𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐄𝐒 • Luke Dunphy

v . leaving

As the holidays rolled around, so did Tiana's dreaded birthday, more widely known as Christmas Eve.

Tiana had discovered at a very young age that on her birthday, there would always be something much more important happening for a lot of people, she'd grew to accept it.

Every year, her parents would start acting different around the start of December. They'd be nicer to her, and for once treat her like their daughter and not their annoying housemate. This year was different. This year, they kept going with the harsh digs (physical and verbal) and seemingly forgot about her birthday.

Like most kids, Tiana was a snoop when it came to holidays. She didn't find a single present for her birthday, or Christmas, but she did find a bunch of gifts for her sister. Wow. They'd forgotten.

She came down the stairs one morning, it was the last day of school before winter break. Both of her parents were dressed, seemingly sober and had bags packed, a sight she hadn't seen since their last family vacation in 2009.

"What's all this?" She asked groggily, still half asleep. Maybe she was dreaming.

"We're going to visit your sister in college. You're more than welcome to join us once you finish school," her mother said.

"I finish school today. Plus, how am I meant to join you? It's four hours away."

"You're not," her father said, "We don't actually want you there, your mother was just being polite. We'll see you after Christmas."

"After Christmas? Do I not get, like, presents, or dinner or anything?"

"You've been acting up since you started high school. Think of this as your punishment."

With that, her parents left, slamming the door behind them. By 'acting up' they meant going to Luke's house without their permission one time - well, it had been multiple times, but they only knew about the one, which she thought she'd been fairly punished for considering the harsh slap she'd received - and accidentally skipping first period because she slept in.

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her bag from the couch and walking out of the door and to school, which had gotten a lot more unbearable recently.

She constantly felt Lexi's eyes burning into her back. It was more annoying than sad, but she did miss having her as a friend. Still, she'd betrayed her, she wouldn't go back.

Since the school fair, Tiana has noticed another pair of eyes on her. Alan Brown, the boy who'd got her locked up. He still hadn't said anything, which felt weird, but she wasn't gonna be the one to make the first move. She didn't know him well. What she did know, was that he was cute, so she didn't mind the stares she was receiving from him.

At lunch, Tiana was sat with Luke and Manny, who noticed a look in her eyes. Not a good one.

"What's getting you down?" Manny asked.

"My parents are away for Christmas, they're seeing my sister," Tiana said, "They took this whole bunch of gifts for her, like a whole duffel bag full, and they're n out giving me anything because they think I've been 'acting up'. They're missing my birthday, too."

The boys weren't surprised. Over the few months they'd been friends, Tiana had told them a lot about her parents. The pair would roll their eyes and scoff every time she mentioned them.

"You should spend Christmas with us," Luke said, and Manny nodded in agreement.

"What? Would your families mind?"

"No way, they love you."

"I wouldn't wanna intrude-"

"You're not intruding," Manny said, "And you also don't have a choice."

"Well, if I must," Tiana said, jokingly sighing, "Thanks, guys, that means a lot. You wouldn't mind if I swung by on my birthday, would you?" She turned to Luke.

"Please do, Christmas Eve is way too stressful to deal with on my own."

If he was being honest, Luke had forgotten when Tiana's birthday was, but he vowed to make it a good one for her if her parents couldn't.