“That’s what she did after she saw the flowers,” Tod shared.
“I thought you said you were thanking him,” Indy said.
“She lied,” Tod told them.
“Why on earth would you do that?” Ally (kind of) yelled.
“Because I didn’t want this exact same thing to happen,” I said in a soft clip, giving up on getting them to be quiet.
“Ya’ll, what is goin’ on?” May asked, pushing close and I could see Daisy on her heels.
Damn.
Daisy. Not good.
And May. Worse.
“Jules broke up with Vance. It’s over,” Roxie, Tod and Ally said together.
“You are jokin’,” Daisy said, eyes narrowed and I moved back, not wanting to be in bitch-slapping-nail-scratching distance.
“Where’s that cake? I’m takin’ back the cake. Lettin’ my grandchildren eat it. They aren’t crazy fools. They deserve it,” May announced.
“Please don’t make a big deal if this. This is not a big deal. We’ve only been together a few days,” I told them.
“A few days for these boys is a few months for normal men. He’s in deep, you’re in deep and you damn well know it,” Daisy snapped.
“Yes. I do,” I snapped back, leaning into her and having… had… enough.
It was my f**king life and it was my f**king birthday and I could do whatever the hell I wanted.
At my tone and what I didn’t know was the look on my face, everyone leaned back a bit.
“My whole family died in a car crash when I was six. My Mom, Dad and older brother. I was with them, got really hurt, spent a lot of time in the hospital but I survived. When I was ten, my new puppy was run over by a truck. Splat!” I clapped one palm on the other and everyone jumped. “When I was eleven, my grandpa, the only living grandparent I had left, died of Parkinson’s. When I was fifteen, my Auntie Reba died after having knee replacement surgery. Knee replacement surgery,” I hissed the last three words. “Four months ago, Park died. I found him in an alley. He was the best kid I’d ever met and I’ve met a lot of them. This morning, I saw the scar of the gunshot wound Vance got during some business he was doing for Lee. He was shot again a few days ago, protecting me. I will not lose another person in my life. I will not lose someone else I care about. I will not.”
“Girlie –” Tod said softly.
My eyes were blurry again and I just hated that. “I will not,” I repeated, turning to Tod.
“What on earth is going on?” Stevie asked, coming late. “Everyone is staring.”
My eyes moved to Stevie and my stomach twisted tighter to the point where I thought I might be sick. “Could they hear me?” I whispered after I’d swallowed back the nausea.
Stevie took one look at my face and blinked. Then he looked at Tod. Tod shook his head. Stevie’s eyes came back to me. “No, they couldn’t hear you. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” I said to Stevie and then looked at May. “Can you please, please…” I grabbed her hand and leaned into her, “please, just serve the cake? I really need that cake.”
She didn’t argue, nodded her head and her hand squeezed mine. “Sure, hon, I’ll serve the cake.”
I closed my eyes again, let out a deep breath and then looked at May. “Thank you.” May peeled off to serve the cake and I looked around at the concerned faces. “Can we quit talking about this and just enjoy this wonderful party?”
Daisy came forward, her arm went around my waist and she held on tight. “Sure, Sugar.” Then she looked back at the gang. “I think we need more champagne.”
“That’d be good,” I whispered, blinking a few times until my vision cleared.
That’s when Jet arrived. She was smiling so huge it lit up the room. She walked up looking somehow dazed and completely unaware and oblivious to the undercurrents of the recent drama.
“Hey guys,” she said then smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek, “happy birthday Jules.”