althea hobbs. (ahobbs) wrote in midnightremedy, @ 2010-12-24 17:23:00 |
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Althea Hobbs had always been the sort of girl who exuded Christmas cheer. It was her favourite holiday, really. Birthdays, Easter... all of them paled in comparison to Christmas. Of course, she had to often indulge her mother's rants about how the Christians robbed the real believers of their holiday, but it was worth it. Worth it for the presents, the cheer, the love that surrounded their family when they were all together and enjoying themselves. This year, though, proved to be a bit different. There would be no turkey rolls at Demelza's house. There would be no Secret Santa exchanges. There... well, there was a long list of things that they wouldn't have this year. And Demelza's scathing phone message had certainly failed to make her feel better. While she knew her more hot-tempered siblings would have responded, she hadn't been able to bring herself to do it. She didn't want to speak to that woman, especially after she dubbed her boyfriend a creature. Not a real person, but a thing. A thing that seemingly wasn't allowed to exist in her eyes. And, well, Althea couldn't stand for that. Although she was still slightly frustrated with Dell with the job fiasco, she still loved him with all her heart, and he definitely came before everyone else. He was her heart, the little pieces of her that kept her whole. No amount of petty spats was going to change that. And Demelza certainly didn't have that power over her, not anymore. Still, all Christmas Eve she had felt ill at ease. As if something horrible was going to happen. She had begun their meager dinner early in the morning, stuffing things in and out of their oven, trying to keep her mind distracted. Althea had allowed Coraline to help with some of the dishes, too, which had kept the children thoroughly distracted. When she was able to drop into bed, she did so happily, curling deep under the covers next to Dell. That's where she stayed for the next six hours, although it only felt like one, when she was awoken by the sharp screams of their daughter. "Dell," Althea whispered, blearily, her eyes opening and closingly rapidly as she tried to think. Tried to focus on the noise. Her head dropped straight back to the pillow and she squirmed against him, burrowing close, her thin body slotting against his in perfect sync. Yawning, muffled and tired, she buried her nose in his hair and inhaled. "Something's wrong. Wake up." |