A F T E R D A R K | PAUL LAHOTE - 1

16

September 13th, my younger sisters 18th birthday and also the day my uncompleted Romeo and Juliet essay was due.

I rolled myself out of bed with a yawn and picked my phone up off my bedside table. The first thing I noticed was the time and it caused me to groan loudly. I would never, for as long as I lived, be a morning person. My idea of an early morning was waking up around half 9 or ten o'clock. Getting up for school on a weekday at half 7 was just painful. The second thing I noticed was that I had one text and it was from Paul.

'Had to leave early for patrol, I'm on the morning shift. I'll see you later'

I remembered that Paul had stopped over last night and looking over I noticed my bedroom window had been left open. I smiled to myself and shook my head, swinging my legs out of bed and on to the floor, I don't think I would ever get used to him jumping in and out of my bedroom window.

I saw Bella's present on my desk, wrapped neatly and ready to give to her. I picked the small item up, it was just a necklace with her initials on the inside. I left my bedroom and wandered across the landing to hers, her door already open.

"Happy birthday!" I called, appearing at her door frame. She was sat up in bed and Charlie was already here, standing at the foot of her bed giving her the birthday presents he and mom had coordinated on.

Immediately my sisters eyes traveled down to the box in my hand and she groaned, "I said no presents."

"Yeah, like that applied to me." I scoffed, "Bella you knew regardless that I'd get you something, you're my sister and you're eighteen!"

Charlie agreed with me, "Your mom and I bought Sophia a car, Bels. The least we could do was get you something."

I nodded, as it turned out I had been born a week prior to Bella and I had been eighteen for a seven long days now. It was weird going from thinking my birthday was supposed to be today to it being a week before but I got used to it. My mom and dad had gone halves on a car for me, given that Bella had a knack for taking the truck somewhere and leaving me without a method of transportation.

I'd found out as much as I could from the adoption agency, the names of my real parents, my birthday, place of birth and all the jazz. I just wanted answers, I didn't have any intention of doing anything with them like going to Olympia to hunt down my real fathers brothers second cousin. I was happy knowing of them instead.

I walked over to Bella's bed and placed the small box in her lap with a sly wink. She had already opened the gifts from my mom and dad, a camera and scrapbook and they sat on her lap.

She picked the small box up and took of the wrappings before taking the lid off. She picked the pendant of the necklace up delicately and looked up to me with a small smile. It wasn't much, just a small silver gem on a silver chain with her initials I.M.S engraved on to the back of it.

Bella wasn't a girly girl, she wasn't one for jewellery but she occasionally wore a necklace so I thought this would be my best bet at buying her something meaningful.

"Thank you Soph, it's really nice. I love it." She said to me with an appreciative smile.

"It's just a little something." I told her with a smile, "Now, I'll leave you two to it. I've got an English essay to start."