It's always you. - Hector Fort

Chapter 4

The days were slipping by so quickly that I barely noticed tomorrow would be my birthday. But instead of feeling the usual excitement, I had distanced myself from everyone lately, only asking how they were doing in brief conversations. I felt guilty for being so absent, so as a way to make up for it, I decided to invite them to the beach today. I thought it would be a good chance to ask if they could come over tomorrow, too. It had always been our tradition to spend my birthday together, and I didn't want this year to be any different. The party could wait. Val would help me with that. We always loved planning things together.

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**At the Beach**

We sat by the water, watching the waves crash onto the shore. I took a deep breath before breaking the silence.
"Guys, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for not being around much lately. I overreacted to what happened, and I shouldn't have," I said, keeping my eyes on the horizon.

"It's fine. I should apologize too for what I said," Hector responded.

"It's okay." I gave him a small smile.

"Alright, putting all that aside... are we meeting at my place tomorrow, like always?" I asked, looking around at them.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Val asked, sounding confused.

I let out a laugh, thinking she was joking. "Come on, you're kidding, right?"

"No, seriously. And actually... we might not be able to come," she said, hesitating. "Martina invited us over, and we already told her yes. We figured we could meet up another day." Val smiled awkwardly, trying to smooth things over.

I froze. Every year, they came to my place for my birthday, without fail. It was our thing, our tradition. I forced a smile, though the hurt was already settling deep inside me. "We always spent my birthday together... But, it's fine, don't worry about it," I managed to say, trying to hide my disappointment. But I knew it was probably showing, no matter how hard I tried.

The air around us grew tense, and suddenly no one was smiling anymore. Everyone fell silent, clearly feeling awkward. I hated the quiet, so I spoke again.

"Martina invited you?" I asked, toying with the bracelets around my wrist. "I thought you guys didn't really get along with her after everything she did."

"Sophie, it's not like that... We ran into her at the mall yesterday and talked. She's changed a lot, honestly," Val began to explain. "She doesn't have great memories of you, though. But she's trying. She invited us because she doesn't want us to think badly of her anymore. She's really trying to make amends."

I laughed bitterly. "So, she's changed so much that you forgot about my birthday? Is that it?"

"Stop making a scene," Pedri cut in, his voice sharp. Hector remained silent, just watching.

"A scene?" I repeated, anger flaring. "Pedri, that girl bullied me in school. And I'm supposed to just be okay with it? You all know what she did to me. You saw it, and you were there for me. But now, I'm supposed to just act normal while my best friend and my cousin, who's like a brother to me, suddenly forget about my birthday and go hang out with the girl who used to make my life hell?" Tears burned in my eyes, and I blinked them away, refusing to cry in front of them.

"That was a while ago, Sophie. Maybe she realized what she did was wrong and wants to change," Val said, but I could tell she was running out of things to say.

"She'll never be in my good graces. This isn't even about her. It's about my birthday. My 18th birthday, no less. It's a big deal to me, but whatever. Go ahead, have fun at Hector's new girlfriend's place. Maybe soon she'll be your new best friend too, Val. And you too, Pedri, since you're both so eager to see the good in her. I guess soon enough you'll be telling me it was *me* who bullied *her*." I grabbed my things and stood up.

Without waiting for a response, I walked away, leaving them behind on the beach, their shocked silence following me.