Chapter 11
My fifteen birthday.
I woke up to a thousand messages. All from Hero and Ayden. None from my parents. Not one. I shut off my phone and got out of bed. As I walked out of my room, I saw Blake holding a gift bag.
“Happy birthday, Pepperoni,” he said, putting the bag on the counter and walking over to give me a hug. I hadn’t had a hug from him since my last birthday. He was nicer on my birthdays. But only slightly.
He broke away from the hug and handed me the gift bag. I reached into the bag, pulling out brand new sneakers. My face lit up, then it slowly turned into confusion. Why would I need new sneakers when I’m supposed to be at home at all times?
“I enrolled you back in.” His lips curled into a grin. “Surprise.”
Did I hear that correctly? Was I actually going back to school? Was I going to see my friends almost everyday again? It felt too good to be true. Blake wouldn’t change his mind without a catch. I kept my excitement hidden inside, not wanting to get my hopes up yet.
“There’s a catch, isn’t there?” I folded my arms.
“No,” he said, then noticed my disbelieving glare and sighed. “Yes.”
“Well, what is it?” I asked.
“I told you before,” he hinted.
I scoffed when I realized what he meant. I had to get money from Ayden.
“Fine.” As much as I wanted to decline, I didn’t. I missed my best friends. I wanted to see them. I knew they wanted to see me too. It hurt me to even think of taking money from Ayden, but I knew it wouldn’t affect him much. He was rich. Blake and I were poor.
“Invite your friends over, alright?” he muttered, messing up my hair, then left for work.
As soon as Blake left, the realization I could go back to school hit me. I squealed and spun around, rushing to my phone to text the news to the group chat. Besides the whole ‘taking Ayden’s money’ part.
* * *
“So, we got to see you on your birthday, after all,” Hero said, once they both arrived.
“I’m glad you’re coming back to school,” Ayden said.
I went to the garage to get some board games and cards to play.
Blake had stored them there because it reminded him of when our parents would play those games with us.
He wanted to throw them out, but I begged him to keep them in case things got better.
In case they came back. It gave me a sense of hope. I think it gave him a bit of hope too.
Today I was able to play the games again. With my best friends.
Time flew by extremely quick. Next thing I knew, Blake had arrived home to see the games scattered across the floor. His eye twitched, but only I noticed that.
He introduced himself properly and apologized to them for not letting them see me. He wasn’t sorry at all. He was putting on an act, so that they like him. So that Ayden would like him. Enough to feel pity and give money. He was ‘helping’ me to get money from him.
Blake even offered to let them stay for dinner, showing them the few ingredients we had left in the fridge. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I didn’t want my best friends to pity me.
Hero and Ayden both declined the offer to stay, seeing how little food there was. Just as he wanted. I waved goodbye to them as Blake walked them out. As he shut the door, he dropped the act.
“Put the games away.”
I did as I was told. I couldn’t blame him for how upset he was.
As I picked up the game pieces and put them back into the storage box, it made me emotional too.
Remembering the times when we all would share laughs whenever we played games together made me realize how miserable our lives were now.
I had no idea why they abandoned us, but it wasn’t fair.
Blake went into the kitchen and started to cook as I went into the garage to put the games away. He thought the sizzling of the food in the pan would drown the sounds of his cries, but I still heard it.
It was my fault that he’s crying. I shouldn’t have taken out the games. I should’ve just talked with them or found other ways to spend time with them. I knew what I got myself into when I took out those games.
Our memories were taking control over us, letting the pessimism show.
It was hard for us to be optimistic when we had to start from scratch, and we had nobody but each other.
I hoped that it’d bring us closer together but that wasn’t the case.
It was the complete opposite. I needed him more than ever and he wasn’t there for me.