16~ Kool Aid

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Everyday of break I spend with my friends.

Monday we hike at a nearby park, taking the younger kids with us. The weather warmer for a November day. Tuesday is spent at the mall, us girls shopping literally all day.  A blessing since I had to buy outfits for Thanksgiving dinner.

The boys hang in there. Sage, who loves shopping just as much as I do, carries his bags and Ella's. Towards the end of the day I could hardly see him under all the bags. James, who  clearly isn't a mall person, goes along with whatever Stella wants and nothing more. Interestingly, Ashton is a closet shopper.

He has better taste than I thought.

Today we saw a movie. Sadly, a cheesy romance.

Sage cried like a baby holding onto Ella's hand.

Stella and James made out.

Ashton and I laughed through the entire thing.

It's a wonder we're all friends.

Now I'm in Ella's bedroom, looking over the pictures she's taken in the past couple weeks. The many perks of having a photographer best friend is that your pictures are always edited and your insta feed is aesthetically pleasing.

The rest of my siblings are outside, petting her horses. Yes, horses.

Ella is an only child who lives on property. Whatever she wants she gets. Horses, a nice car, cameras- you name it. She wasn't spoiled it was just a benefit of her dads job and being the only child to focus on. A completely foreign concept to me.

We lounge on her pale blue bedspread with her Mac between us, scrolling through the images. I see the picture of us all at the middle school game, it's crazy to think that was almost a month ago.

I love all the pictures she took of the five of us with the trophy. One of them most definitely will find a home on the mantle.

Ella has a gift, I can assure anyone of that. She's the only person capable of getting all five of us to smile for a picture. Hell, she even makes Sterling look photogenic and that alone is a miracle. 

As I download all the pictures I want on a flash drive she studies me, clearly wanting to say something.

"What, Ella Marie?" I demand, knowing she's gonna ask about Ashton.

"What happened between you and lover boy?" She asks.

I cough uncomfortably, "First off, never call him lover boy again. Secondly, we're friends."  How many times do I have to tell her? For some reason, she chooses to hear what she wants and nothing more.

She takes the computer and pulls up a different file, "Well, friends surly don't do this." She says, showing me the screen,

It's a picture of me and Ashton kissing after the game. That damn kiss will be the end of me. I'm not gonna lie, it's a pretty picture. The lights shining down on us, almost in a halo effect. Someone from yearbook probably took the picture.

"Friends that make impulsive decisions do." I respond flatly, ready to drop the subject.

Ella ignores me, scrolling through the pictures for me to see.

There was Ashton and I hugging after the twins game. Us at the pep rally, him looking directly at me while I smiled for the camera. Another of Ashton carrying me as we hiked.

It ends with me watching Ashton as he walked away before the last game, right after I promised him a kiss, "It looks like someone's in denial."

"Am not." I argue, throwing a pillow at her. There's nothing but friendship between us and quite honestly I'm getting really annoyed by everyone sticking their nose in my business.

I miss and hit her bitchy cat, Freda, who hates me. You toss a cat in the pool one time and you can never go back, I  have the scars to prove it.

Ella doesn't bother to acknowledge me, getting up to move her computer to her desk. I look at her walls, pictures organized into perfect rows. She has sections dedicated to each of us. The largest section belonging to Sage.

Adorable, I know, nine years worth of images of just them.

Ella picks up Freda and pets her, the cats glare remaining fixated on me.

"I invited Ashton and his family to come tomorrow." She informs me. It's a good thing I'm scared of the cat or else I'd throw another pillow at her.

"Why would you do that?" I ask incredulously, falling back on her bed to stare the ceiling.

Every year since grade school the Mackenzie's hosted the Hollens family and my own for a Thanksgiving lunch. We eat good food, ride four wheelers and spend time with those we loved. I don't want Ashton to ruin that for me. As horrible as it sounds, tomorrow nights dinner will be the worst, lunch makes it all worth it. I don't want anything to be different.

Also, tomorrow my parents absence would be completely noticeable. We always talk about them, keeping their memory alive. We won't be able to do that if his family was there.

I don't want to answer questions.

