Happy Birthday to Me

MARISSA

"Five guys?" the skater guy whom I've come to know as Conner questioned.

"Yeah... it's kind of a long story." I answered sheepishly.

"Give me the Reader's Digest version." Conner said as he smiled.

He and I were slowly walking on the Santa Monica Pier while his friends had found better things to do so it was just the two of us.

"Uhh, let's see... Ditched by parents, 18th birthday, rescued by a band, and lead singer of the band hates me." I said before I caught my breath.

"Ditched by parents?" Conner questioned.

"Yup." I said awkwardly.

"How long ago?"

"Two.....days?" I answered as more of a question. It didn't seem like two days had passed yet. Well, in reality it was more like 36 hours, but to round it up I said two days.

"Harsh! And you mentioned a birthday...when was that?"

"Two days ago." I answered as I rubbed the back of my neck, again awkwardly.

"What?! Your parents kicked you out on your 18th birthday?! That's so wrong!" Conner shouted.

"Yeah... it's kind of a bummer." I said quietly.

"I guess I'm luckier than I thought." Conner said as we reached the end of the pier and he stared out into the ocean.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I looked up at Conner.

He sighed, "I stay out of the house as much as I can because my parents argue all the time. Sometimes their yelling makes me want to pack up all my stuff and move out without even giving it a second thought. But in retrospect I realize my dad always has the best advise for me and my mom's always cooking for everyone no matter what time day or night, and always with a smile on her face."

I smiled a bit, "Your parents sound like great people."

"Yeah, they are... minus the fighting." Conner finished quickly.

"I would take your parents over mine any day. They sound great. Besides, sometimes when people fight, they're not fighting to fight, it's just the only way they know how to get their point across or be heard." I said while it seemed to be my turn to stare out into the ocean.

Conner smiled at me, "That was really deep, y'know? So if my parents sound awesome, then your parents must have been really screwed up. What did they do to you?" he asked as his smile faded.

"It's not really what they did to me, it's how they treated me. My dad ignored me and was never home so he could avoid me and my mother took advantage of his absence by having a different guy over every few days." I replied.

I didn't know why I was telling Conner all of this. I mean, I just met the guy! Maybe it was because he felt safe or because I needed to tell somebody something and he just happened to be the person my heart decided to tell.

"It sounds like your parents have problems. Perhaps it's best you left them so they can work out their problems and get better."

"Yeah, I hope they do get better, but I won't be going back to them to find out." I replied.

"So... you said a band rescued you?" Conner asked.

"Yup." I answered as I nodded.

"Who's the band?" he asked.

I shook my head, "That doesn't matter... Oh, but I should get going. They should be finishing their set soon. It was nice to meet you, Conner." I said as I smiled and began to walk away.

"Hey Marissa! Wait!" Conner called as he caught up to me, "Let me give you my cell phone number so you can call me if things ever go wrong." he said.

"Oh, I didn't have enough time to grab my phone when my parents kicked me out." I said quietly.

Conner replied by sticking his hand in his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and put it in my hand.

"Conner, I can't. I-"

"It's alright. I'll just steal my brother's phone... Here, take this too." he said as he held out his skateboard.

"Conner-" I started.

"Nope, you take it. I was planning on getting a new one anyways." Conner said as me smiled sheepishly, "Besides, I saw you eying it like three times."

I couldn't help but smile as I took not only the cell phone but also the skateboard from Conner. "Thank you so much, but now I really have to get going." I said as I quickly hugged him before I began to run down the boardwalk. "I'll call you soon!" I called over my shoulder as I continued to run.