Re:life with Karmic Gacha (Modern Family)

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Christmas Eve.

Surprisingly, there were some programs on his VCR that had been lost during the programming shift in the \'70s. He gladly gave them to me to make copies.

"Ed, did you send out all of your gifts?" My grandmother, Grandma Jules, slowly sat next to me on the couch. We were gathered around the TV to watch a Christmas special—A Charlie Brown Christmas.

"Yeah. Grandma, are you sure you don\'t want a mansion? I can get you a mansion," I said with a mischievous smile.

Grandma Jules laughed. "I appreciate the offer, but I don\'t want to move to California."

My grandpa chimed in from the single-seat couch on the side, "I told you, Ed, stop trying to get your grandma to move here."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "Hello! Everyone! Merry Christmas!"

"Why don\'t you offer me a mansion?" Amy interjected, looking annoyed.

"Why would I?" I looked at her with disbelief. "By the way, Amy, I\'ve been meaning to ask."

"Ask what?" she replied without turning away from the movie.

"What\'s it like working as an elf in Santa\'s factory?" I asked casually as I grabbed some popcorn.

"WHAT?!" Amy shot back, irritation in her voice. "Is this because I\'m short?" She turned to glare at me.

"I mean... yeah..." I teased. Amy threw a cushion at me, which I caught just in time. I placed it behind Grandma for support. "Here you go, Grandma."

"Aww. You\'re so sweet, Edward," Grandma said affectionately. Amy shot me a burning look, but I ignored her.

Just then, my dad and Frankie entered through the front door. My dad gleefully said, "Hello, everyone! Merry Christmas!"

"Dad, you\'re done with the Christmas party?" I asked with a teasing smile. "Why didn\'t Frankie come back with you?"

He looked startled, glancing to the side, and then startled again as she saw her standing there. Frankie raised an eyebrow, confused about why he fell for that. "You didn\'t drink there, did you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

As he took off his coat, my dad replied awkwardly, "No. I didn\'t. I\'m just tired, that\'s all."

Grandma Jules excitedly approached Frankie. "Frankie, my dear, I\'m very much looking forward to spending Christmas with you today." She gave Frankie a slight hug, which Frankie awkwardly accepted.

"Thank you, Jules," Frankie replied. "Though I have to admit, I felt a bit bad sleeping here when there\'s already no more room."

"Don\'t be ridiculous! You can stay with me in the guest room. Maggie and Amy are sleeping in Edward\'s room. Edward can stay with his grandpa in Ted\'s room."

"What about me?" my dad asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "I don\'t even get to stay in my own room?"

"Ted, you can sleep on the couch," Grandma said dismissively, her focus still on Frankie.

"Grandma must be aiming to get more grandbabies," Amy whispered teasingly. "You won\'t be the favorite anymore."

"What are you talking about? I\'m always going to be the favorite," I replied, confused as to why she thought my throne would be usurped by a baby. No little one could threaten my position.

"By the way, it\'s lucky Uncle Aaron didn\'t come," Amy added. "Or he\'d have to sleep in the hot tub."

"He doesn\'t want to leave his \'backdoor.\' I already invited him—" I suddenly remembered that Taylor owned the house next door, which had been empty for a while since she either lived in Texas or with Selena.

"Backdoor?" Amy asked, puzzled.

"His girlfriend," Grandpa Sam explained, having listened to our conversation. "It\'s fine. May and Jim are staying behind to celebrate with him. Amy, don\'t you feel a bit sad your parents aren\'t here for Christmas?"

"No. Not at all," Amy replied, her expression souring as she clearly didn\'t want to discuss her parents. They had argued again before she came here—she was practically escaping. Grandpa sighed, choosing not to pursue the topic any further.

"Why don\'t Ted and I just sleep together in the same room—" Frankie started to say, but I widened my eyes and shook my head urgently at her. She stopped abruptly, noticing my grandmother gasp.

"You mean, sleeping together in sin before you get married?" Grandma looked horrified.

"No—no, no! I\'m not saying that!" Frankie stammered. My dad suddenly laughed, adding, "Frankie, she\'s messing with you."

Grandma chuckled after Dad\'s revelation. "I\'m just kidding, dear. Of course, no one will sleep on the couch. Edward has a spare mattress in his room," she explained.

"Yeah, the two girls are going to share that on the floor," I teased.

Amy shot back, "Don\'t make me put a pillow on your face when you sleep."

