All I Want For Christmas Is You

When Val and I got home that day, I tossed my bag on the couch, to remember that mom was still gone. Maybe I should call her to see if Katie and her dad are okay.
“Have you heard from mommy?” Val asked, grabbing one of her cracker snacks from the snack cabinet. I shook my head, “But I’m about to call her,” I said, picking up the wireless receiver and dialing the familiar digits. “Tell her I love her and miss her a lot,” Val said with a giggle as she ran to the den.
I rolled my eyes as I heard the phone ring. And ring. And ring. And ring. It went straight to the answering machine, so I called again without leaving a message. Same thing happened. I didn’t think of as to why she wasn’t answering. I mean, she normally always answered her calls so this was unusual.
I hung up the phone with a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. No. Everything is okay. Everything is fine. I kept reminding myself.
I always felt uneasy because it was as if the world was against my family during this time of year.
Val came in running to me, cracker particles covering her lips. She giggled before tugging my belt loop on my jeans. “Did oo tell er?” she asked, her mouth full of crackers. I shook my head. “Sweetie, mom is busy right now. She didn’t pick up her phone,” I said, trying to hide my uneasiness, but Val could read through me like a piece of paper. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her attitude flipping as she swallowed her snack. I shrugged, finally giving in… I couldn’t hide my feelings from my world.
“I hope she’s okay,” she said before hugging my waist. I picked her up with some struggle and patted her back. I paused before I said, “I hope so too,” and we stood in the kitchen hugging for quite some time.
But late that night, I learned everything one could possibly know about One Direction, and I listened to almost every song, from “Torn” to “Story of My Life”. I was up until like 3:45am. I cried when I realized just how they impacted girls my age, and it made me think about how I was. And I couldn’t stop crying, but I was so happy to know now. I completely understood Karla.

Notes