Take Me Away | ✓

» 9

P H O E N I X

I woke up in an awkward position. My body was at a vertical angle on Elsa's bed with her nowhere in sight and my head was under the pillow instead of on it. Pushing the hair that had stuck to my face out of the way, I squinted at the bright light shining through the windows and threw a cushion at the source to make it stop but to no avail. For a couple of seconds I lay there on my stomach waiting for the world to stop spinning and when it receded a little, I decided it was time to get up.

There was a slight wobble in my gait as I made my way downstairs and towards the kitchen. Once inside, I got myself a drink to satisfy my parched throat. Except I didn't get that far.

"Phee, seriously? You spent the whole of last night drinking and you're still at it." I stared at my empty cupped hand and then at Elsa who set down the beer bottle with a bit too much force on the countertop.

"Sorry." I mumbled, rubbing my temple.

"Go and get dressed. I'll make you lunch."

"Lunch?"

"You slept through the whole of the morning so you've no excuse now but to wake up." She made shooing motions with her hand. "Go."

I splashed myself with cold water from the tap before moving past her but she pulled me back and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Happy Birthday."

It took a second for me to process her words and still get air into my lungs but I finally managed to choke out a "Thanks."

"Oh what the hell, I might as well give it to you now." With a huge grin on her face, she left the room for a minute and came back carrying a huge parcel. Her previous mother hen approach now switched to full-on party mode.

I watched as she heaved it onto the tabletop and spread her arms out, "Voila."

"You really didn't have to get me anything."

"Don't be ridiculous, it's your birthday. We all chipped in, me, Connor, Jay and um Chloe."

My gaze rose from the red bow attached to the parcel and bore into Elsa. "Chloe was a part of this."

She nodded. "It was her idea. Open it."

Ignoring the hollow feeling inside me, I put that to one side as I tore the wrapping paper aside and just about obtained Elsa's excitement to reveal the pioneer.

"So, do you like it?"

"It's actually kind of perfect." I frowned. My finger trailed across the sleek black surface. "Thank you."

"Okay, now you really should get dressed. We're meeting the others in half hour."

I was about to ask what she was on about when I remembered that every year we'd get together at the movies as a birthday tradition. It began all the way back in freshman year and still held to this day. We'd all come a long way but least to say things had changed since then.

I thought about sitting out this year's trip but Elsa had already pushed me out and ushered me to get ready. So despite my hangover, I decided to make the most of my situation and shower. Putting on fresh clothes helped eased the throbbing somewhat but the harsh light from outside seemed to intensify it so I slapped on a pair of Elsa's sunglasses before heading out.

"I have something to tell you." Elsa glanced at me for a second before turning her attention back to the road. I waited for her to continue. "I kind of invited Kaden."

I snorted at that. "You can't provide a home for every stray you find." Her kind but slightly naive nature was something I'd gotten used to in the time I knew her. That was actually how we'd became friends in the first place. She took me under her wing and I decided I'd stay for a while. A while had turned into a couple of years.