*

It was different living with Christie than I thought. She was barely ever around because she had started a job working at a Veterinary Hospital. She told me she was going to be a Veterinarian so she had to volunteer a lot to have enough experience to apply to 'Vet' school after finishing her 'undergrad'. It was only the end of the first week and I realized when I changed out of my school uniform that I'd have to do my own laundry. I knew the laundry was down in the unfinished basement and I took a deep breath as I ventured down with my full laundry basket. Frankie was sitting on the couch when I passed and I saw him look up from his laptop to see me sneak by. I put my laundry basket down in front of the intimidating big white washer and dryer.

"I can do this." I breathed to myself as I spent a moment looking over the controls on the machine and I opened the top and poured my clothes in before filling the top of the laundry detergent cap up to the line. There was a spout in the top for bleach and I spent a moment staring at it to figure out if I was supposed to put the soap in there. I tried to remember if I'd ever seen anybody do laundry before. I almost dropped the laundry detergent on the floor when Frankie came down the stairs.

"Do you need help?" He asked, making me want to die of embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I frowned. He just smiled and came over. "Where is the spot for the soap?" I asked with effort as his presence was practically intoxicating me as he stood next to me.

"Just on your clothes." I hesitantly hovered the blue liquid over my clothes and when I looked back at him, he nodded. I watched the blue liquid pour all over my beige breeches and my white school blouse in horror and then closed the top. The machine was on the 'normal' cycle and was already set to 'warm'. "This switch is to turn the water on." He explained, reaching over the machine to the wall and pulling a long yellow lever down. "When it's pointing towards you, it's on. We try to turn it off when we're done, but sometimes people leave it on." He said as I hovered over the start button.

"Okay, thanks." I answered pressing the start button and hearing the water pouring loudly into the metal box. "Uh, don't tell anyone about me being too stupid to do laundry." I laughed as he started to step away from the machine. He turned back to me with a smile.

"I'm sure my parents taught me to do laundry around your age. Not a big deal." He shrugged.

"Oh. Okay."

"And... between you and me." He leaned closer to me and I could barely breathe with his proximity. "I had to teach Christie, too." He smirked making me emit a breathy laugh of surprise.

*

"What's up?" I asked Loic, who was opening the same cabinet that he had opened for the third time in the short period of time he had been in the kitchen. I was sitting at the table doing my homework with headphones on listening to music and I took them off to hear his response. He spun around with the saddest frown on his handsome face.

"We have no foooood." He moaned like a ghost, making me crack up.

"Let's order pizza." I told him, taking out my shiny black phone.

"You have a cell phone already?" he asked, rhetorically as I joined him in the kitchen and peered at the fridge, which was covered top to bottom in menus and flyers. I spotted a pizza menu that said they do delivery.

"What kind do you want?" I asked as he stood looking over my shoulder.

"I don't have any cash." He frowned when I looked back at him.

"It's fine. I have twenty bucks. That should be enough for a couple pizzas and a tip, right?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to." Loic looked like he was holding back from begging me to buy him pizzas and I analyzed his skinny frame while I waited for him to break. "Ahh...okay..." he broke. "Maybe a meat-lovers for Frankie and me and like a vegetable one for Sabrina and Christie? What do you like?" He asked his eyes going wide when he realized he forgot to factor me in.

"I'm cool with whatever." I shrugged, typing in the number and ordering the pizza. I could almost feel Loic's anticipation as he watched me.

Frankie came down when I hung up and Loic was telling me how I was the best, and I was glad that Frankie hadn't come down sooner because I think my voice would've gone away at the sight of him in his black band t-shirt and his form-fitting very rock-and-roll pants with slashes in the knees.

"What're you up to?" he asked us with his funny accent. I looked at Loic, who looked back at me guiltily.

"Wren ordered us pizza." He told Frankie, who looked down at me, making me feel like I was shrinking into the cold tile floor.

"Cool, do you need any money to pay?" he asked me. I had been working on answering him coherently for the past week. I had even made it through a whole lunch with him and Christie.

"I should be fine." I answered with my hand behind my head, standing in the center of the kitchen awkwardly instead of moving back to go sit at my chair that Frankie was hovering over with his eyes on me.

"Okay, let me know, I'm going to go vacuum my car, so I'll just be outside." He smiled the most endearing half-smile before pulling the vacuum out of the closet and going outside with an extension cord after throwing on his coat.

I had nodded, smiling back like an idiot, before I finally broke out of my daydreams enough to sit back down and look at my homework. Loic ended up joining Frankie outside with a cigarette and his skateboard.

