Chương 2: The Fateful Day

The day after my sister's softball game was my eighteenth birthday, June the thirtieth. It wasn't anything special since I didn't really have any friends. I had a couple of cousins and my mom's sister Sharon, but they lived out of state and couldn't make it to the party. However, it wasn't lost on me that they came to my sister's birthday party the last few years.

Since there was no one else to come, it was just the usual group. My mom, who had taken the day off, my Uncle Vinny, and my sister Charlie. That meant that, aside from mom being home and there being a cake for later, it wasn't any different than any other normal day.

With my mom being home, she was the one taking care of me for the day. She didn't get to go through the whole day with me all that often since she was always working and, because of that, she wasn't as good at it anymore. Still, she was trying and I loved her for that.

Mom picked me up from my bed like I was a small child. I weighed as little as one anyway. She carried me to the bathroom and helped get me cleaned up and ready for the day. I actually hated this part when my mom got me ready because she always did my hair like I was a child. She must have forgotten that I was not four years old anymore and I didn't want to wear the pigtail braids that she had given me. Not that I could stop her even if I wanted to.

"Thank you, Mom." I told her instead as she carried me back to my room to get me dressed.

I usually didn't care what I wore since I couldn't put it on myself. Charlie tended to go with shorts or skirts for me, since they were quick and easy most of the time. Mom, however, always chose a dress for me. When I was a little girl I was a tomboy and I hated dresses, now I wore them way more than I would have liked.

Now that I was dressed and ready for the day, I could be taken down to breakfast. Whenever we ate meals at the table as a family, I was taken out of my wheelchair so that I could feel like I was one of them. I honestly thought that it was actually so I didn't leave in the middle of the meal when I was full or bored.

"Happy birthday, Sweetheart." Uncle Vinny came over and hugged me when I was seated.

"Thank you." I smiled at him as best as I could.

"Happy birthday, Addie." Charlie smiled as well, trying to be polite for once since Mom was there.

"Thank you, Charlie." I tried my best to be civil as well.

Breakfast was supposed to have been all my favorite foods. That was what Mom said when she sat down.

"I made you all your favorites for your birthday." She smiled while saying it. Except, she made pancakes, when I prefer French Toast, pancakes were Charlie's favorite. She made bacon when I would have preferred sausage. Bacon was Uncle Vinny's favorite. And she made scrambled eggs when I would have preferred fried eggs. And, of course, scrambled eggs were Mom's favorite.

I know she was busy, and it was the thought that counted, right? That was why I didn't point out her mistake. I didn't want to ruin her day at all. I just grinned and ate the foods that were given to me like I usually did.

As I ate, I could feel a headache start at the base of my skull. It was like a throbbing and aching that caused my vision to pulse. It looked like today was going to be one of the migraine days, well isn't that great.

Following breakfast my family decided it would be best to go for a walk and get some fresh air. That was great, for the walking people. I however, preferred to stay indoors and read. But I didn't say anything though, I didn't want to ruin their day.

I was pushed this time, rather than being allowed to guide myself on the 'walk' that I was taking. Instead of picking the destination, I was pushed along the streets for hours on end. My mom, sister and uncle were all having a grand old time. I was starting to get a worse headache than before because of all the bright light and the bumping around of the wheelchair.

We had been out so long that we ended up stopping to get lunch. This was the first thing that they asked my opinion on so far today.

"Where do you want to eat, birthday girl?" Uncle Vinny brought the chair to a stop and asked me as we faced the road back to town.

"Maybe we can eat at Wally's?" I asked, since it was close. Wally's Diner was known as a local grease trap, they had yummy yet unhealthy food and the best part of it all was that they were cheap, so it wouldn't hurt Mom's wallet.

Thanks to them actually asking my opinion I was finally able to enjoy something about this day. After that though, it was time to walk home. I was glad we were going home, I just wished I didn't have to rattle around in the chair getting sick and dizzy.

When we got home, my mom didn't waste any time getting my cake ready. They were either in a hurry to eat it or to be done with me. They knew that once I got home I would want to start drawing in my journal and I would then be occupied for the rest of the night.

Mom brought a cute little cake decorated with pink and purple frosting. I would have preferred yellow or green. Still, I didn't say anything. I just went along with the flow as they sang to me and told me to blow out my candles.

"Make a wish, sweetie." Mom smiled at me.

"Go ahead." Uncle Vinny encouraged me. Charlie didn't say anything, but she told me with her eyes that she wanted to be done with this whole thing.

'I want this to be over too, Charlie.' I thought to myself as my headache throbbed again. 'I just want to be done with all of this.'

I thought about my wish for a second and whispered it so quietly that I knew no one else had been able to hear it.

"I wish I had a different life."

With one big breath I blew out all eighteen of the candles and then, suddenly, my vision went black.

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