broken home - j.f✔️

sixtyfive.

There was a small slot of time between prom and graduation, and Elizabeth's birthday fell right into that time slot. Of course all of senior year knew about it, what with Justin almost shouting it through the corridors. He seemed more excited than her. And today was her big day. Justin's birthday was celebrated pretty much the same, but a month before hers. And they'd decided on planning a joint party, they just didn't know when.

"Happy birthday, mija." Her dad cheered, bringing her into a hug. It was a Thursday morning before school, and they'd woken up and gotten ready earlier, as they'd be giving her gifts. "Sit on the couch, we have gifts." She did as asked, sitting beside Justin and opposite the coffee table that had many gift bags and boxes. Sofia handed her the first bag; a small, blue bag with glittered ribbons as handles.

As she dug through the paper, she found a small box. And she lifted the lid slowly to find a small necklace, with a 'J' on it. "Thank you, Justin. It's gorgeous." Kissing his cheek, his arm slid around her tightly to bring her in.

"It's white gold." He smiled, sliding a finger under the pendant and retrieving it from the box. She lifted her hair up to reveal her neck, and Justin slid the necklace around and fastened it, smiling at how it looked on the beautiful girl. "Do you like it?" She nodded at his question, turning to Sofia for the next gift. She handed her a small envelope.

She pulled the envelope open, pulling out two small cards. Turning them round, she came across the company name and the big letters 'ALL INCLUSIVE'. "You actually got us booked into this spa? We tried going there but they're always completely busy." Sofia grinned and accepted Elizabeth's embrace, excited for her happy expression.

"It's after school." Sofia added. Elizabeth placed it to the side of her, tucking the cards back into the envelope safely. Finally, it was her dads turn. The rest would be opened after school. He handed her a small box, looking down at her face with anticipation. She had opened the box and seen a key. Like a house key. But there was a small engraving at the top of it. A small sun. She gave her dad a look of confusion and he grinned happily.

"We're going to a beach house this summer, all four of us." He mentioned. "And you have a key, so you can visit whenever you want to." She squealed and leaned up to hug her father tightly, giggling afterwards like a six year old girl.

"Thank you, dad." She sighed. "This is amazing. But we need to get to school." Justin grabbed her hand and led her out the door, holding both of their bags and following her to his car. They rarely took her car, as she liked watching him drive.

"We have 40 minutes until school begins, so we can stop at the Starbucks drive thru and grab some breakfast," Justin spoke, reversing out of the driveway. "Happy 18th baby." She smiled at him, her cheeks hurt from the happiness she'd endured within the past half hour.

"Oh, it will be. After a tense day at school, I'm getting a spa day. And when I get home, my boyfriend is going to give me another massage." She joked, watching his expression change to match hers.

He laughed cockily. "Is that so? Well this boyfriend seems awfully nice."

They arrived at school with coffees, Elizabeth holding a wrap, and Justin had almost finished his sandwich. She met her friends in the corridor, a few 'happy birthday's coming from others around her. She threw her empty coffee cup into the trash can and embraced Zach, who was waiting for a hug.

"Thank you, guys." She spoke. "We're trying to find a day to have a party, we possibly have a place." Nobody but Justin knew what she was talking about, but was a beach house party a good idea?