When the pizza guy arrived, he didn't believe that I was the one that ordered and asked if my parents were around, peeking into the filthy college student house in disbelief. I gave him a look and handed him the twenty bucks. I thanked god that it was enough to cover both pizzas and a tip and the pizza guy just shrugged and handed me the pizzas and left.

Frankie and Loic came in as the sun was setting. They had messed around with their skateboards on the salty sidewalk after Frankie had cleaned his car so well it looked like it was new. I struggled to do my homework and ended up spying on them as they went up and down the street, using the curb to do tricks.

Christie and Sabrina got home right on time as the pizza boxes opened and I tried not to grimace when she kissed Frankie as she got in. I had gotten used to it a little because she had been dating him for weeks, but I still had to ignore the jealousy that rose in me every time I saw them together.

"Wren, you bought the pizza, what do you want to watch?" Loic asked as he handed me the remote, or the "power" as they called it.

"I want to watch... Supernatural. It's Thursday, right?" I asked flipping through the channels until I found SciFi. Frankie turned to Christie with crazy eyes and I wondered what I had said as Loic laughed in disbelief.

"Frankie watches Supernatural. You are the weirdest kid ever! I thought you were going to pick Hannah Montana or something." Loic laughed.

"Franklin, don't look at me like that. I told you Wren isn't really a kid." Christie told him, making me feel a little less like a spectacle and little more like a person.

"Don't you get scared?" Sabrina asked as she joined us with a plate of pizza.

"Of course. That's the point!" I laughed. "They always get them in the end anyway. How can you not want to watch Sam and Dean?" I turned the tables on Sabrina, forgetting about Frankie's presence and remembering as Christie and he shared a laugh and Christie finally sat down to join us. Sabrina smiled slightly with a shrug and looked back at the TV when the commercials finished.

*

Vati had called me to let me know he missed me and would be home for Christmas and that he planned on having a large Christmas gathering that we did every year. He told me he had been keeping an eye on me and talked to Ivanka and the other nanny, Mina as well as my piano teacher, voice coach, and Abigail at the barn.

"Wren." Vati breathed when he saw me with a smile coming to his face.

"Vati!" I called as I ran up to him and threw my arms around him. I buried my face in the smooth fabric of his black suit and his arms came tight around me. Christie and Frankie were still lingering by the front doors of the estate. I had convinced Christie to come to the Christmas party that Vati had planned and both of us had convinced Frankie to come too. The servants were buzzing around and a huge garland was being twisted around the curving banister of the grand staircase. A large tree sat in the foyer that Zofia was decorating with a jolly smile.

"Kak tvoi dela?" 'How have you been?' Vati asked me in Russian when I let go.

"Good. ya skuchal po tebe." 'I've missed you.' I answered.

"Vash russkiy stal luchshe." 'Your Russian has gotten better.' He commented with a half-smile.

"Dankeshon, Vati." 'Thank you, Vati.' I answered.

"Come. I wanted to talk to you about something." Vati said, his cool blue eyes looking down at me. I glanced back at Christie who looked dark as she pulled Frankie towards the stairs and the butlers took their bags. Vati took me to the red room which was empty and dark, even in the daylight. He had his back to me as he poured himself a drink and I flopped on one of the familiar leather couches. "Ich hatte gehofft, Sie würden für die Gäste singen und Klavier spielen." 'I was hoping you would sing and play the piano for the guests.' He said in German before turning to see my reaction. There wasn't much of one as I digested his request. I pictured Christmas carols which made me frown.

"I don't want to play Christmas carols, Vati." I admitted, with my lip curling. He laughed.

"You don't have to play Christmas carols. Giselle says you have been working on a piece that you seem to enjoy. Play that." He said simply. Giselle was my piano teacher and one of my voice coaches. We had been working on a pop song where I had to play while singing. It was hard to do both at once at first, but I had gotten used to the counts and the feel of the song. I guessed muscle memory would be enough to help me get through it even with the guests. My eyes were searching the floor as I deliberated and when I looked up at Vati I felt like I had to say yes.

"Okay." I murmured. He leaned down and kissed the side of my head gently.

*

I started regretting my agreement with Vati about singing for the guests when I looked out my bedroom window and saw the cars start to arrive. It had gotten dark and there were small, sparse snowflakes starting to fall and I could see them around the lights that lined the long drive up to the front and under the glow of the headlights. I had changed into a tight red dress that I felt like I looked older in and I had gotten some heels which I was a little nervous to wear, but I really wanted to not look like a child. I knew Christie was going to wear heels and her dress would probably be more beautiful than mine.

