CHECKERED FLAG - c.l [2]

Anything, for you

The bathroom felt tight as girls wandered around me, fixing their lipstick in the mirror and taking selfies with one another.

The cold water on my wrists weren't helping the way my therapist had told me it would, supposing it would cool my hot body down after a panic attack.

It was evident I had been crying from the smudged makeup under my eyes, but no one dared to say a word to me as they just looking at me in the reflection of the mirror sympathetically.

I exit the bathroom, the overwhelming sound of the music way too loud for my ears.

"Madeline where have you been? It's almost midnight!" Dee squeals as she pulls me into the centre of the dance floor.

Lando was now behind the DJ booth, the screen behind him showing a countdown to midnight like it was new years, my body felt limp as she tried to get me to dance with her.

She was too drunk to notice my shaken state but I didn't want to ruin her night.

"Come on Mads, dance a bit," George called from behind me, throwing his arms over my shoulders and swaying his body against mine to get me going, but I couldn't forget the words of that letter.

I push him back and he stops, his eyes narrowing on me now under the dark lights on the bar, "what's happened? Did Charles do something?" he rambles on, trying to figure out what had happened.

The letter now tightly secured in my purse so I wouldn't lose it.

"No nothing happened, I've just had too much to drink," I say as I rub my forehead for effect.

I wasn't drunk, nowhere near it, but I was definitely over the limit to drive now and so was George, so I couldn't leave anytime soon.

"Madeline Scott never has 'too much to drink'," he taunts me, poking me in my arm as another good song comes on over the speakers, the countdown with only a minute left until midnight.

He was annoying me now, but I knew he was only trying to cheer me up but it wasn't working.

Daniel, Alex, Lily and Lewis were all dancing along to the music as the countdown reached 10 seconds.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

"Happy birthday Madeline!"

Everyone around us screamed, confetti falling from the canons as Lando switched the music for my favourite song.

I smiled a genuine smile at everyone around as the crowd parted, a cake with big sparklers and streamers making it's way over to me.

Dee slings an arm around me drunkenly and I lean my head into her.

"Make a wish Mads," she whispers into my ear as I look down at the simple vanilla cake.

As I'm bending my head down to the cake to close my eyes, I notice Charles through the candles in the distance, leaning against the bar on his own.

He smiles at me softly.

I close my eyes, a memory of my dad presenting my cake a few years ago crosses my mind; the two of us alone in our house in England, the kitchen lights off and he stupidly sings me happy birthday.

I wish for him, for his peace and end of suffering, before blowing out the candles, everyone around me cheering and clapping as Lando resumes playing the music.

I blow a kiss up to him, Lola who was stood a few feet beside him who was also smiling down at me.

"Let's dance," George tugs on my hand once the cake is out the way and everyone has resumed dancing.