Into the Unknown

Chapter 20

"Happy Birthday!" yells Maddie as she steps inside my apartment. After the event, I headed home with Noah to get changed for my birthday party. Noah's wearing a black T-shirt with blue jeans and I am wearing a pink Lyris Petite dress. "Thanks, Mads," I say, hugging her before grabbing her gift. Caleb and Hunter emerge behind Maddie a second later, carry two boxes. We all talk until the chef brings out the main course, which makes my mouth water. Bacon-wrapped pork chops with mashed potatoes and a Caesar salad. I sit beside Caleb and Noah at the small table that takes up most of my small apartment.
After the meal was devoured, Noah brings out a lemon flavoured New York cheesecake. From what I heard, New York cheesecake is ultra-dense and rich, firm yet creamy, and relies on lots of cream cheese for tang and texture, bolstered by heavy cream, eggs, and sugar. On top of the cake in neat handwriting reads, "Happy 23rd Birthday Mills!"
We all eat two slices and it was the most delicious cake I have ever eaten. After we help clean up the dishes, I open the gifts that Caleb, Hunter, Maddie and Noah got me. I open Maddie's gift first. I pull out a bottle of perfume, Bloom Eau de Parfum that is from Gucci and a small travel jewellery box. "Thank you, Maddie, I love them," I say hugging her. Hunter hands me a small box that is wrapped tightly. I rip the wrapping paper off and stare at the box. "Hunter, where did you get these?" I ask as I pull out a pair of rose gold Pavé Bead hoop earrings. I have been looking at these for the past weeks and been telling everyone how much I wanted them.
"Pandora," Hunter replies simply, smiling at me.
"Thank you so much," I say, setting down the box next to Maddie's gift.
"Don't mention it."
Caleb hands me his gift next. I open the box to a New York City candle, face masks, scrunchies, and a gift card to Lululemon. I hug and thank Caleb for the gift before Noah hands me his gift and smiles. I look inside the bag and pull out a small box. I open the box and stare at the necklace which is a silver infinity symbol. I look at Noah and smile. "Thank you," I say. "There's one more gift," Noah says, pointing to the bag. I carefully put the necklace down and pull out a heart-shaped object. Covering the wood is a bunch of pictures of Noah, Maddie, Hunter and Caleb and me all put into a collage. I smile as I look at the picture of us at ComicCon together. "Thank you, guys, for these amazing gifts," I say, holding the pictures close to me.
"Happy Birthday, Mills. We love you," Noah, Maddie, Hunter and Caleb say, smiling at me.
"I love you guys, too."
We spend the rest of the night talking and enjoying each other's company. This is where I belong, with the people I can call my family. I want to freeze this moment, right here and right now because it is perfect. Us laughing at Hunters terrible jokes, making each other laugh, telling stories and reminiscing about old memories. This is perfect right here. But unfortunately, my life will not be perfect from now on. It's going to be chaotic, things are going to get messy, and everything is going to go to hell.  People's hearts are going to break, leaving them heartbroken for years. Leaving them to regret their decision for life.