PJ giggled as he held his hands behind his back.

"HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY!" Gavin and PJ exclaimed.

Chloe managed a weak smile, still exhausted from getting no sleep last night.

PJ handed her a tiny gift-wrapped box from behind his back, giddy to find out what her response was going to be.

"Open it! Open it! Open it!" PJ nudged her multiple times.

"Okay! Okay!" Chloe let out a light chuckle.

She just wanted to forget about last night's nightmare and be happy on her 10th birthday. She was finally double digits. She should be happy!

Chloe set the gift box on the kitchen counter and tore the wrapping paper. She opened the small box to reveal a pink bracelet with a white diamond crystal at the center. Chloe smiled and thanked her brothers for the gift.

At that moment Gavin raised his eyebrows.

"Umm..." he said, awkwardly staring at Chloe.

"What?" she tilted her head in confusion. Her head began pounding and thumping. Something wasn't right.

Gavin pointed to his nose and then to hers.

Chloe looked down and noticed a pool of blood on her birthday wrapping paper.

"PJ go get some tissues," Gavin ordered.

Chloe held her nose as more and more blood began to drip down her face and off her chin.

"Did you scratch your nose?" Gavin asked.

Chloe shook her head, keeping her hands held on her nose.

"Did blood get on the gift?" PJ asked as he gave Chloe a handful of tissues.

Gavin picked up the bracelet and noticed a couple of drops on the white crystal. "It's only a little, we can get you another one if you want."

Chloe shook her head, "I like it. It's fine," she snatched the bracelet and began to head upstairs to her room.

***

That night Chloe stood at her bathroom sink, holding her toothbrush close to the toothpaste. She squeezed some paste delicately, making sure that the bristles were covered perfectly. As she held the toothbrush to her mouth, her eyes began to itch. She squinted multiple times while brushing back and forth, up and down. She used her wrist to itch her eyes while finishing up brushing her teeth.

After rinsing her mouth with water, she peered in the mirror. To her surprise, her eyes were bleeding.

Blood drops caressed down her cheeks as she fumbled for the faucet to wash her face.

The water splashed away the blood, but the copper smell was still there. The crimson red blood image of her bleeding eyes haunted her thoughts.

She couldn't tell if the random bloody nose and bloody eyes were her fault, but she sure didn't know what started them.

***