desertion

34

My door opens as I'm doing my hair. "Happy birthday." Dad says as he stands there. "Thanks Dad." I say with a small smile. "We're going to Athena's." Dad says. "Didn't you guys just have an overnight shift?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. "Yes." Dad says.

"Then you guys should rest. My birthday can wait." I say with a small laugh. "Nope. Not your 17th. Plus, you didn't really have a special birthday last year. Family kind of ruined it." Dad says. "It's alright. I can wait, Dad." I say. "Hush. We're going. Be ready in 15." He says before leaving my doorway.

I shake my head with a laugh before continuing my hair.

**********

Dad knocks on Athena's front door, Chris stands beside him as I stand behind them. The door opens and Bobby stands there. "Come on in guys!" Bobby says. Dad and Chris walk in and so do I.

"Happy Birthday, kiddo." Bobby says. "Thanks Bobby." I say with a small smile before going down the stairs. "There's the birthday girl!" Maddie says, walking over to me and pulling me into a hug. She pulls away and smiles at me. "You look beautiful." She says.

I'm wearing a white sweater with black jeans and just regular converse. My hairs curled as well. "Thank you." I say with a smile. "Lydia! Hey." May says, walking over to me. "Hey!" I say. "Happy birthday." She says, pulling me into a hug. "Thanks." I say as she pulls away.

"Are any of your friends coming? I know Miles is, anyone else?" Maddie asks. "Yeah. Isabelle, Julian, and Nathaniel." I say. "Nathaniel? He's new.." Maddie says. "Yeah. I'll introduce you when he gets here!" I say.

"We're here." Hen says from behind me. I turn around and immediately Dahlia is right in front of me. "Hey pretty girl." I say, leaning down in front of her. "We got you a present!!" Dahlia says. "You did? Why thank you!" I say with a smile. She smiles before giving me a hug.

I stand up, picking Dahlia up with me. Julian and Isabelle walk down the stairs after them. "Hey!" Julian says, walking over. "You guys left us outside." Isabelle says with a frown. "Our bad. You were getting things. And it's cold." Miles says, shrugging his shoulders

Isabelle rolls her eyes before looking over at me. "So.. who's all coming?" Isabelle asks. "Everyone's here but Nathaniel." I say. "Nathaniel? He's coming?" Julian asks. "Of course he is." Julian says with a scoff. "Please. Don't start." I say.

*******

"Someone else is here!" Bobby says as he comes around the corner, Nathaniel is behind him. "Nate! Hey." I say, walking over and hugging him. I pull away when I hear a scoff from behind me. "Happy birthday." Nate says, handing me a square small box. I take it from him before opening it. It's a charm bracelet. The base is rose gold.

"Thank you. How did you know I like rose gold jewelry?" I ask. "I always seen that bracelet you wore." Nate says. "Oh. Thank you though! It's beautiful." I say. "No problem." He says.

"Dinner's ready! Who's ready to eat?" Bobby asks as he comes back inside. I didn't even notice he went out. Dad and Buck get up before heading outside to help Bobby with the food.

*********

We all sit around the table, starting to eat our food. I sit at a table outside with Miles, Isabelle, Julian, Nathaniel, and Dahlia while most of the adults sit inside. May, Harry, Chris, and Denny are seated at another table close by.

"Did any of you finish that essay for Mr Ross ok time?" Julian asks suddenly, the awkward silence still hanging in the air. "Yeah. I did." I say, looking down at my food as I run my fork through my mashed potatoes.

"Did you Nathaniel?" Julian asks. "No. I still have to turn it in when we return." Nate says with a laugh. "And it's just Nate." He adds.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one." Julian says. "I didn't turn it in either. I was quite busy." Miles says. My phone dings and I look over.

The message is from Anna. Of course she's texting me. I thought I could go one birthday without one of them bothering me. "We have a surprise." The message reads. I ignore it, putting my phone down.

"Ignoring your cousin.. that's quite rude." I hear someone say from behind me. "You've got to be kidding me." I say before standing up and walking over to her. I put a fake smile on my face as she pulls me into a hug. "You guys can't just show up like this." I hear Dad say. I walk into the kitchen and Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sophia are standing in front of Dad.

Why do they always show up uninvited? Well, Thanksgiving they were.. but they always seem to just show up. It's quite annoying. "Where are you sitting?" Anna asks. "Over there. With my friends." I say. "Let's go then!" Anna says, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back over to the table. I sit down in my normal seat and Anna pulls up a chair from the table the others are sitting at.

"Who is he?" Anna asks, looking at Nathaniel. "I'm Nathaniel. They just call me Nate though." Nate says. "Hm." Anna hums before looking back over at me. "Who's she?" Anna asks, looking at Dahlia. "Dahlia." I say. "And why are you hanging out with a little kid?" Anna asks. "Because she's my sister." Miles says.

"Still.. weird." Anna says. I clench my jaw, looking over at her. "We didn't ask for your opinion." I say with a small very sarcastic smile. "Oh, didn't you?" Anna asks, tilting her head. "We didn't." I say. "You always have an attitude when you're the center of attention. When you're not, you're like a scared little puppy dog." Anna says.

"Cake time guys!" Bobby yells. We all stand up then head to the kitchen. I walk over and stand in front of the cake. They all start singing and after they finish, I blow the candles, making all of them cheer. I look down as they all start chatting amongst each other.

"Before we continue.. we have a gift, Lyds." Dad says. I look up and he's holding a small box. I take it from his hands and open it. A car key. My mouth drops and I look up at him. "It's in the front." Dad says. I lunge forward, hugging him tightly.

"Getting a car. Spoiled." I hear Anna say. Aunt Sophia laughs. I pull away from the hug, looking down. "Go look at it." Dad says with a small smile. Miles grabs my hands and pulls me with him, our friends following. When we get out front, it's a black Ford car.

I smile, unlocking it and looking inside. "Fancy." Miles says. "Sure is." Nate says. I look around the mirror and there's a necklace. Mom's necklace. I smile at it, tears forming in my eyes but I quickly blink them away. I get out of the car and shut the door, locking it back.

We go back inside and I hug Dad once again. "Thank you." I say. "No problem." He says, kissing my head before letting go.