"You didn't pack?" I asked, noticing that Aiden had no suitcases or duffle bags out to take with him for winter break.

Aiden looked up at me. He was sitting on his bed, strumming absent-mindedly on his guitar. He had on a navy blue hoodie and had the hood pulled up over his head. He was wearing his hipster glasses.

"I'm not leaving," he told me. I blinked.

"I thought they closed the dorms for break," I said. He shrugged.

"I guess I'm an exception," he replied, looking away from my eyes.

"What about Nick?" I asked.

"What about him?" he asked back, looking up at me again.

"Is he not going home either?" I questioned.

"We usually don't go back home for break, Renee," he answered.

"Oh," I replied in a quiet voice, lowering my gaze, not wanting to press him for more questions. I glanced at him curiously as he went back to playing his guitar. Before I could help myself, I blurted out another question.

"Would you like to come to my aunt and uncle's house with Mikey and I?" I asked. I felt my eyes widen when I realized what my mouth did. I stood stark still as Aiden stood up, setting his guitar down on its stand. He came up to me slowly, stopping right in front of me.

He didn't say anything. He just stood there, scrutinizing me with his chocolate brown eyes behind his black-framed hipster eyeglasses.

"I don't think your aunt and uncle would like that very much," he said.

I didn't know what to say. It would seem rude if I agreed, which I should have, because he was right. My aunt and uncle would kill me if they knew I had invited over a strange boy and his even stranger step-brother to come stay at their house for winter holidays.

But, at the same time, I knew I would be bored beyond belief for the two weeks we had off and despite my preference of being alone, I couldn't let myself sink into a depression while Mike was around. I had to be brave and appear to be strong in front of him. Especially after he seemed so sad when he gave me his letter to Santa.

"I wrote my wish list for Santa," he had told me as we were packing up his little suitcase.

"Yeah? What did you put on it?" I asked him.

He hadn't answered. Instead, he had stood up and gone to his little desk and pulled out an envelope that was addressed  to Santa Claus in the North Pole. He handed the envelope to me and sat down in front of me, his childish face sad.

I had glanced at him worriedly before taking the letter out and looking at it.

    'Dear Santa,

          This year for Kristmas I don't want a new vidio game for my Wii or the new acshun figyur of Iron Man. I just want my Mommy and Daddy back.

                                Thanx,

                                    Mike Dubois'

I felt my heart knot up painfully and my jaw clench. I forced down the tears that were fighting to come to fall out of my eyes.

"Can you send it to Santa? I don't have a stamp," Mikey said. I wanted to cry as he looked up at me with big, blue innocent eyes. How could I tell him that his wish wouldn't come true? How could I tell him that they weren't coming back? How could I tell him that maybe it was better for him to wish for a new video game or toy?

I couldn't. And so I didn't.

And I knew when Christmas day came, and he didn't get his wish fulfilled, he would be heartbroken all over again. I couldn't bear for that to happen again.

But I didn't say anything. Instead, I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, "Sure Mikey. I'll send it right away."

I fell back into my thoughts and looked up at Aiden, who was still studying me with those warm eyes of his.

"They won't mind," I said. "Besides, I want you to come," I added, hoping this last bit would ease him up to the absurd idea. He raised his eyebrows.

"You want me to come?" he asked. I nodded slowly. I could feel his eyes studying mine, trying to discern if I was lying or not. I tried to put on the most straight and realistic face I could, so as not to deceive myself. He sighed deeply and took a step back from me. I myself let out a breath of air. He had been standing quite close to me.

"Well, I'll need someone to help me pack..." he said.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and went to his side of the room as he pulled out a black medium-small sized suitcase.

"I should call Nick and tell him to pack some things," he said, pulling out his phone. He dialed the number and when Nick answered, he explained the situation.

"So we're going to go stay at Mikey's and Renee's house for winter break. You up for it?" he asked. He pursed his lips as he listened to his step-brother's answer. "All right, great. Pack up some things, ok? You know the essentials: toothbrush, underwear, pants, shirts, socks, etc, etc," Aiden listed. He looked at me with a solemn smile on his face. "All right, I'll come by in a few minutes to see if you missed anything. Hurry up because we're leaving soon," he said. "Ok, bye," he said and then hung up.

"Now I have to pack some stuff, too," he said, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Can you grab my shaving things from the bathroom? And my toothbrush?" he asked me. I nodded and went into the bathroom to get his stuff.

For the next fifteen minutes, I helped Aiden pack his suitcase. He kept throwing his things into the bag haphazardly. As he did this, I pulled whatever it was out, folded it and then placed it nicely inside.

"Are you one of those OCD packing people?" he asked me when he noticed this.

"You could fit so much more in this if you didn't throw it all in there," I replied.

"I don't need that much stuff. It's only two weeks," he said.

