Chapter 34: 15 Going on 16: Part 2/3

Having your birthday land on a Thursday kind of sucked, depending on how you looked at it. It was a day away from Friday, but that really was irrelevant to us students enrolled at Lakewood. Our motto was : School everyday, because education is the only way. But I didn't show up to school, and I wasn't planning on returning until after Christmas break.
"Strike!" My sister called out, twirling around in the air as she did her victory dance, watching all the bowling pins fall down.
I didn't want to go anywhere but she insisted that we went somewhere, especially since Shanice arrived while she was over, and she was getting kind of bored, constantly asking me, "What are we going to do?"
Apparently Shanice's mother thought it would be nice of her to give me a birthday gift, after the whole whole fight situation. She showed up to my door at 7:30 with a smile on her face and a cute little card that sang "Happy Birthday" when you opened it. A $100 bill fell out and at first I declined her offer, but she insisted that I took it.  Money was never a bad gift, it was kind of awkward and impersonal but I decided to take it anyways.  Even though she came to give me my gift, it was obvious she expected us to do something together. She mentioned that her mother told her she had to be "Home by 10," and she looked all around the living room as if she was expecting a bunch of people to be there.

Shanice was actually really pretty without all the blood and scratches on her face. "Watch the pro." She got up, and picked up a bowling ball, the strobe lights flashing across her face.
I was nervous about going out but I was kind of glad to be out of the house for once. It took her and Jessica at least 20 minutes to convince me to get out of the house. We didn't have a lot of shared interests but somehow cosmic bowling was something we all agreed on.
The bowling alley was virtually empty, which was kind of normal since it was a school night. There were some boys in the corner, younger boys; but they weren't actually bowling. They were just sitting down talking about some tournament, they were pretty loud. I guess their parents just dropped them off or something.
Jess got up, brushing past my shoulder. "I'm gonna go tell the sound man to play some of my music, this place is dead enough as it is." She flashed her phone at me as she walked passed, and I didn't stop her either. The music was kind of bland, even though it was barely audible to begin with.

Out of nowhere my phone started ringing, the number that appeared on the screen wasn't familiar to me at all, the area code wasn't from around here either, it was within my state, but it wasn't local. I had my finger hovered over the answer button, no one from around here had a '305' area code. Suddenly, the biggest decision of my life was  to answer or not to answer. "Ahh, fuck it." I mumbled, pressing the green button.
"Hello?" I asked, feeling my body tremble. All at once I was feeling insecure, wondering how my voice sounded to whoever was on the other end of the line.
The person seemed confused and afraid to speak, but they did. "Hey, honey! How have you been?" As soon as he spoke, I knew who it was and I didn't even want to be bothered.
I wanted to hang up, but I didn't. "Umm, hi da-" As if the universe was sending me some kind of signal, the music started blasting and I jumped, losing my breath before I could even finish saying that last word, and I was so glad I didn't. He didn't deserve to be called 'dad.'

"I Know a place where the grass is really greener! Warm, wet, and wild, there must be somethin' in the water! Sippin' Gin and juice, layin' underneath the palm trees!" Katy Perry's California girls was playing so obnoxiously loud, yet I was grateful. Nice save Jess, nice save.
Like the asshole he was, he got all defensive. "Hon- Honey what is all that noise in the background?! Where are you?! Are you at a party?!"
"Uh- I'm sorry, give me a few seconds." I needed to go outside or go to the bathroom, somewhere quiet.
Shanice turned back around at me, looking at me as if something was wrong. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to go outside and take a call. Be right back!" I pointed towards the front of the bowling alley and headed there, not wanting to waste time on this phone call.

     Busting through the doors, I walked outside, the chill of the wind gripped around my vulnerable thighs. It was quiet out here for sure, there was not a peep from anyone nor the birds. A cigarette that had been smushed against the pavement was right next to my left foot, I stepped away from it.
     "Okay, I'm back." I said with a casual breath of air, trying to keep everything platonic. There was no reason for me to get my feelings involved. He sure had a lot of work to do if he wanted to try and fix our relationship.
      "Where are you? And who are you with?" He sounded more like a detective than he did a father.
      "I'm out. With some friends. Celebrating. Why?" All of a sudden he cared about where I was, all of a sudden he cared about who I was with, but he didn't give a shit months ago.

