Before I Die

Cake

When we got back from the ice cream place, I went straight up to my room, hoping that my mom wouldn't ask me to do anything. She didn't. I pulled the list from my pocket, contemplating it for a second before I tossed it into the corner. 

I turned on my music and cranked the volume all the way up. So loud that I couldn't hear my mom screaming at me to turn it down, and then her realizing that yelling could "drive me over the edge" and apologizing profusely. I sighed and lay down on my bed.  

My thoughts kept drifting toward my dad. He's always tried to be in my life, but I've never wanted him there. I don't hate him, but the last thing that I need to be doing is comforting my own father. if you had to choose one word to describe my dad it would be emotional. My mom would never cry at a Disney movie we were watching, but my dad would be sobbing. Every time that I see him, he just starts crying and I end up having to console him. 

I closed my eyes wanting to forget everything. But all that did was force unwanted images into my head. I saw me, my mom, and my dad at the county fair when I was six. It looked like a happy picture, but now I knew the truth. That day was the first day they had discussed their divorce. I had begged them to go to this fair, and they had agreed just to keep me quiet. The entire time they were faking a happy family, and I didn't even realize I was playing along. I shook my head to clear it. 

That's when my eye caught the crumpled up list in the corner of my eye. "I'm gonna regret this." I muttered. I stood up and grabbed some tape and hung the list up on the wall. On the left it had the numbers one, two, three, four, and five. Beside number one it said "Bake a cake." Beside two it said "Write a song." For three it was "Do yoga." Four and five were "Learn how to skateboard" and "Go to a good concert."

I honestly just made five things up, but I knew that Astrid wouldn't be happy until I at least lied and told her I did all of them. I kind of zoned out, but I think that at some point she said she wanted proof, so I guess I actually have to do it. Might as well start getting it over with. 

I stepped outside of my room. "Hey mom, can we bake a cake?" I can not believe that those words just came out of my mouth. I held my breath, waiting for the inevitable voice. In the brightest, cheeriest, most sickly sweet voice I've ever heard, my mom said

"Sure honey! What kind of cake?" I expected her to ask why, I expected her to ask what for, I don't really know what I expected, but it wasn't that. 

"Um, chocolate I guess?" I replied after a long pause.

"Good choice! We already have all of the ingredients! Come on down and we'll start baking."

"Uhhhhh... Okay." I walked downstairs and was met with my mom pulling ingredients out of every cupboard in the house. I just decided to jump right in. Right after we put the cake in the oven, my mom looked me straight in the eye and I knew it was coming.

"So, honey, I know I probably shouldn't ask, and you don't have to answer me, but, why did you want to make the cake?"

I knew I would regret it.

Hey ya'll. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wrote it really quickly because I wanted to get an update posted before I start having to write this 50 page essay. Sorry if there's any mistakes! As always: like, comment, vote? Thanks!!