CHAPTER 3 : MY WISH WAS HIM

I got up and went straight to my room.

I didn't even say goodbye to anyone at the party. I just walked fast, almost running, because if I stayed one more second near that alley, I felt like I would cry.

My legs were shaking. My heart was beating so loud.

I locked my door and took off my party dress. I didn't fold it, I just threw it on the floor. I laid on my bed in my shorts and small tank top, staring at the ceiling.

But I could still feel him.

I could still feel where his hands held my waist in the alley. So tight. So warm. Then how he suddenly let go like he touched fire. That weird part one minute he was pulling me close, whispering my name, and the next minute he stepped back like he remembered who I was. Like he remembered who my dad was.

Sorry. I shouldn't have," he had said, and walked away without looking back.

That was the weirdest part. He wanted me, I could feel it, but he acted like he hated himself for wanting me.

And his cologne was still on my neck. That strong, expensive smell that makes you think of a grown man, not a boy.

I hugged my pillow and turned to my side.

knock knock.

"Mila? Baby? Are you okay?"

Dad ,I jumped up so fast. I wiped my face, fixed my hair, and opened the door.

Dad was there holding my small special cake. The one he bakes only for me, only on my birthday. One candle was lit and the frosting was already melting a little.

"My baby, you forgot your wishing cake,he said with a soft smile. You disapeared. What kind of birthday girl forgets her own wishing cake? Come, make a wish."

He came in and put the cake on my reading table.

I sat down in front of it. My hands were still shaking.

"Blow it before the light goes off," Dad said. "What do you wish for?

I looked at the flame. It was dancing, small and yellow.

I should wish for him to forget the alley. I should wish for things to go back to normal. I should wish to stop thinking about my dad's best friend like that.

But I couldn't lie to the candle.

The first and only thing my mind thought about was Andrel. His eyes when he looked at me. His hands. His voice when he said my name like it hurt him.

I closed my eyes and made the stupidest, most honest wish of my life.

I wish he would be mine

I blew the candle. The smoke went straight up.

Dad clapped and kissed my forehead. "Happy birthday, my princess. My big girl."

He got a call from Mom downstairs. "Yes, yes I'm coming!" He looked at me. "I have to go help your mom. Eat your cake, okay? Don't stay locked up here all night."

He left and closed the door.

Silence again.

I looked at the cake but I didn't want to eat it. My wish felt childish. Wishes don't come true.

Then I heard it, Footsteps in the hallway. Slow and Heavy. Not my Dad's footsteps. Dad walks fast.

I knew those footsteps.My heart stopped.

The footsteps stopped right in front of my door.He didn't knock. He didn't call my name.

His shadow was under my door. I could see his shoes.

He was standing there. For five seconds. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Just standing there.

I sat up on my bed, holding my breath, waiting for him to open the door. To say something. To apologize. To finish what he started in the alley just say anything

But he didn't.

He let out a small breath I could hear through the door, and then he walked away. Just like in the alley .weird, awkward, leaving me confused.

I ran to my door and opened it just a little.

I saw his back at the end of the hallway. had his hands in his pockets. He was walking away from my room. He never turned around.

And I stood there, with my birthday cake behind me and the taste of his cologne still in the air, feeling more alone than before I made the wish.