♤DEALS♤

Chapter 31 - My birthday

We all have demons inside who wait for the perfect moment to come out.

-THEO

Caleb Parks' POV

Twenty-five years ago, I was born.

Twenty-five years ago, I was abandoned in an orphanage home with no last name.

Twelve years ago, I was adopted and taught the real meaning of family.

Eight years ago, I got the chance to be a big brother to Abigail.

Seven years ago, I watched the people who gave me their last name, who took me in, who showed me what it's like to be in a place where you are loved, die right in front of me on my graduation day.

On my birthday.

I was never supposed to be happy.

The world has done nothing but constantly remind me that there is no happy ending in my future.

But I hate to admit that the world did pity me. It was by chance that Marcel found me that day. By choice, he took me in and offered me a deal that led me up to where I am now.

Pity.

An emotion that I've come to hate with every fibre in my body. It is the only thing people offer me when they hear my back story.

That America's favourite pop musician was indeed abandoned at birth, got bullied and almost killed many times. He had to watch the people who adopted him die before his eyes.

It's a good thing to be me.

At least I forget; I'm also selfish. I want someone to know me and not pity me but see me as a person. A guy who wants the happiness he sees in the families around him.

But that's just too good to be true. If I have learned one thing as a musician, it's that when you let strangers into your life, they break you down. Piece by piece, they come closer to seeing what makes you, you. And when they do, they leave you to continue living your life as if the two of you never met.

And the ones who dare to stay still have, that look at the deepest depths of their eyes when they look at you.

Since I can remember, my birthday is always spent with me locked away in my room. The people I call family come to check up on me every hour to ensure; that I am still breathing.

Not that I blame them, there was that one year that I almost slit my wrists. Gail walked in at that moment, demanding I sing her a song.

Gail has been the only reason I keep going. I have come to accept that I can never have a family of my own, so I can at least enjoy the one I have now.

I don't know how long I've been here. Since the crack of dawn, I have been crying my eyes out. No one has come to check up on me yet and I think it's for the best. No need to hold a party in a room that reeks of sadness.

Memories of my stay in the orphanage home and that of my adoptive parents flee into my mind. Forcing sobs out of my mouth that rocks me to my core.

I hear the door open and don't bother to look up.

Before I knew it, the pillow I was crying into was removed from under my head. I glared at the person and felt the breath leave my lungs as I saw Peyton standing there. She looked at me with a mixture of emotions, pity being the dominant one.

I felt my heart clench as waves of sadness washed over me. I was falling for the girl before me. It sucked even more because I knew I could never be with her the way I wanted to be. And it just broke me apart even more.