Little Shepherd

Chapter Forty-Five

"Hey, babe! What's today's date?" Mark yells from his room
I look at my phone and cringe slightly, "July 24." I mutter
"What was that?" He questions, walking into the room.

"July 24." I repeat, hoping Mark didn't remember.
"Something is happening today, but I can't put my finger on it." Mark frowns
"Uh, who knows? It's probably not that important." I shrug, walking away into the living room.

"Hah, as if you were going to get off that easily." He chuckles
"What are you talking about?" I ask
"Today's your day to take out the trash." Mark smirks
"Oh, yeah. I'll be back." I say, grabbing the trash and leaving to dispose of it in the dumpster.

I walk back into Mark's apartment, to see him on my phone. "What are you doing?" I inquire
"Your phone was ringing, so I went to see who it was. Your sister called, she followed up with a text. "Happy Birthday sis, have a great one."  He reads, looking at me.

"I'll call back later." I shrug, walking off
"Nah nah nah, you are not getting out of this." Mark smirks
"It's nothing important, Mark. I just turned a year older, just another year closer to death." I sigh

"Wow, a year older and still morbid." He chuckles
"That does not go away with time." I mutter
"Why don't you like your birthday?" Mark inquires
"I just don't." I shrug

"Well, we both have off today. I will make this birthday the best one you ever had." He smiles
"That won't be hard, considering all my other birthdays sucked." I tut

"Come on, get dressed. You won't regret this." Mark tells me
"You don't need to do this." I sigh
"It's not up for discussion , Mariah." He remarks, going into his room.

I follow him and for some clothes, I grab them and begin getting undressed. "You know, I think my plans could be pushed back a bit." Mark smirks, looking at me lustfully.
"Nice try, Sloan." I chuckle, throwing him my shirt.

I put on my clothes and shoes, then wait for Mark to finish getting ready. "You good to go?" He asks
"Yeah." I mutter

"I can't believe I forgot your birthday," Mark mutters "I am the worst boyfriend ever."
"Don't beat yourself up, it's not important." I reassure him,  walking out the door.

He locks the door and we walk to the parking lot. We get inside his car and he begins driving, "Where are we even going?" I inquire
"Well, first I'm taking you to eat breakfast. You're not just eating cereal." He mumbles

"But I like my cereal." I pout
"But you'll love pancakes from this place I know." Mark smiles
I roll my eyes and sigh, "You don't gotta do this." I tut
"We're already here though." He smirks,  parking the car.

-.-
After breakfast, Mark says he wants to take me somewhere special , but I don't know where exactly.

My phone buzzes and I look at it to see a text from Alex: "Dude, I didn't know it was your birthday. Anyways your brother came over and said he was throwing you a small party at 4, so make sure you're there."

Shit.

I look at the clock and see that it is already 11, I text Alex back : "Thanks for the notice, I'll be there."

"Wherever we're going, we need to be done by 4." I tell Mark
"Why?" He asks
"Derek's throwing a party for me, I have to show face or he'll be suspicious." I shrug
"Well, there goes all my plans." Mark frowns

"Hey, don't worry about it. We can still do things until then." I say, reassuring him.
"Yeah, you're right." He smiles
"Can I ask you something?" Mark inquires

"Yeah." I shrug
"Why don't you like your birthday?" He inquires, taking his eyes off the road to look at me.
"I never really celebrated it. It's just another day to me. I had no one want to actually celebrate it for like 7 years." I chuckle