"Come over here so we can do your hair." Ivanka said impatiently, breaking me out of my thoughts. I dropped my heels on the settle at the foot of my bed and held my dress to make my way over to Ivanka and Mina in my large en suite bathroom.

"Are you excited?" Mina asked with a smile on her red-painted lips as she unzipped her make-up case and I sat in front of the mirror.

"No, I'm sorta nervous. Vati wants me to sing something in front of everybody." I frowned as Ivanka started ripping through my hair with a rough brush. I couldn't help the twinge of annoyance and discomfort in my expression, but I didn't say anything as Ivanka pulled my head straight with her other hand. Mina sent me a look of sympathy and made eye contact with Ivanka which served to soften Ivanka's movements slightly.

"Ow." I whimpered as Ivanka burnt me with the curling iron when I turned to see who entered my room.

"Oh, I came to do your hair." Christie said, with a glance at Ivanka. Frankie had come with her and my eyes stuck to him until Ivanka forcefully turned me back around.

"I'm almost done. Sit still." Ivanka demanded.

"Maybe she'd be better about listening if you treated her with respect." Christie reproved as she moved to stand in my bathroom beside Ivanka who just ignored her. Mina had been packing up her make-up after she had put foundation, eye shadow, and mascara on my face. I had been satisfied with my make-up until I saw Christie's dark eye liner and long black eye lashes. Her pale skin was perfect and her lips were a light pink against her alabaster skin. Her blue eyes stood out brightly from the smokey eye shadow and her high cheekbones were more noticeable with a shimmering white across the crests of them.

"It's fine." I muttered, looking at the dark expression on my bronze face in the mirror. Christie was wearing a nice black dress and her dark hair was curled loosely around her elvish face.

"Viel glück, Wren. Du wirst es gut machen." 'Good luck, Wren. You'll do great.' Mina told me with a reassuring smile and a light hand on my shoulder.

"Danke, Mina." 'Thanks, Mina' I sighed as she left. Christie was looking at me as I tried to keep my heart from pounding in my chest at the thought of trying to perform in front of all those guests, especially Frankie. She looked back at Frankie when I didn't look up at her and I could see through the reflection in the mirror, he was looking down at one of my red-soled heels where he sat on the settle. I saw him twisting it around in his hands while he waited.

Ivanka practically dragged me out of my room and I felt like I was stumbling in my overly tall black stilettoes. I felt like a fraud as I approached the grand piano in the sitting room. It was the same one I played for my lessons and other than me and my piano teacher, I was the only one who had sat on the bench since Grannie had passed away. Vati had proudly told the guests that I 'wanted' to play something for them and I tried not to look at any of the expectant faces that had turned to me in surprise as I took out my music. I blocked out the thought of Frankie in the room by focusing on Addison's blue eyes which seemed to burrow into me the deepest from where she stood next to Dorian in her short heels. I guessed she was the only one in the room that would want me to mess up.

I kept my eyes on the music as I started the first notes of 'I'm With You' by Avril Lavigne, and my fingers played it automatically. I felt like I had blanked on the lyrics until the words just fell from my lips when I came to the right time to start singing. I must've closed my eyes as I sung because when I was finished, I didn't remember seeing anyone's reactions until I looked up and my eyes found Vati before falling on Frankie. They both had similar smiles on their handsome faces and the same look in their eyes. As the room erupted into clapping, Christie was the first one to rescue me from being the center of attention and she gave me a hug when I stood up from the bench onto my rickety black heels. I wore a blushing smile as I bowed my head to the large packed sitting room.

"That was amaaazing, Wren!" she cried. "I didn't know you could sing like that."

"I sing in the shower." I pointed out with a laugh. I saw Addison's mom whisper into Addison's ear and Addison swatted her away.

"No way in hell." I could plainly read Addison's lips and she shot her mother a look that her mom returned with almost identical ferocity.

"Oh, play another." Dorian's father insisted with a big grin on his fat face.

"I don't really have any others prepared." I answered awkwardly.

"Next year, Mr. Holtman." Christie said to him with a friendly smile and her arm around my shoulders. After about a hundred people told me how 'talented' I was, my face was hurting from smiling politely and saying thank you. I hated when people used the word 'talented', as if I didn't have to practice like everyone else and just woke up one day knowing how to play the piano. As if singing and playing that song was some ability I was born with!

"I need a shot." I muttered to Christie, making her laugh like I was kidding.

"That was good, Wren. Maybe next year you should sing Pon De Replay." Frankie laughed, with a knowing smile that made my heart palpate. He heard me in the shower... I realized with my face showing my embarrassment.

