"Zoey! Wake up!"

My heavy eyelids lift open as my sister starts to jostle me with the widest grin ever known to man plastered against her face. I make some sort of noise and close my eyes again. Whatever time it is, I've barely slept.

"Oh my God, Zoey! This is an emergency, I need you to wake up!" she says as she starts to bounce the bed up and down.

"What? Oh my God. Stop!" I huff out and pull the blanket further up over my shoulder.

"Zoey, he's hot! Like I'm not even joking, hotter than Nathan in One Tree Hill."

"What?" I rub my eyes, trying to make sense of what Erika is saying. When I catch the unfamiliar color of the comforter, I sit up. "Who's hot?"

"Tristan! He's here! Apparently he came late last night and surprised everyone this morning. I met him five seconds ago and then rushed back up here because I look like Shrek got eaten by a monster!"

I take her in and let out a snort. She literally looks like an angelic being with glowing skin, likely the effects of her moisturizing routine, and her hair in a perfect ballerina bun. "You look fine! But, Erika, listen—he's kind of an ass."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sighing, I recall the conversation I had with him last night. I'll admit he's really got the whole looks thing going for him. The strong angles of his face, his broad athletic frame, and those chiseled abs could be things to write in a diary if I had one. But what good is all of that if it comes with obnoxiousness? "He came in here last night, woke me up, and demanded I move to the couch so he could sleep in his bed." I leave out the part where he was hitting on me because...well, I don't know why.

She shifts her head back. "What? Really? He seemed so nice when I met him though!"

"No, he's a jerk. But you'll see for yourself, we're stuck here for the next two weeks with him."

She pouts in thought but then cracks a smile. "Well, can you help me pick out an outfit anyway? I still need to look cute in case he turns out not to be a jerk. Besides, you were probably just being cranky to him. Have you met yourself when you're woken up?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm an absolute dream, you bitch," I fire back and Erika laughs. I'm about to lie back down but a delicious buttery scent catches me as it fills my nostrils. "What's that amazing smell?"

"Jackie and Mom are cooking breakfast for all of us! It'll be ready soon, so we need to get down there. Come look at these outfit options I have before you get ready!"

Dragging myself out of bed, I follow Erika to her room. After helping her pick an outfit by nodding at the ones I like and shaking my head at the ones I don't like, I'm released from my sisterly duty to get ready. It takes me less than three minutes to brush my teeth, wash my face, and throw on some sweats. I check my phone and catch a notification from Boxer Briefs.

BB: I'm five minutes in with my family and my mom has already shared my most embarrassing childhood moment with complete strangers. Was it a mistake to come home for Christmas?

I laugh and send out a response before I make my way downstairs, following the aroma of bacon permeating through the air.

Me: Hmm I need more context to give you an answer. Tell me exactly word for word what she said and I'll try not to be overcome with glee while reading it.

When I enter the kitchen, I'm greeted with sounds of chatter and crackling from the stovetop. The space is so bright and warm and the delicious scents make my stomach turn in hopeful anticipation. Everyone but Erika is here. "Morning," I say as my phone buzzes in my pocket. Suddenly, I wish I stayed upstairs so I could read it.

Heads swivel toward me. "Morning!" energetic voices ring out somewhat in unison.

"Zoey! How did you sleep?" Mom asks from near the oven where she's standing next to Jackie.

I glance at Tristan who's sitting on a stool at the kitchen island in his navy blue sweats, hair mussed from sleep. His green eyes shift from his phone to me and his smile instantly falters. Even with the souring expression, his eyes are even more striking in the daylight compared to when I saw them last night. I quickly look away.

"Really comfortably," I respond, clasping my hands behind my back. "I slept so soundly. That bed is one of the most comfortable I've ever slept on." I look over at Tristan again and can't help rubbing it in. "Soft...warm...cozy," I emphasize each word slowly while keeping my gaze trained on him. "It lulled me right to sleep."

The annoyance from last night is still present in his features but his lips twitch slightly. "But how comfortable are we talking?" he asks with a slight lilt of irritation right before his mom responds.

"Oh, wonderful! I'm so happy to hear that, Zoey!" Jackie says as she flips a pancake on the stovetop. She hands the spatula to Mom before coming toward me and wrapping me in a hug. "In this family, we hug every morning!" Her butter almond scent overpowers me as I return the embrace with not nearly as much fervor as her.

"Here, let me introduce you to everyone." She links her arm in mine and takes me to the breakfast nook by the window where my dad is seated with Mr. Londer. "This is my husband, Bill." She gestures to the man in a tartan button down shirt, which could easily have been pulled from my dad's closet. In fact, seeing them side by side, these men could have hired the same stylist from the Macy's menswear department and I wouldn't have even batted an eyelid in disbelief.

"Sorry I missed welcoming you guys last night," Bill says. "My body clock isn't what it used to be. I can hardly stay awake past nine these days."

