I tried to keep myself together. Jenna and Carter deserved to have an amazing party with no sadness from their older sister.
Jenna was right when she said it was selfish for Colby and I to fight. Even though we didn't fight, our problems weren't theirs and it shouldn't ruin their birthday.
"Julia, can we have the pizza?" Carter asked as he and a couple of his friends came into the kitchen. "Yeah, sorry." I said then pulled them out of the oven.
"You guys can go out to the living room, I'll bring it out in a minute." I said with a smile. "Okay." Carter said then turned to leave. I watched as he stopped though, turning to his friends.
"I have to talk to my sister for a second, I'll meet you out there." Carter said as his friends nodded and left.
"You okay?" I asked and looked at him. "I'm worried about you." He said causing me to smile.
"Hey, don't worry about me. Are you having fun?" I asked and set aside some pizza for Juniper and I.
"Yeah, thanks for letting us have a party. I know it's a lot to take on." He said as I nodded.
"I'm very grateful we have the space to give you and Jenna a birthday party. I know fun stuff like that was lacking when you were little." I said as he sighed and came over to give me a hug.
"You did the best you could with the situation. My childhood wasn't as bad as you think it was." He said as I sighed and hugged him. "That warms my heart." I said quietly.
"What's going on in here?" Jenna asked as I looked up at her. "Just telling Jule how grateful I am for her." Carter said as Jenna nodded.
"Yeah, she's the best." She said quietly. "I would be better if I fed you and all of your friends, huh?" I asked then pulled away from Carter so I could grab the pizza boxes.
"Let's go." I said then walked out to the living room where dozens of teenagers were. "Thanks uh...what do we call you?" One of Jenna's friends said causing me to laugh.
"You can call me Bri." I said with a smile and set the pizzas on the table.
"Have at it. I'm gonna check on the little one." I said then turned to go upstairs. Juniper had been napping for probably too long meaning she wouldn't sleep tonight but it was a weekend so it didn't really matter.
When I got upstairs she was still fast asleep which made this ten times harder.
"Hey, sleepy girl." I said and shook her shoulder gently. "Stop it." She grumbled causing me to laugh.
"No can do, love. I heard you wanted some cake." I said as she perked up. "Did I miss it!?" She asked as I shook my head.
"Nope, I just served the pizza. I saved us some slices, but we can eat them until you wake up." I said as she giggled.
"I'm up!" She said then bounced up and down. "Amazing, let's go party." I said and painted a smile on my face.
I knew that this happy girl was going to fade away when she realized that her best friend wasn't going to be around.
Colby and Juniper's bond was so strong that I knew she would take this the hardest but I hoped Colby would keep his promise and be back soon.
"Where's Colby?" Juniper asked as we went downstairs. "Uhhh...he had to go on a little trip." I said as she scrunched her brow.
"Without us?" She asked as I nodded. "Yeah, just for a little while." I said as she frowned.
"I don't want any pizza anymore." She pouted. "Hey, just because he's not here doesn't mean we can't have fun." I said then lifted her up onto my hip and walked towards the kitchen.