"I'd have to learn the piano for that." I stuttered out as he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes and a naughty grin on his beautiful face.

Vati had made his way over to me after having to get through every guest in the room telling him about how 'talented' I was and he kissed my cheek with a proud half-smile. I felt Christie's arm slip away from me as Vati approached and she was pressed against Frankie who was still looking down at me. When Vati's blue eyes fell on Frankie, he turned away from me to make eye contact with Vati and smiled slightly but uncomfortably under Vati's intimidating gaze.

Christie was skittish when Vati started asking her questions about how school was going. They talked about which schools she was thinking about going to for Vet school and about her grades. I noticed the difference in his tone of voice when he spoke to her. It was much colder than how he spoke to me. I knew they had their differences, but I didn't really know what they were. She answered his questions stiffly and impersonally and I just stood and looked back and forth between them. Frankie seemed to notice too and he wore the same tense expression as me as we were spectators of their polite, but cold exchange.

I ended up being pushed over to join Addison and Dorian as usual as Vati left Christie alone to socialize with some of his acquaintances and Addison's parents started a conversation with Christie, which I could tell was about me and Addison.

"They're totally talking about us." Addison groaned.

"Yeahhhh." I agreed, with a nervous glance at Dorian who was sitting way too close to me. I hadn't forgiven him for the Thanksgiving incident and I felt like I couldn't breathe the air he was breathing because of it. "Do you want to try to sneak away? Maybe we could get some snacks from the kitchen?" I asked Addison as I scooted away from Dorian and took her hand before slipping out of Christie and Addison's mom's field of view.

"Wren, stop grabbing me. Jeese!" she growled.

"Sorry." I muttered, releasing her arm as we found ourselves in the hall that led to the kitchens and some butlers and maids went striding by with trays of hors d'oeuvres. "Oh, hey Zofia?" I called when I saw her. She halted abruptly and the maid behind her had to swerve around. Our eyes were wide as the maid's tray tipped and she was barely able to keep it level enough to prevent disaster. Zofia turned back to me with a sigh of relief when the maid had regained her balance, tray intact. "Can we have some hors d'oeuvres?" I asked with an innocent grin. She was looking blankly at me and Addison before lowering her tray and surveying the food lined up on it. Dorian's grubby hand went reaching by mine and I frowned at him before taking a little quiche.

"Miss Wren, I would be happy to make you and your friends a sampler plate." Zofia told me kindly.

"Okay. That would be great. Thank you." I nodded insistently. Zofia stood back up and went back to the kitchen.

"What's a sampler?" Dorian asked, with his mouth full.

"Ew." Addison said making a dramatic disgusted face and putting her hand up in his face, which served to shield us from him.

"Wren, your friend is so mean." Dorian complained, grabbing her hand and making her practically slap him for touching her. Addison had scooted closer to me and to our relief, Dorian stayed where he was and was eating his little eggy quiches contentedly.

"We're not friends, you idiot." Addison practically gagged.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just get through this evening..." I muttered.

"Hey, why are you guys in the hallway?" Frankie asked as he came over smoothly and ran his hand through his hair.

"Who are you?" Dorian asked with an odd intonation as if Frankie wasn't good enough to hang out with us. He must've seen the grossed out look on Addison's face as she stood close to me because he smirked at me.

"Wir wollten Essen aus der Küche stehlen, aber das Personal bot uns an, uns stattdessen einen Teller zu bringen." 'We were going to steal food from the kitchen, but the staff offered to bring us a plate instead.' I blurted out, making Addison make crazy eyes at me.

"Geil. Interessiert es dich, wenn ich mich dir anschließe?" 'Cool. Do you mind if I join you?' He asked.

"Sie können einige von mir haben." 'You can have some of mine.' I murmured, still absorbing Addison's outrage at speaking a language she didn't know. He joined us, leaning against the wall beside me. Dorian was gawking and Addison looked like she was holding in questions about what language we spoke and why.

Zofia brought us a few plates and I offered Frankie some of my food, but then Christie's sharp eyes had found us and I saw Dorian and Addison hide their plates behind their backs with wide eyes.

"Don't spoil your appetite." Christie warned, giving Dorian a look that made him slip away. Addison took her plate from behind her and sighed.

"Do you want some?" Addison asked Christie with a grudging tone.

"Yeah." She laughed, leaning on the wall beside Addison, sharing a look with Frankie.

"Hey, thanks for getting rid of ding-dong." Addison said to Christie, making Frankie and I both hold in our laughs.

"No problem, Addison." Christie smirked.

