I woke up to the sound of Christmas music being played downstairs, which must be from Lisa since she's been excited about this day for a couple of weeks now and had the house decked out for the occasion. It's more decoration than my family puts up, and that's saying a lot considering my parents love to go full-on with the lights as if it were a competition with our neighbours over who has the brightest, most blinding house. The winner would be ours.

I yawned as I got out of bed. Another late night after falling asleep at 3:30 am in the morning. I was reading since I had been up to my favourite part in Jane Austen's book, Emma, but, of course, sleep took over and I was forced to put it down. If only I could stay up all night but alas, I cannot. I'll probably continue it today since I don't really have anything to do and I didn't want to intrude in Lisa and Jack's celebration of the Christmas holiday.

My phone held many messages from Amanda, Sarah, Dillon, Chloe, Ricky, Caleb, and Nate. Ricky had been the one updating us with things between her and Nate, which I'm still rooting for. Both their families were going to meet today to celebrate, which will be major for them so I hope it goes well for her considering how nervous she seemed in her messages prior.

I walked out of the room to go check on Catherine and Max but noticed that neither of them were in their respective rooms. I went downstairs and into the living room, where the music was coming from. There I found Lisa bobbing her head to the music with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands while Max watched TV and Catherine sat next to Lisa, humming along with her and with her cute Christmas hat on her head. Jack, however, seemed to be missing from this picture.

"Morning everyone," I greeted awkwardly.

"Merry Christmas!" they all shouted in unison. I chuckled.

"Come sit," Lisa said, waving me over. I walked over and sat on her left side. She gave me a warm smile.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I shrugged.

I will admit though, I wish my parents were here to celebrate with us. I don't even know when they'll be back. I also wanted to know how my grandmother was and if she woke up yet. She was a widow so I understood how much she needed my parents and her family in general. It's better to be surrounded by the people you love and trust rather than going through things alone in life.

"You know, your mother called me, she wanted me to tell you that she would FaceTime you, Catherine, and Max when she can today," Lisa notified me. I nodded. That brought some relief knowing I'll get to talk to them still today and hopefully get some updated information on everything.

"Thank you, Lisa," I smiled.

"I understand it's not an ideal situation where you're celebrating a holiday with two strangers, I'm sorry it's not the best with your family not here," she apologised with a frown.

"Don't apologise, it may not be, as you said, ideal but I don't mind, as long as my family are happy," I said with a shrug. My sister was smiling and my brother was doing his usual routine of watching whatever was on TV until the food was ready. I only want my family to be happy. My parents, I can only hope that everything is ok so that they weren't stressing or worried.

"You're a good kid Amy, don't change," Lisa smiled. I nodded but remained silent.

Don't change, I think I already did, at least, that was what I wanted, I think. A lot of the time, I don't feel like myself, unless I'm at home or around those that I care about or love, away from everyone because outside, you're forced to put up a front and wish that you didn't, that the whole world didn't have obstacles and people who can hurt you.

"Morning," I heard from behind me. I turned my head to look over at Jack standing at the archway towards the living room. His hair was messed up and he was shirtless but wore basketball shorts. I blushed and turned away instantly.

"Merry Christmas," the three greeted back. I raised a brow. Ok, that's either scary or impressive. While Lisa got up to check on the food she was preparing, Jack joined us on the couch, taking her place. It was awkward between us, as usual. I'm unwilling to start a conversation.

"Well! Now that everyone is awake, we can open presents!" Lisa beamed as she re-entered the living room.

"Yes! Presents!" Catherine cheered, standing on the couch before jumping down to sit on the floor. Lisa chuckled as she plopped down next to her.

"Here you go," Lisa said as she handed Catherine a medium-sized gift.

She eagerly immediately ripped open her gift while Lisa gave Max one. He had turned off the TV and was now focused in on the whole...happy occasion going on. He thanked her before beginning to open it up. It took me by surprise when she then turned to me with a smile and a gift in her hands. My eyes widened. I didn't expect a gift from her, especially since we're guests.

"Oh no, I can't."

"Please, I insist."