"Since we\'re all here, why don\'t we have a proper dinner this time?" Grandma suggested.

"Maggie\'s not here," Amy corrected her, but Grandma chose to ignore that.

Grandma clasped her hands in excitement. "Oh! After dinner, Edward can play the piano, and we can all sing \'Silent Night\' together."

"Grandma, did you hear me?" Amy asked, puzzled.

My grandpa looked shocked. "What? Jules, we never did that. All we ever did for Christmas Eve is stuff ourselves and go to sleep."

"I think it\'s time for a new tradition, Sam. All I can think about these last few weeks is how horrible it is what Edward has to go through. We need this. It\'s either this or we can go to midnight Mass—"

My grandpa quickly interjected, "Alright." He turned to me and said, "Ed, you\'ll play the piano and sing after this. I\'m not singing."

"I have no problem with that," I replied casually. Just then, Maggie came home during dinner, slightly drunk, and excitedly gorging herself on the food. Grandma nagged at her the whole time, in disbelief that she went drinking when she\'s only 19.

While we were eating, I suddenly received a text message from Robin. My eyebrows furrowed as I read it. "Excuse me, but I think I have to excuse myself right now. I need to check something out."

"Huh? Why?" My dad asked, confusion evident in his voice. "What about the sing-along?" Grandma added, her eyes full of disappointment.

I smiled slightly and reassured her, "I\'ll be back in an hour tops. Maybe less." I walked over to Grandma and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Frankie and Dad followed me to the door as I put on my coat. "What happened? Where are you going?" Dad inquired.

"Uh, the company," I replied curtly.

"Is it a cyberattack again? You know Robin can handle that," Frankie interjected, trying to gauge the urgency of the situation.

"No. It\'s not an attack. I\'m just going to check on something. I\'ll be back quickly, I promise." I said before stepping outside.

My dad sighed, and Frankie comforted him, "You know he won\'t leave his family unless it\'s really important."

"I know that," my dad said, shaking his head slightly. "I\'m just thinking that if he\'s late, we all have to go to midnight Mass."

"Ed! Come back quickly!" Frankie shouted after me.

I waved at her in promise before hopping into the Mustang. There was light traffic due to last-minute Christmas shoppers, but I still managed to get there in under 15 minutes by skillfully navigating alleyways, even getting chased by a cop for a while.

Foreseeing this, I thought about how easily I could change my plate number—just like in the movie Taxi.

As I drove, I called Taylor. "Hey. Merry Christmas," I greeted.

"What do you want?" she replied immediately.

"Your house next door," I responded, with sirens blaring from behind me.

"That\'s not going to be a problem for me," I replied, already planning to break into the place.

The company was mostly empty since it was the holidays. Those who were there had chosen to come in; I had given everyone the day off for Christmas. They loved working for me, and the overtime pay for holiday shifts didn\'t hurt, either.

"Happy holidays, boss. What brings you here?" the guard, Samuel, asked as I parked the car in front of the company building.

"I just left something behind," I replied politely. "What are you still doing here, Samuel? Go home. Be with your family."

"Oh no, I\'m escaping my brother-in-law. He always makes me feel small. I\'m not going back until I know he\'s already sleeping," Samuel joked.

"Small? Really? You\'re 6\'7"! How can you be smaller than him?" I laughed.

Samuel chuckled in response but didn\'t say anything more.

Swiping my access card, I took the lift all the way to the dance studio. As I entered, I saw Vanessa lying face down on the floor, motionless.

The sound of my footsteps echoed in the silent room as I approached her and crouched beside her.

"What are you doing?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice. "Why aren\'t you with your family?"

She just grunted in response. "Let me guess: your grandparents canceled their plans to come here," I said, sitting next to her crossed legged and attempting to comfort her.

Her grandparents were still upset about her pictures getting leaked, and they blamed her for it. Vanessa turned her head slightly, peeking at me before asking, "Why are you here? Leave me alone."

"What about your parents? They couldn\'t come either?" I pressed, ignoring her plea.

Vanessa buried her face back into the floor, unwilling to speak. I stayed with her for a while until she finally turned toward me again. "My uncle called me a slut."

"Want me to kill him?" I offered lightheartedly. Vanessa furrowed her brows and finally turned to face me fully. I added with a playful smile, "You know, as a Christmas gift. I\'ll wrap his head nicely in a box."

"Don\'t even joke about that," she sighed in exasperation.

