Behind the Scenes

Chapter 17

KATE

I heard the door open slowly, my ears alert to every sound as I kept my eyes closed. The sound of gentle footsteps, a strange squeak, and of something sliding across a tabletop, before a long, hesitant pause. I thought little to nothing of the rustling around the room, assuming that Ashley was simply already awake and about her day and leaving me to rest a little longer. She had always been the early riser of the two of us, me much preferring to sleep through the morning and getting up before noon.

It was another one of the million reasons she managed my life on such a short leash.

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel her hovering near me. It was the strange, stalkerish sensation of knowing you are being watched, even if you can't see the culprit. Finally, reluctantly, I peeled open an eye to find her staring at me. The moment she knew I was awake, the previous silence immediately eradicated.

"Happy Birthday!" she squealed with much more enthusiasm than anyone should have before ten in the morning. Clapping her hands together, she bounced on her toes as I tried to force my eyes to open fully.

I groaned, rolling onto my back before draping an arm over my eyes to block out the light. "Thanks," I muttered, hoping that would be enough gratitude for now. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Ashley hopped onto my bed, crawling over me to lay on my other side. Reaching up, she pulled my arm away from my face as I groaned again in protest, squeezing my eyes together tighter.

"Get up! It's your birthday!"

"Exactly. It's my birthday. Therefore I should get to sleep until an ungodly hour undisturbed, eat take out from a questionable Chinese restaurant that delivers and does not require me to put on actual clothes, and hide in this room until tomorrow."

I didn't have to open my eyes to know she was frowning at me. She never understood why I hated my birthday, even though she knew every reason why. She had grown up with me, through the good, the bad, and the disasters. I had been trained early not to think on any events or dates that are focused around me, because no one else in my family would be.

In all honesty, Ashley was probably the only person who would even remember that today I was turning nineteen.

"Come on," she whined, giving me a gentle shove. "Don't be a party pooper." She paused for a moment, tucking her hands under her head. "I got you a present."

A smile came across my lips despite my deeply ingrained distaste for my birthday. "Thank you."

"If you don't get the hell out of bed, though, you don't get it." With that, she gave me one more solid shove for good measure, before sitting up quickly and sliding off the end of the bed. I snickered at her back as I watched her bound across the room, holding her hand out to present the pile of balloons floating between our beds. Blue, purple, pink, red, yellow, green. Some with unicorns, hearts, flowers. It was a color explosion in rubber and helium at eight in the morning, and it brought a true smile to my face.

Pushing up in bed, I rubbed my hands over my face. "Thank you, you nut job."

"You're welcome, you temper ridden drama queen." She replied, sitting on the edge of my bed to hand me a medium sized wrapped box. The silver paper shimmered in the light, a tiny blue bow in the corner. It was so pretty I didn't want to open it, except I knew Ashley would pitch a masterful fit if I said that out loud.

Carefully tearing the paper, I peeled back the lid of the box, before bursting into laughter. Reaching inside, I pulled out the t-shirt, holding it up against myself to show her as I gave her a reproachful look.

"What?" she laughed, clearly pleased with herself. "It is literally you."

Rolling my eyes, I turned it back to myself, reading over the script on the front.