I took the gift from her hands. It was floppy and soft. I was going to guess clothes. I opened it but again, I was taken aback by what I saw. It was a dark red lace dress.

"Wow," was all I could utter out.

"I hope you like it," Lisa said.

"I love it," I mumbled. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, I'm glad you liked it," she beamed.

"Thanks but I'm sorry I didn't get you anything, I didn't think-"

"No, don't apologise either, I don't need a gift, I never do, I have enough and I'm happy, that's all I ever need in my life," she said. I nodded even though inside, there was still a sense of guilt. I had to do something, though I don't know what to give her. I'll have to think that one out even though she told me not to give her anything.

After the gift-giving and a bunch of singing, mainly from Catherine and Lisa, while Max and Jack watched TV, it was time for lunch. Thank God Jack put a shirt on or else that would probably make me flustered.

I helped a little with whatever else needed to be done and Catherine helped set the table up. And of course, the lazy boys in the living room didn't want to do anything at all. It was peaceful sitting at the table. I didn't join in on the conversation; neither did Jack, but I enjoyed listening in. My sister was gleefully talking about her school and her friends, while Max was talking about his time at college when he studied law.

I may not be able to spend today with my whole family but I'm glad I'm with my siblings and Lisa. Jack too surprisingly hasn't done much to make me go crazy. I mean, so far we've been civil to each other, no fights since that day at the mall I guess.

"Amy," Jack called out, bringing me back to reality. I looked towards him with a frown. We had just finished eating and Lisa was cleaning up while Catherine with drawing in her new book and Max was helping out with the dishes. I was going to help as well.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" he asked, motioning his head off to the side.

I nodded slowly before following him upstairs. When he went up into the attic room that was when I was hesitant to continue onwards. I have no idea what he wants to talk to me about and why we couldn't just discuss it downstairs. It can't be that important...can it? Surely not. We are not best friends, far from it, so I doubt he'll be telling me any secrets as if we're long-time pals.

"You coming? Or are you scared?" Jack asked with a raised brow as he stood at the top of the entrance.

I couldn't really answer that question and neither did I want to. I huffed and pushed myself to walk up the stairs, into his temporary room. It was quite spacious and modern plus the window that looked over the neighbourhood was quite nice.

"Ok so I'm here, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about? Especially in your 'room'?" I asked, using air quotes. I crossed my arms, feeling a bit jittery.

"Hold on," he instructed.

I watched with a frown as Jack went around me towards the wardrobe. He rummaged through it before pulling out an acoustic guitar. My eyes widened as I let out a small gasp and took a step back when I noticed the signature at the top curve of the guitar.

It was from an artist I absolutely loved ever since I can remember, ever since I was probably six maybe. His name was Nathaniel Walker and he used to be the lead guitarist in the band, 'Echo of Sapphire'. He died a couple of years ago. My mother had to attempt to console me because I was so heartbroken. He was an inspiration to me and partly what got me into music.

"You have Nathaniel Walker's signature!?" I exclaimed as I admired the guitar. It looked like a replica of the one he used to play. Jack glanced at me then at the guitar with a smile.

"Yeah, I used to listen to his band's music every day when they first started playing up until after his death and when I went to his concert the year before he died, I got this guitar I had gotten when I was young, signed by him when I went backstage," he explained.

"Wow, that's so cool, you're lucky," I mumbled.

"And it's now yours," Jack stated, extending the guitar towards me. My eyes widened as my heartbeat picked up to the point I could feel the pace of it in my chest.

"What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly. This had to be a joke, there's no way this was real. I could be dreaming though I'd be pissed at my cruel mind for creating a scenario I wish was real.

"It's your present, Merry Christmas," Jack grinned.

"If you're fucking with me, it's not cool," I frowned.

"I'm being one hundred percent serious," he said. I raised a brow, still not believing any of this. It feels too good to be real.

"Why would you give me something that I assume is valuable to you?" I questioned.