"They thought it was because Mom slipped something in your drink," Tristan says and I let out an involuntary laugh. Ugh. Why did I laugh?

"Tristan," Jackie says while shooting him what looks like a warning stare.

"No worries, Mr. Londer," I say. "My dad is the same way. Are you in the same support group he's in?"

Bill chuckles and Dad gives me a half-hearted reprimanding look before turning to his friend. "Bill, be careful. My daughter is the joker in the family."

"Sounds exactly like our Tristan over there," Bill says.

I shift in my spot as Dad turns to me. "Zoey. Bill and I were roommates for three years in college."

"Did he kick you out for the fourth year?" I ask in sarcasm and get a few more chuckles. For some reason I glance over at Tristan, whose lips have shifted up slightly more, like he's smiling but not quite.

Before I can try and interpret his expression further, Jackie pulls me to the island closer to him and who I'm assuming is his sister. She looks about twelve years old and is wearing a stylish, yet understated dark green top. "This is my baby, Fiona," Jackie says.

"Hi," Fiona offers up shyly before looking down at the floor with wide eyes, as if she wants the ground to swallow her up. She mumbles something about not being a baby.

"Fiona is trying out for the Christmas play today at First Presbyterian Middle School. It's the same one that you're going to be interviewing at!" Jackie says, and I assume that Mom filled her in on the job opportunity.

Nerves flutter in my belly at the thought of going to the interview. While it's very low key and I'm still incredibly excited about it, it's been a minute since I painted a mural. A part of me wonders if I can even do it anymore post-arm breaking incident. Will this be the time I realize everything I've been working towards has been for nothing? Will I be forever stuck with my parents while my sisters continue to be the only ones who make them proud? Gah, I need coffee.

"Maybe you two can go together?" Jackie's hold on my arm tightens slightly.

"That sounds great," I respond with a smile, but Fiona still doesn't look up. "If that's okay with you, Fiona?"

She glances up with raised brows, as if surprised that I asked her.

"She's very shy, so let's see how this play works out," Jackie adds and I catch Fiona's cheeks growing even more red.

"I'm taking her to the school," Tristan says. "I was planning to volunteer for whatever they needed this year." His voice is deep and pushes at something that's familiar. My brain turns as if trying to remember the name of a song it's heard before. "You're welcome to join us, but we probably don't have room in the car with all the junk shoved in there."

Jackie's hand directs me to Tristan. "Zoey, this is my son, Tristan. He got here last night and ended up surprising us this morning! It's truly a Christmas miracle!"

"Pleasure to meet you, Zoey," he says with displeasure as he offers his hand for a shake. I take it and find that it's annoyingly warm and big and smooth. For a moment I don't say anything as I analyze him in the daylight—that edge to him doesn't look like it's been softened by sleep. His eyes are like streams of rushing water that could hook someone into a rip tide if they're not too careful. Something moves in my stomach and I quickly take my hand back. He clears his throat.

"Tristan," Jackie says. "Can you go to the school tomorrow instead and let Zoey take Fiona? I was thinking you can show Erika around town this morning?"

Tristan looks away from me and makes a face at his mom. "What? Why? Can't I go and we all go to town later on?"

"Yes, we will be going this afternoon. But, we'll all be busy this morning after breakfast and Erika doesn't have anything to do. You should take her out somewhere. The lake is nice and quiet. You two can get to know each other there."

"She's very open to a lot of things," my mom jumps in. "Going for coffee, or something with low activity, like walking or going shopping. Nothing too much though like ice skating or skiing. Those are tough on her bones."

When I catch Tristan's face crumpling into more confusion, I let out a quiet laugh through my nostrils. How has he not caught on yet?

I make my way to one of the stools on the other side of the breakfast table and pull out my phone, dying to read the text burning a hole in my pocket. While the conversation around me continues, I read Boxer Briefs' message about his most embarrassing childhood moment and practically cackle out a laugh. The room goes quiet and I glance up to find everyone is looking at me. "Sorry." I say, tucking my phone away and trying to maintain my composure.

"Mom, can I speak to you in the other room for a moment?" Tristan asks.

"Can't right now! The food is almost done," Jackie says as she rushes back to the stove where Mom is plating up the pancakes.

"Zoey?" he addresses me, causing my nerves to jump. "Do you mind stepping in for my mom for a sec? This will really just be a moment."

I bite my lip to try and tamp down the smile from BB's text before nodding. "Sure." Heading to the stove, I pull out my phone again and re-read the message as Tristan and his mom leave the kitchen.

BB: Ever since I was a kid I was always trying to solve problems. One time my family and I went on a beach trip and I saw a jellyfish stuck on some wood. I didn't know what to do, and I had heard something about jellyfish and peeing, so I peed directly on the jellyfish to try to help him out. Don't ask me how old I was.