ADDICTION✓

xxxix (edited)

This chapter was thoroughly edited.

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Christmas morning are always my favorites parts of the holidays. We all wore ridiculous Christmas sweats paired anything of our choice. It is a tradition. We took pictures and put them in our family's Christmas photo album and also sent home to Nigeria. We opened our  presents from each other and shared a cake mum purchased. It was always good. Very year. We ate it with hot coco, wrapped up in a blanket and watched Christmas movies together till in the evening. We helped mum prepare dinner. That's has always been the order of service for our Christmas.

I'm so happy that we'll continue this tradition, again this year. I put on my ridiculous sweats and pair it with a checkered red and black skirt and I put on a fish net stockings and slip my feet into my fluffy cat ear slipper. I make my way downstairs, I meet mum there, wearing her own sweats with MUM knitted onto the back. She had that for every Christmas. Dani and I have changed ours three times. She paired hers with a pair of dark blue mum jeans and she is also on her fluffy slippers. She is wearing her glasses.

I walk to get hugging her side, "Merry Christmas mum." I greet, pecking the side of her forehead. She smiles at me, looking really happy. I'm always worried that she'll be unhappy due to dad's ailment but surprising she is always wearing a smile on her face, which I know is dad's doing.

"Merry Christmas, honey," she greets me in response, patting my face.

I stand in my full height and sit on the arm of the sofa. The living room was decorated, our Christmas tree were all the presents lay at the bottom. The tree is filled with ornament, Dani and myself made, even though they were horrendous to look at, mum never threw them away and hung them on the tree very year. The star on the top of the tree was my papier-mâché project in grade 2, after making it I painted it gold and pour glitters all over it. Yeah, I was once obsessed with glitters. They are also some pictures and of us together on past Christmas. Mum did it all. The fairy light hung haphazardly on the tree. They were also wreaths with ornament around the living room.

"Oh, oh, oh. Merry Christmas," dad says in his perfect father Christmas voice. I see him dressed as the myth, which he did every opportunity he got.

"Ugh, dad we aren't children anymore," Gladis groans coming down the stairs, she is wearing her ugly sweats with skin tight jeans and her fluffy panda slippers.

"A tradition is a tradition, Dani." Mum berates her, like she did everytime Dani brought it up.

She subtly rolls her eyes, before saying, "Merry Christmas, dad." She wraps her hand around dad, he smiles and manoeuvres them, wrapping his arms around her too.

"Merry Christmas, baby girl." He greets her back.

I watch them, wearing a smile on my face.

They release each other and step further into the living room, sitting on the other sofa. "Merry Christmas, dad" I greet him.

"Merry Christmas, baby girl," he wishes me back, then he smiles at mum. "Merry Christmas darling."

"Merry Christmas, love."

"Merry Christmas, Gbemi."

"Merry Christmas Dani."

As soon as the wishes her out of the way, mum goes to bring the cake, which is chocolate and velvet flavour. We have it every Christmas, for breakfast. With coco before opening presents.

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"You start first this year Dani," mum tells Dani. We rotate who opens the presents first every year. It starts with dad, mum, me and Dani goes last.