by up the stairs.
Young Soo started to cry. Yu Li was there in an instant to dab away his frustrated tears. She drew him close. In the dim light, I could see rivers of wrinkles sagging beneath her weary eyes. I hesitantly reached out a hand, and her guard snapped back up in an instant.
“Don’t look at us,” she spat, dragging Young Soo back like a lioness protecting her cub. “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be celebrating? You got what you wanted, didn’t you? Why I saved your life from the vampyres, I don’t know.”
“Yu Li, I didn’t want this—”
The slamming door nearly chopped my nose off.
Chapter 14: The Birthday Dinner
The clock struck midnight. My new, eighteen-year-old self, sat staring at Raina’s side of the bed, as if she would magically appear. Raina, who’d mischievously put trick candles on my chocolate-frosted cakes three years in a row. And the birthday presents she’d prepare—duct-taped boxes wrapped within smaller duct-taped boxes, until I was practically slavering at the mouth to uncover my present: the stuffed animal Chihuahua from Taco Bell.
I remembered getting so mad at her the last year she’d pulled that stunt, because the prettiest boy in class had shown up to my party. I’d felt like such an idiot in front of him, struggling through bandages of duct tape for half an hour, that I’d yelled at her afterwards. She’d stopped smiling then. I hadn’t cared; it had been supposed to be my day.
She still hadn’t appeared, and I realized Una would probably be creeped out to wake up and find me staring at her. So I turned over and dreamed about tearing through hundreds of duct-taped boxes.
“I’m heading out to the restaurant,” Mami said the next day, pausing to plant a kiss on my forehead.
“The restaurant?” I tossed my magazine aside to look at her. “Will you be back by seven?”
“What’s at seven?”
“My family birthday dinner.” I felt my cheeks reddening. I’d thought she hadn’t mentioned it until now because she was going to surprise me. I’d been looking forward to it. What with the pack still bickering about Maya’s mysterious invitation, I needed something to take my mind off things.
I didn’t want to worry about what they’d do when they found out I’d already accepted.
“Is it that late in December already?” she exclaimed with false shock. “Jesus, I’m sorry, mija . Why don’t you make it during the week? You know how busy I am on the weekend. I have a head chef who’s retiring, and Lord knows how I’m going to find another Mexican in Korea who can make corn tamales.”
“I am having something next week, but just my friends are coming to that,” I lied. Of course I still kept in touch with some of my classmates from school…but after switching to Jaehoon’s homeschool…and fretting about Raina for months… Okay, yeah, I had no friends.
Mami clapped her hands. “Why don’t you have your birthday dinner at the restaurant?”
“Why the hell would I want to have my eighteenth birthday in a place where I live, breathe, and sweat enchiladas?” I snapped and huffed from the room. Yep, still hadn’t matured.
Daniella called from America to wish me a happy birthday. She was taking her winter vacation back at home to visit Papi. Or rather, to nurse him back to health. It wasn’t just the alcohol that was killing him. It was the guilt. The longer Raina stayed missing, the further Papi pulled back from the world of the living, as if to punish himself.
Neither of us really knew what to say to each other, so Daniella chatted on about how well Hosuk and Papi were getting along. Fuckin’ pair of saints. But they were good people. They deserved it.
“Now, I know you’ll probably be out drinking, but don’t do anything crazy,” she lectured, switching back into teacher mode. “If I come back and find another finger missing, I’ll take over your homeschooling.”
I managed a smile. “That’d be nice. I’d
Young Soo started to cry. Yu Li was there in an instant to dab away his frustrated tears. She drew him close. In the dim light, I could see rivers of wrinkles sagging beneath her weary eyes. I hesitantly reached out a hand, and her guard snapped back up in an instant.
“Don’t look at us,” she spat, dragging Young Soo back like a lioness protecting her cub. “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be celebrating? You got what you wanted, didn’t you? Why I saved your life from the vampyres, I don’t know.”
“Yu Li, I didn’t want this—”
The slamming door nearly chopped my nose off.
Chapter 14: The Birthday Dinner
The clock struck midnight. My new, eighteen-year-old self, sat staring at Raina’s side of the bed, as if she would magically appear. Raina, who’d mischievously put trick candles on my chocolate-frosted cakes three years in a row. And the birthday presents she’d prepare—duct-taped boxes wrapped within smaller duct-taped boxes, until I was practically slavering at the mouth to uncover my present: the stuffed animal Chihuahua from Taco Bell.
I remembered getting so mad at her the last year she’d pulled that stunt, because the prettiest boy in class had shown up to my party. I’d felt like such an idiot in front of him, struggling through bandages of duct tape for half an hour, that I’d yelled at her afterwards. She’d stopped smiling then. I hadn’t cared; it had been supposed to be my day.
She still hadn’t appeared, and I realized Una would probably be creeped out to wake up and find me staring at her. So I turned over and dreamed about tearing through hundreds of duct-taped boxes.
“I’m heading out to the restaurant,” Mami said the next day, pausing to plant a kiss on my forehead.
“The restaurant?” I tossed my magazine aside to look at her. “Will you be back by seven?”
“What’s at seven?”
“My family birthday dinner.” I felt my cheeks reddening. I’d thought she hadn’t mentioned it until now because she was going to surprise me. I’d been looking forward to it. What with the pack still bickering about Maya’s mysterious invitation, I needed something to take my mind off things.
I didn’t want to worry about what they’d do when they found out I’d already accepted.
“Is it that late in December already?” she exclaimed with false shock. “Jesus, I’m sorry, mija . Why don’t you make it during the week? You know how busy I am on the weekend. I have a head chef who’s retiring, and Lord knows how I’m going to find another Mexican in Korea who can make corn tamales.”
“I am having something next week, but just my friends are coming to that,” I lied. Of course I still kept in touch with some of my classmates from school…but after switching to Jaehoon’s homeschool…and fretting about Raina for months… Okay, yeah, I had no friends.
Mami clapped her hands. “Why don’t you have your birthday dinner at the restaurant?”
“Why the hell would I want to have my eighteenth birthday in a place where I live, breathe, and sweat enchiladas?” I snapped and huffed from the room. Yep, still hadn’t matured.
Daniella called from America to wish me a happy birthday. She was taking her winter vacation back at home to visit Papi. Or rather, to nurse him back to health. It wasn’t just the alcohol that was killing him. It was the guilt. The longer Raina stayed missing, the further Papi pulled back from the world of the living, as if to punish himself.
Neither of us really knew what to say to each other, so Daniella chatted on about how well Hosuk and Papi were getting along. Fuckin’ pair of saints. But they were good people. They deserved it.
“Now, I know you’ll probably be out drinking, but don’t do anything crazy,” she lectured, switching back into teacher mode. “If I come back and find another finger missing, I’ll take over your homeschooling.”
I managed a smile. “That’d be nice. I’d
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