"You don't know my aunt and uncle. You can't wear the same shirt twice in front of them," I told him. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Seriously?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, fine. I'll just mix and match," he said with a shrug. I shook my head, but didn't argue. I wasn't going to tell him what to bring.

"Ok, I'm done," he said, about to shut his suitcase.

"Wait!" I said, stopping him. In the process, I accidentally brushed his hand with mine. I felt my cheeks burn with color as I pulled my hand away.

"What?" he asked, pulling his own hand away slowly.

"You'll need a few dress shirts," I said in a quiet voice, my gaze down on my lap.

"For what?" he asked. I looked up at him in surprise.

"Christmas mass? Dinner? New Year's?" I listed off.

"Ok, I get mass and dinner. But New Year's?" he asked.

"Did I mention that my aunt and uncle are super rich and they like throwing huge banquet parties for the people they do business with?" I asked him. His jaw fell a little.

"No, I think you may have overlooked that detail," he said.

"Well, I've told you now. So do you have anything dressy?" I asked him.

"Define dressy," he said, pulling open his closet door. "Would what I wore to Homecoming be all right?" he asked, pulling out a pair of black skinny dress pants and a white dress shirt that had a black skinny tie still in the collar.

"Yes, that will work," I said, nodding. I stood and went to stand next to him in front of his closet. "Do you not have anything else?" I asked. He shook his head as pulled the shirt off its hanger and handed it to me to fold. "We'll have to go shopping then..." I muttered.

"Hell no," Aiden said abruptly. I glanced at him.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm not going shopping. I hate shopping," he said, sitting on his bed. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You need more shirts than this. You can't wear the same thing to three different functions," I said to him.

"I'm not shopping," he repeated.

"Fine, I'll go myself and pick out some things for you--" I started. He stood up quickly and stood in front of me, his face inches away from mine.

"You will do no such thing," he said, his voice low. At first, I couldn't find my voice. I stepped back a little, only to trip over his suitcase and lose my balance. He quickly grabbed a hold of my arms to keep me from falling. I let out a yelp of pain as his hands made contact with my healing scars and pulled my arms back from him. He glanced down at my arms and then up at me, his expression curious.

"Then you will come with me," I replied after having what seemed like a staring contest with him. He didn't say anything, but took the shirt from my hands and set it inside the suitcase.

"Are we done now?" he asked. I nodded. I felt my phone vibrate and took it out. I received a text message from my aunt.

"My aunt said they'll be here in 30 minutes. We should check on our siblings," I told him. He nodded. We grabbed our jackets and our suitcases and rolled them out to the elevators.

As we were going down, we were stopped on the 6th floor. The door opened to reveal Ben, who was dressed in his usual dark jeans, V-neck sweater and black jacket. His eyes brightened when they saw me, but dimmed when they fell on Aiden. He stepped inside the elevator, wheeling in his own suitcase.

"Heading home for the holidays?" he asked me, ignoring Aiden. The elevator doors closed. I nodded.

"Yeah, my ride's waiting for me outside right now. Are your parents coming to pick you up?" he asked me. I felt my heart race and my stomach clench. I realized I couldn't breathe.

"Ummm. No, I'm actually staying with my aunt and uncle," I muttered, averting my gaze so I wouldn't have to look at either Aiden or Ben.

"What?! Why?" he asked.

"Because they live closer," I lied.

What else was I supposed to say? Because my parents are dead? That would hardly make for good elevator-talk.

"Oh. Well, I'll probably see you over break, then. My family was invited to your aunt's crazy New Year's party," he told me.

"I guess so," I replied solemnly.

"It'll be like old times," he said, as the doors opened up on the first floor. We stepped out, Aiden walking ahead of us.

"Yeah, like old times," I repeated, my voice grave.

Except not really. Because in the old times, I would be excited to see Ben for the holidays. But now, I was constantly fearing that he would find out about my secret and would be angry with me for not telling him. He wouldn't understand why I couldn't tell him. No one would. No one could.

"I should go," I said, nodding at Aiden, who was waiting at the end of the sidewalk.

"Is he going with you?" he asked. I glanced at Aiden and then looked back at Ben.

"Yes," I replied shortly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked.

"I invited him," I replied. Now his eyes widened.

"Renee, I thought I told you that he was-" he started.

"Bad news, I know," I interrupted. I glanced back at Aiden, who was waiting patiently. "But I don't think so. And he had nowhere else to go," I added.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He was going to stay here at Rosestone for the holidays," I said.

"But he's not allowed. All students have to leave their dorms because they shut them down," Ben said. I nodded.

"I know. But he said he wasn't going home. So I offered to have him stay at my aunt's place," I said. He shook his head.

"I feel like this is a bad idea," he said. I reached out and touched his hand with my finger.

