"Happy Christmas, Rosens!" Mrs. Montgomery exclaimed when she swung open the door on Christmas morning. My family stood on her porch, all of us dressed in terribly itchy sweaters decorated with Hanukkah candles and latkes. The first year we spent Christmas at the Montgomery house, they didn't want us to feel left out, so they bought us all matching Hanukkah jumpers. The sleeves that once flopped past my hands were now at my wrists, and it had turned into more of a crop top than a cozy sweater, but we wore them every year. Hanukkah rarely crossed over Christmas, and when it did, my family still didn't do presents, but we didn't bother telling the Montgomerys.

        "We brought presents!" My mum cheered as she made her way into the house which smelled like gingerbread and kicked the snow off her boots. In a matter of weeks, it had become a lot colder and snow really started to come down, burying England in a mountain of white. I didn't mind it.

        My father and I hadn't made up since our fight a few weeks prior. We walked into the Montgomery's with bright smiles and a facade of perfection, when really his hand clasped firmly on my shoulder was a bit too tight and my mum had just enjoyed a silent car ride all the way over after an afternoon of fighting. We weren't the kind of people who looked the same inside and out of privacy, but then again, who was?

        Instead of following my parents over to the big huddle of adults filled with gossip and subtle gloating, I made my way over to the sofa where Blake's older sister, Izzy, sat quietly with a cup of hot chocolate. She was at her last year of University and I'd rarely seen her since I was little, but she came home every year for Christmas. I really liked her, despite the fact that she was a lot different from Blake. She always had her nose in a book or an article, and when she didn't she was telling everyone about what she just read. The Montgomery siblings love to brag about themselves, but for Blake, it was about how cool he was, and for Izzy, it was about her superior intelligence. My dad loved her because she was a studying to be a lawyer. Ever since she began to bury herself deep in her studies, my dad joked that he wanted to set me and her up, although I wasn't 100% sure it was a joke.

        She was pretty, I have to say. She had the same dark hair as Blake, only hers was chopped perfectly at her thin shoulders. She was a small girl— even smaller than me— and looked innocent and easy to walk all over. But when she opened her mouth, she would put you in your place. I always respected her for being to outspoken when she looked like she'd be anything but.

        "Hey, Iz," I said, causing her to pry her eyes away from something she was reading on her laptop.

        She rolled her eyes and placed her drink carefully on a coaster. "It's Isabella now, Elijah."

        Izzy was also sort of a pretentious asshole.

        "Right, my apologies, Isabella sir," I said, so posh it made me want to punch myself in the face.

        She chuckled. "Thank you."

        Soon enough, we were all sat at the massive dining table filled with every food imaginable. I swear I ate more on Christmas than I did on the other 364 days combined. I filled my plate beyond full, stacking everything I could possibly grab into a giant food mountain, and sat next to my dad who was busy grilling Izzy on her law degree. My mum and Mrs. Montgomery gossiped, occasionally lowering their voices and peering over at either a silent Blake or an uncomfortable me.

        "Elijah, listen to Isabella. She might be able to help you get through University." I noticed my dad spoke differently. He used larger words and sat up straighter in his chair, and he even went as far as to put his napkin on his lap like he really cared if he spilled something on his fifteen pound trousers. It was if he was trying to impress an important person, but really it was just little Izzy who used to peer pressure me into eating dirt. I suppressed a sense of jealousy and smiled politely at her. "Please explain to Elijah your university experience," he said, his wrinkled lips pulled into a tight smile. I resisted the urge to vomit.

        "Well, I've had a really nice time overall. Studying law is extremely difficult, but it was something I'm very passionate about, so I persevered," she explained.

        "I remember how tough it was," my dad chuckled, pretending to look back on old memories. I knew for a fact my father was never the best student, but I kept my mouth wired shut and nodded my head like I cared to know more.

        "Extremely tough," Izzy agreed, "but I don't regret it at all. I met a lot of new people who have the same interests as me and we all sort of bonded over how hard it is. My girlfriend was the best at helping me with whatever work I needed to do so I can successfully get my degree, and-"

        "Excuse me, what?" My dad interrupted, his tight lipped smile slowly turning into a scowl.

