Absconding ✔️

19. Carrot Cake

Jasmine Knight

"Happy Birthday!" I cheerfully exclaimed.

"Woah! You know?" He said with surprise abundantly evident in his voice and on his face.

"Of course." I said as I entered his room and he followed suit. I walked towards the couch and placed the cake on the coffee table.

"Come on, come here." He nodded and closed the door before walking towards me.

"It's your favourite cake." I said as he took a place next to me.

"It's a carrot cake?" He asked in astonishment.

"Why, of course." I said with a smile.

"Come on now. Let's cut the cake." I said as I fished out the candles from my pocket and placed them on the cake. I don't know his age so I just placed two candles for simplicity and pulled the knife out of my pocket.

"Please don't kill me. I wanna at least eat my cake before I die." Arden said as he saw the knife.

"Is that your last wish?" I asked in a pretend gruff voice.

"Yes sir, it is." He pleaded in a frightened voice.

"Okay then. Now cut the cake!" I commanded as I handed him the knife.

"As you say, sir." He said and took the knife from my hand. I chuckled at our silly make-belief.

"First make a wish and then blow the candle." I said.

"That's bullshit." Arden said.

"No, it's not." I said with squinted eyes.

"Squint those eyes as much as you want, I don't believe in it." Arden said.

"But I do. I always get whatever I wish for my birthday." I reasoned.

"Yeah? And what do you wish for?" He asked.

"Firstly, we're not suppose to tell and secondly, I wish for success." I said.

"Is this your idea of success?" Arden sarcastically asked.

"Excuse you, I also wish for safety. And before you ask or say anything, I do feel safe here!" I shouted the last sentence and Arden shut his mouth with a small smile on the corner of his lips.

"As you say, Trouble." He said. I lit the candles on the cake.

"Now do as you're told." I ordered.

"Stop ordering me. It's my birthday." He said in a baby voice and a chuckle left my mouth.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Arden. Happy birthday to you." I sang the standard birthday song as Arden blew on his candles and cut the cake. He took the piece of cake and fed me some.

It's not as bad as I thought it'd be.

I took some piece and fed him it too.

"Where did you get the cake? It lacks sugar, it's not too soft and the icing is uneven too. It's..." I cut him mid sentence.

I slapped his chest, hard.

"Fuck you. I made it myself." I said with anger coursing through me. He didn't even acknowledge all my hard work. He just sat there and passed his judgment on the cake while I wasted bloody 2 hours giving the dessert the best I've got. I tried really hard to make a decent cake and if it didn't turn out good, the last thing he can do is not pinpoint my mistakes.

Tears filled my eyes as flashes of my childhood ran through my mind.

When he saw how my eyes were glistening with unshed tears, he engulfed me into a hug. He kept my head on his chest and stroked my hair in order to calm me down.

"Shh. Stop crying, Jas, please." He whispered in a hush voice, all the whole keeping me close to himself.

"I'm sorry. It happened again. I ruined your birthday cake." I confessed in a small voice.

"Hey, Jasmine, do you know why I asked that question?" He asked and I separated myself from him.

"Why?" I questioned as curiosity filled me.

"My mom used to make the exact same cake. She couldn't cook too, just like you. Every year she used to make me a carrot cake when she clearly knew how it turned out to be but somehow I always loved it." He said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. The cake you made today, Jasmine, you made the exact same mistakes my mom used to make. You made me feel as if she's here with me today. I lost her 4 years ago to a heart attack." He said and this time, I hugged him.

"I'm sorry." I said as I stroked his hairs.

"Don't be. You have no idea how good it felt to eat this cake after such a long time." He said and I felt him press a kiss on my head.

"What did you meant by 'it happened again'?" He asked.

"When River, my brother was 15, I was 14 at the time. Mom had bought his favourite cake from the store and kept it in the fridge. Ava and I were playing a few hours before the party and we accidentally ruined the cake. I baked him a new one but it was very hard and the flavour got mixed. Luckily it was just family there but River got really angry and was very sad. I ruined his party and his birthday. He didn't even have dinner that night. Since then, I've never baked or cooked anything until tonight. I'm sorry I got so hurt by your comment without knowing your reason." I said and Arden smiled at me.

"I loved the cake." He said and cut another piece of the cake before feeding it to himself and me.

QOTD: When's your birthday?