Should Have Known (Camren)

Chapter 25

March, 2013

I rolled over in bed to cuddle up to Lauren, only to find that her spot was occupied by the oversized teddy bear that she won me. I groaned and squeezed the bear instead but sat up when I felt a piece of paper brush against my skin. I located the paper tied to the bear by a string and pulled it off, careful not to disturb the eloquent penmanship on the front that read:

Happy Sweet 16 little nugget!
Come downstairs when you wake up if you want food, which I know you will.

Lauren

I shook my head as a smile spread across my face.

"You and your notes, Lauren," I mumbled under my breath.

I ran a hand through my hair and skipped down the stairs, halting at the bottom when I didn't see a single soul in sight.

"Guys?" I called, scanning the kitchen for any sign of movement.

No response.

I jumped down the last two stairs and rounded the corner into the living room. The lights were off and everything was exactly as it had been left the night before. It was almost as if everyone had disappeared in the middle of the night. I shrugged, assuming they had expected me to sleep later and gone out to run errands and would return later. I got the milk out of the refrigerator and poured a glass, taking a sip and missing my mouth by a hair. The cold liquid spilled down my shirt and I cursed under my breath, sitting the glass down and jogging towards the laundry room to retrieve a clean shirt. I stopped before I got to the hallway and felt around for the light switch, stopping abruptly when I heard a faint shuffling sound coming from the corner.

I squinted and tried my best to see in the dark hallway, but it was no use. I stepped forward and turned the knob on the door to the laundry room.

I jumped clean out of my skin when a chorus of voices yelled, "SURPRISE!" behind me, causing me to spin around and place my hand over my heart to keep it from beating out of my chest.

Dinah flipped the light on and wrapped her arm around my shoulders as I took in the amount of people that stood in front of me. My entire family was there along with the girls, all smiling at their successful attempt at scaring me half to death.

"You guys scared the crap out of me," I laughed as Dinah pulled me into the living room.

Normani turned on the stereo as my family came up to hug me.

"Happy birthday!" Sofi squeaked, hugging my leg tightly.

My mom pulled me into a tight embrace and my dad joined us, suffocating me in a group hug and rambling about how much he had missed me.

Each of the girls did the same until it was Lauren's turn. She cupped both sides of my face with her hands and kissed me passionately on the lips.

"Happy birthday," she smiled.

"So far," I agreed, winking at her and separating from her so that she could collect a chocolate cake from the kitchen counter.

"How did I miss that?" I wondered aloud, watching as my dad lit the candles.

Lauren carried the cake over to me and bounced up and down excitedly as everyone began to sing Happy Birthday.

"Make a wish," she prompted when they were finished.

"Do I really have to?" I whispered.

She rolled her eyes playfully and shoved the cake in my direction. "Shut up and make a wish."