For the past five years, our Christmas traditions have been ever-changing. One year, we spent it at a chalet and went skiing, another we tried different traditions from around the world. It felt weird doing all the traditions that the Oliver's had been a part of without them, so we tried making our own new traditions. None of which ever stuck

    Despite the constant change of traditions, there was one my sisters and I refused to give up on, whether Wyatt was here or not. Christmas, eve, eve movie night. Every year for as long as I can remember, we'd creep down the stairs once our parents were in bed and watch Christmas movies until we fell asleep. It was the one tradition that we didn't let Wyatt take away after he left.

    "Shh," I shush Skye, holding my finger over my lip. She hasn't stopped giggling since we got done here, excited that she was finally old enough to join in. While it was Skye's first year doing movie night, it was our first without Lizzie. She and James always slept over the night of the 23rd, but with the twins and the lack of sleep that comes along with them, the two of them had to skip out for the first time ever.

    "I think we need more blankets," Harper whispers, nodding towards our set-up in the middle of the living room. We'd pulled all the couch cushions off the couches, lining them up to create a giant mattress for the three of us to lay on. Against the end of the couch, we stacked pillows from mine and Harper's room for us to lean against.

    I'd brought down a pastel purple blanket that had been sitting at the end of my bed for who knows how long, while Harper had brought down a fluffy-looking white one. It was so soft and clean I could only assume it was new. She was right, though. For whatever reason, our parents loved to keep the house cool, even in the winter. We definitely need more blankets, "can we trust you to be quiet and grab some blankets from your room?" I ask our youngest sister. Skye nods her head rapidly, pretending to zip her mouth shut. She rushes out of the room with a determined look on her face, up the stairs to grab more blankets. "I give her a few minutes before she makes a loud noise." 

    "More like a few seconds." Harper corrects me, shaking her head as she walks towards the kitchen. I assume to grab the snacks I'd bought at the store for us.

    While she does that, I plug the tree in. It was right beside the TV, the lights reflected off the screen slightly. Our first movie was already cued up, ready to go. Considering she'd most likely fall asleep first, Skye got to pick the first movie of the night. She went with a family favourite, the Grinch.

    I could hear Skye's footsteps walking down the steps a minute or so later. They were heavier than when she'd been walking up. I assume it's because she's weighing herself down with an armful of blankets. I begin walking out of the living room to help her, whispering, "How many blankets did you-"

    The heaviness of Skye's footsteps makes sense as soon as I see her. It hadn't been just Skye walking down the steps. Wyatt is standing beside her, carrying all the blankets we'd sent Skye to grab, "You forgot to grab Wyatt," She giggles, shaking her head as if I made a silly mistake, "so I woke him up."

    I hadn't forgotten to let Wyatt know about movie night. I choose not to. He'd been a part of picking out the Christmas tree, meeting Santa, and even if I didn't have a terrible time, Gingerbread houses. Was it so bad that I wanted a night with just my sisters?

    "Oh," I nod anyway, forcing a smile onto my face, "thanks, Skye."

     Skye smiles proudly, "your welcome."

     I look back over at Wyatt next. Skye said she woke him up, but he looked fresh and awake. His curls were styled, not a hair out of place, and the white t-shirt he was wearing didn't even have a crease. It looked like it'd been freshly ironed, "She can be very persistent," Wyatt informs me, chuckling, "She refused to leave my room until I came down here."

    I roll my eyes playfully, "Right," I nod, dragging the word out. "You sure you weren't waiting by your door for an invite?"

    "You caught me," Wyatt holds his hands up as if he's pleading guilty. "I just know how much you love hanging out with me."

    "Careful," I pointed my finger at him, a glare in my eye, "or I'll regret my decision of letting you stay."

    No matter how badly I want a night with just my sisters, I can't say no to Skye. She's such a nice kid who wants everyone to be included. She'd be heartbroken if I told Wyatt he can't watch movies with us. A couple of nights ago, if this had happened, I would have said no without a second thought, I would have found watching movies with Wyatt all night unbearable, and while I'm still not the biggest fan of his, I do enjoy teasing him.

    "Thank you, Marley. You know I am nothing but a humble servant to you," Wyatt sighs, his tone laced with sarcasm, "If at any point tonight you want me to leave, just shoo me away."

    "Like a peasant." I nod my head approvingly, pressing my lips together to repress a smile. "I like it." I flick my hand towards the living room, shooing him away, "you may go."

    "Your highness," Wyatt falls into a bow before walking into the living room. I roll my eyes—what a dork. As I walk in after Wyatt, Harper enters the living room through the connected dining room. Her arms are full of boxes of candy.

    "What is he doing here?"

    "Skye invited Wyatt to watch movies," I inform her, nodding my head towards our younger sister, who's setting up the blankets Wyatt brought in.

    Harper looks away from me and over to Wyatt, narrowing her eyes at him, shooting him her infamous glare. The one she saves for only her worst enemies. Wyatt narrows his eyes back, quirking his brow. While Harper looks intimidating, he looks hilarious.

    "Okay," I nod, once Harper sighs, blinking, "now that you two are done your staring contest, can we watch the movie?"

