For once, she has a chapter up on time. And we hit 3000 views last chapter! Wooo!

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The room was warm when I woke up, and I immediately reached over in search of Carlisle. His lips were against my neck before I found him, and I hummed in pleasure, running my hand up his back as he leant over me.

"Happy birthday, Garrett," he murmured softly, kissing me before I could respond.

I tangled my fingers in his hair, only just awake enough to comprehend how good this felt. "Good morning, you." Having the blankets between us was quickly becoming frustrating, and I tried to shuffle out from under them. Tangled, I didn't gain freedom until Carlisle folded them back, and he slid closer to me, sliding one leg between mine to close any space between us.

"How's twenty-seven feel?" he teased, his lips meeting mine and preventing me from answering for a minute.

"Pretty damn good, with you here," I chuckled, squeezing his waist before sneaking my hands under his t-shirt. "Even better, if this was off you."

Laughing, he obediently stripped down to his underwear, unbuttoning my shirt while he was at it. "You know, we don't really have that much time before we have to go and see your family, seeming as you wanted to sleep all morning."

I groaned, pulling him back into me and resting my head against his shoulder. "I would have woken up an hour ago, it you'd told me that."

"We have all night tonight, though," he reminded me, brushing my hair back off my face. "And we can still shower together before we leave."

With no choice, I surrendered. "You have a deal," I groaned. I let him drag me into the bathroom, sulking as he gently pulled my clothing off me.

"Has age rendered your hands useless, Garrett?" Under the water, his fingers worked through my hair, untangling it slowly. His lips grazed my jaw, trailing soft kisses down my neck as he slid his hands down my back.

Forcing a deep breath, I leaned my head back against the wall, letting my eyes fall closed as his fingers came to rest on my hips. I smiled as I felt his arms slide around my waist, and ran my hands up his arms and across his shoulder blades, bringing our lips together. "We aren't going to be getting any cleaner like this," I murmured to him, squeezing him against me.

Leaning up to kiss me again, he pushed me back against the wall. "I guess not. Do you think you can manage by yourself?" he teased.

I must have frowned, because he laughed, condescendingly placing his hand on my chest. I closed my fingers over it, squeezing slightly. "If I must."

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Far too soon we were in the car and on the way to my parents. My knuckles were white, I was squeezing the wheel so tightly, and we hadn't even pulled out of our driveway yet. I'd done up my seat belt as soon as I was in the vehicle, purely to stop myself climbing out the window and making a break for it down the street.

"You look cute today, by the way," Carlisle told me as he jumped in the passenger's seat. He'd had to rush to get ready after waiting for me to finish so he could shower, and his hair was still wet, his shoes still untied, and the buttons of his shirt were slightly askew. As for anyone being 'cute' in this car, it was definitely him.

I was too nervous to smile or make any smart remark back, waiting until he'd rearranged himself before starting the car. I felt sick, and my stomach was already hurting. It made my achievement the day before feel like nothing, and I wanted to cry. Going to my parent's place was the last thing I wanted to do, but the choice had already been made for me. I just wanted to curl up in bed with movies and my boyfriend.

"Hey…It'll be okay, Garrett," he murmured quietly after noting my reaction. Sliding his hand up my leg, he knotted his fingers through mine, squeezing my hand. "Everything will be fine. Besides, they can't keep you all day; you're mine tonight."

The pressure I was putting on his fingers must have been unpleasant, but I couldn't loosen my grip any out of fear of losing my mind. He just ran his thumb over the back of my hand, silently trying to soothe me.

The three-hour drive was a quiet one, and I was sure Carlisle's hand must have been numb by the time we finally pulled into the driveway. My stomach was churning, and I felt like I was going to throw up. "…I can't do this…" I whispered frantically, fighting not to put the car in reverse.

"Yes, you can. Just go see your mother, if nothing else; she misses you. And if you need to go home, I'll drive us and we can just forget about it." He wrapped his arm around his waist as we walked up to the door, and I was hyperventilating. I tried to focus on the feeling of his hands on me, just like in the restaurant, but it wasn't working.

