Criminally Insane

Twenty-Three

"You guys!" I gushed as I walked down the stairs.

The living room was decorated in red, black, and gold. There were two dancers hanging from crimson red fabrics. Their movements were slow and graceful.

It matched the instrumental piano music in the background.

Lily, Heather, and a few other girls turned their attention to me.

Colton and a few of his friends walked up to me and started wishing me a happy birthday.

I expressed my thankfulness before turning my gaze to Lily and Heather who engulfed me in a group hug.

"Do you like it?" Lily asked me, excitement in her voice.

I nodded happily. "Everything looks absolutely amazing," I said as I looked around.

People were chatting and the room was a dim-lit blue. It gave off a 'cool' vibe.

They had moved everything out of the living room and replaced it with birthday decor.

"You look totally gorgeous," Heather gushed, spinning me around.

I felt myself blush at her compliment. "Thank you," I replied gratefully. "Truly, if it wasn't for you guys' great generosity, I would probably be wearing sweats and eating ice cream today."

They scoffed. "No, girl," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "You only turn twenty-three once. If you're going to get old, at least have fun while doing so."

I 'amen'd' to that and we went to the bar that was installed in the left corner of the room to get drinks.

"You got a wine fountain?!" I exclaimed in surprise. I wasn't much of a drinker, but the expense of this party was shaking me.

On a long table, a golden fountain sat. It poured a generous amount of red wine which, surprisingly, didn't overflow and flood the room out.

"Raise a glass to the woman of the hour," Heather yelled, gathering everyone's attention.

I felt my cheeks heat under everyone's gaze as we all raised a glass in my honor.

"Now, we have to sing happy birthday to you," Lily said, jumping up and down while clapping her hands in glee.

I laughed at her excitement. I was so thankful to have her as a friend. She was the type of person you could never be mad at.

"Happy birthday to you," everyone started to sing.

I smiled as they continued to sing.

I was happy right now. But, of course, something was out of place.

He wasn't here.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and clapped along with everyone else as the song finished.

"Speech, speech, speech," they started chanting. The sudden burst of energy took me completely by surprise.

Heather, Colton, and Lily pushed me into the center of the room. I heard the slow music lower.

As I looked around the room, I smiled.

"I wasn't really prepared for this," I said sheepishly causing everyone to smile. "But, since I'm here, I would just like to express my gratitude to my friends," I smiled at Heather and Lily who raised a glass. "And, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Colton who has been keeping my head on straight for the past month. Thank you, Colton," I said.

He blew me a kiss and the rest of the small crowd cheered.

"And, I guess, thank you to the rest of you people I don't know," I ended my small speech as the room filled with laughter. "Let's party," I yelled, raising my glass. We all drank and cheered.

The empty circle around me was soon filled with people as dance music came on.

I noticed that Colton had disappeared, but I was unbothered as Heather and Lily pulled my arms and we started dancing until our feet started to give out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is more of a filler chapter so that the next one would make sense. The last few chapters were pre-meditated, and the next chapter was written three weeks in advance. So, if this one doesn't make sense it's probably because it isn't supposed to be here!

VOTE, DON'T BE A SILENT READER, AND TELL OTHERS!

~djdiamondmind1738