     "Because I'm your father, that's why." He stopped talking after he said that, I guess he realized how full of shit he sounded. "Look, I heard about that fight you got into at school."
    "It wasn't a fight, I was just helping a girl defend herself." I could feel a warmth inside of my chest, he was infuriating me. "Is that it?" I asked, moving my finger around the edge of my phone, ready to pull it away from my ear and end the call.
    "No, that's not it!" He was raising his voice at me over the phone. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
     "Well you just did." My knees trembled, I could tell it was going to be one of those chilly nights; I needed to get inside. "I guess you can hang up now."
    "Come on Melody, don't give me lip, especially over the phone." I heard him drop something in the background, it almost sounded like a cup.

     I didn't say anything, waiting for him to keep talking. He just sounded pathetic, I didn't even know why I had stayed on the phone as long as I did.
    "I was gonna send you a gift but the post office shit was too complicated. Between the stamps and the address, I had a headache." Wow, he really was only making things worse. "I've got so many things planned for baby Roxy, that I can't even count. I still need to get her a crib, bottles, bibs, and a bunch of other crap." He sighed, sounding irritated. "I was just so stressed out, and stress is the last thing I need in my life right now. I figured you wouldn't care about a gift anyways." He was building the cake, slowly and surely, adding layer after layer. "You know, you should really give people your address when you move, instead of making them go through the jungle just to find you." He just added the icing, whipped and so sweet to the point it tasted like shit with sprinkles all over it. Happy fucking birthday.
"Do you hear yourself right now?!" I lost it right then and there, almost stabbing my phone screen with my thumb as I hit the end button and hung up on his ass. Why did I even answer the damn phone, it was my fault I let him get to me like that. He was such a fucking hypocrite, and he didn't even realize it. 'You know, you should really give people your address when you move,' I should've been the one telling him that!

It wasn't birthday cards or even gifts that mattered. What mattered was his effort, and he wasn't even trying to be in my life.
Holding back my anger, I pushed through the door and headed back inside. The warm air was so comforting it sent a chill running up my spine. I just stood there, kind of taking everything in again- The lights, the darkness, the music, the sound of the bowling ball crashing into the pins. It even smelled like shoe sanitizer,and worn out bowling shoes.
"There she is!" Jess pointed towards me, "It's your turn, now hurry up and get over here so we can finish this game."
The black light made my skin look purple, I gave her 'the guns,' trying to play it cool. "I'm coming, calm yourself."

Of course as I approached them Jess asked me, "Who were you on the phone with?" Shanice was leaning in her seat, waiting for my response too.
Jess deserved to know, so I told her, "Dad." I didn't really care that Shanice was listening, it wasn't like I knew her that well anyways. I grabbed a bowling ball from the rack, walking up to the lane.
"He called you?!" She exclaimed, sounding almost surprised. "You guys have been talking?! For how long?! You know the last time I called him his number was out of service." She was jumping the gun now.
I had my back turned from her, aiming for the pin all the way in the front. This game shouldn't have been called bowling, it should've been called the domino effect. No one aimed for the sides, everyone aimed for the pin front and center, that was just the way it was. "Yeah, he called me. We don't talk, we haven't ever been talking, and we never will be talking. If you want his new number I can give it to you though."

"No, I don't want it." I had never heard my sister sound so disappointed over him. I hated him, for making us both feel that way.
"Good. You don't need to talk to him anyways." With all my might, I rolled the bowling ball down the lane. It crashed  straight into the front pin. I watched all the other ones tumble, one after the other. "Woo! I'm so good at this game!" Jumping up and down, I started singing along to the song that was playing. "I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me now. Flew me to places I'd never been, 'Til you put me down, oh!" I busted out the funky chicken like an old grandma.  

Jess crashed into me, grabbing my hands and making me dance with her. I thought I was going to have a heart attack until she started singing. "I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me now. Flew me to places I'd never been, now I'm lying on the cold hard ground!" Her singing voice was so funny. I got on my knees, placing my hands on my chest like I was a rock star or something.
Out of nowhere, Shanice jumped in too, and  her entrance was the funniest. "Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble! She was dancing like a wild child, hips swaying from side to side as she did her Mariah Carey hand motions.
Jess let go of me and we all just stood there looking at each other, dancing and laughing together, in between our words. "Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble!" We probably looked like a bunch of teenage idiots to the boys sitting at the table, but we didn't give a shit. We were teenage idiots just trying to have some fun.  

