Let's Play a Game

Let's Play a Game (20)

“Happy birthday!” was what I woke up to that Saturday morning. I opened my eyes, sitting up in bed quickly and shouting out in surprise.

When I was finally able to focus, I turned to see everyone who lived in the house with me in my room. I was so surprised to see them at first that I couldn’t even form words.

Ethan was standing in front of everyone, with his usual flat look on his face. I knew something was coming from him, and I was not looking forward to it in the slightest.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” he sang flatly, and I was afraid of what he was going to say next. “You look like an ogre, and you smell like one too.”

“Wow,” Zach laughed, clapping his hands together. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Up, up!” Brianna now laughed herself, grabbing me by my hands and pulling me up out of bed. “We need to get you ready! We want you to look really pretty on your birthday! Don’t we, Zach?”

He didn’t even look at me as he said, “Sure.”

I blinked at them now. “I’m really fine with just having a cool, laidback day. I mean, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a birthday.”

“Just a birthday?” Brianna nearly squeaked. “It isn’t just a birthday, Maxynn! It’s your eighteenth birthday! You’re now officially an adult! You could move out of here if you wanted!”

I glanced over at Zach. “I can…?”

He sneered at me. “But you won’t.”

Okay, he was right, but it was fun to jerk him around a little bit. It wasn’t like I had a place to move into anyway, so he didn’t even have anything to worry about.

“Come on, I’ll help you get ready,” Elizabeth offered, taking my arm and leading me toward my door and to her room. “I’ll let you borrow anything of mine you want--”

But she was cut off by Zach grabbing my other arm, the one that had a long sleeved shirt covering my scars. He glared at Elizabeth, and she glared back at him, and it reminded me a lot of siblings fighting over toys.

“Actually, I’ll help her get ready,” he grinned, and the horrified look on my face made Ethan snort from beside us. “Anyway, I know what she looks best in.”

This was so embarrassing. He was saying this in front of his parents, and my dad as well! Not to mention the ten-year-old little demon that was now sitting on my bed…

My dad looked at Zach, and then to me. “You two aren’t… dating, are you?”

“No!” I shouted the same time Zach smirked, “Yes.”

This boy… was going to kill me! I swear, it was going to be either him or Ethan, I just knew it!

“We’re not dating,” I assured my father, hitting Zach in the stomach when he took a step closer to me. “I’m dating Johnny, a friend of his. You remember Johnny, don’t you? He was my partner in English last year.”

My father nodded now. “Oh, yeah. I remember.”

I let out a sigh of relief, biting the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t continue rambling on and on about unnecessary things that didn’t need to be said.

“Well, if you know what she looks best in, then I’ll leave it to you, fashion guru,” Elizabeth addressed her brother sarcastically, bowing to him before turning out of the room and back to hers. Brianna, Steve, and my dad followed her out, and now it just left Zach, Ethan, and me.