"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Sarah! Happy birthday to you!" Quinn and Stacey cheer, clapping their hands together. I laugh at them, leaning forward to blow out the candles. Of course, Quinn grabs her camera, snapping a picture of me in the process. I pick the knife up off the table, ready to cut the cake.
"If you touch the bottom, you have to kiss the nearest boy!" Stacey calls.
"there are no boys here," I laugh.
"Kiss me instead," she winks.
I stick the knife into the cake, cutting it all the way to the bottom. I look up, and give Stacey a quick kiss. My sister-in-law. Well, my soon to be sister-in-law.
"Look at us!" Quinn grins. "A perfect little family!"
"You're so lame," I tease.
"Shut up! I'm just sentimental!" she defends. "Now cut me a piece of cake, will you?"
"She's the birthday girl," Stacey says. "Let me do it."
She slides the cake over to her, and cuts us each a piece. They went out and bought it for me this morning. I only just arrived here, and they had a whole dinner, with dessert, waiting for me. Even though my birthday isn't until tomorrow, we have other plans then. Every year, on our birthdays, we visit our parent's graves. But now that I'm here with them, we're also going out to celebrate Quinn and Stacey's engagement. So, tonight we're having my birthday dinner.
Our trip here didn't go exactly as planned. We left way too late. Lena was passed out on the couch with Steph, and Owen wasn't even home. He'd left the party with a guy and a girl, and hadn't been home since. Tyler managed to get in contact with him, but he took his time returning home. By the time he did, Lena was vomiting. I've never seen her so hungover, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one who pukes after drinking alcohol.
Steph eventually sobered up and drove herself home, but not before kissing Lena goodbye.
I must've missed out on a lot last night, but I barely had a chance to talk to either of the girls about it.
Once everyone had taken some pain relief, we started packing. It's only a short trip, but we still needed clothes. We ordered pizzas for lunch, and that's when the arguing started.
Surprisingly, it wasn't between Tyler and I. I wasn't even involved at all. It was Lena, Owen, and Tyler who fought.
They couldn't decide which car to take, and who'd drive. Owens truck only has two seats, so that one was out of the question, but Lena's car is small, and doesn't have air-conditioning in the back, which was a major issue for Owen. Tyler's car doesn't have air-conditioning at all, and is, what Lena called 'a can on wheels'. She has a point there, his Jeep is so old it doesn't have any seatbelts, or safety precautions at all, it seems.
Owen then suggested going with two cars. He and Tyler would go in his truck, and Lena and I would go in hers. That way, we'd have no problems with air-conditioners or safety. But Lena objected to that, claiming that it was a waste of gas, which I agreed with.
Then, they argued about who would drive. Lena had sobered up quite a bit, but Owen didn't trust her to drive. But Lena didn't want Owen to drive, because he has a history of crashing cars. So, Tyler offered to drive. He hadn't had anything to drink last night, so it seemed like a good idea. But then Owen sniffed his fingers, and accused him of smoking a joint this morning. Tyler didn't deny the claim. He just smirked, and shrugged.
In the end, it was decided that Lena would drive us in her own car, but we'd rotate through the passenger seat, so we'd all have time in the cool area. I have to admit, it did get pretty hot in the back, but I don't think it was worth stopping every half hour for.
"This cake is so good," Stacey mumbles, her mouth full of food.
"I know right?" Quinn nods. "This was a good choice."
"It's my favourite," I say, scooping up some more.
"That's why we chose it."
It's a strawberry sponge cake. I don't know why I love strawberries so much. Everything with a strawberry flavour is just delicious.
"So, I've got some bad news," Quinn says.
"Uh-oh," I give her a suspicious look.
"It's nothing to worry about, but uhm... I have to work tomorrow."
"Oh," I frown. "That's okay."
"I tried to get the day off, but I just started the job, and I-."
"It's fine!" I laugh. "You don't have to worry about it. I get it."
"I'm sorry."
"it's alright," I insist, then turn to Stacey. "Will you be there?"
"I will," she grins. "I have some clients in the morning, but I assume we won't get going until later in the afternoon, anyway."
"I think so," I laugh. I was planning on having a nice sleep in to catch up tomorrow morning."
"I was thinking we could do your hair, too?"
"Really? You have time for that?"
"Yeah, definitely! My last client is at 11:30, and it's just a cut, so if you and Lena come in around 12, I can do both of you?"
"Yes, please!" I grin. "That would be amazing."
"Sweet, I'll book you in."
"I'll let Lena know."
I love getting my hair cut. It always makes me feel like a whole new person. I think I'll add a few more highlights this time, or maybe even bleach the whole thing.
Actually, I take that back. I'm so not brave enough for that.
"Thanks so much for this, guys," I say, pushing my plate away. I'm so full. I ate way too much delicious food.
"you're more than welcome," my sister smiles. "We're so happy to have you home."
"I'm happy to be here."
It still feels like home.
"there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Quinn continues.
"Yeah?" I ask. "What's up?"
"How have you been going with your panic attacks and everything?" She asks. "I know you don't like talking about it, but I've been texting Lena about it-."
"You've been texting Lena?"
That's news to me.
"Yeah, just to see how you're holding up through everything."
"Oh."
"I hope you don't mind."
"I don't. I'm just surprised. She hasn't told me."
"Don't worry, it's only been once or twice. I texted her first."
"Okay," I nod, unsure what else to say. "Well, uhm, I've had quite a few panic attacks, but it's nothing I can't handle."
"Are you sure? No boys causing you any trouble?"
"Not really," I lie. My sister doesn't have to know about the Christian thing. "I've been going out a little bit, but I'm always with Lena or Owen."
"And hows that going? Are you and Owen getting on well?"
"Very," I nod. "I even though ti had a crush on him for a while."
"You did?" she laughs. I nod, but the crush has passed. He's just a teasing flirt, but it's nothing serious. We have fun together. "What about the other boy? What's his name again?"
"Tyler. We had some trouble getting along at first, but we're making progress."
"Good," she smiles.
"Speaking of which..." I hesitate. "Could you do me a favour?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"It actually works out pretty well that you have to work tomorrow, because well, could you do a background check on Tyler?"
She laughs. "Of course. What's his last name?"
"Thompson. Tyler Thompson, he's 21 or 22, and probably 6'4ish."
"Alright, I'll text you tomorrow with the results."
"Thank you!" I smile. I'm hoping these results will give me some answers about what he's hiding from me. Besides, he's on probation, so he's bound to be in the police system.
"What about your anger?" Stacey asks, returning to the previous subject. "Have you had any outbursts?"
"I wouldn't say outbursts, but I have been angry," I admit.
"Does it bother you?"
"No, actually, I think it's good."
"That's new," Quinn points out. I used to hate getting angry. I thought it was a feeling I should avoid, but things have changed now.
"I've only really gotten angry when the situation warrants it," I tell her. "When I need to stand up for myself, or someone does something bad, stuff like that. I mean... yeah, I might get angrier than I should, but I'm working on it."
"Oh, look at you!" Stacey gushes. "The little angel is growing up!"
"I know right?" Quinn grins. "She's blossoming into a beautiful butterfly!"
I laugh at them. They're being stupid, but I do agree with what they're saying. I may still be as shy as I used to be, but I think I'm more in control of myself now than I was before.
Maybe I really am blossoming into a beautiful butterfly.