Back to December

Seven

If I thought breakfast had been awkward, dinner was even worse; Nikki and Wyatt had both come down from their rooms, but neither of them said a word. Wyatt's relaxed and comfortable attitude from earlier had vanished entirely, and Nikki looked as if she were deep in thought about something the entire meal.

We'd all noticed their shifts in personality, mom followed Nikki up to her room after dinner, and Lizzie dragged Harper, James and I into Harper's room. I'd recognized the expression on her face instantly. Her brows were furrowed together, her lips pursed into a disappointed frown, "You need to apologize." She blurted as soon as Harper's bedroom door was shut and it was just us.

Unlike mine and Lizzie's room, which had been the same since we left, Harper had given her room a makeover since I'd last been home. Her walls were covered in fake vines and twinkly lights, her bed pushed into the corner of the wall, a mess of throw pillows and blankets, "us?" Harper questions, gesturing between the two of us as she plops onto her bed, "why?"

"What you said earlier when we were taking photos," Lizzie explains, bouncing Elliot in her arms. Iris was in James' currently trying to steal the glasses off of his face, "did you see how upset they looked? And during dinner too... You really hurt their feelings."

"I don't get why," I admit, shrugging my shoulder as I lean against Harper's desk, "they're not our family."

"Exactly," Harper snaps her finger, pointing towards me in agreement, "all I did was ask for a family photo. Is that really so bad?"

"It is when they have no other family," Lizzie answers, frowning at the two of us disappointedly, "think about it... Mom and Nikki are like sisters. She was in the hospital when all of us were born. She took me prom dress shopping when mom got the flu, took Harper to dance class when mom and dad had to work late... Harper, you slept at her house almost every single weekend growing up."

Lizzie was right; no matter how much I blocked away the memories, Nikki had been a major part of all of our childhoods, mine especially. She and Tom were like my second set of parents as a kid. I'd spent every single weekend sleeping over at their house, so much that they started calling the guest room "Marley's room." When they left, and Wyatt cut me off, so did his parents. Not only had I lost my best friend, but I also lost the people I considered my honorary parents.

"They still hurt us," I remind Lizzie, finally pushing the memories that flooded forward away, "they still left and never spoke to us again. Why should we be the ones to say sorry?"

"No," Lizzie shook her head, "Wyatt hurt you." She corrects me, "he hurt all of us... And honestly, I don't care about Wyatt or if you hurt his feelings earlier. I care about Nikki, who's grieving the love of her life and came to family for comfort."

I glance down at the floor, unable to stand the way Lizzie is looking at Harper and I, suddenly feeling slightly guilty. Even James, who'd stayed silent throughout the conversation, let out a breath, finally saying something, "Look, Lizzie isn't forcing either of you to apologize... just think about it, okay?"

I nod, looking up at the two of them, "okay."

Harper doesn't say anything. Instead, she's turns her attention to her cellphone, her acrylic nails tapping against the screen. I know she feels guilty. She no is longer wearing her signature smirk, her frown is deep, and her brows furrowed. Shortly after, we all went our separate ways, with James, Lizzie and the twins heading home and me down to the kitchen, where I assumed mom and Nikki would be after not finding them in the guest room.

Mom and Nikki sat at the island in the kitchen, cups of tea in front of them, so hot steam floated in the air above it. She's not crying right now, but I can see that Nikki's cheeks are a little red, her eyes tired and sunken in, she had been crying, and it was all our fault. "Marley," Mom spots me walking in first, "do you need something, sweetie?"