Chapter 3

"Because I asked you to apologize? You think that's humiliating?"

That wasn't it.

My pride had been stepped on plenty of times already.

When we were little, Chloe used to shove worms in my face to scare me, and I would sob while Lucas called me a crybaby.

In school, I won a writing award, and Lucas told the whole class Chloe had let me have it.

Whenever I got angry, Lucas would laugh it off. "Hannah, we're only playing."

But I didn't want to be the one they played with anymore.

Everything went quiet.

Lucas set his jaw. "I'll assume you're not awake yet and you're in a mood.

"We'll talk when you've calmed down."

Then he walked out.

For the next few days, neither of us said anything.

I used the time to put my study abroad paperwork together.

On my last birthday before I left, I looked at the dead group chat with Lucas and Chloe and set my phone down.

What I hadn't expected was that they would come to me.

"Hannah, we came to celebrate your birthday. Aren't you going to let us in?" Chloe said, careful with every word.

She had never missed a birthday of mine, so I gave in.

I stepped aside and let them into the private room.

My dad stood up smiling. "You kids enjoy yourselves. We'll get out of the way."

My mom took Chloe's hand and patted it. "Chloe, would you and your boyfriend walk Hannah home later? I worry about her at night."

The room went quiet.

Lucas opened his mouth and closed it again.

Chloe looked like she wanted to speak and swallowed it.

I ignored them.

I opened the cake I had made myself.

I stuck the candles in.

I made my wish.

And a second later, Lucas and Chloe shoved my face into the cake.

Frosting sealed my eyes shut, and the hair I had spent an hour on was full of jam.

I stood there with nowhere to put myself and yelled, "Lucas!"

But Lucas raised his eyebrows and turned to Chloe, delighted.

"I win. Hannah came at me first."

Chloe pushed her lip out, put out about it.

"That's because you were standing closer. Don't get smug."

My fingers closed at my sides without my telling them to.

They had made a bet out of me.

When they were done laughing, they set a gift down in front of me together.

"Surprise! Lucas and I went to four different stores to pick this dress out for you. Go try it on."

Chloe opened the box and held the dress up.

Lucas nodded along with a smile.

"Change in the bathroom, it's faster. Chloe has an interview to get to.

"Once we get the photos, I'll take you out for a while."

I kept wiping frosting off my face with a napkin and let out a cold laugh.

"Photos? The kind where I get cropped out?"

Chloe went white and hurried to explain.

She said, "Hannah, it wasn't that I didn't want you in it. You were soaked, and it didn't come out well. I left it out because I thought you would hate it.

"If something bothers you, say it instead of sitting on it. I came here today to cheer you up."

I pointed at the state of myself. "Do I look cheered up?"

"Hannah, Chloe meant well," Lucas said.

He frowned and put himself in front of her.

"The three of us have known each other forever, and you can take a joke. Why are you making this hard on everyone today?