Shattered Appearances ✓

s e v e n: Cupcakes and Loneliness Go Well Together

My father looked at me with a concerned face as I absentmindedly scrolled through the channels. I have been doing this for half an hour now and had almost managed to go through a complete loop. When I finally had enough of his staring, I put the remote down and said to him, "Do you have any cupcakes?"

He almost did a double take at my seemingly random question but then he recovered and said, "no, but do you want me to buy some?"

It saddened me that my father didn't know about the tradition that my mother and I would always do on this day. Then again, he wasn't there for any of the special moments.

"Forget about it." I sighed and continued to flip through the channels.

"Are you okay?"

"Today is October third. Figure it out." Hopefully, my dad wouldn't be completely scattered brained and would connect the pieces together.

My mother's birthday was on October third. Every year, we would make cupcakes, the flavors often varied, and threw them at our neighbor's houses. Well technically I did, but she didn't stop me. Though when we were done, she would feel bad and offer to clean up, much to my dismay. It was a small tradition we held, and it saddened me that we wouldn't do it this year.

Eventually I got tired and stood up, "I'm going to the grocery store. Be back in fifteen."

I grabbed my faux leather wallet, that was now tearing at the seams, and walked to the nearest grocery store. It was only five minutes away at most. Heading straight for the desserts section, I grabbed every box of cupcakes I could find. In total, I got twelve boxes, with them ranging from red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate fudge. As I was about to pay, I heard a familiar voice from the back.

"Sorry I'm late Barbara. My brother hid my phone." The manager scolded her but let her off with a warning. Lucy was on the other side of the counter, ready to scan items.

"So, apparently you work now?"

"You would think my parents would be happier about the fact, but I practically had to beg them for this job. They think being a cashier is too lowly for me."

I was about to say something else, but once the manager scolded Lucy again for talking on the job, I decided it would be best to pay and leave.

"Why so many boxes? Are you having a party?"

"I don't know yet. What I'm going to do with them, I mean. I'm not having a party. I'm over those."

She shrugged before handing me the bags. I gave her two twenties and told her to keep the change. I debated where I should go now. I really wasn't in the mood to go back home and face questioning stars so I went to the park. There was this stop that I would always use to go to when Bryson, Lucy, and I played hide and seek. They would never find me so I had to come out myself. It was pretty isolated but that's exactly how I want to be at this moment.

I had to go through a couple of bushes and trees to get to my spot, which was difficult while carrying so many bags, but I managed. As I passed through the last tree, I already saw someone already there, looking at the water.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't want to interrupt." I wasn't the one to apologize but I would be angry if someone interrupted me during a private moment. When he turned around, I saw that it was Thomas.

"Thomas? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to get away for a while. I can leave if you want?" He responded when he looked at the three black bags in my hand.

"No it's fine. Do you want a cupcake?"

I sat down on the grass and proceeded to take each box one by one. He looked at me strangely but still look a vanilla flavored one. I didn't particularly like chocolate so I took a vanilla one as well.