The Gift

December 23rd 9:04 AM

Morgan followed Henry up the stairs, a bundle of clothes in her arms. He veered to the right at the top of the stairs, just as Allison came out of the door at the end of the hallway to the left. She nodded to Morgan before slipping down the staircase. Across from the top of the staircase hung a painting of a snowy scene. Trees lined the background as four reindeer graced the foreground. Morgan smiled and bowed her head before following Henry. He held open the door to his bedroom and she slipped inside.

"Whoa," she breathed. At the far wall, the double bed sat in the middle of the wall, bookshelves placed all around it. She walked over towards one side of the bed, her eyes darting over the shelves. As she passed, she set her clothes down on one corner of the unmade bed.

"I read, a lot," Henry laughed, sitting down onto the bed. He watched as Morgan reached up and touched a few of the spines. "Mom used to read a lot of them to me when I was a kid, I just kept picking up any that I thought she might like." Morgan turned her attention away from the shelves to look down at Henry. He shrugged his shoulders and stood up next to her. Gently, he reached up above her head and pulled down a book.

"Watership Down, I love that one," Morgan said softly as he ran his hand along the cover.

"Richard Adams was her favorite. She could never find The Plague Dogs for whatever reason. I kind of have been looking for it, but I've been trying to find a first edition and I haven't had any luck," Henry stated. A sad smile tugged at his lips as he held the book. Morgan's eyes flicked from the cover to his face and back again.

"How come?"

"I searched online once, but when I got the book it was shredded and not worth even trying to patch back up. I guess there just isn't very many left around." Henry reached over Morgan's head again and slid the book back into place.

"You'll find one, just don't give up," Morgan said, she almost moved her hand to his arm, but decided against it and just watched him.

"I, uh, the bathroom is this way," Henry turned and walked towards the door to his private bathroom. Morgan scooped up her clothes off of the gray comforter and followed him in. The room was small, with just enough room for a shower, toilet, sink, and a small closet. Henry reached up to the top shelf of the closet and pulled down a green towel. Morgan set her clothes down on the edge of the sink before taking the towel gently from Henry.

"Thank you," she said softly with a smile.

Morgan walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed in her clothes, fluffing her hair with the towel. Henry looked up from the book he was reading and watched as she approached the bed.

"Whatcha reading?" She asked, flipping her hair around her head. She sat down on the corner of the bed and pulled a comb out of her pocket. Henry watched her for a minute as she ran the comb through her hair.

"Uh, just-" Henry was cut off by a knock on the door. Gram cracked the door opened and peeked in.

"Oh good, you're both in here," she said, stepping into the room. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the end of the bed.

"What's going on?" Henry asked. Gram looked between the two young adults and shook her head.

"Does anyone else know about your fake girlfriend?" Gram asked, raising an eyebrow. Henry's face paled and he took a sharp intake of breath.

"What?"

"Busted," Morgan hissed out with a laugh. Henry whipped his head around to give her a glare. Morgan recoiled. "What? I'm not gonna lie to your grandmother." Gram let out a laugh, startling both Morgan and Henry.

"If you want to pass this girl off as your girlfriend, you need to be more physical. It took me only minutes to notice that you barely stand even close enough to touch each other, let alone actually do. I won't tell, it can be our secret, but you might want to step up your game," Gram said. She winked and opened the door. As she walked out, Morgan and Henry looked at each other.

"Anita is back! Morgan, downstairs!" Katie's voice screeched from down the hall.

"Shit!" Morgan cursed. She raced into the bathroom and grabbed her clothes. As she ran back out she grabbed onto the towel before streaming out the door. Henry followed her as she lept down the stairs two at a time, skipping over the last few steps all together. Morgan hit the tiled floor of the foyer and slid a few steps. Henry heard the door open and Anita's voice float through.

"Go," he hissed as Morgan leapt down the stairs to the basement.

"Henry, what's going on?" Anita asked as she kicked off her boots in the mudroom.

"I was just heading downstairs to check on Morgan. She said she was going to come upstairs after she showered, but she hasn't come up yet," Henry replied. Anita's eyes narrowed and she approached her step-son.

"She showered?"

"Yeah, I had to give her a towel, for some reason there were none downstairs, I thought we kept some down there, didn't we?" Henry challenged Anita, looking her right in the eyes. Anita let out a huff and blinked rapidly.

"There should be. Whenever she gets upstairs, make sure to keep your door open at all times."