Tattooed On You

XXXXII: Shitty Birthday

"Hey, I'm here and it will be fine," she mumbles as we wait for the door to open. She also squeezes the hand that's folded in mine, hoping to give her words of moments ago more power no doubt. "Show me those two dimples."

I lift one side of my mouth, smiling the last thing on my mind but unable to deny her entirely. I just don't wanna fucking be here. "That's all you're gonna get."

"Well, that sucks," she mutters. "I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think it will."

And right after the words leave her mouth, the front door of the house that I used to call mine opens. Of course, being the Birthday girl, it's Mercy that opens the door, and almost immediately her eyes trail to Jo and mine's locked hands. When she lifts her gaze again, I can tell she's trying not to look surprised.

She fails. Miserably.

"Hey, brother, looking good," she awkwardly greets before she turns to Jo. "And hi to you too."

Rolling my eyes as Jo lifts her hand in greeting, I step over the threshold. "And you look as if you're cold," I tell her while scanning her form. Her dress is short and her cleavage shows too much for my liking too. She's my little sister for fuck sake. "Happy Birthday."

Giving her the present I fixed -a bottle of her favorite drink- I stride past her, my intention to drag Jo along too. But she lets go of my hand before I'm able to pull her through.

"Happy Birthday, Mercy," she tells my sister, offering her hand. "He's full of shit. You look nice. He's just his annoying, rude self."

I'm surprised as fuck by her move, and I know it's visible on my face just as much as it is on Mercy's.

"Eeh, thanks, I guess," Mercy replies, and then closes the door before leaving the hallway.

When I throw a questioning look at Jo, she just shrugs as if she did nothing weird here. "I'm here to support you, but I refuse to spend the whole evening in awkward silence."

"It will be awkward anyway, sweets, whether you'd be quiet or not," I counter. It's not that I don't appreciate what she just did, it's just that I'm once again trying to warn her about what she's stepping into. My family is insane, and she's about to figure out just how much, and I fucking well hope it won't change the way she's feeling about me.

My comment earns me a firm smack across my chest, and even though my whole body is tensed, she does manage to put a smirk on my face. "Be a big boy and suck it up. Just think about how you get to take me home later tonight."

I hum, praying to fucking God that her suggestion will pull me through this evening smoothly even though I know the chances are slim. "We'll see. Let's go, yeah?"

She nods her head and then gives my hand another squeeze as I start to make my way to the dining room. Like your typical, lovely family, birthdays are usually celebrated over dinner, and therefore, everyone has already gathered around the table.

Just as I already expected -and frankly heard when we came in too- the silence overrules any other conversation. The first one I make eye contact with when I come in, is dad. He's sitting at the head of the table while taking a good gulp of his beer while he listens to something Titan says.

Titan is sitting next to him, also a beer in his hand. He seems just as enthusiastic to be here as I am, and when he spots me, I can tell there is some type of relief washing over him. His girlfriend, Charlize, is looking around rather awkwardly. I'm sure Titan is holding her hand underneath the table because both of them only have one arm left on top of it.

And then, as my eyes go to the other side of the table, I spot mum at the head too. She's holding a glass of wine, and she's obnoxiously giggling at something that toy boy -who's sitting next to her- says. She's laying it on thick, and I have no doubt it's because she wants dad to see how 'happy' she is without him. Toy boy on the other hand has no idea why he's that funny, but because mum's giggling like a fool, he joins in laughter anyway.