I barely had to knock before mum threw open the door, her arms around my neck. "Happy birthday, sweetheart. Your aunts came from out of town to see you too! And they've brought lunch-"

I couldn't hear anything after that, my ears ringing too loudly. The room was spinning and I was barely aware that Carlisle had pulled me inside and we had been confronted with the said aunts, and their children. I was going to fucking die.

"You must be Carlisle, we've heard a lot about you." My aunts voice was enough to yank me roughly back into reality. Fuck no, was anyone going to pick on him again. Not after he'd just overcome my father's crap. My arm snaked around his shoulders, and he was rubbing my side.

My boyfriend didn't miss a beat though. "Siobhan, isn't it? Sasha said that you and your family had come over from Ireland…" Again, I let his voice fade; he was handling it fine. Far better than I was. Because I was fucking pathetic.

At lunch, I managed a few mouthfuls, which pleased my parents, but was forced to abandon my plate in case it all come back up again. Mum was intent on force-feeding my boyfriend when she found she I wouldn't eat it, and he was letting her, purely to please her I thought. An hour or so passed, and I wouldn't let Carlisle more than two feet away from me, keeping a tight hold on his hand. I was standing in front of a kitchen counter, surrounded by everyone and Kate was wrapped around my legs and whining at me, but I couldn't hear any of them through the haze in my head.

"Garrett…" Carlisle touched the side of my face, finally catching my attention. He offered me a sympathetic smile when our eyes met. "Blow out your candles; they're all waiting for you," he whispered.

I did, and tripped over Eleazar as I stepped back so they could cut the cake. Thank god, no one had tried to arm me with a knife. My brother's hands covered my shoulders as he steadied me. "Careful, birthday boy."

I stood to the side until the flurry of people thinned out after getting their piece of cake, vaguely aware of Carlisle hugging me and trying to calm me down. My stomach hurt so badly I didn't want to stand up anymore.

"Come, honey, come get your cake," mum smiled at me, ushering me toward the counter. It was brightly coloured, and she was so happy to give it to me, but I couldn't do it.

"…mum, I-I really don't feel well…" My voice broke, and Carlisle's hand instinctively tightened around mine.

"Just a little bit, sweetie, I promise you'll like it," she coaxed again, disappointment starting to set in. "Your aunt Siobhan brought it with her."

"I-I know, mum, b-but I-I can't…" My voice caught and my eyes were burning, my vision so blurry I couldn't see. Mumbling something about needing to go toilet, I stumbled my way to the bathroom, landing on my hands and knees in front of the toilet bowl. Lunch rushed up again, and I was sick, barely registering Carlisle's hands against my face as he brushed my hair back.

"Deep breaths, Garrett, it's okay," he whispered to me. Gone suddenly from my side, I heard him lock the bathroom door and tells someone on the other side that we were alright. He wrapped his arms around me as I sat back, and I buried my face in his shoulder as he hugged me. "It's okay."

"…I want to go home…" I mumbled to him, trying not to cry.

"Okay, Gar, I'll talk to your mum, and we can go. It's alright." Kissing my neck, he stayed with me for a few more minutes before standing again. "Don't lock the door, okay? I'll be right back." He was gone for a few minutes, and I stayed sitting on the bathroom floor, waiting for him to bail me out.

I leaned my forehead against my knees, forcing deep breaths to calm myself down. This was probably the worst attack I'd ever had, and I couldn't place what had triggered it so badly; I had survived this in better condition every other year.

I hadn't heard him come back in, but he was rubbing my arms suddenly, asking me if I was ready to move. "…what'd you tell her…?" There was nothing like finding out your son has had an eating disorder his entire life on his twenty-seventh birthday, just because someone did something nice for him.

"That I thought you had a stomach bug, and weren't feeling well. Come; let's get you home." And thank fucking god for that.

The lie was definitely a good one; no one wanted to touch me, so I got away with only a pat on the back from Eleazar, and a hug from both my parents. Even in my dizzy state, I couldn't help but be pleased to see dad touch my boyfriend somewhat affectionately, even if it was a stiff handshake.

I was silent as Carlisle drove home, sitting on my fingertips and keeping my head down. The radio was off, so the noise from outside seemed amplified. He reached over, his hand on my thigh as he rubbed my leg.