"Because," She huffs, setting the cat on the bed, "my parents and Stella's sat next to his at the game a few weeks ago and they've become friends."  Ella shifts to the stop being difficult look she normally reserves for Sage. "Ashton is our friend and The Kings are coming as well. Now stop your complaining and put on Friends."

I get up and grab the remote, stomping my feet for dramatic effect. Sage has to learn it from someone. Ella only shakes her head, "They have no family in the area, Scarlett, they don't deserve to spend tomorrow alone."

I groan in frustration, knowing she's right and flop back onto the mattress. I land on Freda who howls in frustration, that makes two of us cat.

Tomorrow better go smoothly.

*****

"Boys, hurry up!" I yell upstairs. Surprise, surprise, we're running late.

We overslept, getting home late from Ella's last night. Then I had to make a dish and pick out clothes for lunch. Then I had to pack the clothes for dinner.

Yes, we wear two sets of clothes today. At the Mackenzie's we dress nice but at my aunts we dress to a whole 'nother level. I have to bring the bow ties out. Plus, Karen would die if we showed up in something that smelled even slightly dirty

A tempting thought.

I'm wearing a cream plaid skirt and a flowy white blouse with brown heels. Saffron waits in the kitchen, already dressed in a brown overall dress and a cream shirt with loose arms. I put her in charge of watching the food, a very important job of course.

I yell a few more times, now 15 minutes behind schedule.

Its fine. It's not like it's Thanksgiving day and every person in America would be on the road.

The boys come marching down single file. Silver wearing jeans and an untucked white button up with a brown vest. Decent.  Sterling in jeans and a cream sweater. Cute. Sage in jeans and a brown button up that had small cream dots on it. Where he gets his shirts from I have no idea.

We pass for decent human beings, now we can go. I herd them into the kitchen, stopping in my tracks as I watch Saffron attempting to pour herself a glass of Kool-Aid.

Oh my God.

"Saff, no." I cry, all of us trying to reach her but we're to late. The pitcher falls from her hands, red liquid splashing up.

I can't bring myself to look. Please don't be covered in red, anything but that. I'm okay with the entire kitchen being ruined but I will not find that child another outfit.

Saffron starts to sniffle so I look, fearing for the worst.

I let out a relieved sigh. Saffron's fine, not a drop on her. The floor and countertops, however, are a completely different story. After spending ten minutes carefully soaking up the liquid and mopping the sticky floor we're finally in the car.

*****

We enter the Mackenzie's house 30 minutes later after sitting in traffic for eternity. The aroma of different food welcome's me with open arms. I can smell turkey, corn pudding, stuffing along with so much more.

The kitchen is bustling with activity. Dave, Ella's dad, wearing a kiss the cook apron while running between the stove and the oven. He's very picky when it comes to food. Kim and Liz set the already finished dishes on the center island. I walk over and place my food down, offering them both hugs.

"Scarlett, dear, how nice to see you." Liz says warmly before looking around, "Where are your parents?"

My smile falters. Kim gives me a look, Dave halts cooking momentarily to see how I react.

I'm so getting a lecture later.

"Oh, they couldn't make it. We have dinner with my aunt later and they had to go help set up." I avoid her trusting eyes, how can I lie to such a nice woman?

This is exactly why I didn't want them to come.

The twins and Sam run through to steal some food, Dave waving a spatula in their face to fend them off. They laugh and try to snag something off the center island.

"These must be the twins?" Liz asks. I'm surprised she knows who they are.

"He's Sterling." Silver says, munching on a cookie.

"He's Silver." Sterling adds, pointing at his twin.

Ella walks stuns I a mauve dress, carrying Saffron into the room. Sage follows behind, carrying a bag of ice.

"Hello, everybody!" Sage calls, setting the ice in the sink. He goes around and offers hugs to everyone, introducing himself to Liz.

"Let's go ride the four wheelers" Sam says, the boys running outside.

Kim laughs at the scared look on Liz's face. "Don't worry, they're not too much trouble."

That's an understatement.

On our way outside we pass Ella's mom with all the other parents in the tv room, offering a brief hello. I begin to wonder why she isn't in the kitchen but Ella drags me along, the thought long forgotten.

Once we're outside the chaos welcomes us.

