Dear Reader...

Chapter Eighteen

~Juliette~

I've done something I'll probably regret. I know I will and I know it won't take him long to realize but I just can't. I can't tell him.

I have not a single doubt that Riley will call me up and I'm just hoping he's not around. He's booked the week off for the day after. Said he had booked it months ago. That he gets 5 full weeks a year so he just splits them out every other month or so.

I have 2 days to work out how to keep away from him for a solid 24 hours so he won't realize it's my birthday. He won't have to hear me speak to my parents, won't have to watch me break down after it, won't have to see me sob on the phone to Riles. It's just easier. I hate my birthday. The sooner it's over, the better for everyone. It's just awkward.

I know for a fact he'll be so mad I didn't tell him that he missed it too. He'd want to do something though and honestly; I like spending my birthdays hiding from the world. This year is going to be so much harder with Riles being a million miles away. I'll have no support network like I usually have. No wine and ice cream and cake whilst we watch some soppy rom-com and bitch for the whole night. No teaching Anya another classic film. It's going to suck.

Focus Juliette. You're supposed to be writing in here. Chris and Noah are busy with the packed-out café. This is the perfect time to knuckle down and get a good chunk done. Don't think about your birthday. Just the book.

I'm prodded. With a sharp, tiny thing. Flowers shoved in between my face and laptop. I pull my head back, turn slightly. What the actual-

"Auntie Jules!" Anya starts to climb the chair and I grab her, pulling her right into my arms and dropping the flowers to the floor. "Too tight. TOO TIGHT!" I pull back, grabbing her face and looking her over.

"What are you doing here?"

"Mama said it's your birthday." Riles.

"Where's your mom huh?" I kicked the chair beside me out, sinking Anya into the corner before standing up, looking everywhere for her mother. Then I clock them. Noah's taking his jacket off, Riley's stood dead beside him grinning ear to ear. "Don't move Ans."

3 whole seconds it took me to duck around chairs and swallow my best friend into a suffocating hug. So hard that Noah had to stand us both back up before we collapsed.

"Go sit down will yah? I'll bring your drinks over."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I wasn't going to let you do this weekend alone was I dipshit?" Noah cleared his throat and we both looked at him.

"Oh. Riles-"

"This is Noah. I know. He picked us up last night." Last night? What the hell?!

"You had dinner with Chris last night." I blinked at Noah who smiled softly.

"Go sit down Jules. I'll bring you some drinks over." I grabbed Riley's hand guiding her back to where Anya was now sat tapping on my laptop and I am so glad I saved my work before I turned to her.

"Auntie Jules?"

"Yes beautiful?"

"Do you still have my game?"

"Of course. Want me to bring it up?" She nods. I tug the laptop slightly, open up the folder filled with everything she'd done on here from scribbling on the paint app to the handful of games I'd downloaded onto it for her. "There you go." She smiles at me, wriggles her finger. "What?"

"It's a secret. Need to whisper." God I've missed this girl. I leaned down, offering the 5-year-old my ear. "Mama says Noah is your prince charming."

"Oh, she does, does she?" Riley cackled.

"WAIT! I'M NOT DONE!"

"Oh, okay. Carry on."

"Mama said you're gonna get married like Cinderella. And it's going to be here and that I need to be happy for you because you're happy here. But are you going to come home? Noah can come too. You can share your room like Mama shares with her boyfriend." I stare at Riley who instantly flushes red.

"We said that was a surprise for Auntie Jules Anya."

"Oh yeah. Shh. I didn't tell you that. But you can. You can both come home and live with us again."

"But this is my home now Ans. Remember before I came I said that?"

"But why?" I pulled her into my lap, sitting up in the corner spot I'd put her in a few minutes before.

"Because sometimes, even if our friends and the people we love are all the way across the world, we can be happy somewhere else."

"You don't miss us?"

"Of course, I miss you. I miss your mom too. And I miss our apartment and I miss Toronto. But I can miss you guys and miss home but still want to be here." She looks at me confused. "Sometimes you can love something from a distance and that's okay. Do you love me when I'm here?"

"Yeahh."

"Right and do you love me any less?"

"No."

"Exactly. Me being here doesn't mean I love you any less. But being here is good for Auntie Jules and Auntie Jules' job is better here." I pull the laptop closer to her. "Play your game sweet." She nods, puts my earphones in her ears and I stare up at Riley. "Boyfriend huh? Kept that one quiet."

"So, Noah's pretty cool huh?"

"Oh no no no. You are not changing the topic up on me madam. In fact. We're gonna cycle around to what in the wardrobe to Narnia are you doing here? How-"

"I knew you wouldn't have told Noah about your birthday and I wasn't gonna stand for you celebrating it alone when I know how shit it is. So, you slipped away to grab something the other day and I told him I needed to talk to him. We organized the whole thing."

"You told him?"

"I had to Jules. I know you don't like your birthday but I don't know if I'll be able to get out here every year once she hits school properly and I'm not having you doing this all alone every single year. It's not fair, it's shit and you deserve better. SO, I said I wanted to surprise you for your birthday, told him why you don't celebrate it and told him not to make a big deal of it. He picked us up at like 8pm last night, we stayed at his, he left us to go to yours and he just picked us up."

"How long are you here for?"

"11 days left. Noah's going to drop us and our stuff around at yours later. She's exhausted so will be out cold once she's done exploring the cottage and I have so much to catch you up on."

"I called you like 2 days ago."

"Yeah. I may have been keeping all the best drama to myself until I could tell you in person." Noah slid a tray down between us both.

"You." I glared at him.

"Me."

"You're in trouble."

"Mhm. That's why I brought you your cookies over before you could murder me." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Let me know when you're ready to go and I'll drop you all at yours."