About a week had passed. Justin was trying not to worry about Aiko. She had woken up from her coma a few days before. But, it felt wrong to go see her. It was almost like he didn't need to be in her life.
He sat in his room, thinking heavily on what was going on with him. Not only with Aiko, but with another major event that was coming very soon.
"My birthday is in a few days..." he said to himself in a depressed tone. Yeah, ever since he turned 21, his birthday was never the same. This year, he was turning 23.
Momo heard what he had said. She came into his room, hoping to cheer him up.
"Happy birthday, Master!" she said in a gleeful tone. What was she trying to do? Remind him of how much of an asshole he was?
"Momo... Don't." he replied.
"What's wrong, Master?" she asked innocently.
"N-Nothing. Just forget that I said that."
She looked at him confused. Was his birthday not coming?
"Is everything okay? You seem sad. Do you need me to cuddle you or lick your face?"
"No, just leave me alone." he said dismissively. This made her upset. She ran out of his room, slightly tearing up.
She picked up her phone and called Tiffany. Wait, so she does know how to use a phone?
"Hello?" the blonde schoolgirl answered.
"Hi, Tiffany." the innocent catgirl said.
"Momo? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"I thought you didn't know how to use a phone?" she said.
"I do if I'm in trouble. But, my master isn't doing too good."
"What's wrong?"
"He's been laying in bed all day. I think he's depressed again. He also said something about his birthday and when I came in to his room to tell him happy birthday, he yelled at me."
"I'm so sorry to hear that. What do you think is wrong with him?" she asked.
"I-I don't know. But, can you come by later and talk to him? I don't want him to overdose again."
"Yes, I'll come over this evening after I'm done studying. Just keep an eye on him, okay?"
"Thank you, Tiffany. I'll see you later."
They hung up. Momo quietly awaited for Tiffany to show up, also keeping an eye on Justin. He sat in bed, not showing any form of happiness. Just a grim look.
A few hours later, Tiffany arrived. She knocked on the door and Momo answered it.
"Hi, Tiffany!" she greeted.
"Hey, Momo." the blonde schoolgirl greeted back. "Where is he?"
"In his room." she answered.
Tiffany walked to the back of his house. She knocked on his door.
"Justin? Are you in there?"
"What! Who is it?!" he said, completely alarmed.
"It's Tiffany. Can I come in?"
"Sure, sure. Whatever."
She opened the door. He was still sitting in bed. She saw the look on his face. There was definitely something wrong.
"What are you doing here, Tiffany?" he asked.
"Momo called me. She told me that you were upset and you even lashed out at her. I just came over to see what's wrong."
"I-It's nothing." he said nervously.
"Really? It sure doesn't sound like nothing. She told me you got upset when she told you happy birthday."
He paused. Just mentioning "birthday" made him upset. However, instead of crying, he just sat still. It almost paralyzed him, leaving him speechless.
"Let's just talk. I know you're having more emotional issues. I'm here for you." she said, proceeding to crawl into bed with him.
"Yeah. I am kind of emotional right now. You know my birthday is in a few days, right?"
"I know. Mine's 8 days after it on the 22nd." she replied. That's right. Justin had completely forgotten that him and Tiffany are the same age. He was only 8 days older than her. December 14th was his birthday, December 22nd was hers.
"I remember. It just sucks how I haven't actually celebrated it since I turned 21."
"I know. You told me that the last birthday you actually celebrated was your 21st. You went to Goldfalls and won $50."
He remembered that. He went to Goldfalls Casino and won $50 from a slot machine. He then remembered that Aiko loved to gamble. She just wouldn't get out of his mind.
"So, have you heard anything about Aiko?" he said, bringing her up.
"Yeah, I saw her when she woke up. She asked where you were."
"She did?" he asked, seeming surprised.
"Yeah. She was upset that you weren't there to visit her."
"I apologize for it. It's just... I don't feel like I had that right. I'm the reason she tried to kill herself. I think I should just distance myself from her, for good."
Tiffany frowned. "Justin, you weren't the reason Ms. Yumi overdosed."
"Oh really? Then what was it?" he asked.
"It's nothing personal, but it was your friend Connor."
He gasped. What did Connor do?
"Connor?" he said in a shocked tone.
"Yeah. She said that he had sex with her and didn't use protection. She was afraid that she was pregnant. So, she drank a ton of alcohol and took a lot of pills. She couldn't afford to live by herself already. So, having a kid would've been worse, financially."
This was all disgusting to Justin. He knew Connor was irresponsible, but he never thought he'd get someone close to him pregnant.
"Was she actually pregnant?" he asked, hoping it was a false alarm.
"From what the doctors said, she was but her consuming the alcohol killed the baby. So, they had to give her an abortion."
That was even more disgusting. This was a bit heavy for his heart to handle. At least he knew that Aiko wasn't completely upset with him. It was more of Connor's fault.
"I'm so pissed right now. I can't trust Connor anymore. This has happened before. He got some girl pregnant and left her, avoiding all responsibility. The same thing happened with Kyanna and her ex-boyfriend."
"I wouldn't neither. At least when you have sex, you don't do it without protection. Heck, you cuddle more than anything."
"Yeah." he said, slightly blushing.
"So, let's talk about your birthday." she said, changing the subject.
"Damn it, Tiffany. I don't care about it. Last year, I wasn't allowed to celebrate it. I don't think it's worth a celebration anymore."
"Justin, stop being so pessimistic. You were in that group home last year. Just because you missed one birthday doesn't mean you need to miss the rest of them." she said, trying to cheer him up.
"I don't know, Tiffany. I just think every holiday is dead, including my birthday and Christmas."
"Oh really? What about Thanksgiving? We celebrated it with a big dinner on a tropical island, and that was your idea. Not to mention, everyone enjoyed it."
He paused. He had forgotten that he did celebrate Thanksgiving. Not only that, but he didn't need his family to celebrate it. He had his friends/love interests.
"You're right. As much as I'm sad about my family cutting ties with me, at least I have you and the other friends to spend holidays with."
"I know. We're basically your family at this point. I think we need to have a big celebration for you, since last year you didn't celebrate it."
He smiled. "Thank you, Tiffany. But, what should I do?"
"You shouldn't do anything. I'll handle it. Just be prepared on the 14th."
"Really? Are you sure you can handle it?" he asked.
"Of course. I'm gonna make some calls. You just take it easy until then."
He smiled. "T-Thank you, Tiffany."
"No problem. But, I should get going. I have an exam tomorrow. But, after that, I'll be off for Christmas break and we can spend some time together."
She got up from his bed, kissed him on the cheek, and said goodbye. He didn't know what to expect. But, hopefully, she was going to make it a special day for him.