        Izzy raised a brow and glanced around at the other confused faces suddenly interested in the conversation. I have to admit, I was on the edge of my seat, even though I had no idea why my father suddenly snapped out of his extra posh businessman persona. "Um... my degree?"

        "Before that. The bit about your friend."

        Suddenly, it dawned on me where this conversation was going. I whipped my head towards Blake, who's panicked eyes matched mine. No one else seemed to understand what was coming except for us, but we both sank in our seats, too afraid to do anything.

        "I've got a whole lot of new mates now. And a girlfriend...?" She tried, speaking slowly.

        My mum, finally understanding, grabbed onto my dads hand. "Andrew," she warned.

        "You have a girlfriend, then. I had no idea you were.. that way," he said through gritted teeth.

        Izzy nodded, a smile making its way onto her pale pink lips. "Her name is Hailey. She's very kind and really enjoys business relations. You'd like her, Mr. Rosen." The pang of jealousy I felt minutes ago had quickly turned into sympathy. She seemed so proud of herself— why wouldn't she be? She was successful in law and in relationships. But I had no idea how my dad would react. I never really knew if he was against all that, I just sort of assumed he was. He wasn't a very big advocate for people that didn't fit his version of normal.

        "Well that's just..." he trailed off, making an uncomfortable grunt. Izzy's smile fell into a straight line as she made eye contact with me, her brown eyes wide and confused. "You don't want to be a good Christian, then?"

        "Um... I don't know," she mumbled. In all my years of knowing her, I've never seen Izzy mumble, especially when she was standing up for herself. But as soon as my dad questioned her religion, she shrank. My father had caused the arrogant Izzy Montgomery to cower.

        On Christmas.

        I'm not even sure why he said that. I mean, we were reformed Jews who only went to temple on holidays. It's not like we're the most religious people. I decided it was an excuse— he used religion to hide the fact he had no reason other than he thinks it's gross. And as a kid who's sort of realised he's not as straight as he thought, that freaked me out. Would he use my religion against me? Would he accuse me of going against our family? I looked to my mom, not even trying to hide my shaking hands. She notices and nods to me before turning to the rest of the table, trying too hard to smile.

        "It's nearly half twelve! I've got to get home and finish up some work. Thank you for the delicious meal," my mum blurted out while my father was trying (and failing) to hide his growing scowl. He stood up from the table quickly, causing the silverware and the piles of food to shift and nearly tumble over. He didn't jump up to help it from falling. Instead, he walked outside and into the car without saying another word. The jingle bells all over the door let out a sad tune and the mistletoe on the ceiling fell down onto the hardwood as he slammed the door shut.

        The rest of us sat there silently in awe. I couldn't believe that even my father would walk out on Christmas breakfast just because he couldn't comprehend that someone could be happy without being just like him. The Montgomery's, in all their Christmas glory, looked at my mum and I and waited to see what we would do.

        My mother sighed and placed her napkin carefully on the table. "We should follow him," he said softly.

        "Mum-"

        "Elijah, we can't do that to your father," she insisted, "come on, love."

        I glanced at all the faces sitting patiently around the table: not one of them angry, all of them disappointed. Izzy had her eyes on her plate as she poked at her food with a dirty fork. I stood up and hugged her, and she gave me a weak hug back.

        "I'm sorry. I really am," I whispered.

        She pulled back with an unconvincing smile. "It's not your fault, Eli."

        I nodded, but I still felt like I was drowning in guilt as we left the silent house, where the only sound was a Christmas programme coming from the TV.

        On the car ride home, my mum never looked my dads way. I didn't either. Instead, I opened my phone and sent the first text since "the incident."

To: Adamn
happy christmas adam

To: Lij
Happy Hanukkah Eli

<><><>

Happy christmas!! I know it's a few days before, but I didn't want to upload on Christmas when everyone's with their family. Anyway, here's a sad chapter. Oops.

Hope everyone has a great holiday!!

~Teddy