Golden Hearts | Rafe Cameron [1]

57

August 2

"Happy birthday to you..." is the first thing I hear when I wake up on my birthday. When I open my eyes, I see my family coming into my room while singing. My dad and brother are holding some presents, while my mom has a tray with a beautiful cake.

"Happy birthday, Adeline!" my mom says once they've finished singing and set everything down on my bed.

"Thanks," I say, blowing out the candles.

"Open your presents now, we're curious," Nathan says.

"Calm down," I say with a smile before taking the first package and opening it. Inside is a beautiful gold watch that I know must be very expensive. But my parents have money and they like expensive things, and I love it.

"It's so beautiful, thank you!" I say.

"Now you can come home on time," my dad jokes, making my mom laugh a little, though I don't think he was joking. Sometimes it's hard to read him since he sometimes acts like a regular dad while other times he's the complete opposite.

I open some of the other presents too, mostly finding books or clothes inside. "Thank you so much, really," I say to my family who bought all these things for me.

"Have a piece of the cake now. It's homemade this year," my mom says, placing the tray with the cake on my lap.

It's a strawberry cake, and I can taste it clearly when I take a bite. The taste of strawberries and raspberries floods into my mouth, tasting just like summer. The best cake.

When I come downstairs, I'm greeted by Sarah and Rafe who have just come through the front door. Rafe is holding flowers and Sarah a present. I smile when I see them and hug Sarah before hugging Rafe and giving him a kiss on his lips.

"Oh, thanks," I say, smiling at them. "So sweet."

"Happy birthday, Addie," Sarah says, handing me the present.

"Happy birthday, angel," Rafe says, giving me the beautiful light pink roses that are just so lovely.

"Thank you," I say to both of them before they follow me to the garden where my family is already sitting, ready and waiting for us so we can have breakfast together. It's not often the whole family is gathered to eat together because of my parents' work, so it's nice that we can at least gather on my birthday.

"Hi," my mom says softly, smiling at us as we come out and sit around the table in the garden. There are lots of fruits, including watermelon and pineapple, bread, juice, and lots of other goodies.

"Imagine you're turning 19 today, Addie. It's so crazy how fast time goes when you think about it," my mom says while passing the orange juice to Sarah, who is sitting in the chair in front of her.

"Yeah, I still feel like a little kid," I say.

"You are and always will be our little child," my mom says, smiling at me, and I smile back at her. My dad is silent and looking down at his plate. I don't know why he's so quiet during breakfast, but I try not to think too much about it so I can enjoy my birthday instead.

"Open your present, Addie," Sarah says, nodding at the white package in front of me. I pick it up and open it while the others sit quietly, watching me. Inside the package is an envelope that I open to find lots of pictures of me and Sarah, me and Rafe, and us with Kelce, Nathan, and Topper. Some pictures are from when we were kids or from our school years. So cute.

"They are so lovely," I say, smiling at Sarah and Rafe.

"I thought that picture was funny," Rafe says, pointing at a picture where I'm almost hit by a ball and Rafe is standing behind me. It's clear he was the one who threw it.