Chapter Four

The rest of the weekend passed without consequence. Ma and Liv got into their usual fights, always starting by something trivial and always ending with Olivia storming to her room. I was used to this routine, whenever they did get into a fight, I would go to the grocery store and buy a can of spaghetti-o's and a tub of chunky monkey ice cream. By the time I got back, Olivia was in her room and Ma was on the couch with a bottle of sweet red. I'd give her one tub and a spoon, met with a smile, and I'd microwave the spaghetti-o's for Olivia.

On Monday, I woke up anxious, though I wasn't exactly sure why. I rushed through making breakfast, bacon and eggs, and I scarfed it down with a glass of orange juice. I stuffed my books in my bag and went to wait outside when Kali drove up. Her car was booming some top twenty hit as I threw my bag in the back.

"Happy birthday!" she yelled as I sat down.

"What?" I asked, incredulous. It wasn't my birthday yet. I checked my phone to look at the date. It said October 24th.

"Oh please," she said, rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me you forgot. It's your sweet sixteen!"

"I guess I did forget," I said, somewhere else. "Oh well, it's just another day."

Kali looked at me like I grew horns out of my head. "Just another day?" she practically screamed. "That's it. I'm throwing you a birthday party this weekend. My house. We'll do it Friday, because Saturday I'm having my halloween party."

I groaned. She expected me to go to two parties this weekend, one completely revolving around me. Then I remembered.

"My mom asked me to go to a work thing with her this Friday," I said, "I already told her I'd go, and you know how Ma is about going back on your word."

Kali sighed, thinking for a moment, then she lit up, coming to the conclusion I was hoping for. "We'll combine the birthday and Halloween parties. Everyone's already coming on Saturday, so I don't need to send out any last minute invites. It'll be perfect."

"That's such a great idea," I told her. This way, not all of the attention will be on me. "Are people gonna dress up?"

"Of course. It's a Halloween party. What else would they wear besides costumes?" She asked, and then went into a rant about her own costume. I had played her perfectly, and now I had time to think.

November first was coming up. I didn't want to think about it, but I had to. For Ma and Olivia's sake. I started planning my distractions, maybe a movie night. I could get one of my clients, Kyle, to give me the leftover popcorn from the movie theater in town he worked at the night before. I was still thinking about my plan, nodding and mmm'ing at all the right parts in Kali's story, when we pulled into the parking lot at school. We started walking up to the front doors.

"I'll see you later," I said as I noticed Ben coming up to us.

"Love ya girl," she said, then she remembered something. "I know it's your birthday, but Ben asked me to go to the movies tonight. I told him I'd think about it but I really just wanted to ask you. If you wanna do something I'd go for it, but if you don't would you mind if I went? Also if I do go, I wouldn't be able to pick you up after school. We'd be ditching last period."

"Go with Ben," I said, smiling. "I didn't even remember that it was my birthday twenty minutes ago, remember? I can find a ride home with someone else, and if not I can take the bus." I noticed the relief on her face just as Ben was reaching us.

"Thanks so much Lenna! I'll see you tomorrow!" She said as Ben put his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey babe," I heard him say. I was already walking away.

I had two customers on my way to the rows of lockers, and once I opened the door to mine I felt arms wrap around my waist. I wasn't prepared for that, and most importantly I had no clue who it was, so I spun around and slapped them hard across the face.

"Ow, remind me to never surprise you again," he laughed, holding his cheek.

"Aiden! Don't do that to me!" I said, then started to feel regretful. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. One of your customers gave me the stink eye as I was walking up to you," he said, leaning back along the other row.

"What are you talking about?" I said. It was a knee-jerk reaction. What I was doing could send me away, and I wasn't about to leave Ma and Liv. I'm sure I looked like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, come on, Lenna. It's me," he said, like that was supposed to mean something. It made me angry.

"I barely know you. Besides, what's it to you anyway? You want to have some claim on what I do and who I hang around with?" I shouted, slamming my locker shut. I didn't even get what I needed, but it didn't matter. Today was not the day to mess with me. I hated today. "Don't ever judge me again, and go fuck yourself, Aiden."

I stormed off to my first period. One of my usuals tried to come up to me, and I told him to catch me later. He started to say something, but something in my expression told him not to. After my second class, I was calmed down enough to start taking my clients again, and start thinking rationally. Aiden didn't seem like he was upset by me selling, and I couldn't get the feeling of his touch out of my head. Stupid boy, I thought. Besides, he didn't know what today was, and what it meant. It was the last celebration we had as a family before dad died, and November marks one year without him. We still had some of the pies in the freezer that the neighborhood had brought us, the ones that we three didn't like. Key lime was one of dad's favorites, though no one else in the house liked that kind, and it was hard to look at. Before last period, I was out of my stock for the month. I'd have to refill both my prescriptions on the second. There was no way I'd be going anywhere on the first.

As I walked into my last period, Aiden was already in his seat next to mine. I sighed and walked to the back of the class, dropping my bag like it was heavier than it was. He passed me a note.

'I'm sorry,' was all it said. I looked at him and his eyes said he meant it.

I wrote back it's okay and passed it back to him. After a moment it landed back on my desk with a thump.

Can I take you out tonight?

I thought. I did not want to go home after school. I didn't want to see Ma's face, knowing how desolate it would look. I didn't want to talk to Liv, knowing how painful it'd be for her to wish me a happy birthday. So I nodded and put the note in my bag. I needed all the distractions I could get right now.

After the final bell, I packed my things into my bag and Aiden and I moved to the door. We walked wordlessly to his bike, and he revved the engine as I hopped on the back. I tried to ignore the lingering eyes. I knew this would start more gossip about me. Normally, I'd welcome it, but not today. As he drove, the freedom of the bike did help my mood. We rode to the park, and as we walked to the cliff, Aiden held my hand. I wasn't sure if I wanted human contact or not, but my body welcomed the touch.