***

There was this invisibly orchestrated symphony going on in the background, a symphony full of "Mmm's," while we all chatted and ate. My uncle had bribed us and we were all trying to eat the most cupcakes in 5 minutes.
We were 3 and a half minutes in and Allyson looked like she wanted to give up. She had 3 empty cupcake wrappers on her plate and a half bitten cupcake in her hand. Roger had 6 empty cupcake wrappers on his plate, sitting around waiting for everyone else to catch-up to him.
"Ya' know, it's okay if ya' can't eat anymore hun bun." He was surprisingly really sweet to Allyson, I began to wonder how they met. He had a Southern drawl that no one would expect just from looking at him. She said they had been through a lot of shit together, and he kind of looked older than her.
She turned to him and gave him her look of defeat. "I'm going to burst if I eat anymore."
"Well then, I guess Roger wins." My uncle walked over to him and gave him both of the fifty bucks.
"Oh, thanks. I did kind of need this money, even though I just wanted to win." Roger, gave Allyson one of the 50 dollar bills and kissed her cheek. She grabbed him by his chin and kissed him on his lips instead. They both had icing all over their faces and their arms, it was a Kodak moment for sure but I knew she didn't want anyone to take a picture of her looking like that.
"No Roger, you take it all. You're probably going to need it over seas." She shoved the money back at him, kissing him some more.  

   "Mmmm." I licked the vanilla frosting off of my finger, almost ashamed that I had eaten another cupcake. "Gosh! These were so good!"
    Croy had this funny look on his face as he was about to grab his third cupcake. "Yeah, almost too good." He looked at the cupcakes like they were demon spawn. "Where did you get all these? That was a lot of cupcakes, no offense but- how did you afford this?"
   Allyson just got up from the table and smiled as she sunk her teeth into the last bit of her unfinished cupcake, rolling her eyes in satisfaction while dusting off her fingers. "I told you, I know a guy. He only charged me for 2 dozen and gave me another dozen for free. I thought Melody would have more people over."
Roger got up and put all the plates in the sink, washing the dishes like he actually lived here.
     "I hate wasting food, but I guess we did the best we could. I don't want you guys to throw up at the table." He looked at us all and laughed.    

After all that was said and somewhat done, Shanice got up. "It's been nice hanging out with you all, but I should get home now. It takes me about 30 minutes to actually drive home." She smiled at my uncle and then she came up to me and gave me a hug. "Happy Birthday Melody. You have a very sweet family." If only she really knew. "I had fun spending time with you, we should do this again sometime."
Forcing a smile across my lips, I hugged her back. "Oh yeah? Thanks."
She pulled away from me and smiled at Croy. "Thanks for being so welcoming towards me, I really appreciated it."
"No problem." He looked over at the cupcakes, still unhappy. "We have a dozen and a half left, you want to take some home with you?"
She waved her hands back and forth, gasping. "Oh no! I can't, you guys enjoy it."
Jessica looked at her phone and almost looked relieved. "Yeah, I should get going too, we'll walk you down Shanice." She walked over to Croy and gave him a hug, "It was nice seeing you, I should stop by more often."
"You should, you're always welcome to." He sighed, "How's mom?" All of a sudden he stopped himself. "You know what? Never mind, we can talk another time."  

Jess nodded at him, clearly catching his drift; but I was still clueless. We proceeded to walk Shanice downstairs and she kept looking at her phone as she walked, constantly bumping into me here and there, because she wasn't paying attention.
"I guess I'll see you at school? Maybe? Maybe not?" Shanice rolled her eyes, sighing. "Everyone is absent these last few days, just because of vacation and everything else- I'll see you when I see you."
"Yeah." I muttered, glad that she didn't ask me why I hadn't been in school all week. "See you around, and thanks again- for coming and everything."
"No prob." She walked out of the front door, and hit the button on her key chain.
The headlights on her car flashed twice and I got a decent look at her car. It was nothing fancy but it definitely wasn't shabby either. It was all sleek and silver.

As soon as Shanice drove off down the road, Jess smiled and tapped me on the shoulder. "Good, now you can open my gift." She walked over to the couch and grabbed the big bag that was leaning beside it, opening the door to my room.
As I followed her inside she whispered, "Shut the door, and lock it."  Her eyes roamed around from the curtains to the turtle tank. "I like what you did with your room. When did you get a turtle?"
I locked the door, and sat on the bed. "Yeah, thanks. Allyson and Croy did it. I just got him this morning though, I still need to name him. What's in the bag?" I pointed towards it, it looked all big and chic. It was soooo Jessica.
"Open it!" She handed it over to me, her eyes lowering on me. "It's not exactly you but I figured you'd like it, at least a little bit."
Pulling the black garb from the bag, my eyes almost exploded. There were no words to even describe how I felt once I held it up in the air.  

