Stargazers

1.1

(N/A)
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Chapter Eleven | Black lungs isn't a good look for you
Cordelia's POV:

I woke today with that terrible feeling of dread you get at the pit of your stomach; the kind that doesn't go away. Not through showering, not through breakfast, not through changing or doing school work. It just stays. Not the kind of dread that makes you anxious about what's to come, but more of a lingering reminder of every little thing that's gone wrong in your life.

A lingering reminder of him. My father. My first birthday without him. The first time I have ever spent October thirteenth with out him. My first of ten while he is is prison, and probably many more after that, because truthfully, I don't know if I ever want to see him again.

"Cariño, did you hear me?" Carmen asks, presses a gentle hand to my arm as she stands over where I'm sat at my bedrooms bay window.

I jump ever so lightly at the sudden contact, jolting me out of my thoughts the same way falling does when you are on the verge of sleep, "Sorry, what did you say?" I ask, blinking away my absent mind.

Carmen gives me a sweet smile, "I asked you if you'd like to come open your birthday gifts now," She repeats.

"Oh- uhm, sure." I say, rotating my body so that my feet are placed on the floor as I lift my self of the window seat. Carmen and I begin our walk out of my room, down the hall and down the stairs. "Hey Carmen?" I pipe up, stopping at the bottom step.

"Yeah?" She asks, stopping one step behind me with a smile.

"H-how are you?" I stammer, staring down at my feet, "You know with... with uhm Ted?" I look back to carmen.

Carmen gives me a halfhearted smile, shaking her head.  "I'm fine, Cordelia." I raise an eyebrow in disbelief, causing her to wave a dismissive hand, "Honestly I am. Ted wasn't the right one for me, that's all."

I sigh, nod, and begin taking the final step down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Happy birthday!" My mom and Gigi exclaim, holding up two helium inflated balloons. A one and a six.

I put a soft smile onto my face, "You guys didn't have to do all of this." I say, glancing from the balloons to the few gifts placed on the dining table.

"It's your sixteenth birthday, of course we had to!" My mom exclaims, handing me number one balloon as she pulls out a seat for me to sit out.

"But when did you get the time to? When I came down for breakfast nothing." I say, taking a seat and letting the helium balloon go to the ceiling, thankfully the string is long enough that I can pull it down easily.

"Breakfast was hours ago, you've been in your room for ages," Mae says, passing me the number six balloon and taking a seat across the room from me.

"Oh," I say quietly, nodding to myself.

"Now open your gifts!" The girl says, pushing the three wrapped presents towards me.

I hesitate at first, before giving and and responding with a quiet, "Okay." My hands reach for for the gift closest to me, a medium sized, somewhat flat gift. On top of the plain pink wrapping it says: to Cordelia love from Maebelle.