Forgotten

Chapter 9: It's My Birthday

Waking up the next morning, I stretched as I climbed out of bed. Mornings would definitely be better if they weren't actually in the morning. I yawned as I made my way to the bathroom to get ready for school. I wasn't quite awake as I went through my morning routine. Once I was done in the bathroom, I wrapped a towel around myself and made my way back to my room to figure out what I was going to wear.

Before I could open my closet door, my bedroom door swung open. "Mom! A little privacy?"

My mom grinned from the doorway. "Oh, good. I caught you before you got dressed. Your father and I got you a little something and we wanted you to have it right away. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to find it in time, but we stayed up half the night looking for this among all the boxes in the garage."

"Really? You shouldn't have, Mom." I murmured softly as I sat on the bed to open the gift. I knew my parents had been under a lot of stress lately, and I hadn't expected them to get me anything. I had been thrilled knowing that my mom made me my favorite treat and planned on my favorite dinner.

I scratched the back of my neck as I felt something skitter along my spine and then tore off the wrapping paper. "Well?" My mom asked as I pulled the tissue paper away from the clothing in the box.

"I love it!" I replied enthusiastically. I pulled the dark pink dress out of the box and held it up to myself. The bottom hem hit me around the middle of my thigh and the sleeves would barely cover my shoulders. There was also a black sweater in the box to go with it. I smiled, "It's perfect, Mom."

My mom smiled, "Good. The rest of your gift is downstairs. I'll let you get dressed and dad wanted to give you the other part."

"Thank you," I murmured as I stood up to hug her.

She patted my shoulder before she turned to leave, "Come downstairs as soon as you have that on. Don't bother with anything else."

I bit my lip and nodded in understanding. I quickly got dressed and grabbed my stuff for school before I headed downstairs. My dad was sitting on the brown couch in the living room. He stood as I came into the room. "Hey, Baby Doll. You sure are beautiful. You look just like your mom did at your age." I blushed at the compliment as he handed me another package.

"Thank you, Daddy." I murmured as I opened it. I blinked in surprise as I pulled a pair of black, knee high boots out of the box. They were even flats, so I wouldn't have to worry about tripping and falling on my face in heels. My parents understood me so well.

After I thanked them again, I added a couple of silver bracelets, a silver necklace, and a pair of earrings. I grabbed a quick breakfast, but before I could fix my lunch, my mom handed me a lunch bag. "I made you a special birthday lunch." She murmured before dropping a kiss on the top of my head. "Now off to school you go."

I said goodbye to my parents and headed out the door. Rounding the corner, I paused when I saw someone sitting on the curb at my bus stop. There hadn't been anyone here yesterday. I bit my lip indecisively, but finally moved forward again. I didn't want to miss my ride to school just because someone new was waiting at my bus stop. Maybe he'd had someone drive him yesterday since it had been the first day of school.

I stopped a few feet from the guy sitting on the ground and frowned. He had his hood pulled over his head, and I assumed it was to ward off the morning chill. He turned towards me and I blinked in surprise. "Tucker? What are you doing here?" I asked as I finally felt safe enough to move closer to the guy on the ground.