    Instead of replying, Harper sits down, taking the spot closest to the side of the couch. Wyatt follows her suit, taking the spot farthest from her. Skye nestles herself in between Wyatt and me after I sit beside Harper. "Oh, I love this movie," Wyatt whispers as I press play.

    I bite my lower lip, refraining myself from replying that I know that. When Wyatt used to be a part of our movie night tradition, the Grinch was always his and Harper's top pick. I liked it too, but not at the same level as the two of them. The two of them used to have it memorized, they'd go the entire movie quoting along. Wyatt always took the boy parts, while Harper took the girls.

    As the movie plays on, Harper leans her head on my shoulder, popping pieces of sour candy into her mouth. None of us spoke for a while, which is unusual. Harper and I are the kinds of people that commentated along with movies. Most people hate it, but sometimes we find our commentary more fun than the actual movie.

    Wyatt is the one who ends up breaking the silence, speaking up as Cindy Lou Who sings Where Are You Christmas. "Do you guys remember the Christmas where Harper dressed up as her for an entire week?"

    "Yes," I nod, laughing. For a solid week when Harper was a little older than Skye's age, she placed an empty water bottle on the top of her head and covered it with her hair to make herself look like Cindy Lou Who. "And she made us call her Cindy."

     Harper groans, lifting her head off my shoulder, "It was a dark time."

    "But you were so cute," I insist, pouting. And she had been, if I had done anything like that as a child, I would have looked dorky and embarrassing. Harper had always been so effortless as a kid; she didn't care what anyone thought of her. So, even when she dressed up with crazy hair and dresses, she still looked cute.

    "I blame you," She informs Wyatt, looking past me to look at him, "you were the one who wanted to be Grinch characters for Halloween that year." She wasn't wrong; Harper only discovered her affinity for dressing up as Cindy Lou Who after Wyatt forced us to do a Grinch-themed group costume.

    "You guys dressed up as the Grinch?" Skye asks, her eyes wide, "I wanna see. Do you have pictures?"

    I shake my head, smiling at her apologetically. I'm sure mom did somewhere in her piles of photo albums, but a little bit after Wyatt cut me off, I deleted every video and picture we had together, which was almost every video and picture in my camera roll at the time. I used to find myself scrolling through them every single night, trying to figure out where everything went wrong. It hurt too much to keep them.

    I expect Wyatt to do the same, but he pulls his phone out of the pocket of his black sweats, "Yeah, let me find them." He nods, opening his camera roll. He scrolls, his eyes scanning the screen as he searches for the pictures Skye asked to see.

    He taps the screen a few seconds later, holding it out for us to see. The two of us were probably 12 or 13 when this was taken; he was dressed in green pants, a Santa jacket and a Santa hat, his face painted a bright green shade that matched his pants. I stood beside him, wearing a onesie themed off of Max, the dog from the film.

    Lizzie stood on Wyatt's other side was dressed as Martha Mae, her hair curled into an updo. She wore a red and green Christmassy dress with red satin gloves. Even back then, she wore her signature red lip. Harper was in her arms; the youngest of us at the time wore the signature Cindy Lou Who hairstyle, her makeup done to match the character.

    He slid to the next photo. It was from the same night. Except just he and I were in this one. I was hunched over slightly, struggling to carry Wyatt on my back as we trick or treated. We both were laughing, our smiles taking over our faces. The following slide was him and Harper, sitting in the very spot we sat now. Both were changed out of their costumes, but Wyatt's face was stained a pale green colour, and Harper had refused to let her hair down. They were surrounded by the candy they'd been sorting, with the Grinch on in the background.

    "Oh my gosh," Harper gasped, reaching to grab his phone from his hand. She zoomed in on Wyatt's face, laughing, "I totally forgot that you were green for days after this costume."

    While Harper laughs about the picture, telling Skye about how the face paint Wyatt bought died him green, I look at Wyatt. Why did he still have these after all these years? I assumed that, like me, he'd deleted these a long time ago. Wyatt being able to read my expression merely shrugs as if to say, it's no big deal.

   And maybe it wasn't. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I'm sure he has so many photos in his camera roll he rarely thinks about the ones near the top. That he was so busy living his new life he forgot to delete all the memories from his past.

    After Harper passes Wyatt's phone back, we all turn our attention back to the screen. It seems that the brief conversation helped Harper loosen up a bit. She and Wyatt spend the rest of the movie quoting along, just like they had when we were younger. The more they attempt to mimic Jim Carrey's voice, the harder they laugh. It gets to the point that neither of them can finish saying the lines because of their laughter. Despite the noise, Skye drifts off at some point towards the end of the movie, snuggling into Wyatt's arms as she falls asleep. 

    "I can carry her upstairs," Wyatt offers as the credits roll, gently placing Skye down so he can stand. She doesn't stir as he picks her back up, "and then I'll go to my room."

    "What?" Harper asks, sitting up straighter, "we've got more movies to watch, you can't go yet... who will do Will Ferrell impressions with me during Elf?"

    "Oh, okay," Wyatt nods, seemingly taken aback by Harper's words, I look over at Skye as he's walking out, my brows furrowing together questioningly.

    Harper shrugs in response, whispering, "I guess he's not that bad."

    Not that bad? Coming from the girl who'd been crying a few nights ago about how much she hated him. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, things were changing again, and I couldn't quite tell if I wanted them to or not.