A Christmas to remember

"Emma, we cannot abandon her. "She's your sister," Ethan stated firmly while crossing his arms. I snapped, gazing at him across the living room, "She's not my responsibility." "She’ll just ruin everything, as usual." Ethan squeezed the bridge of his nose and let out a deep breath. Emma, hurry up. Sophie has gone through a lot lately, as you are aware. She could benefit from this vacation. "Good for her?" I gave a sour laugh. She will either pout or attempt to provoke a quarrel the entire time. Why are you even concerned? "Because family matters!" I was startled as Ethan's voice soared. "She is family, whether you like it or not. And perhaps it's time you behaved accordingly." I started to argue, but I was interrupted as the door sprang open. Sophie stood with a rebellious expression on her face and her bag thrown over one shoulder. "Don’t bother," she answered icily. "I’m coming whether you like it or not." I clenched my jaw. "This isn’t your decision to make." "Neither is it yours," she said, sparking her eyes. "Dad already said I could come." I looked at Ethan, who appeared to be immediately enthralled with a place on the floor. "You talked to her behind my back?" Ethan kept his eyes away from me and murmured, "I didn’t think I needed your permission," Saying, "Unbelievable," I raised my palms in the air. "Ethan, this is meant to be our journey. Sophie won't be going to therapy. Sophie smirked and added, "Maybe you need therapy if you can't handle her being around for a few days." "That’s enough!" With a harsh tone, Ethan moved between us. "Pack your belongings, you two. In one hour, we're heading out." I slammed the door behind me and strode to my room. The foolishness of both of them! After weeks of tension, this trip was meant to be an escape, a chance to relax. It seemed like a penalty now. The drive was just as awful as I had anticipated. With her headphones on, Sophie sat in the backseat and gazed out the window as if she had been mistreated by the world. I sulked in the passenger seat while Ethan drove silently, his jaw clenched. "Are we just not going to talk the whole way?" The oppressive silence was broken when I eventually inquired. "What do you want to talk about, Emma?" Ethan answered without turning to face me. "How unfair it is that your sister exists?" I yelled, "That’s not what I said," "But you could’ve at least warned me she was coming." Flatly, "I didn’t think it would matter," he remarked. "I thought you’d be mature enough to handle it." "Oh, so now I’m immature?" I saw Sophie look at us in the rearview mirror as I raised my voice. "Maybe if you stopped making everything about yourself," Ethan said quietly. I gave him a scowl. "Go over. I'll get there on my own." "Don’t be ridiculous," he murmured, his hand gripping the steering wheel more tightly. "We're getting close. Try to maintain your composure for a few more hours. Sophie took off one earphone. "You know, you’re both really bad at pretending you like each other." I swore and twisted in my chair to give her a look. "No one asked you," I said. "Enough!" Ethan let out a bark. "Both of you, just stop." As the tension in the car became intolerable, I crossed my arms and stared out the window. In the distance, the mountains towered, their summits covered in ominous clouds. Sophie remained in the car and scrolled through her phone as we pulled into a petrol station. The air was cold between Ethan and me as we headed to the convenience shop. As we looked through the food section, I said, "This is precisely why I didn't want her to come." "She’s already ruining everything." Ethan grabbed a bottle of water and remarked, "She's not the problem, Emma." "You are." I fought back an angry reaction as his words hurt. As an alternative, I snatched up a bag of chips and strode to the cashier. The stillness was much more oppressive when we got back into the car. As we got closer to the lodge, Sophie's voice cut through the silence. "Dad’s ignoring my texts again." I gave her another look. "Maybe because he’s busy?" She said, "Or maybe because he doesn’t care," in a sad tone. Ethan looked in the mirror at her. "You don’t know that." Then she fired back, "Don’t I?" "I can't get him to stop being busy. Too busy for anything unrelated to his new wife or his job." I rubbed my temples and moaned. "Can we not do this right now?" "Why not?" Sophie posed a challenge. "It’s not like we’re having fun anyway." Ethan started to reply, but was interrupted by a startling blast of radio static. A dark, desperate voice burst through. "Be advised that the mountain area is under a severe storm warning. It is recommended that travelers seek refuge right away. My stomach grew constricted. "What did they say?" The transmission came again, and Ethan cranked up the volume. Pale-faced, Sophie leaned forward. "A storm?" she said in a shaky voice. "Shouldn’t we turn back?" Ethan muttered, his knuckles white on the driving wheel, "We're almost there." "We’ll be fine." However, uncertainty began to creep into my thoughts as the wind increased and the first raindrops splashed across the windshield. The summits of the mountains ahead vanished beneath whirling clouds, giving the impression that they were darker than before. It felt... incorrect in some way. "Ethan," I said, "maybe she's correct. Perhaps we ought to go back." He gave a headshake. "The lodge is closer to us than the town is. It's safer to continue. I turned to look at Sophie, who was holding on to her phone like it was her lifeline. She appeared truly terrified, for once. As the road wound and rose, the rain intensified, beating down on the vehicle. With the headlights barely piercing the rain, visibility deteriorated. I clutched the door handle, my heart racing. "Are you sure about this?" My voice trembled as I asked. "We don’t have a choice," Ethan said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Just stay calm." However, when the storm encircled us and the roaring wind overpowered everything else, quiet was unachievable. Even though the lodge was nearby, it seemed so far away at that very time.