A lonely birthday.

It was Saturday, and Alice was alone in her small apartment. Sitting at the dining room table, she stared at the birthday cake she'd bought herself. Like every year, she was alone on her special day.

"I don't know why I bought it..."

She muttered under her breath, looking at the nineteen candles that marked her nineteenth birthday. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Confused, she looked toward the entrance and stood up.

"It's strange, no one was supposed to come,"

she thought.

She walked to the door and opened it. To her misfortune, she saw Gus, her abuser. For the past two years, she had been tormenting Gus, sometimes forcing him to give him money or do her homework for her. She looked at him and shuddered as she remembered that he had come to give her his work.

"Oh, uh, sorry,"

She said nervously, stepping aside to let him inside.

"I forgot that you were supposed to give me the assignment today."

The cake still stood untouched on the table.