EMBRACE winrina

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Thanksgiving was always the one holiday that shoved my mood right up my ass. I couldn't get over how much I hated it. Granted, the traditional holiday sounded nice. If I had had the chance, I'm sure I would have loved to sit around a big table with friends and family and eat, making sure to give thanks for the good fortunes that life brings.

But I hadn't had a Thanksgiving like that, and if I did, I sure as hell didn't remember it. I had no doubt that my parents celebrated at the end of November, but I was too young to have made any memories. The memories I did make during my childhood weren't exactly pleasing. Being shifted around foster homes until I was fourteen and a half hadn't presented me with the best of experiences, clearly, and Thanksgiving hadn't been any different.

The worst thing about the holiday was that I couldn't think of very much to be thankful for. At one point, I was thankful that I was still alive. If my dad had not brought me outside on that fateful night twelve years ago, I wouldn't be. At one point, I was thankful that I had a friend that I could more or less trust with my life.

But Leo had significantly diminished the thankfulness I had for being alive, and I could no longer be thankful for having Rosie by my side every day and night.

Still, there was one thing I had to admit I was thankful for, seventeen plus years later. Had I never met Karina in the hotel that night, and had I not been placed in her class, I'd still be in Leo's house, and I'd still be miserable. Despite the fact that she exhausted me, she also made me happy, and that was something I couldn't overlook.

Not to mention, her niece had also made me smile more times in over two months than I had in my entire life.

I'd planned on working today, but Aaron had forced me to go 'spend time with my family' the day before. And honestly, after the night we'd had a few days ago, I wasn't sure what to expect with Karina. She was normal, or as normal as she could be while still being her, but I didn't know what her plans were. That was, until she walked out of her room in a fitting black dress, brushing her hair and shooting me an odd look."Why aren't you getting ready?"

"What?"

"To go?"

"To go where?"

She sighed. "Lavender's house. You didn't think I was just going to let you mope around my apartment all day, did you?"

And that was that. I showered and threw on a decent looking outfit before being ushered quickly down the stairs and into Karina's car. I really had not expected her to just assume that I'd be spending the day with her and her family, but I wasn't complaining. She seemed happier than usual, which made me happy.

As soon as we pulled up and I saw multiple cars in the driveway, I began to wonder if Kenneth would be here. It honestly seemed like Karina was excited, or at the very least not completely bummed out by the fact that today she'd be with her family, so I guessed that he wouldn't be. We walked inside to find more people than I expected in the living and dining room. I immediately recognized Karina's dad, Lavender, her husband Caleb, and obviously Addy, but there was another older couple and two tall men as well sitting on the couch watching football.

If I had to guess, I'd have to say that they were Caleb's family.

I managed to finish my scan of the room, failing to find the man that seemed to make Karina ridiculously uncomfortable and turn her into an entirely different person. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked up behind Addy, placing my hands on her shoulders. "Excuse me, but I'm looking for my favorite little eight year old ball of sass, do you know where I could find her?"

Addy whirled around and her face lit up when she saw me. "Win!"

I laughed and hugged her. "That greeting never gets old."