Screw You, Soulmate

chapter fifteen

"Everyone wants to be the sun
to brighten up someone's life,
but why not the moon,
to brighten in the darkest hours?"

"Jaxy! Luny! Deany! Emmeliney! Merry Christmas Eve!"

My youngest cousin, Avery, launched herself into my arms as soon as we entered her home. I wrapped my arms around her and cheerfully said, "Merry Christmas Eve to you too, kiddo!"

Jaxon ruffled her hair from where she was in my arms. "You excited for Santa Claus to come tonight, Avery?"

The five-year-old grinned, showing her two missing front teeth. "Absolutely," she said with a minor lisp.

"Avery, have you heard of a song called All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth?" Dean asked.

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah, but I don't want my teeth. I want a pony!"

All of us chuckled and moved into the large living room. Aunt Liz and Uncle Marcos were hosting the Ashrose Christmas party this year, and I couldn't be happier. Their house was the closest of all of Dad's siblings, and it was without a doubt the loveliest. Perfect for throwing parties and for raising a family.

There was a round of welcomes our way as we entered the room. Lots of my Aunts and Uncles were sitting on various chairs and couches and a couple of my cousins were playing a card game near the Christmas tree. Everyone else must've been in the kitchen.

My dad was the oldest of eight kids; consequently, I had lots of extended family on his side. I had fourteen Aunts and Uncles, and thirty-two cousins.

"Hey everyone!" I said, setting down Avery and making my rounds around the room. There were hugs, small talk, and good laughs shared all around the room.

I settle down next to one of my favorite cousins and give her a side hug. "How are you doing, Olivia?"

Olivia was closest to my age, she had turned nineteen around the same time I had turned eighteen. Ever since we were little, we had spent the most time together at family events, talking about anything and everything, and pulling little pranks on the younger and older cousins.

"I'm doing alright, I'm just about to claim this pot!" She stuck her tongue out at one of her younger brothers, Max, and he just scowled and continued to look at his cards, deciding what to do.

"How's Josh doing?" Josh was her soulmate, and he was pretty easy to find. Apparently, he'd had a crush on her since fifth grade and was absolutely ecstatic when Olivia told him that they were soulmates.

A blush erupted across her cheeks. "He's doing okay, he's with his family tonight. How's your guy, have you met him yet?"

It was my turn to blush. "Yes, actually. His name is Finn."

"Cute, and I win!" She slammed her cards down and grabbed the pot in the middle, which was full of M&Ms that they used for their bargaining chips. A few of my other cousins in the game groaned, and Max just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Stealing a few M&Ms on my way up, I said, "We'll talk later. I'm going to say hi to whoever is hanging out in the kitchen. "

"You do that," she replied, popping a few more M&Ms into her mouth.

"We're going to eat soon, don't eat all of those or you'll get a tummyache."

She stuck her tongue out at me and continued to greedily eat her candy. I chuckled and walked into the very modern kitchen.

"Luna!" A group of adults said when I entered, my parents among them.

Mom came up to me and wrapped her arms around me first. "Glad to see you made it over here okay, from what I heard, Dean was driving."