violet skies / michael clifford

a birthday present

33. do you have a present for her, michael?

I ring the doorbell, taking a step back when I hear steps from inside.

The door opens, and I'm met by a man staring blankly at me. He's got Jessa's eyes. Or, rather, she's got his. It's her dad.

He's no taller than me, but he's broad and he could easily snap me in half if he wanted. With his bare hands. If Jessa told me he was in the mafia, I wouldn't question it.

"Michael."

"That's me. Uh, I just came by to leave a birthday present for Jessa."

I don't know why his stare is making me so nervous. It's obvious he's judging me. But I don't think anyone could judge me as much as I've been judging myself lately.

Maybe he doesn't think I'm good enough for his daughter. I can agree with him on that, I guess.

I'm ready for him to tell me to piss off. I back up a little, and close my eyes for a second, just to soften the blow.

"I'll let her know you're here," he says.

"Thank you."

Jessa appears, like the ray of sunshine she is. Just seeing her face makes me instantly happier. But once the shot of happiness has diffused into my bloodstream, I realise that she isn't smiling.

"Happy birthday," I tell her.

"Thanks," she says, playing with her hair. "How did you know? Did Ashton tell you?"

"Yeah, he did," I say, frowning at the fact that she doesn't seem happy on her special day. Hopefully, my surprise for her will change that. "I have something for you."

"You don't need to give me anything, Mikey."

"But I want to."

In my back pocket, I've got tickets for Sleeping with Sirens tomorrow night. If I don't get the chance to give her one, I'll be gutted. I've wanted to take her to a concert since the moment we bonded over music.

Still, I'm giving her both tickets. If she doesn't want to go with me, I'll have to be okay with that. It's her choice.

"These are for you," I say, reaching for the tickets and holding them towards her.

"No way?" She looks from me to the tickets in disbelief. Then, she finally accepts them, reading what is written on them. Her hand is slightly shaky. "Mikey, are these. . ?"

"Happy birthday." I give Jessa's hand a squeeze and gently stroke her cheek.

"I hope you enjoyed it," I say, smiling against her cheek as my lips brush against it.

"Loved it, thank you." She's got a birthday badge pinned to her chest, and a heart-shaped sparkly balloon bobbing above her head. I tied it to her wrist earlier, and have no idea how the security still let her inside with it.

"Perfect, now I'll definitely never lose you in the crowd. It's like The Sims, but with a heart."

This makes her laugh, and I'm very much enjoying the sound. "You're weird."

"Deal with it."

"Hey, you should probably go with them," she says, noticing how we're falling behind. Ashton, Luke and Calum have disappeared into the crowd. "I have to get home."