"I think you deserve it more than I do, plus, I wanted to show that I am sorry for how I treated you before you moved away, sorry for hurting you," Jack replied. I frowned again. I hate getting flashbacks to those days where he would ruin my life but never would I ever imagine him trying to make up for what he did. I guess he was serious about changing.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He nodded before gently taking my hand, sending shivers down my spine. He then placed the guitar into my open palms before letting go of me. I kept staring at the guitar with practically a gleam in my eyes. I'm pretty sure people can see sparkles in them like it's a cartoon show.

"I am sorry and I hope this shows that I never meant to hurt yo-"

I cut him off when I jumped up and wrapped my arms around him, which caught him off guard. I never thought I would be hugging Jack Reece in my entire life but I am today after what he's done. I couldn't be happier with it.

"Thank you, Jack," I mumbled into his shoulder with a wide gleeful smile. Jack slowly wrapped his arms around my waist in return hesitantly. We stood like that for a minute until I came to the realisation of what I was actually doing. I was quick to pull away, taking a step back to give us some space as my cheeks heated up. Well, that's embarrassing and probably ironic. "I better get going," I chuckled nervously.

Jack nodded with a smile as I tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear before turning around and walking out, clutching onto the guitar in both my hands. I walked into the room I was staying in and closed the door. I glanced down towards the signature and bit my bottom lip. I hate that I could feel my heart beating unnaturally fast and my cheeks heating up.

I mentally pushed my rebellious thoughts and feelings that weren't supposed to be there aside as I placed the guitar in the corner of the room before exiting to rejoin my siblings and Lisa and Jack.

While sitting in the living room, I kept avoiding eye contact with Jack as I focused on the conversation. Right now, I was just counting down the seconds until I could FaceTime my parents. I don't know if they would message me or Max to let us know when we could set up the computer to use. I was eager to hear from them and a small part of me hoped that I could see how my grandmother was doing but I don't know if she would be home by now.

"Amy," Max called out. I turned towards him, away from Lisa.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I got a message from mum, she wants to talk to us now," he told me.

I nodded before standing up and grabbing Catherine's hand as she jumped up to follow us. Lisa had let us know earlier where her computer was and how to set it up. Max pulled up everything needed before calling our parents through Skype, the application that makes it ok to talk but without a good connection, it's absolute shit with so many glitches or freeze frames it makes you want to pull your hair out.

"Merry Christmas my babies!" My mother instantly greeted us once the camera turned on. We laughed as she grinned widely.

"Merry Christmas!" we exclaimed in unison.

"Where's dad!?" Catherine asked as she tried to peek over our mother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry kids, he's at the hospital tonight looking after your grandmother since she woke up a few days ago but still needs to stay for some check ups although she's alright," she explained while also reassuring us. I mean it settled the worry I had for my grandmother now that I know she was awake.

"So any news on your return?" Max questioned. She then frowned, which I'm guessing means bad news most likely.

"Unfortunately, it still may be a month at least, your grandmother needs to recover and we can't leave her alone," she replied. Catherine's smile was instantly wiped off her face. Max and I both weren't surprised; though to be honest, I thought it would be longer. I hope I'm wrong because she said 'at least' so who knows how long the estimated wait is until we can go home again. "I promise we won't be long ok?" our mother said.

"Ok," Catherine nodded.

"We look forward to your return, whenever that may be," Max grinned. My mother chuckled.

"I hope you guys are enjoying it there," she said.

From there, the conversation shifted to talking about our time here and how everything was while staying with Lisa. Once the call ended an hour later, Max and Catherine went back to join in the festivities while I excused myself to go upstairs.

I lied down on the bed, facing the wall with my phone in my hands as I scrolled through my messages from my friends. Ricky seemed to have left me one not long ago, letting me know that her and Nate have gotten pass this stage successfully after both their parents seemed to have gotten along tonight. I was happy for her, for them both.

I drifted in and out of sleep due to my depressingly atrocious sleeping schedule I've created for myself. I curled up into a ball, closing my eyes but before I could fully go under a deep slumber, I felt the blanket be pulled up to my chin so that I was completely covered. I peeked one eye open to see Lisa walking out of the room. I smiled before yawning and nodding off to sleep after that.