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I sputtered as he tugged me toward one of the patio tables around the obnoxiously large pool. The umbrella in the middle of the table had been opened up wide to keep the entire table safe from the sun. The table had been covered with a light purple tablecloth, and all of the presents on top of it were wrapped in a pretty mess of black and yellow wrapping paper. They were topped with silver and white bows in different sizes.
The cake sitting atop a white circular cake stand looked spectacular, and yeah, maybe there were too many sprinkles on it, but I couldn’t help but love it. Too bad it was going to destroy my insides to eat any part of it. Maybe I could fake it by smooshing it up and pushing it around a lot on my plate. A stack of paper plates with princesses on them sat beside the cake stand, and it made me wonder just exactly how old these guys thought I was.
Beside the cake in a clear fat vase was a huge bouquet of vibrant yellow roses. They were beautiful and in my favorite color. The Council had once had a dinner party in my honor, and they’d prettied up the table with yellow roses, and I’d thought then it’d been quite the waste. Now, I simply thought they were stunning and couldn’t wait to see them on my nightstand for as long as it took for them to wilt and lose their beauty. Even then I’d keep the petals and place them between the pages in a book, even if they were just crunchy bits. One day I might be able to use them for something.
Rain guided me to a chair and urged me to sit down. I sat down and looked around, not surprised to find all of them had followed and were circled around the table.
Damien dropped something lightweight across my shoulders and kissed my cheek briefly. “It’s a wrap. Slide your arms through the holes and you can pull it closed in the front if you’re uncomfortable.”
I thanked him quietly as I did as he instructed and slipped my arms through the holes. It was short sleeved with incredibly wide sleeves. White, but see-through, and so lightweight I barely felt it against my skin, but what I did feel was incredibly soft. It was long enough that if I stood it would come down to mid-thigh. The front was completely open with no buttons or a zipper. Since I felt a whole lot less exposed with it on, I didn’t bother to pull the front closed tightly.
I should never doubt Damien when it came to my clothes. He always had my back. Obviously, food was an entirely different story.
“Here,” Rain said as he laid a gift down on my lap. “Open one of mine first.”
He’d done things differently than everyone else, and the gift had been wrapped up in delicate silver paper covered in white sparkles. Before I could tear at the paper, he placed another identical one down on top of the first one.
I cleared my throat. “Which one would you like me to open first?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Okay then. I picked up the one on the top and placed it on my knee. Picking up the original one, I flipped it over and used my fingernail to tear at where the tape covered the paper. I tore it open even though I hated to destroy such pretty paper. I peeled the paper back, ripping it and tossing it to the ground beside my chair.
An old, leather-bound book was uncovered. There were no words on the front. I flipped it over and checked out the spine. There were no words there either.
“Open the other one.”
I looked up at Rain, confused. “But I haven’t—”
“Just open it.”
I set the book down in my lap and picked up the gift on my knee. I tore into it the same way I had the first one. An identical book appeared beneath the paper. I looked up at Rain seated beside me. “I don’t understand.”
His eyes, the same color as mine, took on an emptiness I hadn’t seen in a good long while. I absolutely loathed seeing the lack of emotion in his eyes, it crushed my soul.
“These are journals that belonged to your mother. They were part diary and part spell book. She started writing in the first one when she was thirteen, I believe, and her last entry is from the day before she died. I figure since you don’t remember her this is the best way for you to get to know her. I’ll warn you though, my beautiful daughter, after you were taken from us, those entries get darker and darker. They also get more difficult to read, and I want you to know that before you even try. However, despite that, they rightfully belong with you.”
Damn the man.
Rain gave the best gifts ever too.
“Dad,” I croaked as tears finally spilled from my eyes and raced down my cheeks. “I... I...” I clutched the books to my chest and held them tightly. I wanted to tell him I couldn’t keep these and take them away from him, but that was a lie, I was far too selfish for that. Since finding out Vivian wasn’t my real mother, I’d been aching to know the woman who’d given birth to me. Rain had just given me the best and only way for me to do that.
I swiped the wetness away from my cheeks with the back of my hand. Thankfully I hadn’t put on intense makeup today because I’d look like a fool if I had.
“Thank you, Dad.” I almost told him I loved him, which I rarely did, but I figured I’d wait until it was just the two of us so neither of us would get embarrassed by the people around us gawking like we were a side show in the circus. Neither one of us enjoyed sharing this much emotion in front of other people. We very much preferred to be vulnerable in private.
Not that this wasn’t a safe environment for the two of us, because it absolutely was. We were amongst family here, and that was supposed to be the safest place for you. Still, emotions were dumb that way.
“I’m not done yet, but you don’t need to thank me for things that should rightfully be yours.”
Oh no, there was more? I didn’t know if I could handle or even wanted more gifts from Rain right now. Not if they had any type of sentimental value in the slightest and were going to make me cry again.
He handed me one more silver wrapped gift, and by the shape of it, I already knew it was a picture in a heavy picture frame. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I peeled away the paper, and I wasn’t surprised to see the back of an expensive looking frame.
I flipped it over and the breath inside my lungs escaped me in a rush.
This gift giving shit with Rain was so not fair.
