"I was just delivering newspapers and Dylan was helping me," I say. I don't want any more awkwardness between me and Dylan. Reece puts his arm around Dylan and smirked. "Is that what they call it nowadays?" Dylan rolls his eyes and shrugs off Reece's arm. "Shut up." He doesn't meet my eyes, so I look away. Should I tell Casey about our kiss? She's always suggesting that Dylan likes me and that we should go out. Telling her about the kiss will only add fuel to the fire. "Someone's on edge," Anthony says, shoving fries into his mouth. "I would say we should head to Raven's after school, but," he shrugs instead of finishing his sentence. I'm intrigued. "Why can't you guys go?" "We can," Reece starts. "Derrick and Jared's next show there isn't until next Wednesday." Next Wednesday? That's my birthday. "Are you serious?" Casey asks them before looking at me. "That's perfect." Before I can speak up about next Wednesday being my birthday, Anthony cuts in. "I'm lost," he frowns. "That's Lacey's birthday," Casey grins as she says it. The cat is out of the bag. I figured I could go out with my aunt and Casey for a nice dinner that day. This will be my first birthday that I won't celebrate with my parents and I don't feel like celebrating it at all. Dylan finally looks at me. "You're eighteenth?" I nod, not trusting my voice. Thinking about my birthday and my parents makes my chest feel heavy, like someone has just placed an elephant on me. "Holy shit, Lacey is older than me," Reece says. "Mine is in December." "Lacey's older than most of us," Anthony pipes in. "Way to make me feel like an old lady," I do my best to laugh. It gets me wondering when Dylan's birthday is. I'm trying to think about anything but the fact that my parents aren't here. "Mine is all the way in February," Carlos admits. He looks at Casey. "When's yours?" "Not until March," she shrugs. I sense a bit more chemistry between them. Carlos seems to be somewhat interested in her and I wish I knew for sure. Bringing me out of my thoughts, Anthony says, "I don't feel so young now. October baby, right here," he grins. Dylan hasn't contributed to the conversation and I'm curious about his birthday. "When's yours?" I ask him. He appears hesitant, but he says, "August." I was talking to Dylan in August. Did I miss his birthday? "What day?" "The thirteenth." My mouth forms an 'o.' The thirteenth was two days before our first day of school. Was the party at his house meant to be a birthday party? "Anyway," Anthony says, looking at me. "You should come to Raven's for your birthday. I think it will be pretty fun." I don't know what I want to do for my birthday. Knowing that I'll be spending my eighteenth birthday without my parents is weighing down on me. I haven't really thought about it until right now and the feeling I felt when I found out they were gone returns. My eyes sting from the tears that want to come out. "I'll be right back," I say, not wanting anyone to see my cry. I need to get out of here. "You okay?" Casey asks, frowning. I nod, avoiding everyone's eyes. The suffocating feeling is back and I feel dizzy as I push through the cafeteria doors. My hands are shaking, my face is warm, and my jaw is clenched out of frustration. Everything seems to be crashing down like it had after the funerals. I'm angry because my parents should be here to see me turn eighteen, to see me graduate, and to see me go to college. But they aren't going to be. I'm not angry at them. It just isn't fair that other kids will get that and I won't. I'm walking down the hallway when I see Jacob walking in my direction. He's the last person I want to see. I glance around for an escape route, but before I can go down another hallway, he zeroes in on me. "Hey," he says as he gets closer. "Do you have time to talk?" I'm going to walk past him, but the anger inside me boils over. "I do, actually," I say as I ball my fists. The urge to hit him comes over me, but that won't make me feel any better. "Why did you do it?" His expression changes. "Do what?"