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“Everyone needs a birthday party, no matter how old you are.” He grins widely. “The big 2-0!”
“It’s just another day. We really don’t have to have a party.”
“We do. We’re closing the shop down early and everything.”
“Forrest! Don’t do that. There will be more birthdays.” How he managed to slip that onto the schedule without me knowing is beyond me.
“Consider it a going-away and birthday bash all in one. Besides, you know we celebrate all our birthdays. It’s not just you, kid.”
“I know, but I hate the attention.”
“It’s still happening. Love you. Be safe.”
“Love you too,” I say, making my way toward the front door.
I pick up my overnight bag and head out to my car. The plan is that Roman will pick me up at Monroe’s. Her parents are out of town for a few days, some kind of work thing for her dad that her mom tagged along for. It means we don’t need to worry about them asking why my car is there, but I’m not.
I pull into Monroe’s driveway an hour early. We definitely need time to catch up. Climbing out of the car, I rush up the front steps and knock on the door. A few seconds later, she pulls it open, smiling widely.
“What are you doing here?”
“I missed you.” I pull her into a hug, and she laughs.
“Come on in.” She steps back so that I can enter the house. “Tell me all the things.”
“You tell me about you first. Anything new going on? I don’t want this to be all about me.”
“Em, I’m living vicariously through you. No action for me this summer, just hanging out with the parents, mostly. Is your birthday bash still on for Saturday?”
“Yes. I tried to talk Forrest out of it before I left to come here. No dice.”
“He loves you. And it’s not like they only celebrate your birthday. It’s all five of them. Hell, they even celebrate my birthday.” She smiles.
“I know. I just hate the attention. I just want to hang out.”
“And we will. With cake and singing.”
“You’re just as bad as Forrest.”
“You understand why this is important to him, right?”
“I do. We didn’t have birthday parties growing up, and he wants to make up for that.”
“Not just for you, but for himself too. He’s still that little boy inside who missed out just like you did. He didn’t have a big sister to take him away from it all.”
Her words hit me in the chest like a wrecking ball.
My brother has always been invincible to me, taking me to his place on weekends, and moving me out as soon as I turned eighteen. There was no way my parents would have let it happen before then, and we both agreed getting authorities involved wasn’t the right way to go. They didn’t abuse me, but they were more interested in their alcohol than their kids. I got pushed around a little, but they never actually hurt me. I was never physically injured, just my heart got bruised. I don’t know why, but I never considered what Forrest went through.
I’m an asshole.
“No, you’re not,” Monroe soothes.
“I guess I said that out loud, huh?”
“You did. Forrest knows you love him. Just keep in mind sometimes his motivations might be just as much for him as it is for others.”
Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my phone and dial Forrest. I have a sudden urge to tell my brother that I love him.
