7 Minutes Until the Rest of Our Lives

Chapter 5: Birthdays

             The car ride was silent. No one dared to speak a word. I kept getting glances from the three but they wouldn't speak to me. I just stared out the window, trying to ignore their looks. My mind was racing about everything that happened the past few days. About what could happen to Ma while I was out with my friends. Every now and then, I would get a nudge or hand squeeze from Peter with a small smile. Genuine as ever.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" I asked them to cut the tension. They all glanced at each other before simultaneously shrugging their shoulders.

"Coffee shop?" Ezra suggested over his shoulder as he kept his eyes on the road. Everyone muttered their responses as we headed to Tim Hortons.

"Let's listen to music!" Peter suggested. Ezra turned on the radio but no one jammed out like usual. The music didn't lift their spirits. Like they were broken. I gazed out the window and started thinking of things we could do today. Started to think of ways to get my mind off of everything going on. Just then, my phone buzzed on my lap. I glanced at it to see a message from Peter. I looked up at him and I caught him staring at me, urging me to read it.

Are you okay? You've been quiet this entire time. If you need to talk, you know you can always come to me, Anna. I stared at the message for a second, stopping the tears from flowing free. I kept telling myself to take deep breaths. I slowly typed out my response and put my phone down.

I'm okay, P. Don't worry. :) Based on the stare I felt on the back of my head, he didn't believe me. But I didn't need him to. I had to believe it myself. I had to convince myself I would be okay. That way, I didn't show how broken I really was. That wouldn't be fair to everyone that thought I was stronger than I really was. Within minutes, we arrived at the coffee shop. As we filed out of the car, No one was smiling. I hated seeing my friends' smiles missing. Especially because of something I was going through. So I did what every sane person would've done to cheer their friends up. I started dancing and spinning on my way up to the door. I stopped half way to see they were all just staring at me, trying to hold back their laughter. Then Peter started skipping to me, doing a little dance in the process. A graceful, yet slightly crazy-looking dove. Ezra took Marcy's hand and started dancing with her, on their way over to us. Once they made it past the road, we all looked at each other before completely losing it. As I laughed, I looked at my friends. Happy to see their smiles again. And not their fake ones. We composed ourselves and walked into the coffee shop.

"Why don't you get our drinks and donuts or whatever, while us three find somewhere to sit, babe?" Marcy suggested to her boyfriend. Ezra nodded and took our drink orders as he headed to the long line at the counter. When we sat down, Marcy looked at Peter and I and started the conversation.

"I'm sorry about what's going on with your mom, Anna. I understand if you don't want to help plan Ezra a surprise party anymore. But I think it would be a great way to get your mind off of everything going on, you know?" Marcy said to me. Pity growing in her voice. I hated watching her worry about me. I shook my head.

"No, it's alright. I said I would help. Now, what are you thinking?" I asked her. I saw a tiny spark from her eyes as she pulled out her laptop from her purse. Why does she carry it everywhere she goes? I will never know. I glanced at Peter who glanced back and gave a slight shoulder shrug.

"Alright," She started as she began typing. "I need to get booze, invites, and decorations. And I need to keep him out of his house all day tomorrow while people set up." She finally looked at us. Peter was thinking while I spaced out for a second. I was brought back by the sound of his voice.

"Well, Marcy, you can be the one to keep him out of the house. Me and Anna can handle the invites. We can tell everyone we invite to bring alcohol for the party. And we can go shopping for decorations tomorrow morning. Plus, I can get some more alcohol to make up for those that can't bring any." Marcy nodded in approval at his proposal and started typing once again.