West lay on his bed, staring at the white ceiling. He'd been awake for 20 minutes. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand for the 5th time in the space in which he'd been awake and checked the date and time again, unwilling to believe it was actually real.
06:21 A.M, 30 July 2018.
30 July, July 30th. It was his 18th birthday, and he was not looking forward to it. He had been so distracted by the issue with Killian, his dad, and exams, that he'd totally forgotten about his birthday. He didn't have plans, though. He never had plans, he hated birthdays. The only difference between today, and the day before, was that today, he was a year older. No big deal.
He heaved himself from the bed with a groan then ducked into the bathroom to take a shower. He had another exam, an English exam, which he'd be writing at 08:00 A.M. He was prepared for this one, though. His Physics exam didn't go well last week. He knew he passed, but perhaps not with the marks that he wanted, so he vowed to study harder for his remaining exams just to make up for his Physics one.
Unfortunately, his marks weren't good enough to be offered an all expenses paid scholarship. He didn't mind it, because he had money saved up to pay for his first year and for residency. But he was still waiting to hear back from multiple colleges out of state. He had applied to The University of California(Santa Barbara), The University of Michigan, and, The University of Maryland, but that was only a last resort. He meant it when he said he wanted to leave this Godforsaken town. He just hoped one of the two would accept his application, that was all he needed.
He headed downstairs at seven, and was surprised to see a card waiting for him on the coffee table. Paul left for work at 05:30 A.M everyday, so he couldn't give the card to West in person. He opened the card, and a silly birthday song immediately started playing. West smiled to himself.
That was the cheesiest thing ever.
He examined the card further, and much to his surprise, five, one hundred dollar bills, were taped to the card. He read his dad's birthday message out loud.
"To Weston K. Rickert, Happy Birthday. I love you. Buy yourself something nice." West let out a laugh after reading the card, "Well, dad, you always did have a way with words." He sarcastically said to no one in particular.
He dropped the card on the coffee table again, making a mental note to deposit the money into his college fund later on, and then left the house. He had an exam to pass.
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After his exam, he hopped into his car and drove to work. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Weston Rickert could skip work to avoid a certain blonde boy, but God forbid he skip work to enjoy his 18th birthday. That was most definitely a serious crime and should never be attempted.
He worked silently alongside Killian for a few hours, and then, at 2 P.M, Brittany waltzed into the store with a thousand birthday balloons and a medium sized gift box. "Haaaaaaapy Birthday, Bestie!" She exclaimed at the top of her lungs.
West's eyes widened and he found himself shushing his best friend.
"What? IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!"
Killian watched the whole exchange with an amused smirk, his stoic and hard-as-stone expression, long forgotten.
West went around the counter and pulled Brittany to the corner. "You couldn't have done this at school?" He whispered, while uncomfortably glancing over at Killian, whose smirk widened.
"I would've if you'd have stayed long enough."
"I had to get to work."
She rolled her eyes, "Dude, could you stop being soooo responsible for once?"
"Could you leave?"
"Do you always have to have a stick up your goddamn ass? Just open your gift... and then I'll leave."
West sighed frustratedly then nodded, he yanked the box from Brittany's grip then got to tearing away the Christmas wrapper. Brittany had a weird thing for Christmas.
His mouth formed an O shape when he saw what was in the box. "Wow."
"You like it? I got it customized just for you."
West suddenly let go of the box and engulfed Brittany into a bone crushing hug.
She had gotten him his very own Custom Board, it was intricately designed, and had a red finish with stunning cartoon art. Upon closer inspection, he had noticed that the cartoon art imprinted onto the board, was most of his favorite things, such as, his favorite dessert, which was vanilla ice cream, a pack of Camel cigarettes, the artwork of his favorite music album, which was Wiped Out!, by his favorite band, The Neighbourhood and a bunch of other stuff.
It also had a bright yellow, triangular caution sign, which Brittany had requested to be put on the board as a joke. Because people, mostly girls, were always curious when it came to West. He made it hard for them to get to know him, though. (And the brooding expression he always wore didn't make things easier.)
In Layman's terms, He was unapproachable, and the sign was a silent message to everyone that they were to steer clear.
West let Brittany go after a few seconds, and she stared at him confusedly. "I-- that's--you haven't hugged me in years..." She stammered.
"Oh." West frowned, but quickly brushed it off and grinned. "Thank you for this. I--" He paused, only to find Brittany looking at him expectantly. He knew what she was waiting to hear, what she'd always wanted to hear, but, He couldn't say it.
"Thank you, Brittany."
She gave him a sad smile, "Anything for you."
He accompanied Brittany to her Ford Bronco, then headed back inside. He found Killian examining the balloons that were floating in the corner.
"What are you... doing?"
"Nothing. Just checking these out. I didn't know it was your birthday." Killian said, but the way he said it, made it sound more like a question than a statement. He realized then just how little he knew about West. Yeah, he was 18, Vietnamese, liked skating and ice cream and carnations, but who was West Rickert, really?
"Uh, it's not, hahaha. Just a silly prank. You know how... Brittany is..." He let out a weird high pitched laugh which was obviously fake and not at all convincing.
Killian gave him a blank stare. To which West replied by averting his gaze and rubbing the back of his neck. Nobody could see, or hear it, but he was groaning on the inside.
Jesus, this guy can never quit.
"It is my birthday. Yeah."
"Happy birthday, West."
A flush crept up his face. One that he hoped Killian didn't notice. He nodded, then muttered a barely audible 'Thanks'.
"So... Any plans tonight?"
"No. I don't celebrate birthdays."
Killian forced a smile, "Huh. You and my little sister would've gotten along great."
"Why's that?"
"She hates birthdays, too."
"Yeah? How on Earth did you convince her to have a birthday dinner that time?" West inquired as he leaned against the counter.
That was a good night. Granted, he was late to the dinner, and ended up not seeing the twins, but spending time with Killian was always enjoyable. He wondered what would've happened if he had kissed him that night.
Probably would've killed myself, if we're being honest.
He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts, then focused on Killian.
"Sparrow wanted one, so..."
"I see."
Killian's eyes shifted to the clock mounted on the wall, "Well, it's 3 P.M, so I'm gonna head out."
He grabbed his things from behind the counter and moved towards the door, he was about to exit when West called out his name.
"Yeah?"
"Do you... like... want a ride or something?"
Killian weighed his options, he could take the bus which would be arriving in an hour, or spend 15 minutes in a car with West. The boy he loved. The boy who he was certain, didn't love him back. Things could go either way, they could be awkward and uncomfortable, or his facade could break and he'd start bawling his eyes out in West's Toyota. He thought of himself as weak, so, he chose the safer option.
"I already have a ride, thank you." He bolted out of the door in lightning speed, and made his way over to the bus stop.
-
An hour later, West arrived at his place and was surprised to see his dad's car in the driveway. He was usually home around 5 or 6 P.M. He got out of his car, then approached the mailbox to retrieve a few envelopes.
As he entered the house, he noticed that his dad wasn't in the living room. That was Paul's spot. Right in front of the TV, watching K-Dramas, with a bowl of something, to keep him occupied. The TV was on, though, so West guessed his dad was probably in the kitchen making a snack.
He quietly slipped into the kitchen, and what he saw when he entered, made his heart drop to his stomach. Paul lay unmoving on the kitchen floor.
He was dead.
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man I need to work on Killian my baby has 0 self esteem ðð