"So you ran away from home?" I guessed.

"No. They wouldn\'t even let me be there," she replied, her voice trembling on the brink of tears. "They don\'t want anything to do with me. I thought my parents were okay with it—that they could accept me—" Before she could finish, she hid her face again and sobbed.

They flew to the Philippines to celebrate Christmas there and left her all alone in California.

"So you came here to dance the sadness away?" I asked jokingly, patting her shoulder to comfort her.

Robin had told me that Vanessa was practicing her choreography vigorously for hours, slipped, possibly hurt her leg, and had been lying here for almost half an hour before contacting me.

Vanessa didn\'t respond to my question, instead jerking her body away in annoyance, trying to push my hand off her shoulder. I waited until she calmed down and stopped crying before continuing.

"What more did your uncle say?" I asked. "And if you don\'t answer me, I might just go confront him myself. Maybe not a Christmas box, but one way or another, he\'s getting put in his place."

Vanessa hesitated, unsure whether to speak. "Come on. Spit it out," I urged.

Slowly, she sat up and wiped her teary eyes with her sleeves. "He said I\'m a gold-digging mistress."

"Huh? Did you date a rich man?" I was confused. Vanessa looked at me in disbelief before it dawned on me. "Ahh, I\'m the rich man."

"What did he say exactly?" I pressed again, but Vanessa remained silent, avoiding my gaze.

"Okay, you don\'t have to tell me," I said, brushing the topic aside for now. "Is your leg okay?"

"Um, it still hurts a bit," she replied.

"Here, wear this." I took off my coat and handed it to her. She was in a tank top and yoga pants, and I examined her legs briefly. "It\'s better if you don\'t put any pressure on it tonight."

"It\'s fine. I\'ll just stay here—" Before she could finish, I interrupted, "Where\'s your stuff? You\'re coming back home with me for Christmas."

Vanessa widened her eyes. "Wait. Ed!"

As the lift opened, I walked out, carrying Vanessa over my shoulder like baggage. "Edward! Put me down! This is kidnapping!" she protested, kicking her legs in the air.

"Samuel, can you open the door for me?" I asked the guard politely.

"Samuel, don\'t do it!" Vanessa warned, but Samuel just smiled and focused on me.

"Ah, I see you finally found what you left behind." He opened the door and added, "Have a blessed holiday, little boss."

"Thanks. You too, Samuel," I replied with a smile as I headed to my Mustang, ignoring the gawking worker who was watching the whole scene.

"Edward! I don\'t want to go! Don\'t make me!" Vanessa continued to struggle, begging as I opened the passenger door and pushed her inside.

"You\'re coming with me whether you like it or not. You should\'ve taken my kind offer to carry you properly before," I said before slamming the door in her face. Vanessa yanked the door handle, but it was locked. I got into the driver\'s seat moments later and drove back to my house casually.

She slapped my arm repeatedly and said, "That was so embarrassing! Everyone was watching–I can\'t even– Why– Why did you do that?! YOU BASTARD!"

I chuckled and advised, "You better think about what to wear when we sing Silent Night together. I\'m making you sit at the piano with me."

"No–NUh-uh! I\'m never doing that!" She protested, crossing her arms together.

"You are." I replied decisively.

Vanessa shook her head vehemently and said, "Over my dead body."

"Then you\'re going to die today."

"You\'re not making me."

"I kinda am."

"No."

"Yes."

"Never." She protested, and we went silent for a while before I said, "I think Amy\'s clothes will fit you... Maybe."

...

Vanessa ended up on the piano seat with me despite her protests. My grandma welcomed her with open arms, showering her with love.

And she insisted that Vanessa take a shower first when she first arrived before giving her a pink unicorn pajama. Vanessa practiced her dance routine for hours, so she has that sweaty smell following her around.

Extremely embarrassed by her own state, she couldn\'t say anything to protest that lovely woman. Only after that did we all sing together, drinking eggnog and hot chocolate together.

Grandma bought pajamas for all of us. Mine was a black set with horizontal stripes, Amy\'s had kittens, and Maggie chose one decorated with cakes. Even Vader got dressed up for Christmas tomorrow, thanks to Grandma.

We all stood together and took some pictures for the family album, titled "Christmas in California."

After breaking into Taylor\'s place, Maggie, Amy, and Vanessa decided to sleep there instead of sharing a room with me. Maggie walked in with Amy first, shouting, "Ness! I\'m going to make hot chocolate. Or should we drink the eggnog I swiped from the house?"