"You okay?" he asked me softly, squeezing gently.

"…my mum…" I mumbled. The guilt was suffocating.

"She understood, it's alright. Please don't worry."

I covered his hand between both of mine, needing the contact. "She thinks I'm sick, though. She understood the lie…"

"It doesn't matter, Garrett. If you want to talk to her about it later, I can come with you if you need me to. Just calm down for now."

Blowing out a deep breath, I nodded. "Y-yeah…okay…"

It was just after five by the time we got home, and all I wanted was to crawl into bed and forget about the whole thing. I felt bad about abandoning whatever it was the Carlisle wanted to do with me, but I couldn't face anymore just yet. He came to bed with me though, letting me cuddle into him in search of comfort. Having his arms around me made me feel safe, and I was easily able to fall asleep.

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My boyfriend wasn't with me when I woke up again, and I wandered into the kitchen in search of him. He appeared in front of me in no time at all, wrapping me in a hug before he stepped back. "Sit."

I did as he said, and sat at the table, watching suspiciously as he disappeared to grab something out of the cupboard. "Carlisle," I warned lowly, knowing he was up to something. I really didn't feel like doing anything remotely 'birthday' related now; I knew my mother was put out by me not eating, and it made me feel like shit to have hurt her.

"It's not a present, so you can't dump me," he teased gently, setting the cake in front of me and starting to light the candles. "I'm drawing the line at singing to you, though, so blow out your candles, birthday boy."

I had to laugh at that, rolling me eyes at him. It was fucking cute though, and I was a little flattered that he'd gone out of his way to source the treat for me. "Where'd you get this from? It's pretty…"

"The wax will drip; blow them out." My amazement was apparently amusing, because he was trying not to laugh, and watching him was making me chuckle. I did as he asked, and he fell into the chair next to me, handing me a knife. "…I knew you wouldn't eat at your parents, and I thought maybe it would be nice if you did here instead…you can't miss out on your own cake for twenty-seven years straight, though if you don't feel like eating just yet, that's okay too." A little shy now, he leaned over to kiss me lightly. "Happy birthday."

I didn't let him pull back, bringing our lips together again. "You're the sweetest person I've ever met, you know that, right?" Rubbing his arm as he hugged my waist, I leaned my cheek against the top of his head, despite it being a little awkward sitting at the table like this.

"…I wanted to give it to you tomorrow, since you're not feeling well, but I think it'll melt, and I wanted you to at least see it while it still looked nice," he admitted, looking down.

"It's perfect, Carlisle. I know I overreacted today, but I feel okay now…thank you." I pulled him into me, shuffling his chair over to me. "You're also getting first bite of this; it smells wonderful." Cutting off a piece of it for both of us, I scooped some of it up on a fork, holding it out to him.

"Shouldn't I be the one feeding you? It's your cake, after all," he laughed, letting me do it anyway.

"It's my birthday, so I can do what I want," I teased, in a far better mood now. I took a bite of it while his mouth was too full to come out with anything that needed an instant response, and I almost groaned at how good it tasted. I wished I could have done this with the rest of my family too. "Where'd you get this from?"

He hesitated a second, before giving in and telling me. "One of the women I work with does cake decorating as like a second job…so I got it from her, because I couldn't make a cake to save my life."

"Thank you." I kissed his forehead before continuing to stuff my face. "Are you trying to make me fat?" I teased him, trying to talk through the food in my mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." He rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. "And if anyone is trying to make anyone else fat, it's your mother; she fed me so much stuff when we were there this morning I'm surprised I can still move."

I poked his ribs, making him squeak and jump into me. "She has to feed one of us, and seeming as I'm useless, it has to be you…is it too late to do whatever you wanted to do tonight?"

"No, we had to wait until it was dark anyway; do you feel like going out? It's okay if you don't, I'll take you another day." Seeing the expression on my face, he continued. "Don't worry, I'm not going to drag you into town; I'm not going to torture you." He knew me too well. My stubbornness about birthdays weren't something he'd encountered before, but to his credit, he was handling it very well.

It put me at ease, and I relaxed in my chair a little bit. "Thank god."