain as I knew he liked that kind of thing.

"Lila, that's so sweet of you!" he said, giving me a friendly hug. "I'll open it tomorrow too. Mary-Anne and I are leaving in an hour for the airport. We're spending Christmas day...".

"...In LA at your family's house. Yeah, Mary-Anne told me when we were shopping a couple of days ago. She helped me pick out the present, so you'll love it!". I felt a pang of sadness, thinking how happy they would be having a family Christmas. Mine was likely to be another hard day trying to get on with my mother... if she was home.

"I'm sure I'll love the present," Nick said with a grin. "Here's yours,".

He handed me an extravagantly gift-wrapped parcel. "Wow, thanks!" I said to them both.

Nick and Mary-Anne had to get ready to go to the airport so I left them to it. "I'll see you both next week, I guess?" I said, walking to the door of the house I was thinking of as home more than my real home. I felt I was welcome there.

"Of course!" Nick replied.

"We'll have to go shopping in the sales, Li!" Mary-Anne laughed.

"Hey," Nick said. "We might have a bit of a party- you know, a few friends and family- for New Years Eve. You'll have to come,".

"I'd love to!" I told them, thrilled by the invitation. "Well goodbye, and happy Christmas!".

I walked along the street and on towards my house. I wondered if my mother would be home when I got in...

"Mom! You're home!" I said as I got inside the house and saw her in the hallway.

She barley knew I was there. "Yes," came her muttered response.

"How was Paris?" I asked her, showing some interest. "Did the business go well?".

"It did," she said blankly, not even bothering to turn around.

"Well you're home for Christmas!" I said, trying to get her to make a proper reply.

Then she turned to face me, looking bothered. "No, I won't be. I'm going to Boston on business so I leave again in ten minutes,". I then noticed she had been packing coats and jackets into her suitcases.

I was disappointed. "But I thought we'd have a family Christmas!" I exclaimed. "Can't you put it off until the 26th?".

"No," she replied. "I left Liz your allowance. She'll look after you until I'm back next week,".

She walked briskly upstairs, leaving me in the hallway alone. Upset by the conversation, I walked into the kitchen to fix up a snack. Earlier, I had been looking forwards to a happy Christmas, now it seemed like it would be another lonely day...

"That was a wonderful meal, thankyou!".

My mother smiled at Mary-Anne. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, we loved having you here,".

"Yeah, thanks for having us here for Christmas, mom and dad," I added, putting my knife and fork on the plate. It was Christmas Day and we had just eaten. My brother and sisters were there also of course, and had gone into the TV room to watch some movie on TV. My parents left the table and I was alone with Mary-Anne.

"This has been the best Christmas ever," Mary-Anne said to me, giving me a hug.

"It has been a cool day," I said, pushing a lock of hair out of my eyes. "Let's take a walk by the ocean this afternoon, just the two of us,".

We put on our coats and went outside. My family's home is right by the beautiful Pacific Ocean, the view is really pretty.

"Happy Christmas Mary-Anne," I whispered in her ear as we sat down on a rock on the deserted beach. I gave her a kiss.

"I wonder how Lila is getting on..." Mary-Anne said, deep in thought. "She didn't seem to want to talk about her plans,".

I nodded. "Yeah, she didn't say much. She did say her mother should be back for today so I guess they're having a family Christmas, like me...".

Mary-Anne looked down. "Um, yeah," she said quietly.

What was up with her? "Mary-Anne, what's up? Do you miss your parents? You said they go abroad all the time... do you want to be with them? Do you feel left out?". I was worried about her.

"No, I'm happy here with you, Nick," she said, wrapping her arms around me for a cuddle. "I love you, Nick,".

"I love you too,".

>>>>>

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