A Change Could Do You Good
A Change Could Do You Good
Chapter 12
By Sarah Donnen
"Merry Christmas!" Jane exclaimed as she opened the door. I pasted a smile on my face and gave her a hug, she was such a friendly woman, almost like a second mother to me. After she'd proposed the baby-sitting idea to me, I'd watched Aaron and Angel quite a lot, sometimes Leslie was there too. They were all great kids, and not once did Nick ever come while I was there. That made me happy, I didn't want to start another fight, not with his little brother and sisters around. BJ was there a few times also, she was great company. I got along with her pretty well, she acted quite mature for her age. We talked about everything and she let me in on a few things about the town. I learned a lot from her, and she seemed to learn a lot from me. It was quite flattering to know that she admired me, it made me feel like I was an older sister. I once nearly cried when she said that I was like an older sister to her, I was so touched. But anyway, I liked the Carter kids, except for Nick. I was glad when he was away with his friends, the less he was home, in my opinion, the better.
My mom and I followed Jane into the family room, where the tree was set up. Aaron and Angel were playing with their toys on the floor, Leslie was listening to a CD on her new CD player, and BJ was sitting in a chair, reading a book.
"Hey, Beej, what'cha reading?" I asked, sitting in the chair next to her.
"New book, Leslie gave it to me, called 'Wait Till Helen Comes'." BJ spoke in broken sentences, totally engrossed in her book.
"Oh, really? That's a good book, I read that one quite a few times," I said, glancing at the twins on the floor.
"You did? Quick, tell me, how did she die?" BJ asked, looking up from her book.
"I can't tell you! It'll ruin the entire story!" I exclaimed.
BJ furrowed her eyebrows at me. "Fine, Aly, be that way," she said, trying to look serious. I could see the smile creeping up on her face, though, it was there, just waiting to come out.
"Yes, I will, BJ," I said, taunting the smile out of her.
BJ finally smiled and marked her place in the book. "You know something? I wish Nick was here," she said, pulling her knees to her chest.
"Why's that?" I asked, hiding my resentment.
"Because he and I used to be so close, now that he's gone away, we very rarely get to see each other anymore, talk anymore. I wish I saw him more often, but he's always so busy, and always with his friends..." BJ trailed off, she was visibly upset.
I stood up and gave BJ a hug. "Its ok, BJ, he'll be back before you know it," I said, trying to comfort her. Even though I couldn't really stand Nick, I had to be sympathetic to BJ. She deserved that much.
BJ nodded and returned the hug. She pulled away from me, wiping away tears, and stood up as Jane called for dinner. We all went to the dining room and ate a great dinner. I sat next to BJ and we talked all evening, then said goodbye, as I had to leave. She was such a sweet girl, she deserved whatever anyone could give her. Even her brother's company.
