“Guys, wh-”
“Quiet!” someone says. “It's starting!”
The lights dim further and some doors open. It’s dark, but I know those wide-set shoulders anywhere. Erik.
I can’t see the next figure who walks out because Erik is blocking them.
Then I hear it.
A soft hum at first.
A breath.
Then a note.
'Happy birthday to you…'
My stomach drops.
No.
No. No. No.
I know that voice. I’ve replayed it a thousand times in my head. In the car…on the ice…in the goddamn shower. It’s a voice that’s been in every single dream since I first heard it.
Laura.
“Where is she?” I demand, jerking against the cuffs, but no one answers.
No one even looks at me.
They’re all focused on her, wherever the hell she is.
I try to stand again, my every muscle straining, but I can’t move.
I can’t fucking move.
'Happy birthday to you…'
“Laura.”
Her name falls out of me, weak and useless, because the second I see her, I lose my breath. She's dressed as Princess Blanca—everyone knows it's her—but she can't know she's doing this for me. There's no way she'd agree to it.
'Happy birthday to Junior…”
Fuck.
She's making her way to me now; her eyes focused on not dropping the cake instead of looking at me.
'Happy birthday to you…'
She holds the cake in front of me, and then she lifts her head.
The candles flicker, illuminating my face, and her eyes lock with mine.
I see everything.
The exact second her performance turns into a nightmare.
