Obey Fate (Fated Duet 2)

“Already made her one, Ri. I know what shakes my girls like.” He pulled us to a stop at the tables all lined up in a square, the same way it would be when kids had their parties here, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a party. Maybe when I was Asher’s age, but I’d only ever seen photographs of it.

Sal pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down with Belle on one side and Asher on the other. I placed the gift bag on the table next to the tray of shakes. They were all topped with cream, but there was also a small slice of cake balanced on the edge.

“A birthday shake?” I asked, my eyes widening as I looked from the shake back to Sal.

“Yep. Try it.”

I leaned forward, took a sip of the shake, and then a bite of the cake, and groaned. “Heaven in my mouth.”

Sal chuckled and grunted, “I’m gonna get the food.”

I smiled at him as he walked away and then took another sip of the shake. It really was heaven in my mouth. “This is so good,” I said to no one in particular. I looked down at Belle who had a whipped cream mustache, and then Asher, who had spilled some down his white shirt.

“Open the present!” Asher shouted at me, clapping his hands.

“Maybe we should wait until—”

“You can open them all now,” Mom said, placing her hands on my shoulders. We hadn’t done any presents this morning, just spent time together, and if I were honest, that was the only gift I had wanted.

Uncle Brody and Mom started to place a few gift bags and presents around me, ready to open. “I don’t know where to start…”

“Can I open this one?” Belle asked, plucking one from the pile.

I leaned down to look at the tag and saw it was from one of the waitresses. “Yeah, you can open that one.” I grabbed another one off the small pile, seeing Mom and Sal’s name, and opened it up to reveal a light blue comforter set. They also got me some running clothes and a bracelet. All that was left from them was a card, so I opened it, not expecting something to fall out onto the table. I frowned at the piece of plastic and picked it up, staring at the shiny silver credit card with my name on it. “What’s this?” I asked, confused.

“It’s a credit card,” Mom said. “You’ll be off to college soon so we thought you could do with something to have in an emergency or if, you know, you want something.” I opened my mouth, about to tell her it was too much, but Mom kept going. “I know you’ll be careful with it. You’re responsible. It’s why we decided to give you one—so you have a little more freedom.”

“But I…” I let out a breath and stared at the card in fascination. “Thank you.”

Mom pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You’re welcome.”

I opened up my purse and placed it in there next to my cell. I looked up, seeing only one present left—the one Asher and Belle had given to me—and when I saw the unmistakable sign for apple and the words MacBook written on the side, I nearly leaped out of my chair.

“What the…” I gasped, standing. “I can’t t

ake this.”

“You can, and you will, baby girl,” Uncle Brody told me, brooking no room for an argument. “Like your mom said, you’ll be off to one of them fancy colleges soon, and you’ll need a decent computer.”

“I can’t even…”

“Just say thank you, baby girl.”

I shook my head at the grin on his face. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

I placed it down on the table and darted toward him and Lola, trying to wrap my arms around them both at the same time. “I don’t deserve all of this,” I whispered.

Lola pulled back and gripped my shoulders, staring into my eyes with a fierceness I’d never seen before. “Don’t you ever say that,” she warned me, her own eyes misting with tears. “You deserve everything you could ever possibly get, sweetheart. Never, for one second, think you don’t deserve all the love you have. Do you understand me?” She pulled in a breath, and I hated when a tear sprung from her eye. “We love you just as much as we love Cade, Belle, and Asher. You’ll always be our second daughter, no matter what happens. Okay?”

My breath stuttered out of my chest, and I nodded. “Okay.” My own tears ran down my face, and my breaths became harder to catch. “I need to…” I backed away and let her hands flow off my shoulders. “I just need a minute.”

Lola nodded as I moved back, everything blurring thanks to the tears. They loved me. I was surrounded by love, and yet, I didn’t feel it. I knew how they all felt, but deep down inside, I’d always feel like the girl who needed to hide in her closet away from the bad people who would come and find her.

Mom shouted my name as I headed toward the back of the diner and into the staff room, but I ignored her. I needed a minute to gather myself. I sat in one of the chairs around the small table and stared at the collection of lockers lining the wall.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there and read each of the names stuck to the metal with paper and sticky tape, but it wasn’t until I heard footsteps that I looked up.