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Chapter 14

Suddenly, I find myself among Jake and Hannah once more.

They stood on the porch of an old house. Every time Hannah shifted her weight, the boards would creak in response. Though she usually seemed to stand taller than her cousin, something about her now made her feel smaller. Too small for the proud girl I was used to seeing.

She fidgeted with the hem of her blouse, "Was it not possible to apologize over text?" Her cousin shot her a look that said all it needed to. "I know, I know. I'm just a little nervous. It's my birthday after all, you'd think I'd deserve at least one happy one."

The realization caught both Jake and I off guard. With all the drama, neither of us had remembered that today marked her eighteenth birthday. With it came freedom and adulthood, along with responsibilities and the knowledge you were one year closer to dying.

"Hannah, I am so sorry. I completely forgot." Jake felt far worse about what he had done the night before. She had asked him not the get drunk and she arrived at his home that morning to find him hungover from the night before.

"It's okay," Her voice betrayed her however, "I almost forgot myself. Why don't you just go, I can handle this on my own?"

"I have to apologize to him too."

"Not nearly as much as I do. My apology is going to take some time, I have over a decade's worth of things to apologize for. You have time to apologize to him but I, I can't let this go any longer." Hannah handed him her keys, "Take her out for a spin. Get a little driving practice in on something that isn't grandma's minivan. If you get good enough, maybe she'll gift it to you as a graduation present."

Jake gave her a half-hearted smile and hopped down the steps, careful to do so gently. Tomas warned him the old house wasn't always the sturdiest. He had stories of falling through the floorboards of the porch. His parents had long since stabilized the rest of the house, but the porch was something they could never manage to fully secure.

Hannah spent a few moments calming herself, preparing herself to knock on the door and spill all her secrets to Tomas. Then he could decide whether or not he wanted her, whether or not he deserved her.

Before she could knock however, the old door creaked open. Tomas appeared in front of her, his eyes wide and wild as shock crossed his face.

"Hannah?" Tomas' smile spread wide with relief. "You're here?"

"Yes, you and I need to talk." Hannah waited nervously, "Are you going to invite me in? I'd rather go somewhere where we can talk in private. Your living room maybe? This isn't the kind of talk I want to have on your porch."

"Oh," Tomas took a few steps back to let her in, "It's the second door on the left. I will be right back, I have to grab something from my room."

Tomas disappeared up the stairs so Hannah followed his directions to the little living room. She took a seat on the only couch not covered in plastic and waited. There wasn't much else for her to do but sit and wait for him to return. She was thankful that his family seemed to be out of the house, the less people there the better.

When Tomas returned, he entered with one hand behind his back. Before she say anything, he handed her a gently wrapped box. He motioned for her to open it, watching in anticipation as she carefully undid the tape. The wrapping paper itself was so pretty she couldn't bear to rip it.

It didn't take too long. Tomas looked so nervous, yet so completely excited as she removed the cardboard box. She opened the box with painstaking care, wondering what he could have gotten.

"Happy birthday." He whispered as she removed her present.

Hannah delicately held the fragile orb in her hand, "Is that supposed to be us?"