I light the big Buzz Lightyear shaped candle on top of the carrot cake Agatha made. Alex loves Buzz Lightyear, so our house is full of toys and stuff from that cartoon character. He likes it so much we were afraid his first word would be Buzz, luckily it wasn’t, it was “dad”. He is even wearing a Buzz t-shirt that I bought especially for him to wear today on his 1st birthday. I step out of the kitchen and into the dining room, Alex gasp excited as he sees the candle, he is sitting on his dad’s lap. Agatha starts to sing happy birthday at the top of her lungs. Rebecca and Stefan share a mocking smile discreetly and then start to sing along. It has been hard for Rebecca to reconnect with her brother, but she wanted to be part of ba
I think Sam is going to kiss me. It’s only fair, this is our second date. Since the first time I saw him walking around campus I thought he was cute. He has such a sweet smile and an innocent look, he seems like a good boy, the kind you can trust. Maybe boy is not the right word, after all he is three years older than me, he just turned 23. So basically, he’s already a man. He’s graduating from college this year and soon he will be fully immersed in the adult life. I envy that. I crave the freedom he’s getting.
I wake up with swollen eyes from all the crying from yesterday. I contemplate my reflection in the mirror, this isn’t a cute look. I splash some cold water in my face and go back to bed, I have no desire to see anyone right now. I watch movies on my laptop, but I don’t really pay attention to them. I can’t erase the image of Sam on the ground with the gun inside his mouth.
We arrive at the party and I immediately recognize Sam’s brother, Martin, in the crowd. I feel very uncomfortable with his presence, but I rather not mention it to Miranda. She has no idea he’s here or that he has also seen me and now he and his friends are looking at me in the most hostile way possible. I can only imagine what they must be saying about me. I want to go home and hide under my bed.“Hi! I’m so glad you came.” Says Laura, a classmate from college, I must have known she’d be here, she is dating the guy whose house we are in. “I love that dress! You lo
The morning comes, but my mood hasn’t improve one bit, I still feel utterly humiliated. I can’t believe I was kicked out of the party. I can just imagine what people said after I left. My stomach feels queasy just thinking about all the gossip there will be about me. I grab my phone to distract myself from what happened at the party and I’m surprised by the number of notifications I have. There’s a text from Miranda asking me if I’m ok, there’s another from Laura asking me if what Erick told her is true and then there’s a bunch of messages from unknown numbers saying the most hateful things. My jaw drops as I read the messages.
A couple of days later, Miranda comes to visit me unannounced (she had no choice since my phone is still off). I really don’t want to see her, I don’t feel like talking about the party or explaining to her why I disappeared from the cyber-world. But I know none of this is her fault, so I greet her with a big smile.She already knows about the online harassment, apparently the story of what happened is being shared by all of our acquaintances, so she has seen several posts online about it. Miranda thinks this whole thing is going away in a few weeks, but she has a proposal to help me distract myself in
This Sunday morning has a different feeling, it’s the previous day before I start my new job. I feel really excited! I wake up early to go ride my bike in the park. It’s one of the few small freedoms I have. My parents used to oppose me riding my bike, but after months of arguments I convinced them it was safe. It’s not as if I ride at night and, also, the park is right in front of our house, so it’s not like I’m going far.Riding my yellow and pink bike is my favorite part of Sundays, it’s the perfect time to burn calories and be with myself without any interrupti
My first workweek is over. I made it to Friday and, to my own surprise, I’ve been a very efficient employee, I’ve made almost no mistakes and I’ve really enjoyed myself; even on slow days I’ve had a good time because Miranda kept me company thru the phone.I haven’t seen Stefan all week. I don’t know if he’s been around the house or not, or maybe I’ve come too late and missed him. Whatever the reason, I think it’s for the best, I should be as far away from him as I can, even if I’m constantly wishing I’d bump into him when I’m home.
I wake up the next day and realize I slept with Stefan’s jacket on. It’s all wrinkled now, but I don’t care, it’s smells like him and it’s comforting. I lay in bed for a while thinking about him, about how he saved me from the drunken jerk and how I felt with his hand over my thigh. A sudden knock on my door takes me out of my thoughts.