Lost in Hollywood

Happy Fucking Birthday

Cody parked his car in the driveway in front of Sky's house and pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans.

He flipped it open and texted Sky.

I'm here
❤️

While waiting for Sky's reply, he leaned his head on the headrest, allowing himself to close his eyes for a short moment.

It had been such a long day.

He hadn't slept much. It was always like that the night before his birthday. The lack of sleep made him tense, agitated, and there was a beginning of a headache scraping the insides of his skull, but that wasn't even the worst. The horrible fight with Mom kept replaying in his mind, knotting his stomach in a tight lump. I've told you not to bring your whores into my house. She had said it in front of Sky, no doubt meaning to cause as much hurt as possible to Cody, adding humiliation to the pain.

Why couldn't Mom let him have this one thing, this one beautiful thing, without turning it foul and wrong? This one thing—

It wasn't like he was asking for a lot. Just that his parents would let someone else love him, even if they never could. But no, Mom had certainly done her best to destroy anything Sky might have felt for him, and it felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest. The hurt radiated throughout his body. He ached all over, like the marrow of his bones was being carved out.

Sky had texted him later that it was fine, that it wasn't his fault his Mom was an asshole, but Cody couldn't forget the way she had rushed away, crying.

It felt like his fault.

Everything I touch turns to shit.

And then Mom had said that if Cody didn't want to follow the rules, he was free to move out. You are eighteen now. There is no compensation for keeping you here anymore. Maybe you should think about that, Cody.

There was a pit in his stomach. He had no money to move out. After quitting the drug business, he had no income, and what he had saved was barely enough to cover the first 6 months of tuition of the acting school, and where would he even live if he got in? How would he pay rent? How would he pay for his food?

He couldn't afford to move out, he would have to do whatever it took to stay home, at least until graduation, and not just because he had no money, but also because of David and Leigh. When Mom finally kicked him out, he wouldn't be able to see them much.

Hell, Mom could forbid him from ever seeing them again, if she wanted to. It wasn't like they were his real family.

That thought hurt even more than the thought that he could lose Sky. His siblings might not be his blood, but they were his family, they were his heart. If he ever lost them—

I can't think about this right now. I can't. This day is bad enough as it is.

It wasn't just Mom and her mean words that kept haunting him. It was also Auntie Carol, and this day was the worst of all days, today she was always so fucking loud in his head, and it was near impossible to keep her out, to silence her words that scraped down his spine, crawled into his ears like maggots, no matter what he tried to do.

Carol had been dead for more than ten years. Why couldn't he bury her? Why was she still screaming in his head, after all this time, you little shit, you little shit, you little shit—

Cody screwed his eyes shut for a short moment, and let out a long, tense breath. Sky still hadn't replied to his text, so he sent another one, with slightly trembling fingers.

Everything okay?
Still wanna have pizza?

He wished he was home. In his bed, under the covers, where he could hide from the world for this day, to wait for it to be over, to just forget that this was his birthday, the anniversary of the first - and the worst - time he had been left to die.

But Sky had insisted they'd go for a pizza and after that, they could come to her place. She had said that her dad was away, that the house was empty, and that Cody could stay for the night—

And fucking Hell - the only place where Cody would rather be right now than in his own bed, was certainly Sky's bed.

If she still wanted him to.

What Mom had said this morning— Well, Cody knew how badly that must have hurt Sky. Being called a whore and a slut, after everything she had been through? If Sky never wanted him near again, he couldn't blame her.

His phone blipped, and Cody opened his tired eyes to read Sky's reply.

🤗❤️ sure!
still getting dressed
why don't you come up?
the back door is open

Warmth and relief flushed through Cody's chest as he read those words. It didn't look like she was done with him, after all. And maybe some pizza and a quiet night at her place - he didn't even dare to hope there would be sex, not after what Mom had done - was just what he needed to forget that it was his birthday, the worst day of the year.

Ok
be right there

He stepped out of the car, stuffed his phone and the car keys into the pocket of his jeans, and walked around the house. The back door was open, just like Sky had said.

He opened the door and stepped from the porch into the living room—

"Surprise!"

Suddenly the air was full of confetti, balloons, and music. People appeared from behind the furniture, the corners, filling the room with noise and laughter. Tom popped open a bottle, spraying Champagne into the air, Savannah was clapping her hands, a party hat on her blond flocks, and Sky's friends— There was Demetri, smiling and waving awkwardly, Yasmine looking like a supermodel as always, Moon smiling and giggling—

And in front of them all, Sky, confetti raining down on her flaming hair.

She was wearing a gorgeous, pink cocktail dress, made of lace, that flowed around her thighs. She was absolutely beautiful, with big golden earrings, shiny makeup, and sparkly, high heels.

And Cody knew she hadn't worn heels since the school fight, it was difficult for her because of the bad leg and her lack of balance, but she was wearing them now, for him— and she was smiling, beaming, her eyes shining as she looked at him—

But the only thing Cody could see was the banner on the wall that said Happy Birthday, Cody! and it felt like someone had kicked him in the face.

It was Auntie Carol all over again, Auntie Carol lying face down in the bed, on sheets that smelled like pee and sweat and sickness, when Cody went to wake her up that morning his head full of thoughts about cake and balloons and all that shit kids want for their birthday, things he had never had, but Carol had said this year was different, this year he was turning five and it was a big deal, and he would get a cake and a gift and she would take him to the zoo. But there was none of that, there was just Carol slapping him across his face because he had woken her up, slapping him so that he tasted blood Happy fucking birthday you little shit!

He didn't even realize he started crying. Hot tears flooded his eyes, they ran like rivers down his cheeks, his neck.

No. No, no—!

He brought a hand to his mouth, but the sobs broke through. The world had stopped moving. The Champagne was running down Tom's hands, splashing onto the carpet just like his tears. Sky wasn't smiling anymore, her eyes were wide and bright and she was saying something, but Cody didn't hear what. He could only hear Auntie Carol, the way she laughed when he started to cry.

Happy fucking birthday, you little shit—

Out. He had to get out. There was no air in this room, and he was going to be sick—

He turned and rushed out of the back door, out into the cold, choking on the taste of salt and blood.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Looks like Sky really messed up this time 😫

Poor Cody. 💔😭

What now? 👀 Is this the end of Skody? 🥲 Or can Sky still save Cody's birthday?