When The Sun Came Up, You Were Gone

Homemade Chocolate Unicorn Cake(2)

"Our bond?" I muttered to myself. After leaving Noah's house, his question has been swirling around in my head. "What is Noah's and I's bond? HOW THE FUCK DO I KNOW!" I tug at my hair, grunting out. We literally just met a couple months ago, how the hell do we even have a bond? What does he mean, he liked me touching his head? What the fuck kind of response is that? Wouldn't that have killed him? Does he not care???

Just when I was going to throw one of my pillows, there was a knock on my bedroom door. Gracie cracked it open just enough so I could see her eyes, "Dom?"

"Uh," scrambling to put things back to normal, "what's up Gracie?"

She hid behind the door, probably afraid that I'll come too close. Her voice was very low and her tone completely changed, "It sounded like you were mad... I just wanted to see if you are okay." No one in this planet is as kind, loving or adorable as my baby sister. I really wanted to hug her.

"I'm all good," I squat down, keeping a good distance, "how about you?"

"I'm fine," she muttered, "hungry."

"Do you want me to make you something?" I could tell she was having a conflict. Me... another person touch her food, that will enter her body. I scratched my head, "I can always wear gloves if you want. You can even watch me to make sure." She still was off, but agreed. We went down to the kitchen, none of our other siblings there. Malik and Owen were busy with their baseball practices, which meant I didn't have to deal with their asses for a good four hours. Claire went to a friends house to learn how to bake and shit because she wants to own a bakery one day. Jeremiah and Jasmine are playing outside with some kids on our street. Our parents were never home, so they weren't a worry. Gracie took a seat on the chair that is hers... like no one can touch it, pass it or look at it.

I grabbed some gloves from her and pulled out a some pasta and different kinds of cheese. Our family hates the box mac and cheese, only homemade in this house! Cutting the blocks in half so I could grate it, Gracie spoke up, "Is mommy and daddy going to be home on Sunday?"

That completely stopped my movements.

Sunday... February 17th... Gracie will be turning ten years old... double-digits.

My blood was boiling, knowing pretty damn well our parents wouldn't be home that day... they probably forgot about it to be honest. How do I tell her that though? She could obviously read my silence, sighing to herself. I get it, working helps us have food on the table and living under a roof, but can't they just take an afternoon off to spend time with their kids? Especially on their birthdays? "I never asked but what kind of cake do you want that day?" I try my hardest to cheer her up, just so she isn't dwelling in even more misery.

"I don't really care," she whispered, "anything will do."

When Gracie was six years old, she stopped asking for things. No toys, makeup, or time. She just smiled and said she was fine or that she didn't really care for things. At first I thought it was normal, Gracie just matured fast, but the more it occurred, I figured it out. Gracie doesn't want to be disappointed anymore.

I stopped cooking for a moment, walking a bit over to her, but remained a good distance, "Well, I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me." Her eyes widen, so I smiled at her, "So what does the soon-to-be-birthday-girl want? A rainbow cake? Ice cream cake? Oh... unicorn?" She giggled at the unicorn, bingo. "Now do you want this cake to be homemade or ordered... if homemade, I can't promise it's going to look... cute," she giggled even more, homemade it is, "and for the flavor, are we filling vanilla? Maybe even," I cover my mouth to form a tube, "chocolate?" Her giggles gave her away. A big smile came on my lips, "A homemade chocolate unicorn cake? My goodness... this will either be a master piece or a complete failure." Her face was turning rosy from her giggles. It was nice seeing her smile, enjoying herself.

I'm going to make sure she enjoys her ten birthday... you only get it once!

~

"What the hell is this?" I stared down at the boxes of cake batter. I'm going to be honest, I've never made a cake before so this is going to be a whole train wreck. What is even the first step! Mumbling to myself, an idea pops into my head. "I'm a mother fucking genius," I rush out of the store and drive out to the Roman house.

I check to see if there is any cars, empty like usual, and climb to the secret door Noah showed me. With my notepad and pen, I get inside and start my attempt to find him. I can hear noises downstairs, probably his home nurse Ally or was it Alison? Fuck who knows! I creep over to the fort area and see the flashing of what looked to be a t.v. screen, found the bean.

"Noah!" I whisper shout, seeing him jump a bit and come to the entrance. His weary smile and big eyes told me everything, "I need help."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I climb inside, making sure I don't bump him or his set up, "If you get found out, I don't know who is dying first. You or me!"

"Oh shut up!" I again whisper shout, "I need help and it's urgent!" He stares at him, waiting for me to open up and say it, but that's when I realize how stupid I am and when I say it... he'll think I'm the dumbest human alive! Rubbing my neck, I mutter out, "How... What do I do to make a chocolate unicorn cake!"