I Was Trapped In An Elevator On My Birthday, But No One Cared Chapter 01

I Was Trapped In An Elevator On My Birthday, But No One Cared Chapter 01

My friend Serena Smith and I have the same birthday.

Our parents were close, so we always celebrated together.

Serena was pretty and smart. Every single time, all the attention went to her, and I’d be left standing alone in some corner.

I finally worked up the nerve to say I didn’t want to share my birthday with her anymore.

My parents blamed me for it. “Serena gets straight A’s. Maybe if you hung around her, some of it would actually rub off on you.”

“And she’s so polite. Always ‘Good morning, Mrs. Miller,’ and ‘How are you, Mr. Miller?’ But you? You stand there like a brick wall. Who’s ever going to like you?”

That year, I scraped together the courage to bring my boyfriend Julian Johnson home for my birthday.

I went downstairs to grab a lighter and got trapped in the elevator by accident.

The emergency call button was dead. My phone had one percent battery left.

I called Julian five times. No answer.

An hour later, I was finally rescued.

When I got back, my parents were huddled around Serena. Julian was snapping photos of her too.

Somebody spoke up. “Julian, Mira called you. Might’ve been important.”

Julian just frowned. “Jeez. Can’t we get through one birthday without the drama?”

“Serena, lift your chin just a touch. Yeah, right there. Stunning.”

I stood in the doorway with my hair glued to my face with cold sweat and my hands still shaking.

If, in their eyes, I could never measure up to the stunning, flawless Serena, then I was done with all of them.

***

Serena stood under the string lights in a champagne-colored cocktail dress.

She had on light makeup, and her hair was curled beautifully.

My dad couldn’t help himself. “Serena just gets prettier every day. Like a movie star.”

My mom chimed right in. “Right? Way better-looking than ours.”

“Mira was so cute as a kid, like a little doll. Who knew she’d turn out this plain?”

“Didn’t get a single decent gene from us.”

“I wish Serena were my daughter.”

Over the years, I’d heard this kind of talk so many times.

I wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t polished. Toss me into a crowd and I’d vanish in a blink.

Even after living through it a thousand times, the ache in my chest still hit hard.

I fought back the tears and walked further inside.

Someone finally noticed me. “Mira’s back?”

Julian turned and immediately started in on me. “It was just a lighter. What took you so long?”

“Everyone was waiting.”

“You’re so careless with everything you do.”

I looked at him and forced my voice steady. “Julian, I was trapped in the elevator. For a whole hour.”

He froze and instinctively asked, “Why didn’t you call me?”

I let out a laugh. “I didn’t call? I called you five times. Until my phone died.”

I pulled out my dead phone, showed it to him, and tossed it onto the couch. You were too busy playing photographer for Serena to care.”

A flicker of panic crossed Julian’s face. “My phone was on silent. I didn’t notice.”

I gave him a bitter, twisted smile.

He walked toward me and softened his voice. “Okay, don’t be mad.”

“It’s Serena’s birthday. I know a little about photography, so I was just taking a few shots for her.”

Serena came over too, her eyes already red.

“Mira, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I had no idea you were calling Julian.”

“Please don’t be angry at him. He was just being nice to me.”

“I know you want photos too. I can tell you tried with your makeup today, even if it looks a little… off.”

“But it’s fine. After the pictures, I can edit them for you.”

“Then we’ll cut the cake together.”

My gaze slid past her and landed on the cake on the table.

It was a gorgeous cake.

A soft pastel green that Serena loved, shaped like a butterfly.

Covered in the pearl chocolates she adored.

No doubt the filling was mango, her favorite. Even though I couldn’t eat mango.

Even though today was my birthday too. But nobody remembered.

“Come on, Mira.”

Julian reached for my hand. “It’s your birthday. Don’t make the mood all weird—”

I stepped back and dodged his touch.

He scowled instantly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything.”

I meant him. And I meant this birthday.

I set the lighter on the table, grabbed my dead phone, and turned to leave.

Julian chased after me. “Mira!”

“Why are you mad again? Just because I didn’t come rescue you from an elevator?”

I didn’t say a word.

He looked irritated. “Even if I’d picked up the phone, all I could’ve done was call someone else to get you out.”

“How can you be this upset over something so tiny?”

“Can we just get through this? Serena’s waiting to cut the cake.”

Serena, Serena. Now that was all that ever came out of his mouth.

I didn’t want to speak another word to him. I turned and stormed off.