Page 179 of Haunt Me

For once, she doesn’t say anything back, and that terrifies me more than anything.

“Right, let’s get this over with.”

The minute we step inside the door, I see her. She’s just standing there, my whole world.Stop it, brain.

Eden goes a little pale upon seeing me, her eyebrows raising in worry.

“It’s not bad news,” I tell her quickly. Manuela and Faith flag me on either side, looking like the harbingers of doom. We really should have prepared a silly little song instead of this. A silly little anything. This feels too pathetic, even for us. “It’s just…” My throat goes dry.

“Out with it,” Eden says in her calm, measured way. “What is it?”

“It’s your birthday,” I croak.

“Yeah, I know.”

“What?” I just blink at her, feeling like a deflated balloon.

Realization hits her and she smiles. No, she isn’t just smiling: she is barely holding her laughter in.

“What,” I say again, defensively this time.

“Wait, did you think I didn’t know? That I didn’t know when myownbirthday was? And you came here all brave, the three musketeers together, to tell me? Oh, this is so funny.”

“Is it,” I reply, unimpressed.

She starts laughing, quietly at first, but then it bursts out of her in waves.

“The real date of my birthday was the first thing I checked, you guys. Or one of the first things, I don’t remember.” She is laughing so hard she can’t breathe. I look at Faith awkwardly, and she looks sheepish. “Oh my gosh, you looked so scared, the three of you. You are so cute!”

“Cute?” Faith is about to explode. Good, I would hate to be the only one.

“Cute and silly,” Eden wipes tears from her eyes, but more stream down as she keeps laughing. “I need to sit down, this is way too funny.”

“I’m glad you find our efforts so ridiculous.” I clench my jaw.

“No no, I said silly,” Eden tries to say, but laughter steals her breath.

I am having a hard time finding this anything else than immeasurably tragic, so I take myself off to the bathroom to seethe in private. When I come back, all three sisters are laughing, a bit more calmly. But not too calmly.

“Still finding it cute?” I scowl. I wish I could laugh with them, but I just can’t. My mouth won’t move that way. At all. I don’t see this as remotely funny.

Eden glances at me and laughs harder.

“Youdon’t?” she asks.

I sit down next to her. “Nope,” I say. “Can’t.”

“You should see your faces,” she says to me. “That’s what was so funny. You know, not the… other stuff.” She places her hand on mine. “The rest of it was very sweet. Thank you.”

I’m still not laughing, but now she isn’t either.

“You know, I have already made reservations at a restaurant for later, but now it occurs to me that…” I just completely lose my train of thought, looking into her eyes.

“Yes?”

“I think that your birthday wouldn’t be perfect without a trip to a bookstore,” I tell her. “Or three. What do you think?”

Instead of an answer, she squeals.

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