Saffron runs over to Ronnie, who's trying to climb on a goat, dirtying her pale green dress in the process. I should mention the Mackenzie's have loads of animals. Goats, chickens, horses and a few cows. They live on a mainly organic diet so they use their animals for eggs and milk.

I divert my eyes away from the twins and Sam swinging from a rope on the barn into a pile of hay before I go to stop them. We join the older kids inside the barn.

"Finally!" James jumps up, "We can take the bad boys out."

He points over to the four wheelers parked in the back. Hell yes.

It hasn't rained in about three weeks so there's no mud out. The wind isn't too crazy right now and the sun's shining. A perfect day to go riding.

I notice Ashton's just staring at me. His button up sleeves rolled up to his elbows and it looks like his mother forced a comb through his hair. He looks good.

I panic, trying to subtly fix myself.  Did my skirt ride up. Is there something on my face?

The four wheelers are all divided up,  two people per ride. Ashton still gaping. Now I'm getting concerned.  Did I have Kool-Aid on me?

"Why are you staring?" I demand as he joins me by the four wheeler Ella oh so kindly demanded we share.

"Your hair." He states, reaching out to touch a strand.

My hair?

Oh. I run my fingers through the straightened locks. Karen hates my hair because it reminds her of my mother so I straighten it to save myself some comments.

He plays with it a little more, his fingers starting at my scalp before running through the strands. My eyes begin to close, it's so relaxing. "It looks nice but I think the curly suits you better."

I smile. No one's ever told me that before.

Ashton hops on our ride likes he's gonna drive as I switch my heels for a pair of extra boots. He revs the engine like a wanna be badass, patting the seat behind him.

"Cute. Now get out of my spot." I say.

Driving one of these is a privilege, one Sage lost after he drove a gator into the stream. He's currently sitting behind Ella while James wraps his arms around Stella's waist.

See they listen.

The twins ride with a little girl, Sam the only one alone. although, that might be the safest thing for everyone.

"You're gonna drive this, in a skirt?" he runs his eyes over my body, lingering a little too long.

I roll my eyes, "Don't you worry about me." That's what Nike pro's are for.

He raises his hands in defeat before scooting back. I hop on and rev the engine, a smile forming on my lips at the sound. Thanks to his little demand of power we're the last ones in the barn.

He wraps his arms around my waist and I pretend not to feel it. He has a lot more muscle than I realized. He also smells really nice. We reach everyone at the beginning of the trail, signaling to each other before Ella takes off. 

"Hold on tight." I call back to him before racing down the path.

His grip tightens, letting out a variety of swear words while we ride. I take turns sharply just to hear him squeal.

Man this is fun.

The winds in my hair and for the first time in forever, I feel free. My laughters of delight mix with Ashtons screams of terror, his arms squeezing the air out of me. Someone isn't a big fan.

After about 40 minutes we unwillingly head back for lunch.

I go to get off but Ashton hasn't moved. His head buried in my back, his arms still wrapped around me. Tightly.

I can't help but appreciate how warm he is, it feels nice. I let myself enjoy it for a moment before common sense kicks in. "Ashton we're parked. You can get off now."

Slowly he lifts his head up. "Where the hell did you learn to drive like that? I thought we were gonna die."

He's being just a little dramatic. I'm not that bad. Sure I went faster than anyone else and I took the bumpiest trail. But I was safe.

I chuckle, getting off and removing the boots. "Not too bad for a girl in a skirt?"

He gets off, his pride clearly wounded.

*****

We're all gathered around the long line of mismatched tables on their back porch. Despite the fact there's over 20 of us we always eat together.

I go through the line with Ashton beside me as we make the girls plates. No matter the occasion, no kindergartner should be trusted with fine china. Especially after Saffron dropped the Kool-Aid.

"What's this?" Ashton questions, pointing at a dish.

I scoop some kielbasa sausage before looking to see what he's talking about. He's pointing to the dish I brought.

"Oh, that's arroz con dulce, I made it" I say before putting some on Saffs plate.

"What is it?" He pokes it with a spoon.

I laugh, adding some hotteok to the plate. "It's a Puerto Rican dish."

The table is filled with food from our different heritages. The Mackenzie's made polish pierogies   and sausage. The Hollens brought hotteok, a Korean dessert. We made a pudding.

