Chapter 125

• Serena
• The rain had stopped falling about an hour ago, but the air was heavy with wet earth and ozone. Tiptoeing, I grabbed the window and closed the shutters. Droplets clung to the window, glistening like silver tears, but the smell of vanilla was more interesting than gazing at nature’s perfect view of pitch-dark starless skies.
• Alone and busy, I stood in the kitchen after what seemed like long-stretched minutes of deciding whether or not to bake Jay’s cake. It was his big 17th, and I wanted to make something special for him, something he’d really enjoy. And since I enjoyed baking, and he preferred eating, a cake was going to have to do. It was either that or a 75-inch Ultra flat screen and an Xbox.