"He's been following Wren around all evening. He. is. so. Gross!" she enunciated with distaste.

It wasn't long before Vati came looking for me and I handed my plate off to Frankie, as I extricated myself from our hiding spot to take Vati's arm. It was always hard work to be the host of the party. I felt like we had to be so busy speaking to each guest we couldn't enjoy ourselves.

We had tables set up when it was dinner time because there were more guests than our usual gatherings and we all had assigned seats at round tables with bright white table cloths and Christmas-y place settings. There were big centerpieces with live Rhododendrons, Holly, and bright red candles in the middle of all the tables. I looked over longingly when Christie and Frankie got to sit with Addison and her parents as well as Dorian and his parents while I was stationed next to Vati at a table with almost all men. The man across from me reminded me of a rottweiler and had tattoos stretching up his neck and out of each of his long sleeves onto his meaty hands. Most of them had their eyes stuck to me as the food was passed around and I noticed Vati and I were given our plates first at the table.

I focused on sitting up straight and eating neatly, but I had lost my appetite. The men were all speaking Russian and it sounded like one of the men was making a deal to buy something from Vati. One of the others was worried about it being the holidays, but Vati said it'd be easier to move the cargo during the holidays.

"Mozhet, segodnya vecherom poluchim obrazets?" 'Maybe we could get a sample tonight?' one of the men suggested with a smirk. I guessed they were talking about drugs or alcohol.

"K sozhaleniyu, segodnya u menya ostalis' gosti." 'Unfortunately, I have guests staying over tonight.' Vati answered. I guessed he was talking about Christie and Frankie. When the man's eyes went to me, I raised an eyebrow.

"On ne obo mne govorit." 'He's not talking about me.' I spoke up, making the expression on his face go to one of surprise as he turned to Vati. I could see Vati smirk and I couldn't help smiling at the looks on their faces.

"You speak Russian?" the man's wife next to me asked in disbelief.

"Da." 'Yes' I answered curtly.

"I love your necklace." The woman told me, her eyes sticking to the large gold chain that held a pendant engraved with the family crest. Vati had given it to me for Christmas.

"It was a Christmas gift." I told her, running my hand through my hair to move a few long caramel, brown locks out of the way for her to see it better. Her eyes were bulging out of her eye sockets as she admired the thick gold chain and solid gold pendant that sparkled under the light of the crystal chandeliers.

"Is it gold? That must've been expensive." She muttered.

"Sure." I shrugged. "I wanted a puppy, but this is nice too." I joked with a smile on my lips. I saw Vati glance at me to see the amusement in my eyes before turning back to his conversation in Russian.

*

"I'm sorry you had to eat with Grandpa's creepy friends, Wren." Christie said after a long evening when we finally got to change out of our dresses and shoes after saying good night to a lot of the guests. Vati let some of them stay over in guest rooms that were too drunk to drive home and I thought I had seen him go into the red room with some of his business partners.

"It's fine, Christie. Isn't that what holidays are? Being bored while you eat dinner?" I said sarcastically, as Frankie appeared in the doorway. She waved for him to come in and he glanced at me, before closing the door behind him and lingering there. He looked uncomfortable in my room and I couldn't figure out why.

"Nooo, the holidays are supposed to be fun." Christie insisted stubbornly.

"I'm pretty sure nobody has fun on holidays." I pointed out, with my eyes still on Frankie. I had been getting better at speaking around him, but whenever he got closer, I felt like I could barely breathe, let alone form a coherent sentence or thought for that matter.

"It's supposed to be fun for kids, Wren. No wonder you don't feel like a kid. You didn't get any toys." He said in a low voice with pity in his eyes as he leaned back on the wall near the bed where we were sitting.

"I have horses. I don't need toys." I waved a hand at him and made a pfft sound.

"I can't even picture you playing with toys..." Christie muttered, with her lips pursed.

"I had a stuffed animal or two and a Gameboy until I broke it like an idiot." I laughed.

"Oh, that's right. You played that little game a lot when you were little." She recalled, running her fingers over either side of her chin in thought.

"Stop looking at me like that." I told Frankie, rolling my eyes.

"We should go to bed before somebody finds us in here." Christie frowned, with a look at Frankie.

"No one's going to find you. Nobody's going to just come walking in." I argued.

"We'll see you in the morning." Christie hugged me tightly, but my eyes went to the darkness in Frankie's eyes as we made eye contact. I wished I could figure out what he was thinking.

"Good night, Wren." Frankie said quietly as Christie went to the door and he looked back at me before following her out into the dim hall.