Flowers and Darkness

Chapter 12

It was mid-afternoon and I was throwing a ball back and forth against the beige wall of Rose and Alex's living room. After leaving the theme park last night, Rose had insisted that I stay the night at hers.

I haven't seen Alex at all since he left and I felt a little guilty for that. Clearly he doesn't want to speak to me, but here I am invading his own own home. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't seen him. Tomorrow's my birthday, so today's my only real day of normalcy. And my emotion around Alex we're far from normal.

Jayden came over in the morning and he's been the same old Jay with me. Granted we both haven't really had any alone time to speak about the kiss. A part of me wishes it won't be brought up. That we'd continue acting normal and being friends. Going into the unknown with him is scary. As much as I liked the kiss, do I want to go there with him? Do I really want to risk my relationship with him?

"Urgh can you stop already!" Rose moaned, dramatically covering her ears. "That bouncing noise is so irritating."

The closer we got to my birthday, the more agitated Rose seemed to get. Jayden assured me that she was just on edge and she'd snap out of it as soon as my birthday was over and I was safe. But it was starting to get to the point where I had to really bite my tongue and grind my teeth around her, before I said something I would regret.

"Sorry." I let the ball hit and roll down the hall. I heard footsteps and saw a hand slowly reach down to pick up the ball. Alex walked in slowly and nodded in greeting over at Jayden. He avoided my eyes.

"So what's everyone up to?"

"Getting bored. Sitting around. Living life. Same old." I jutted in before anyone else could, forcing Alex to look over at me.

"Hey!" Rose sat upright on the sofa at my words. "We watched some good films earlier. And I gave you a manicure!"

I looked down at my pink sparkly nails and flexed them slightly.

Alex chuckled and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. "Was that not entertaining enough for you?"

His eyes met mine and I smiled. After yesterday I was afraid it would be tense and awkward. But here he was speaking to me. "Not quite."

"She's sick of us and wants to go home." Rose leaned back and rubbed at her eyes. "She's been moaning about it all morning."

"Well tomorrow's my birthday. I want to spend it with my family." I shrugged and rolled my eyes. "Or is that too much to ask."

It was the one time of the year I could guarantee that my mother, father and brother would all be together. Since I could remember they would always wake me up with a massive cake, that I would always moan about eating so early in the morning. My parents travelled a lot. They weren't bad people, but it didn't make for the best family life. Once a year, their effort on my birthday almost made up for it.

"Hey, don't get snarky with me! Today and tomorrow are crucial days. We need to be with you and on high alert for Hades. In case you forgot, he's coming for you on your birthday." She stood up and walked over to me. Her words short and clipped. "We're here to protect you."

"You can do that from my home can't you?" I stood up and faced her. Her pink stiletto heels making her tower over me. "If it's my last day, I'd want to be with my family. Wouldn't you?"

"Your house isn't secure enough."

"My house isn't- What?" My mouth dropped and I turned to face Jay quickly. Is she implying what I think she's implying. "I get to go home for my birthday, right Jay?"