the secret » david dobrik au

E I G H T E E N

I called Lydia and told her everything that happened, minus the part where I got shit faced and made out with a misogynist. She didn't need to know that much about me. She told me she was proud for sticking up for myself, then put me on speaker so I could hear it when she ripped up the invitation.

"Fuck David Shepherd!" she yelled.

"Fuck David Shepherd!" Simon repeated from another room.

"Simon, no!"

I didn't know what the hell she was teaching that kid, but she was doing a better job raising him than I could right now, so it was fine.

She asked me what I was doing for my birthday. I still had no clue. Birthdays really had never been something I fully celebrated; Mom's was only a few days after mine, so we usually had a combined party and split a cake. I was never a huge fan of all of the attention being on me.

We eventually agreed that I would stay at school for my birthday, but the weekend after, she would pick me up and take me home so we could celebrate as a little messed up family. I liked that idea.

I kept my next few weeks very busy to distract myself from the idea that Brandy was probably trying on her dress to make sure it still fit and calling the caterers to confirm her order. My dad was probably telling her every night how excited he was to finally solidify their family, all while leaving his first family in the dust. I hated that idea.

So, I distracted myself. I made anyone I had ever spoken to hang out with me. I got way ahead on school work. I cooked—like, a lot. I made dinner for all the boys at the house at least three times a week, just to distract myself. The crowd favorite was lasagna, but they also really liked the fried chicken and mac and cheese night. They all paid me for my services and always paid for the cost of the groceries, even though I would've done it for free. I needed the distraction, and as annoying as the boys could be, they were a really good distraction.

The day of November fourth, my nineteenth birthday, didn't start out like any other day. After a very long night at the Delt party making sure all my people were safe, I was woken up at seven in the morning, only a few hours after I went to bed, by a phone call from Lydia.

"Happy birthday, Evangeline Grace!"

It was a mix of Simon's voice and her voice yelling at me way too early in the morning, but it still brought a smile to my face. I was alone in my bedroom since David went home for the weekend, so they were officially the first people to tell me happy birthday.

"Thank you!" I giggled, my head flopping back onto the pillow. "Why are y'all up so early on a Saturday?"

"So we'd be the first to tell you happy birthday, duh!" Simon sassed me, as usual. "Did someone get you a cake?"

"I think so. They left the party we were at early last night, and when I came home, they blindfolded me before I could walk through the living room to get to my bedroom. I could hear the pans and stuff. I think they made me one last night."

"Did David get you anything... like a ring?" I could just imagine the smug look on her face, and it made me laugh.

"I don't know. Probably not. He's not even here for this weekend."

"He left on your birthday?" she gasped, and I nodded. I knew she couldn't see me, but she'd be able to feel my response. We were on the same wave length. "That's kind of rude! It's your birthday; you only have one a year!"