Melody

I walked down the stairs with Mia and Alyssa following me towards the door like lost puppies. The adults were now in the den, most likely grazing on appetizers and sipping expensive wine, their voices echoing down the hallway. I stopped in the foyer and turned around.

"Stay," I said slowly, as if that was the only way they'd comprehend the simple command.

"Fine, but we're looking through the window," Alyssa said.

"OMG, Lyss you're just supposed to do it. Not tell her," Mia replied.

"Right, okay."

Looking between the two, I rolled my eyes and left them to spy on me as I slipped through the front door. When the cold air hit my bare arms, I felt goose bumps rise to the surface of my skin, but I continued towards Carson. He was now leaning on the side of his car, a smile now on his lips as I came closer.

He was wearing dark blue jeans and a dark, olive green sweater, with a jacket thrown over it. He extended his arms and I fell right into them, letting his heat warm my body. He kissed the top of my head as I squeezed him tightly, making me forget my family for a couple of moments.

"Someone's happy to see me," Carson teased.

"You have no idea," I replied quietly. He peeled me off of him and held me back slightly, inspecting my face.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded and smiled.

"I'm just glad you're here... how long do you have?" I asked.

"A couple minutes, I just wanted to give you something." Carson flashed me a handsome smile that could have made my heart stop. For a morbid second, I wondered if that would annoy Margot because I'd have caused a scene. "Close your eyes."

I did. I heard the car door open and close and then Carson placed something in my hand, making my eyes fly open immediately. I looked down to see a bouquet of sunflowers in my palm, my fingers now curling around the beautiful yellow flowers.

"What? You didn't have t– I mean, wow! You're too good to me," I mumbled, a goofy smile on my lips.

"You deserve it," Carson said. I didn't respond, not feeling like it was entirely true. Instead, I pressed my lips to his softly. Rather than letting me go, Carson deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me flush against him. My lips curved into a smile against his and I continued to kiss him before remembering a certain spying stepsister.

I pulled back. "Oh gosh. Mia and her cousin are totally watching us through the window right now," I laughed, pressing my palm to my face. Carson chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"Dinner and a show," Carson mused, making me whack is arm. He laughed and hugged me once again before pressing his lips to mine. "Go before Margot bites your pretty little head off."

I smiled at him and looked down at my sunflowers. "Thank you," I breathed.

"Go," he grinned.

I turned around and walked quickly back inside, careful not to trip on the steps. With one last look out at Carson, I slipped into the house. There, Mia and Alyssa stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"Did that actually just happen?" Alyssa asked.

"Carson White actually left his house on Thanksgiving to give you flowers?" Mia asked.

"Yes, is that so hard to believe?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I pushed past the two and headed towards the kitchen to get a vase. Their footsteps followed behind me along with their irritating questions.

"How long has this been going on?"

"How did it start?"

"Is it actually serious, or is he just fooling around?"

"Have you met his family?"

"A month and it is serious okay? So, stop... acting like he's going to leave me for the next person that crosses his path. He's a hell of a lot nicer to me than you two are." I marched into the kitchen, leaving them standing there, mouths ajar. They were beginning to resemble gaping fish.

I moved through the busy kitchen staff that Margot had hired for the day and grabbed a vase from a cabinet. When I left, the crazy cousins had fled to gossip or do God-knows what and let me make it to my room and back downstairs without being harassed.

I knew dinner would be served at precisely six o'clock sharp, as Margot had a thing for timing and would personally chew each and every member of the kitchen staff out if they didn't follow through. That left me with about an hour to wait and no one to spend the time with.

I looked towards my father's office and wondered if he was planning to come out before dinner. Probably not. Slowly, I walked up to my room to spend the hour with my laptop.

***

"Before we get started, I'd just like to say that I am thankful that we are all here today to celebrate this holiday together." Margot raised a glass, her Botox-injected smile as wide as the silicone would let her mouth go. I smirked at her phony behaviour (and at the fact that I realized the Botox thought was mean). "To family!" She said making eye contact with everyone except for me. No longer feeling bad for the Botox thought, I half-heartedly raised my glass as the food began being served by the kitchen staff.

"The decorations are much nicer this year, Margot," Adalyn said, shifting out of the way, so that one of the waiters could place a spoonful of peas on her plate.

"I hired a different company this year," Margot replied. Another waiter was putting mashed potatoes on her plate.

"That's good," Adalyn said.

"So, Justin, what do you do for a living?" Stephen asked. Everyone looked at Adalyn's date, while he held his plate out to be served, unaware that he was being spoken to.

"His name is James, and he's a teacher, Steph." Adalyn said.

"Stef-AHN. I hate that mundane nickname," Stephen-the-Saltiest responded with an eye-roll. The turkey was brought out next and was carved by someone Margot hired. Yet another spectacle.

"Wow, hopefully it tastes as good as he cuts it," Adalyn said, her eyes raking over the man's body. Alyssa pretended to gag while Mia rolled her eyes.

"So, Jim! Why do you like teaching?" Margot asked.

"James," he corrected quietly, before talking about his teaching career. I dug into my sliced turkey breast, once everyone had their plates fully served.

"Can you pass the gravy? The turkey is a little dry," Stephen said.

"Yeah, but it's better than two years ago," Alyssa replied.

"True. Last year's was amazing though," Mia added.

My father looked uninterested and kept glancing towards his phone and his office. I sat next to him, though Margot sat across from me on his other side.

"So, how's work?" I asked my dad quietly.

"It's good. Busy, but good," he replied. "How's school?"

"Busy but good." I replied, making him crack a genuine smile. I hadn't seen one in a while, and it made me smile too. "I made some friends."

"That's awesome. I knew you would," my dad said.

"Took a while," Mia muttered from beside me. It was so quiet, that no one else but me heard it. I ignored it as my father continued to speak.

"You should have them over one day... if you like," he added.

"Sure, thank you," I replied with a smile.

"Darling, tell my siblings about our trip to Boston," Margot cut in.

Just like that, my father's attention was taken away from me. My eyes wandered back to my plate, food touched but only a slight dent, not wanting a comment from any of the snotty people around the table. At least I was having a better time than James... they knew my name even if they ignored me or made snide comments.

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Author's Note: Oh my gosh!! 8.7K reads! Y'all are the best! <3 Thank you for your support and lovely comments! You always leave me smiling! Sorry I haven't been as active! The last weeks of summer got pretty busy and I'm back in school! Hopefully I'll update more frequently soon! :)