Vanessa ignored her and turned to me.

"Thank you... for inviting me," Vanessa said, standing in front of the door.

"You\'re welcome. Don\'t run away tonight. My grandma wants you there in the morning too," I teased.

Suddenly, Vanessa leaned in closer and kissed me on the cheek. "What was that for?" I asked playfully.

"We\'re under a mistletoe," she replied, blushing. "Goodnight!" Then she slammed the door before I could see inside.

I smiled after she shut the door. "Taylor\'s not here for months. There\'s no way she could\'ve put up any decorations."

It was almost midnight when they arrived at Taylor\'s place. I told my dad I was going to have one of my \'episodes\' again tonight, and he insisted on watching over me.

"A creepy old man staring at me while I sleep? Can I say no to that?" I joked.

"This is the last time. If this goes smoothly, I\'ll finally accept it as one of your special traits and stop worrying about it," Dad replied.

"What would Frankie think? Leaving her alone on the bed on Christmas night while she wears her special nightie, waiting for you?" I planted that image in my dad\'s head, but he managed to resist temptation.

"Frankie will understand," he said sternly. I groaned and slumped to my room when the doorbell rang.

"Huh? Who is it?" Dad asked, alarmed, and walked to the front door, with me closely following. As he opened the door, a brunette woman exclaimed, "Surprise!"

"Max!" I widened my eyes and broke into a smile. "Edward!" She rushed over and hugged me tightly. "Hunky Daddy." She then hugged my dad after releasing me.

"You said you couldn\'t make it," I said, surprised.

"I already made a few plans to get my revenge, even starting the process to buy your building to kick you out," I added playfully.

"I—You did what?!" Max exclaimed in shock.

"Not important," I dismissed the topic. "How did you get here?"

"I drove here," she replied with a toothy smile.

"From New York?!" Dad was astonished. "It took three days to get here," Max grinned.

"What—" I turned to see Caroline passed out in the driver\'s seat, her mouth wide open with drool flowing out, not even realizing that they had arrived. They borrowed an early 2000 KIA VISTO from a friend since there weren\'t any cheap flights left, and both of them were broke.

"You should\'ve texted me. I can arrange a flight for you both." I hugged her again. Max smiled and said, "Now now. I didn\'t want to come in the first place, but since the crime scene is now gone, I can finally return."

"Crime scene?" My dad mumbled in confusion.

I laughed slightly while Max awkwardly tried to distract my dad. Suddenly, I felt my eyes getting hazy.

\'Huh, this has never happened before...I usually sleep on my own.\' That was my last thought before my eyes went dark.

... n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

[General POV]

"Ed? ED!" Ted quickly caught Edward\'s body before it hit the ground. Max widened her eyes in shock as she saw Edward passed out. "Edward!"

"Max, hold his other arm," Ted asked as he crouched on one knee, pushing Edward\'s chest upward as his body went limp. "O-Okay!" Max quickly complied, her voice trembling. "Is he dead?!"

"No. It\'s just his low-energy mode." Ted forced a smile to calm Max down. "We should get him to his bed."

"Are you sure? Should we take him to the hospital?" Max asked anxiously. "Let\'s check his pulse first," Ted replied. "Ed told me to do that before doing anything else."

As he placed Edward onto the bed, he attached a heart monitor to his chest. "There is a pulse," Ted announced with relief. Max breathed heavily and said, "Oh my god. That was so scary."

"Max, can you monitor him for a minute? I\'ll bring Caroline in and shut the door," Ted said. He arranged for Caroline to sleep with the girls and reassured Maggie and Vanessa, who were worried about Edward after hearing what happened.

Inside the room, Max poked Edward\'s cheek and called out, "Edward? Are you pretending to sleep? Are you in the afterlife?" She poked his cheek repeatedly, but the heart monitor showed no changes.

"I need to pee," Max whimpered, clasping her knees together. She had been on the road for eight hours without a toilet break. "Ted, come back," she whispered.

Suddenly, Edward\'s body jolted, pushing Max away. "What?" Max gasped in shock. "Te—" Before she could call for help, Edward\'s body floated off the bed, and her mind went blank.

Like a scene from a horror movie, Edward was levitating above the bed. Max\'s eyes rolled back as she fainted on the floor beside him. Then, Edward\'s body fall back down and everything seemed normal again.