I'm Not Fine At All 》Michael Clifford

Chapter Twenty-two

Riley's POV:

I stood in the kitchen, my hair tied into a messy bun and a bowl in my hand as I mixed up the pie filling while Karen and Cass displayed amazing teamwork putting the ham into the oven. It was one in the afternoon, us three women were putting together Christmas Eve dinner and Michael was entertaining Leila in his bedroom, playing her favorite song on his guitar repeatedly. We'd begun to grow tired of Let It Go, but there was no way we could say no to her, and the puppy dog eyes that she was so good at giving.

We were making dinner for Christmas Eve, but we'd also be making dinner the next day too, so this one was going to be a bit smaller. Christmas Eve was when Michael and Karen had all of their friends from around Sydney come over and eat, and Christmas day was when their family came.

I poured the filling into the pan over the crust, scraped the bowl out and licked the spoon once, then put them into the sink and the pie on the top rack of the oven above the ham. I closed the oven doors and looked around, wiping my hands on a dish towel.

"Well ladies, I think that's it until the ham gets hot. Let's clean up!" Karen said. She turned the water on in the sink and began scrubbing the dishes with a sponge, so I took a towel and started drying the dishes and putting them away.

Not thirty minutes later, we'd finished cleaning the kitchen altogether, and were sitting at the table sipping on a cup of tea and chatting. Well, they sipped on tea. I had a glass of water and gathered my things to go upstairs and check up on Michael and Leila. Karen looked at me and smiled.

"Good luck." She said, then went back to chatting with her sister. I raised my eyebrows with confusion and mumbled a slow, 'thanks' and walked upstairs.

I walked down the hall to Michael's room, and heard quite a commotion from the other side of the door. I twisted the knob and opened it, and saw quite possibly the cutest scene of my entire life.

Michael sat hunched on the floor, while Leila ran up behind him, and did her best to hop over him, but he was too tall, and she ended up rolling over his head and landing on her back with a thump, under him and in a fit of giggles. He laughed at her and shook his hair in her face, causing her to laugh harder. She then stood up and took a step forward, then crouched down the way he was, with her back to him.

They were playing leapfrog.

Michael stood up, towering over her, and hopped gently over her playfully, even though his legs were long enough that he'd only have to step over her. When he crouched back down, he looked up and saw me standing in the doorway, and smiled.

"Wanna play?" He asked like a little child. I laughed and walked over shaking my head.

"You're such a kid, you know that?" I said crouching down behind him, as Leila backed up to get a running start.

"This is better than another Frozen song." He stated.

"True," I replied.

"Here I come!" Leila shouted, and I heard the pattering of her feet as she ran to jump over me. I was a lot shorter than Michael, so she got over me rather easy, but I had to help her get over him. Then it was my turn, and I tried to jump over Michael, but when I was right on top of him, he stood abruptly and took me into the piggyback position, then proceeded to spin me in circles as I screamed his name.

"You're crazy!" I yelled, and he stopped spinning and got back down into his leapfrog position, and I finished climbing over him, then hopped over Leila.

"Yes, I am crazy. Embrace the craziness, Riley, embrace it." He replied.

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