Princess in love (Royals #3)

Happy birthday?

ChaPtEr THIRTY-FIVE _________________________

Happy birthday?

Feet padded on the other side of my bedroom's door. Sighing slightly, I cuddled onto my pillow as if I'd been sleeping. As if. Ever since Jason's accident, my nights were longer and sleepless. My only comfort was Snickers sleeping by my feet. I meant comfort in an emotional kind of way since the dog was too large and heavy to be actually comforted by him. But he kept me company and to be honest I'd felt so lonely that I was grateful for having him there.

Especially since Jason woke up.

I grimaced. I hadn't been over to visit him. I honestly didn't know what to do or what to say.

It hurt too much, knowing that he had no clue who I was or what he meant for me.

I shut my eyes as the door moved and a string of light passed through. "Happy birthday to you...!" my family started to sing. Not in unison. Mom had started before Ashley and Dad which brought out a small smile on my face even if I was pretending to be asleep.

Stirring and making a show out of waking up, I turned to my right to find my little sister in her pajama holding a small cupcake with a single candle on top. Her brown eyes glinted happily as she approached me and held the cupcake so I could blow the candle.

My eyes trained on the candle for a moment wondering if it could be magical and solve everything at once. Blinking the tears away, I blew the candle away. Make him remember me...

Mom attacked me with a tight embrace followed by my sister and then my dad. They were all smiles as Ashley ran downstairs to get coffee and more cupcakes for everyone. This was sort of our family's tradition. In every birthday, we would sing happy birthday and eat cupcakes on the birthday person's room. And the earlier, the merrier.

Snickers wasn't too keen on the celebration. Especially since Mom had pretty much shoved him out of my bed and was now laying down on his bed looking at me with puppy eyes. After the coffee and the cupcakes, Ashley brought out a large cardboard box. We didn't usually give out significant presents. They were simple gestures, like a birthday card or a small silver charm. Stuff like that.

Eyeing the box for a moment, I turned to my parents warily. Mom couldn't hide the wide smile beneath her palm. Dad's chocolate eyes were sparkling happily and Ashley was smirking at me. What on earth was there?

Warily, I started to peel the golden wrapping paper. My stomach churned uneasily as I found a yellow envelope stuck to another box. I pulled the envelope away and as I did so, my eyes widened at what I saw. "A telescope?" I asked my father somewhat confused.

He nodded excitedly, "not just a telescope, honey. The telescope. It's one of the most modern home telescopes ever!" he beamed before kneeling beside me and pulling away all the wrapping paper by himself. Mom rolled her eyes and Ashley was trying not to laugh out loud at Dad's excitement. It honestly seemed like he was more excited than me. It was kind of cute, to be honest.

He took out the thing and started to build it without really reading the instructions, when my phone rang. Sighing, I grabbed it and walked outside the hallway because Mom was reading the instructions out loud while my father studiously ignored her.

"Happy birthday, Marianne!" Danielle's voice chirped in. My stomach sank at the sound of her voice. She had called yesterday but I'd ignored the call. I didn't know what to say, really...

"Thank you."

"We've missed you so much! When are you coming by?" Who's we?

I grimaced, "yeah...I've been busy with my birthday party and all..." Yeah right. My stupid birthday had been the least of my worries.