bleeding stars|✅

the one with the birthday

Nothing in particular happened until 6:08 that evening.

It was Nova's sixteenth birthday, but it was hundreds of other people's birthday too, so she treated it like any other day.

A few "happy birthdays" from her friends and family and a red velvet cake was all she needed to be satisfied.

Her mother was out getting the cake while her father was sitting in the living room, frowning at his laptop. He was most likely working on his new case.

Nova, on the other hand, was procrastinating. Mr. Tull, her history teacher, didn't care whose birthday it was, because he'd announced that he was going to give a test the next day.

While she should have been studying at her desk, Nova sat at the kitchen table, pouring herself a second helping of Coco Pops.

"You have no self control," she muttered to herself as the doorbell rang.

Nova stopped mid-pour and frowned. It flashed through her head that it might be her mother. However, the bakery was twenty minutes away, and it had only been fifteen minutes since her mother had left.

Even her father quirked an eyebrow, locking eyes with Nova across the room.

"Not it, " he said.

"But it's my birthday..." Nova replied with a wry smile, but pushed her chair and headed to the door. She anticipated an impatient 'ding dong' based on how long she was taking to open the door, but the other side remained silent.

A cool breeze pressed against her skin as she opened the door. She blinked at the empty porch in front of her before her eyes instinctively slid down.

Nova's lips parted in surprise.

A bouquet of fresh white lillies sat there, its petals less than two inches away from her feet.

Movement stirred in the corner of her eyes. Nova lifted her eyes to the street. Almost out of sight, a boy was staring at her. As soon as their gazes locked, he ran and hid behind a wall.

"What is it?" Her dad's voice came from right behind her and she turned around in a flutter of nerves.

"D-don't do that," She stuttered. "You know I hate being snuck up on."

Her dad's eyes slid from hers to the porch. "What are those?"

Nova looked back down at the bouquet resting innocently on their doormat. She bent down and closed her hands around its base.

"Who put them there?" her dad asked, but he made no move to take them out of her hands.

"I don't know..." Nova answered, looking over at the wall. Nobody seemed to be there anymore.

"Maybe one of your friends?" her dad asked. He grabbed the flowers, his eyes roaming over the bouquet and he chuckled.

"I don't think so. All of my friends have already given me gifts." Nova said, still confused as to why anybody would give her a bouquet of flowers.

Her dad's fingers grazed over the flowers and he went still. An odd expression crossed his face. "I think you'll want this."

He carefully extracted something within the flowers, pulling out a string attached to a small, folded note.

She reached out before slowly pulling the card open.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Two words written in a neat handwriting.

Happy Birthday.