BULLET.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏.

A little vacation once in a while seems pretty good, right?

You would think that way, but I don't think I ever want to go on a vacation again. 

And I might just be saying that because I'm hurt right now.

But in a way, it wouldn't bother me if I could just stay under my covers for eternity. 

But I can't.

And I'll tell you why. 

-

It was the week of my 18th birthday. 

My best friend, Freya had had the brilliant idea of us taking a trip somewhere for the special occasion, not something too far away, though. She had booked us tickets to go to Stockholm as a gift for my birthday. Between us, I think her parents bought them because they're quite wealthy, but I'm not going to turn the ticket down on that single foundation. 

My parents were quick to support the idea, they don't have an issue with me traveling anywhere anymore. I'm well-traveled, and for that I'm very grateful, of course, which eliminates the fear of me not being able to navigate wherever I go. 

I set foot in our classroom at exactly 9'o clock, when our class was supposed to begin. I placed my bag on top of the table next to Freya and smiled, when I saw her waving at me with a soft smile.

"Hey, Liv! You excited for tomorrow?" I tilted my head and my eyebrow lifted.

"What's tomorrow?," I asked, smiling to myself.

She had an annoyed look on her face, obviously not finding my antics funny.

"- I'm kidding. I'm very excited." I chuckled, opening my bag to pull out my stuff.

She put her hand on top of my bag and got up to whisper in my ear.

"Don't even bother, the class just got canceled and the others don't know, so what do you say we get out of here?" And there was the Reya I knew and loved.

We packed up our stuff and got ready to head out, when a guy from our class, Lucas, came from behind me and lifted me.

"Where do you think you're going? Class starts in a few minutes?" He asked over my loud shrieks. 

I looked at him and laughed.

"Oh, yeah? Check the schedule." I answered and he let me go.

Lucas pulled out his phone to check our schedule, and as he saw the red block, he stared at Freya and I. 

"Class got canceled and you didn't say?" I put my one hand up in defense and the other pointed at my best friend.

"Hey, I didn't know until Freya told me a minute ago!" She looked at me in shock and huffed.

"You bitch!" She exclaimed, but I just blew a kiss at her and so we laughed and grabbed our stuff. 

We ended up going into town to look at stores and get lunch. I found a pretty dark green dress I can wear out to dinner the evening of my birthday. Unfortunately for Reya and I, dinner was all that it'd ever be, because sadly, the legal drinking age in Sweden is 21 and we're nowhere near that. 

Freya found a blue dress that compliments her hair and skin tone very well, and she looked amazing in it. For lunch, we went to an Italian restaurant called Mamma's. It's not the biggest culinary experience, but it's nice and cozy, just like Reya and I love it. 

"I can't believe you turn 18 this week, man. I feel like I've been 18 forever." She said, pulling out a smoke and taking a drag.

I chuckled and looked around one moment, only to sigh the next. "Yeah, well, you're 1 year older than I am, so that'll do it."

For as long as I can remember, I have disliked having a birthday. And now you're probably thinking, 'oh, don't be one of those people', but I am. I'm scared of dying, and I know that's a really lame excuse for not wanting to age, but it's mine and it's real. Freya is aware, which is why she tries to make every birthday I have, unforgettable. Plus it's in June, which makes my birthday fall in summer. Freya and I have stuck together since 7th grade, which means that we've been friends for 6 years. And what 6 years they have been. 

As I sit and reminisce on our friendship, I don't notice the several times Freya is trying to come into contact with me. I snap out of it, when she claps in front of my face. 

"Jeez, Reya!" I exclaim, my pulse beating hard and fast.

"What were you doing? You were out for a while." She asked, and I shook my head at her, rolling my eyes.

"Just thinking." I smiled at her, and just like that, our food was served, we finished up and headed to our respective homes.

As the lock to our apartment door clicked open, I could hear loud bangs coming from the living room. 

"Mom? You there?" I yelled and dumped my bag on the floor. I hung my coat and scarf on the rack, and took off my shoes. 

I walked into the living room, where my mom was putting up a new picture above our fireplace. 

"Hi, honey. I didn't hear you coming in, I was hammering seems into the wall for the picture," She came down from the ladder she was on, and gave me a quick hug before continuing out into the kitchen, me following behind her. 

"- How was school?" I grabbed a glass of water.

"I wouldn't know - class got canceled." She looked up at me from her phone.

"Again? I swear you have the weirdest schedule." I smiled at her, and took a swig from my glass. Her phone started ringing, and she answered without having heard me answer her, which made me feel a little overlooked.

"We really do." I sighed, and went to my room.