Till The End

Chapter 11

Aelia

I turn eighteen today. For many years, my mother organized big birthday parties and invited the other kids in my class, saying that interacting with them outside of school would help me, but I was already not interacting with them at school, so bringing them home, where I used to feel safe, was not a very good idea. It made me hate my own birthday for years. She stopped with the parties on my eleventh birthday when she overheard some kids telling me they only came for the free food and games and would never be my friends because I'm weird. I will never thank these kids enough for that. Since then, we only have a dinner party with my parents, Maria, Mia, and the boys.

"You are both gorgeous!" Mom says, standing in front of my bedroom door. She is not ready yet; she just finished setting up the table. "Will you do my hair too, Mia?" she asks, a wide smile on her face. I got my beautiful curls from my mom, and Mia loves to style them.

"Of course I will!" she beams.

"Great! Let me go get dressed first." Mom adds before leaving us.

To keep things interesting, we pick a different theme each year. Tonight's theme is black tie. Mia is wearing a gorgeous black dress, her long silky hair falling over her shoulders, and a red pair of heels matching her bright red lipstick. I am wearing the stunning red dress Mia gifted me this morning. It is definitely not a dress I would have chosen, but now that I am looking at myself in the mirror, I can't find words to describe it. I absolutely love it. Mia is adding a final touch to the make-up she forced me to put on when my mom reappears at the door. She is wearing a black dress too, looking beautiful as always. When we finish getting ready and taking a million pictures, we go to the living room. The guests will be here soon. My father is not, though. The whole house smells so delicious that it makes my stomach growl. I can't wait to eat everything Mom prepared. My mom loves to cook, and she is really good at it. Unfortunately, I did not inherit this from her. I can cook, but not like Mom or Jake.

We are sitting in the living room chatting when the doorbell rings. Mia and I follow Mom as she goes to answer the door. We already know who it is.

"Good evening," three voices say together as three handsome men in tuxedos enter the house.

"Sorry we're late, someone apparently can't read time." Jake says, glaring at Dylan behind him, before he greets my mom with a hug. Austin and Dylan follow.

"Austin, you need to learn how to read time. It is not very polite to be late!" Dylan says as he greets my mom, "These kids can't respect anything," he adds, shaking his head before stumbling when Austin pushes him.

"It's okay, you are not late at all," my mom adds. "You are all very handsome."

"Oh, thank you," Dylan says, bringing his hand to his heart, "you are absolutely gorgeous yourself!"

"Don't inflate their egos, Ma, or there won't be any room for us here anymore," Mia tells mom. "And just to clarify, she was talking about the tuxedos, not your faces!" she shoots at the boys.

Austin and Dylan both hug me and give me a bag while wishing me a happy birthday. Jake is still standing close to the door, staring at me with a smile on his face. He is now holding a box that must contain my birthday cake. He made it himself. Mom takes the box from him, thanking him for the cake. Dylan and Mia, who are arguing over who looks better, walk towards the living room, and Austin follows Mom to the kitchen to get some water. I stand there awkwardly as Jake walks towards me. He takes my left hand and spins me.

"You look stunning," he finally says. "Happy birthday, Sunshine." He pulls me closer and kisses me.

"Can you at least wait for the end of the party before ruining her lipstick?" Mia shouts from the couch, earning herself a scowl from Jake.