-Sienna's P.O.V-
I sat up and stretched, my eyes widened when I heard a few bones cracking, oh shit. Clearly I slept in a strange position. I giggled to myself, I knew exactly what is going to happen the minute I walk out of this door and I needed to brace myself. Every year was the same. They always made a big deal. I brushed my teeth before walking back into my room. I reached over my dressing table and grabbed the necklace David gifted me years ago and fastened it around my neck. I never went a day without wearing it. I took a deep breath and left my bedroom.
"Happy Birthday!" They all screamed in unison. My dad stood up and pulled me into the biggest hug. It was so quick I didn't have time to process it.
"Thank you" I giggled, pulling away from my dad. My mom then ran over to me.
"I can't believe you're 18. You know in England, you'd already be classed as an adult" She told me.
"I'm definitely visiting England" I joked.
"No need, you'll get to do what they all do tonight. Have you forgotten who your family is?" David perked up. I flashed him the biggest smile and took a seat on the fountain, where my mom instructed me to sit.
One by one they handed my gifts. Dwayne brought me a new hair dryer and a lot of hair products, from gels, to creams, shampoo and conditioner sets and more. He told me that he knew I loved taking care of my hair so he thought this would be the best thing. I thanked him and squeezed him tightly. Dwayne could be so thoughtful.
Next was David. I danced a little in my seat, waiting for him to hand me the first gift, there was two. He shook his head at my actions and passed me the first one. I ripped open the paper and let out a loud squeal. I stared in awe. I begged for this book for years, and he had found a three in one. Anne Rice 'The Vampire Chronicles' with the stories 'Interview with the vampire' 'The vampire Lestat' and lastly 'The Queen of the damned' Score! The last thing he handed me was a pair of decently sized studs and they were gorgeous.
"Who did you steal these from?" My dad jokingly asked him.
"A guy owed me" David proudly stated. "Come here kid" I ran over and wrapped his arms around me. Telling me to be very careful with the earrings. I nodded and sat back down.
"Us next!" My dad yelled.
"You don't have to shout!" My mom screamed back.
"Sorry I just love birthdays" My dad said. He practically shoved the first gift into my hand. I opened it up and smiled. A hand bag. He never let me have one this size. His excuse was only women should have a handbag like this and I was only a child still. The second gift was a handful of clothes and the third was a bottle of perfume that I had been begging for. My mom stared at my dad in shock and annoyance.
"What's wrong mom?"
"Oh it's nothing" She placed her hand on her forehead, glaring at my dad.
"What?" My dad blurted out. "What did I do?" My mom kissed her teeth and handed me the first gift. I ripped it open and couldn't help but laugh. Now I understood. I lifted up the gift to show everyone, who too burst into a fit of laughter. I held up the exact same bottle of perfume my dad had just gifted me.
"This is why I tell you to communicate Paul, so this doesn't happen" My mom said, slapping him playfully on the arm.
"I'm sorry babe I didn't know" My dad reached over and kissed the side of my mom's head. I opened us her second gift and saw a leather jacket and the third and final gift was a pair of heels.
"For tonight" she told me. I thanked her and pulled both of my parents into a tight hug. Each of them hesitant to let go.
"Marko?" My dad asked as we all waited.
"Oh I didn't get you anything" Marko blurted out. I playfully slapped him, seeing his smirk creep up on his face.
"Liar!" I stuck my tongue out and he reached behind the couch he sat on, pulling out the first gift. I opened it carefully and let out a sound. It was beautiful. A single blue rose encased in a glass box and on the side was etched 'Happy 18th Birthday, Cici'.
"Marko! Thank you so much" He reached over and squeezed my hand.
"Two more" he told me and pulled out a small presents and a bigger one. He handed me the small one and when I opened it I was met with a jar of handwritten notes. I went to open it but he stopped me. "You only open it when you are feeling down, but you only read one each time you open it. They'll make you happy again" I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face, that is the cutest thing ever. He handed me the final gift and it was a black book. I looked over at him for a second before going back to the book. I opened it and my mouth dropped. I flicked through the pages and tears began to form.
"When did you do this?" I asked wiping the tears away.
"Since Lauren and Paul first brought you to the cave" he admitted. I giggled slightly watching him chew on nail.
"What is it?" Dwayne asked. I handed it to him and showed him. Every page was a detailed sketch of me, from when I was a baby until now. Marko drew me as a grew and I never knew. The gift was beautiful, my favourite one. I stood up and hugged him tightly, we stayed like that for a few minutes, forgetting everyone else was in the room.
"Thank you so much" I whispered into his ear and kissed his cheek.
-
"I'm gonna puke" I giggled and fell into Dwayne who caught me. We just finished riding the big dipper and I couldn't take anymore fair rides.
"I can't believe you made me do this" David groaned.
So far, my birthday was amazing. We had been to the drive through to watch Childs play 1. My dad made sure to inform me that the whole day was his idea. I sat with Marko for the movie, he would make snide comments about the movie which made me laugh through the entire thing. After that finished, we went on a few fair rides. It was nice to spend the time together as a family.
"Hey watch it bitch!" We hear someone yell from the side of us. I looked to see my mom had accidentally bumped into the Surf Nazis. I rolled my eyes, they always seemed to cause an issue.
"Who are you calling a bitch?" My mom fired back, balling up her fist and stepping forward. The guy who she had bumped into got closer to her.
"Don't even think about it!" My dad threatened, stepping between the two, David, Marko and Dwayne were by his side.
"Let's just go man" One of the other surf nazis said, grabbing onto the guys arm.
"Take a walk Greg" David spoke slowly. Greg looked at all of us and scoffed.
"One day you're all gonna get it!" He pointed his finger in David's face before being pulled away by the others.
"I need food" Dad complained, holding onto my mom's shoulder.
"Me too!" I agreed
"We need to be quick then, we meet Ashley in two hours" Mom reminded me. The six of us quickly found a little place to eat and sat down and ordered.
"Mommy wait for me!" I heard. I turned and looked outside. A little girl, no older than 5, ran up to her mother who quickly caught her in her arms and spun her around. The little girls giggled melted my heart.
"I can't wait to be a mother" I said out loud.
"Is that what you want sweetheart?" I heard my mom asked.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I want" I looked at the other's faces and they all wore sad smiles. The realisation hit me, why did I even say that. I opened my mouth to speak but my dad interrupted me.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Today is your day" He kissed the top of my head and changed the subject of the conversation. I frowned. I knew what my decision was, but I didn't want to have to deal with the consequences that came with it.