It All Started With a Diary

fine

hey babes! I'm sorry but my depression, senior year, work, and the writers block mixed has taken a heavy toll these past few months. Thank you guys so much for 622K reads & the hilarious comments & endless support. The private messages I receive warm my heart so much. Alsooo, several have requested a Kade pov & you will be getting one soon! I hope you guys are ready for the next set of chapters because they will be...interesting 😬. Enjoy, loves! 🤍

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders." - Lao Tzu
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Chapter 60
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I placed the milk carton back in the fridge, and took a seat at the kitchen table. As soon as I sat down, Ryland appeared from his room.

"Morning," I greeted him with a smile before burying my spoon in the cereal.

His response was an undecipherable grunt. His eyes skipped down to my cereal before snatching it away from my hands.

I groaned as he took a bite. "Those were mine, you idiot."

I reached for my bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but he turned too quickly. After a couple of failed attempts, I slumped down into my chair.

Ryland turned back around, and leaned on the kitchen sink across from me. With a lazy smile, he placed it back down and slid it toward me.

I rolled my eyes. "You've already claimed it with your saliva now," I grumbled, but still took the bowl, anyway.

He handed me a new spoon, then turned to grab two slices of bread. "Since mom and dad are out of town today, I was thinking about something."

His words took a second to register as I savored the taste of the cereal. "Mhm?"

His feet headed in the direction of the bridge to get butter. "How about we go look for trees?" he offered.

My lips rose at the suggestion. "I'd love that," I said before I considered, "Not much is open since Christmas is so close, though."

He grabbed a knife, picking up one of the bread slices. "So is something else."

I rolled my eyes at that. I knew where he was going with this. My eighteenth birthday was coming up this month. I tried to ignore it, but I knew that pestering feeling would only persist since it was so inevitable.

I didn't care about my birthday. My mother made sure to remind me every year that my birthday was not one to be celebrated. I knew that every little thing that spewed from her mouth were lies, but that didn't erase the effect of those same very lies. After hearing year after year that my life was solely a curse to so many, I no longer cared or even attempted to. It was simply another day.

The scraping of his chair pulled me from my thoughts. "You know you're gonna love your present," he grinned as he spread the butter across the bread. "I promise not to spoil it this year, either."

"I bet."

Ryland sighed at my lack of enthusiasm. "I know how you are for your birthdays, but I won't let you. Screw her, Kimberly. Seriously. You deserve to be celebrated," he said, offering a smile. "Especially this year. Enjoy it. You're finally going to be an adult."

I nodded, but I didn't agree. I just couldn't. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. Usually it was just my family, but now I had three relentless best friends, a boyfriend and his family. At least Kade had no idea about my birthday, though. It would remain that way.

I tried to change the subject off of me by nodding off in the direction of the empty corner. "Where are we going to find a tree?" His eyes lit up at that.