"I got you matching knee socks! Look in the bottom of the bag,  there's even a headband with kitten ears on it and a big fluffy tail!" She was all giddy and animated, still waiting for me to say something.
My mouth was just hanging wide open like a sink hole in the ground. This little outfit had more cuts in it than anything else. Everywhere you looked there was a slit, this outfit shouldn't have even been considered clothing; it showed more skin instead of actually covering it!  If I put it on, thin slivers of my stomach would be showcased to the world, and my legs would be fair game too. Hell, a guy could probably sneak a peak of what I was wearing underneath the short ass skirt that came with it. "Thanks. I could totally use this, when I become a stripper." What I said was harsh, but the truth hurt. It was a skanky outfit, I didn't even know why she thought I would wear something like that.
"It's not an outfit, it's a costume!" She scolded, snatching it from my hands and throwing it back in the bag. Her face fell flat, as she put the bag on the floor and she crossed her arms. "You need to lighten up."

"Lighten up and swing on a pole? No thanks." I shifted around on the bed, looking at my fingers. "We are so different."
"Yeah we are!" She put her hands on my shoulders, sighing. "Look, I'm having a party in 2 weeks and 2 days from now." As soon as she said that I remembered it was going to be her birthday in exactly 2 weeks. "It's kind of a costume party, but not really. I mean, you don't have to dress up, but it would be nice if you did." She rolled her eyes, "I know almost half the guys will just come in shorts or something." Her hands moved along the sides of my shoulders. "But since I got you a costume, you have no excuse not to come now."
Great, now I needed to find a way out of this. Jess knew I hated parties, I had never even been to a party before. "Umm, hmm let's see." I rubbed my chin, looking at the ceiling in the most sarcastic way. "No."
"Come on!" Her arms moved away from my shoulders and she threw them in front of my face, pleading with me. "Everyone's going to be there, it's going to be my birthday bash, I'm gonna be 18." She grabbed my hand, "Mel, I need you there!"
I had never seen my sister that desperate to have me around. "I'll think about it." Promising her I would show up was not an option.  

"You're coming. I hung out with you for your birthday so you'll do the same for me."
"Don't you have Janelle? What about Kizzy?" I laughed, knowing how highly she thought of them. They were like sisters to her, she always said that.
"Well, yeah I do but- Kizzy is letting me throw the party at her house so that doesn't count; and Janelle and I aren't talking anymore." Her lips curled in slightly, and then she straightened them. "I don't think she's coming, but I don't care." She got up from the bed.
"What happened?" I asked, sensing a bad feeling from her.
"Me, my life. I don't know. She's just being unsupportive of my decisions, and I don't want her at my party." She sat down on the bed, looking down at her shoes. "I told her I was thinking about quitting the cheer leading team, and she freaked out on me; but there's just no need for me to do it anymore."
I gasped, not expecting that at all. "Damn, you completely blindsided me with that one." Looking over at her and seeing the guilty look on her face was when I realized she was for real, I stood up and faced her. "Oh shit! You're for real?"
She nodded. "Yup. It's getting old. I need something more serious in my life right now."

Serious? Why the hell would she want something serious in her life right now? Wasn't our parent's divorce serious enough for her? "Jess, you sound crazy. Where the hell is this coming from, this isn't coming from you. I know that for a fact and I'm barely around you." She was going to be 18 in two weeks, but that didn't mean she had to drop everything and do everything.
Like a lost little puppy she began to speak. "Collin said-"
Had she lost her mind? I didn't even let her finish her sentence. "Collin said?! Fuck him! He's no one Jess, who cares what he thinks. He already got you to dye your hair brown- now this?!"
"He didn't make me do it, I wanted to!" She got all tense, seething me with her eyes.
"Yes he did make you do it! If he hadn't have said anything you would still be blonde!" I didn't even recognizing who the hell I was talking to. "What's wrong with you?! You're letting a guy manipulate you!"  

She flicked her fingers open, and then closed them together tightly, closing her fists. I watched her knuckles turn white. "He's not fucking manipulating me! He loves me!" She pointed her index finger at me, her razor sharp, claw-like nail pointing at me. "You sound just like her now."
"So?" I pointed my finger right back at her. "We're just trying to look out for you. How come you won't listen to us?" I started thinking about Cris, she was treating him like crap. "Imagine how Cris feels!"
"He cheated on me." She hung her head low like she was embarrassed, afraid to even look me in the eye. "Our relationship has been rocky for the longest time, and I hung in there even though I didn't want to anymore; I thought things would change."
It was just too much, my lungs felt like they were ripping apart, my heart was striking against my helpless chest AND I WASN'T EVEN THE ONE IN HER PREDICAMENT. I ran my hands through my hair, gasping for air like I had been underwater this whole time. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine," she mumbled. "The girl is a hoe-bag anyways, he can have his fun with her. I just don't want him to talk to me or even lay his eyes on me." They seemed so happy together, I guess not everything was what it seemed to be. "He's just disgusting. It's pathetic that he went through all that just to get laid." A smirk pinched into her lips. "And to think- I was going to give my virginity to that guy."

