The Workshop: A "The Santa Clause" Fanfiction. (Bernard x Female OC)

My Life is One Big Cliche, and I Know It

December 1994

Snow fell to the ground outside as I waited upstairs in my room. Waiting to hear the sound of my dad's car pulling up. He was often late, and often left me alone, which was fine, as I didn't always mind having time to daydream and think about a more hopeful future. I did hear a car pull up, but from the voices that were chattering below, I knew It wasn't my dad.

"Wait here," I heard Laura's voice tell someone, presumably Neal, inside the car. I peeked out the window and low and behold I was correct.

I heard shuffling to the front door steps, then a small knock. Hopping off my bed, I went down to greet my... ex-stepmother and little brother at the door.

"Hi Laura," I smiled politely as I opened the green front door.

It wasn't that I had any grudge or favor toward her. Even though she was married to my dad for three years, I was 10 when they got married, and she was never the maternal type until Charlie came along. I saw her now as more of a distant relative or an aunt who only shows up when she's obligated to let Charlie see dad.

"Hi Angie," She seemed to peer around my shoulder to the house behind me as if looking for Dad but sighed, seeing the room was dark behind me.

"Hi Angie!" My little brother smiled and hugged me. While I wasn't necessarily close with Laura, I definitely had a better relationship with Charlie. Not that he's admitted it verbally, but I had the feeling the real reason he wanted to visit occasionally was because of me, and not because he wanted "father-son bonding time.' I ruffled Charlie's fine dark hair and hugged him tighter.

"He said he's running late again." I shrug, tucking a curl of strawberry-blonde hair behind my ear as Charlie ran inside and sat a bag down.

"Yeah, I've heard that one before." Laura shook her head.

"You can come in if you'd like," I took a step back, "Until Dad gets here, at least."

"Oh, I-" Her eyes widened, her mouse pausing open.

As if right on cue, my dad's little grey car pulls up. He parks and jogs over, somewhat awkwardly over to us. 

"Oh! Sorry I'm late, hi." He says as he pulls Charlie into a side hug. Charlie smiled but I could tell he's only smiling because Laura told him to before hand.

"Hi," Laura said, with a tight smile.

"Did you want to come in for a minute?" He gestured towards the door, which surprised him when he saw me standing there. "Oh, Angie, I didn't realize you'd be home yet, I thought you had your concert thingy." He waved his hand up, hesitating before he said "concert thingy" as if he forgot what a performance was called.

I roll my eyes, not caring if I was being polite since Laura wasn't my mother and didn't sit me down before hand like the did Charlie.  "Well that's what happens when you're almost an hour late. The performance ends, and I walk home in the snow since you took the only car." I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm sorry kiddo," He said, again, somewhat awkwardly as the tension in the air only grew more with his ex-wife and child standing there. "Um, I'll make it up to you... Laura, did you guys want to come in?" He asked again, sounding a little more desperate this time, as if it would ease any unrest created in the doorway.

"Well, Neal is waiting in the car, so," She motioned back over to the glistening street where Neal's car was still running. His fingers tapped impatiently at the wheel, and occasionally I'd see him glance over towards us.

"Why doesn't he come in?" Dad asked her, a bit annoyed that our weird little broken family can't just have a nice awkward moment all together.

"Cause, Daddy, he says you'll just end up saying something snotty," Charlie said, turning to meet Dad's eyes.