She ignores me and takes a bite of her cheeseburger.
“When’s your birthday?” Deke asks her.
Of course, she answers him. “March seventeenth.”
His eyes widen. “St. Paddy’s day?” She nods. “Holy shit! What a day to have a birthday. Plus, that’s this Saturday.” She nods. “And it’s the start of spring break.”
“It’s not a big deal.” She brushes it off.
“You’re gonna be eighteen. Of course, it’s a big deal,” Becky says. “I’ll come over and help you decorate.”
“I’ll post it on social media. It’ll be fun,” he says with a smile.
She sighs but takes another bite of her cheeseburger.
The bell rings, and everyone gets up. “Austin? Can I have a minute?” I ask.
She looks over at me. “No.”
I grab her hand when she goes to pull away. “I need to talk to you …”
“Well, I have nothing to say,” she says before turning and walking away from me.
I fist my hand and slam it on the table. I’m not sure how much longer I can take her ignoring me. It’s eating at me. Driving me crazy. I don’t like it. She can’t avoid me forever. I’ll get to her one way or another.
AUSTIN
“Wake up! Wake up!”
I groan at Becky’s annoying, chipper voice. “What are you doing?”
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” she yells, jumping on my bed. Her blond hair going everywhere. “Now it’s time for you to wake up. I made breakfast.”
“You can cook?” I ask, pulling the covers up over my head.
“Of course, silly.” She laughs. “Come on. It’s downstairs.”
“I think the birthday girl is supposed to get breakfast in bed,” I say, yawning.
She just laughs and yanks the covers off me.
I groan as I sit up. I reach over to my nightstand and check my phone. “It’s not even nine yet,” I call out.
“We have a busy day,” she yells from the stairs.
Becky stayed the night with me last night for us to ring in my birthday. We stayed up watching scary movies and talking about boys. Well, I’m still not talking to Cole, so I just listened to her talk about how much she loves Deke. It was exhausting, to say the least.
I make my way downstairs and into the formal dining room. Becky sits at the table with two plates. Both have pancakes on them, but the one in front of my seat is stacked six high with eighteen individual candles on them.
“You couldn’t find a one and an eight?” I ask with a laugh.
“This way is more fun.” She winks at me, then grabs the can of whipped cream that sits in the middle. She shakes it up before leaning over the table and spraying the top of the pancakes. Then she lights the candles. “Make a wish and get to blowing.”
I laugh, lean over, and blow them out. It takes me two tries, and by the time I get them out, the wax has dripped onto the whipped cream.
I wipe it off and place it on the side of my plate. “What are the plans today?” she asks, digging into hers.
My fork pauses over my stack. “I wanna spend some time with Lilly,” I say.
She stops chewing and looks up at me. “Okay,” she says through a mouthful of pancakes. “Then let’s do it.”
“I haven’t spoken to Cole …”
“So.” She swallows her bite. “Who cares? You have every right to spend time with her.”
I nod. “I hate that I haven’t gotten to see her.”
She gives me a soft smile. “You can spend the day with her alone if you want. I can go home—”
“No,” I interrupt her. “We can have a girls’ day. We can take her to a movie and then go for ice cream.”
She nods. “Sounds good.”
I pick up my phone and go to Shark and send a text.
Me: Is Lilly free for the afternoon? I would like to spend the day with her. Wanna take her to a movie and to get ice cream.
I set my phone down and take a bite of my pancakes. “Mmm,” I mumble my approval.
I look up when Celeste walks in. “Happy Birthday,” she says with a soft smile. We’re still not talking much either.
“Thanks,” I say with a head nod.
She sits down next to me, and I stuff another bite into my mouth. “I spoke to your dad this morning. He won’t be able to make it for tonight.”
Thank God. I don’t want to see that bastard.
“For your birthday, we decided to give you a trip.”
I swallow my bite. “Trip?”
She nods. “For you and a friend to go anywhere you want for a week.”
I look at Becky, and she smiles.
“Thanks,” I say, although I won’t use it. I want nothing from my father or her. One is a rapist. The other a cheating, lying bitch.
My phone rings, and I look down to see Shark written across my screen. I let out a deep breath. I’ve avoided speaking to him, but since I messaged him wanting to see Lilly, I answer. “Hello?”
“Hey.” Cole’s raspy voice comes over the line. He’s just waking up. And my legs tighten, knowing he’s still in bed.
I hate how much my body still wants him. That’s why I’ve avoided him. I can’t afford to let him back in. To make me look like an idiot once again. “Hey,” I reply.
“Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”
My chest tightens at the softness in his voice. He is a lie. It’s all a lie. “What do you want, Cole?”
He sighs heavily, and I imagine him running his hand through his disheveled morning hair. “I just wanted to call you and tell you happy birthday. Instead of texting.” I remain silent. “And of course, you can spend the day with Lilly.”
I smile at that. “Thanks. I’ll be over to get her in about an hour?” I ask.
“I can bring her to you,” he offers.
“No,” I say, shaking my head at myself. I want to pick her up so I can leave afterward. If he brings her over here, he may try to stay and visit.
“Okay,” he says slowly. “I will get her ready.”
I hate how much I’ve missed of her life, but I can’t deny that Cole has been there for her. That he stepped up and did what neither my father nor Cole’s would do.
“Thank you,” I say.
“No need to thank me, Austin.”
I say goodbye and hang up before he can say anything else. Placing my phone on the table, I go back to eating my pancakes and ignore the looks I can feel Celeste giving me. I still haven’t told her that I know Lilly is my sister. Not like it would matter. Plus, I’m sure Kellan has already told her. At one point, I thought I could trust Celeste, but now I know I can’t. Nor can I believe anything she says. Becky is my only true friend. I can trust her with anything.
_______________
Becky and I did exactly what we had planned to do. We picked Lilly up from Cole’s, and he didn’t mention anything due to her being present. He kissed and hugged her goodbye. She jumped into my arms, and we left. I took her to the newest Disney movie, and I couldn’t even tell you the name of it. I spent the entire time looking over at her. I watched her laugh and smile. I cried, and when she asked what was wrong, I told her I thought the movie was sad. My chest hurt at what my little sister has been through. I still don’t know how their mother died. Does Lilly remember her? She never talks about her.