"You're Puerto Rican." He states more than asks.

"Yeah, half from my dad's side." My grandparents immigrated when they were teenagers.

"Fascinating." he mumbles, adding the food to Ronnies plate.

Once we're all seated around the table and begin to eat, Dave taps his wine glass for a toast. "Every year, our families dine together and this year we are more than happy to be welcoming new faces while also missing old ones."

Oh my God. Please tell me this isn't happening, I want to be the one to tell Ashton. Eventually. I send a panic look to Jane who nudges her husbands arm.

I will kill Ella if Ashton finds out like this.

He nods before continuing. "We have a tradition of going around the table and sharing the things we are thankful for and we would be honored if you all will participate as well."

I relax back in my seat, I love this part of dinner.

"I'm thankful for my wonderful wife and daughter and the love we share." He starts, sharing a smile with Jill. I notice her smile seems off, probably still thinking about his almost slip up.

We go around the table.

"I'm thankful I can be honest with my family." Sterling says, adding emphasis to the word honest while glaring at Silver.

"Well, I'm thankful to have a pain in the butt twin" Silver bites out, spinning his fork around like a drum stick.

The parents all laugh it off but Sam appears to be preparing for damage control. Sage and I share a concerned look, how can they go from playing together to hating each other in the matter of seconds?

"I'm thankful for new beginnings." James says, diverting the attention from the boys. He smiles warmly at Stella and holds her hand. She blushes slightly, for once embarrassed by the attention.

My heart just melted.

The eyes all fall on me. Oh crap, it's my turn, "I'm thankful for everyday I get to spend with you guys."

It truly is a blessing.

It's Ashtons turn, his grey eyes meet mine, "I'm thankful I got to meet you" After a pause he looks around the table before adding, "All of you."

I can't breathe, holy crap. Was that intentional? Maybe he just didn't know what to say. Ella kicks me from under the table and I remember air is needed.

We finish on Kim, "I'm thankful for all of my children, blood or not. I'm also thankful my daughter is not wearing black today."

We all laugh and my heart is warmed by her love.

"Momma" Stella protests, pulling at her grey dress. A very small victory but a victory in Kim's eyes nonetheless.

The food is amazing. I moan taking a bit out of my pudding. Damn, I did good.

"You know, Sweetheart, if you aren't careful people might start getting the wrong idea." Ashton whispers in my ear.

Startled, I drop my fork and blush despite my many efforts not to. "Charming." I glance down at his plate and see my arroz con dulce has gone untouched. "What, you don't like it?"

"No, I'm just saving the best for last." I roll my eyes, whatever.

I snag his fork and take a bit off of his plate, "Well, it looks like you're missing out."

Ashton snags his fork back and takes a bite. I watch anxiously, his eyes lighting up. I'm expecting a compliment but instead I get. "You know we just indirectly kissed, right?"

I feel my own eyes get so big they almost pop out of my head. We most certainly did not. I can't help myself as I glance down at his lips, they look nice. And soft. And very red.

"Get a room." Sage coughs and I notice how close Ashton and I had gotten. Any closer and I'll be in his lap.

He just smirks before turning back to his food. He knew I checked him out.

Asshole.

*****

After being chased from the kitchen we take a million photos. I pose with Ashton, the flashdrive Ella gave me still fresh in my mind. We take really nice photos together.

"You look nice." He whispers in my ear just as our last picture is taken, leaving me completely flustered as he walks away.

We all ended up watching CoCo while our food settles. I fall asleep on the couch, my head falling onto Ashton's shoulder.

I wake up to the feeling of Ashton running his fingers through my hair, his arm over my shoulders. I blink, trying to fix my contacts without letting him know I'm awake. I adjust myself on the couch so I can lean better on him. His hand stills and I risk a glance at him, his eyes already focused on me.

I smile sleepily up at him, pretending like I wasn't faking just to stay close to him. The coo coo clock chimes from the wall, scaring the shit out of me. I count the chirps, there's no way it's already six. I grab Ashton's wrist to read his watch, it's six alright. I jump from couch, "Shit, guys we need to go!"

The five of us change quickly and offer hurried goodbyes.

"Good luck." James tells us solemnly. I actually think I'll miss him not being

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