On the Run [a.i. au]

27. Eighteen

Thalia's POV - June 2015

The scent of chocolate fills my nostrils as I watch my mother pull a cake out of the oven. The top is the perfect shade of chocolate brown, increasing my hunger rapidly.

"Thalia," my mother says to me as she whisks the peanut butter icing. "Don't you dare touch that cake, or I'll cut your fingers off. I don't care if it's your birthday."

I can't help but smile at the fact that the day I've awaited my entire life is finally here: my eighteenth birthday. Today is finally the day I can do so many things I wasn't able to do (legally) before now. I'm finally a woman.

I should be happy that I lived to see this day. I should be excited that I can still go to school and pursue and education despite all the months I missed when I ran away. I should be excited that my life has come to this moment, but why do I still feel as if something isn't right?

I hear pairs of footsteps on the stairs behind me, signaling that the rest of my family has smelled my birthday cake. My first instinct is to race to the cake and guard it, and that's exactly what I do. Though my relationship with food has always been this way, I've noticed that I'm very protective of myself and of my possessions now.

Macie is the first one to enter the kitchen, her blonde hair braided over her left shoulder. As I look at her, it becomes clear to me how much she looks like our mother, even at such a young age.

"Happy birthday, Thalia," she says to me with a smile as she presses a kiss to my cheek. My hand impulsively wipes my cheek as I see her dip her finger into the icing.

"You're truly evil, Macie," I chide as she licks her finger, the mischievous smile on her face reminding me of Michael Clifford's for a reason I can't place.

My heart sinks as I remember why this day has a gloom over it. Today is the day Luke and I have to meet with our lawyer to solidify our testimonies for the trial, which is in five days.

Yet again, I will have to relive everything I've been through since Michael's death. Since I've been home this time, it's consumed my thoughts. Speaking of it won't make it any easier.

For the past month and a half I have waken up with tears running down my face, the image of Michael's cold, lifeless body burning into my brain. His untimely and unnecessary death has haunted me for so long, and now I'm starting to wonder if it will ever go away.

"Thalia?" asks a voice, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I blink rapidly, my little brother's dark brown hair flickering in and out of my sight. His eyebrows are scrunched, nearly level with my own. My siblings are at the age where they grow quickly, and my brother is no exception. I still can't fathom how much Michael has grown in the last eight months.

"Happy birthday, Thal," he says with a smile as he hugs me. "I'm happy you're still here for me to say that."

My heart drops in my stomach as his words process in my brain. I remember the promise I forced him to make me when I left. I made him promise to look out for our family because I couldn't do it anymore. How could I do that to him?

"I'm sorry, Mike," I mumble before I peck his forehead. "I know I've said it a million times, but the guilt that I have will never go away."

He laughs. At least, it sounds like a laugh. With a shake of his head, he replies, "You don't feel guilty because you left me here, which you shouldn't, you feel guilty about everything else and it's making you feel like everything that happened has been your fault."

I'm about to reply, but another voice cuts me off.

"Don't you dare," the voice says as its owner comes into view. Luke's hair is slightly matted against his head as he yawns, but I can tell he's been awake for hours. "So many things were out of your control, Thalia. You aren't the one who might be going to prison. Just remember that today."