"I can handle myself," I told him. His eyes told me he didn't believe that. Of course they would; my heart was telling me the exact same thing.

We heard a honk behind us.

"That's my ride," he said, beginning to walk away. "Hey, Ren?" he said, turning around as he approached the shiny black car that was waiting for him. I turned around to look at him. "Take care of yourself, ok?" he said. I tried to muster up a smile and nodded at him. Then we waved and he disappeared inside his car.

I walked up to Aiden.

"Sorry about that," I said.

"That's all right," he said as we began walking towards Rosestone Elementary. "You and Ben are friends?" he asked. I nodded.

"We've known each other since we were kids," I answered.

"Really? Nothing's going on?" he asked. I would have laughed if it was any other situation.

"No. We're just really good friends. He's always had my back," I answered. my mind going back to distant memories of my happy childhood. "Besides, he has a girlfriend," I added.

"So?" Aiden replied.

"Aiden!" I exclaimed. He chuckled.

"Kidding!" he said. He held the door open for me when we got to the elementary school. We went up to our brother's room and walked inside.

"Hey, guys. Ready to go?" I asked. Mike ran up to me and hugged me. Then he hugged Aiden. Aiden laughed and ruffled up his hair.

"I think I got everything," Nick said, pushing his glasses up on his nose and smiling goofily up at me.

"Did you pack your nice shirt?" Aiden asked him.

"The blue one?" Nick asked. Aiden nodded. "No. Why?" he asked.

"Apparently, we need to have some dressy clothes," Aiden said, glancing at me. I rolled my eyes and averted my attention to Mike, who had grabbed my hand.

"You all set?" I asked him.

"I've been set," Mike replied. I smiled weakly at him and kissed his forehead.

Once Nick was ready to go, we made our way downstairs. We signed the boys out of the dorms and went outside to wait for my aunt and uncle.

"Do you think Santa got my letter?" Mikey asked me. I felt my throat constrict.

"Aww. You sent Santa a letter?" Aiden asked. "What'd you ask for?"

I felt my eyes widen and my heart rate speed up. No. Mikey couldn't tell him. Not after all I did to keep it a secret. Then I had an idea just as Mike opened his mouth to answer.

"Mike! You can't tell him! It's a secret! You can't tell him or you won't get it!" I exclaimed. Mikey clamped his mouth shut.

"She's right. Sorry, Aiden, can't tell you," Mikey said, sealing his lips in a fake zipper motion.

Aiden chuckled and looked at me curiously.

"Oh, all right. I see how it is," he replied.

"What did you ask from Santa?" Mikey asked Aiden. Aiden smiled at him and then glanced at me.

"I can't tell you, remember? It's a secret and if I tell you, I won't get it," he answered.

"Oh. I see how it is," Mikey mimicked. Aiden laughed and ruffled Mike's hair again. I looked at Aiden with solemn eyes, silently thanking him for not asking any more questions.

I felt my stomach drop when I saw the familiar shiny black Lexus that my aunt and uncle drove pull up in front of the school.

"Hi, Aunt Meredith," I said, as I opened the door.

"Hello, dear," she said, taking her designer sunglasses off to look at me.

"Hello, Renee," my uncle said, as he got out of the car.

"Hi, Uncle John," I said, handing him my suitcase. He disregarded Aiden and Nick and I glanced awkwardly at them.

"Ummm, Uncle John, this is Mike's friend Nick and my..." I trailed off slightly, looking at Aiden. How should I describe him? I would have to use the word friend in this situation, although that's not what I would call him. "My friend, Aiden. I asked them if they would stay with us for the holidays," I said in a quiet voice. Uncle John's sharp blue eyes that were so similar but different to my father's, turned cold as he looked at me.

"What?" he asked.

"I asked them to stay with us for the holidays," I repeated. He glared at me and then glanced at Aiden and Nick.

"Well, since you already went and invited them, we can't say no, can we?" he replied. I closed my eyes and bit my lip. He was angry. I felt my aunt's judging eyes look them over as we all got into the car, squeezing together to fit in the cramped space of the luxury vehicle.

"You know, Renee, you should really ask us before you do things. We're not like your paren-" Aunt Meredith began. I felt my pulse quicken.

"You're right, I'm sorry," I interrupted quickly before she said anything else. I glanced at Aiden, who was looking out the window, his face drawn, his expression blank. She tutted me, but didn't say anything else. Mike looked up at me, his blue eyes confused. I didn't say anything, but brushed his hair out of his eyes. I sighed.

This was going to be a long winter break.

________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: WHAT WHAT?! Three updates in a row for this story?! Yeah, that's right. YOU'RE WELCOME.

What do you guys think will happen over winter break? Will Aiden find out about her parents? Will Ben find out? Will something else (wink wink) happen?

Leave me a comment!!

Don't forget to VOTE!!!

XOXO