For a second I thought I had heard her wrong. "I'm sorry- What?!"
I caught her biting her lip. "Yep, I'm a virgin. Surprise-surprise, huh?" She stood there staring me down like she knew me all too well.
"I'm sorry I just thought-"
"You thought I had sex with him?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she shot me an expecting glare.
"Yeah, I kind of did. I mean, you guys-"
She shrugged her shoulders. "It's cool. Everyone thought we were, but I was okay with that." She suspired, smiling even more. "It's a lot easier that way- I don't have to explain my sexual decisions to anyone."
It felt like the temperature dropped 40 degrees in here. There was just this awkward hole in our conversation, but it needed to be filled with something before it got even bigger. "Well, you don't have to explain it to me." I smiled, trying not to make her feel obligated.

Her eyes grew wider like a flower beginning to blossom. "I was going to do it, but the flame died."
"The flame died?" I laughed, wondering why she sounded damn near poetic.
"Yeah, there was no connection anymore, no spark, no nothing. It felt like he was just taking me out on dates to try and convince me to sleep with him." She flicked something from the top off her nail, grimacing. "Well, at least I have all these nice ass clothes, and I didn't even have to screw him." Her eyes twinkled and she honestly looked happier than she did a second ago. "I have Collin, he understands me, I'm going to be 18, I can live my life how I want now. He takes the time to listen to me and wants to see me happy, he's not worried about making himself happy; he's mature and he knows what he wants."
Damn, they clearly had been making plans- major plans. The way she talked about him was almost alarming. It was obvious she liked him, but I was confused as to what she was trying to say. "What does he want?"
It took her a minute before she answered, but she did. "He wants me to move in with him- and his roommate."
"WHAT?!" Something wasn't right with this guy, they had only known each other for a few months; and now he wanted to have her move in with him. WHAT THE FUCK?  

"Mel, don't judge me. I know this was a shitty time to spring this on you." She looked like little puppy, learning how to walk. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a long time now, but you were in the hospital and I didn't want to bother you. I really need your advice, and I just can't hold this in any longer."
"I'm not judging you Jess, I just don't want to see you make a decision that's hard to get yourself out of. What if you regret it? Where does he live? Have you seen his place? Have you met his roommate?" I snapped my finger in the air, "I think you should do a background check on this guy."
She laughed at me and shook her head. "Mel!"
I kept a straight face, waving my index finger in the air. "No." Shaking my head back and forth, I scolded her like a dog. "It's too soon. You're going to be living with him- living with him. If shit gets rocky, where are you going to go?"
"I'll always have you guys, and mom." She shrugged her shoulders, still smiling. "He's so sweet. He's offering to let me stay there for free the first few months, until I get settled. I really want you to get to know him more."

That didn't ring a bell to her? Something wasn't right, she was making me feel paranoid but I just didn't feel right about any of this. "Something is fishy, like super fishy, like just got out of the ocean fishy!"
She put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips. "I just want you to give him a chance. Talk to him, get to know him- he's coming to my party. You guys need to talk, he's going to be around, so you should get used to him."
Talk to him, get to know him?!?! Wasn't that what she was supposed to be doing? I sighed, not wanting to argue with her. "Okay, fine. I'll go to your little shin-dig and talk to him for a little bit, but that's it.... And I'm not promising anything."
There was barely any space between us yet she still ran to me, hugging me. "That's fine! I'm just glad you're going to come." She looked over at the bag in the corner. "You have no idea how much this means to me, you don't have to wear the costume, I just want you to come. You can even bring a friend, like Shanice or something- she said she wanted to hang out with you again."
I wrapped my arms around her, trying to act the least bit enthused. "Hmm, sounds like fun."

She started laughing and pulled me away. "I don't need your sarcasm! Just come, and if you want to stay, you can spend the night at Kizzy's house, her parents are cool like that." She reached into her back pocket as she walked towards the door. "Oh yeah, mom told me to give you this." She placed a little box on top of my dresser, it looked like the skin of a cow had been glued around it. It was black and white and it actually kind of looked like fur, synthetic fur. Before leaving she said, "I'll see you in two weeks and two days, or maybe I'll stop by for Christmas if I'm not too busy. Love ya!"
"I love you too." I said with my voice sounding like a quiet whistle. That little box was so tiny yet it scared the shit out of me. I walked over to the dresser to see what was inside of it.