Anastasia

Chapter (40): Happy Birthday (2)

Hanna walked out of the kitchen with the Birthday cake in her hands as she carried it through the crowd and family. The guests softly sang the Birthday song with smiles on their faces, but not more than the toothy smile that was on Freya's face as she waited for her aunt to approach her with the cake.

Adrienne had her hands placed on Freya's shoulder and plastered a smile as the cake was finally placed on the table. With a soft playful grunt, Adrienne pretended to struggle with lifting Freya up to blow the candles.

"Whoa, you got big." Freya looked at her mom with a giggle before turning her eyes back on the cake with the six slim candles. "Make a wish." she said softly and kissed her daughter's cheek. Freya shut her eyes tightly and brought her hands together in a praying manner which made Adrienne smile genuinely at her daughter's adorableness.

Freya leaned forward after making her wish and blew the candles out, but struggled a bit, so Adrienne joined her and helped her out.

Applauds echoed across the house and the guests marched forward, one by one, giving the little girl her present and wishing her a joyful birthday. Adrienne tensed when Sage approached Freya, and she swallowed the lump in her throat as she avoided her gaze. With a smile, Sage bent down to eye-level with Freya. Slowly, she moved the hand behind her back that carried the present and showed it to Freya.

"For you." Sage smiled at the little girl, but her eyes revealed despair, and a lump formed in her throat. Adrienne clenched her jaw and held her daughter's shoulder gently, still avoiding the eye contact with Sage.

Gladly, Freya opened the wrapper and held the medium sized frame in her hand with wide eyes. She ogled at the sketch as her eyes traveled over the drawing of herself and Adrienne. They had their arms wrapped around each other and they both were smiling to the camera in the sketch. Freya smiled at it before meeting Sage's eyes and grinned at her.

"Thank you!" She ran and squeezed herself between Sage's arms. Sage chuckled and her eyes were slowly filling up with tears. Adrienne took a deep breath and looked around and accidently met Hanna's eyes across the room. When she felt Hanna's intense look, she knew she was reading her demeanor, so she turned her eyes back on Freya and Sage as they were still hugging and talking about the present.

"Freya, sweetheart," She grabbed her attention and pointed at the other guests. "Sage is busy and has to go now." She plastered a smile down at her daughter, and Freya nodded, but in disappointment.

"You're not gonna eat the cake?" asked Freya, looking back at Sage.

Sage smiled at her and caressed her hair softly. "I'm sorry, honey, but I have to go. You enjoy your cake and make sure you have fun. It's your birthday, okay?"

Freya sighed and stared down at her feet while nodding. Sage stood up from the ground, wiping her tears and took a sharp breath as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Freya wrapped her arms around Sage's waist for another hug before she ran off to meet her friends in the backyard.

Once Adrienne made sure that Freya was out of sight, she moved closer to Sage with a harsh look on her face. "Now get out of my house." She mumbled softly and Sage nodded silently, clutching on the bag around her shoulder as she sniffled.

Hanna stopped talking with the guest and turned her eyes on her sister and her girlfriend, but furrowed her eyebrows when she caught the look on Sage's face and couldn't help but feel that something was off between the two. She watched from afar, holding her glass of soda, as Adrienne walked Sage to the door and opened it, let Sage leave the house, then she shut the door behind her without even looking at her or bidding her goodbye.

.....................................

Finally, she reached her apartment with a heavy heart. She reached her apartment, opened the door then closed it after the entered. Leaning her back against the shut door, Sage's body shook with light sobs at first, her eyes got glassy in a matter of seconds. Her body slowly slid down against the door and landed on the floor. The more her sobs got louder, the heavier and harder it was for her legs to keep her standing.