Breaking Free

I wake to the sound birds chirping outside my window. I get a few moments of peace before remembering that today is the worst day of the entire year: my birthday. Every year, my mother makes it her mission to make my special day miserable; but maybe today will be different- for the first time in my life I have something to look forward to. My birthday marks a month since the first time Declan and I kissed. It's also been almost three weeks since his father, who happens to be a solicitor, has been helping me piece together my custody case against my mother. Since I'm eighteen today, I'm finally eligible to look after Annie and tomorrow, we're taking the case to court. Mr Parker thinks we have a high chance of winning and he's never lost a case, so I trust he knows what he's doing.
 
"Cate! Cate!"
 
My door swings open and Annie walks in, an excited look on her face.
 
"What's that sweetie?"
 
I point to a tea-towel wrapped object in her hand.
 
"It's your present. Open it!"
 
She climbs onto the bed next to me and passes me the gift. I slowly peel back the towel to find the ceramic mug I made in Year 7 art class.
 
"Thank you, An. I love it."
 
"Mummy wouldn’t let me buy you stuff, so I got you this!"
 
I pull her into a big hug that is interrupted by my mother calling me from another room.
 
"Coming, Ma!"
 
Before getting up I make sure Annie knows she can't tell anyone about my present and give her one last peck on the cheek.
 
_________________________
 
I walk into the lounge and find my mother standing there alone with a broom in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.
 
"Good morning, Cate."

A false smile spreads across her face.
 
"I hope you didn't have plans today. You have a lot of work to do."
 
Actually, I did. I was meeting Declan at the park later, but as usual my mother has diminished any chance of a social gathering. One year, she even spent a hundred bucks on a crappy holiday camp just so I couldn't have a party.
 
"No, no plans. Just spending the day at home."
 
I force a smile and reach to take the broom from her hand. My mother, being the psychopath she is, thinks I'm coming at her and uses the broom's handle to push me backwards. It hurts. Bad.
 
"Ow! What the fuck was that for?!"
 
"Don’t you use that language with me! And you know damn well what that was for! You tried to attack me."
 
Filled with the knowledge that if I retaliate she will only hit me harder, I instead take a deep breath and make a calm reply.
 
"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have acted up. I guess it's just the birthday adrenaline."
 
"Good. If you do that again, though…"
 
"I know. I promise this is the last time."
 
My mother exits the room with nothing but a purposeful shove of my shoulder. I pull up my shirt to reveal a massive red mark where the broom hit and touch it gently. The whole area inflames with pain and I remove my hand immediately. Happy birthday to me.
 
___________________
 
Mum has taken Annie and Jack out shopping and won't be home until at least six. Since it's only two, I've decided to take the first risk of my life. I'm leaving the house and going to meet Declan against my mother's wishes. My whole body is shaking as I make the short trip to the park. I pass Holly's on the way and can see her playing basketball with her mother in the backyard. A few months ago, I would have felt envious at the sight of it, but now that I have Declan, and possibly Annie, I can’t help but smile. It's not often you see a seventeen-year-old bonding with their parents. Holly's head flicks around and to avoid her seeing me, I speed up to a jog.
 
It takes me a few minutes to find Declan once I get to the park and once I do, I am struggling to catch my breath.
 
"Gees, Cate. What did you do- run a marathon?"
 
I laugh at his bad joke and rise from my bent-over position to face him. The laugh-lines at the corner of his eyes are creased and the slight dimple in his right cheek is showing. It sounds stupid, but it’s nice to have someone in my life that always seems to be happy and I just hope he sticks around for a while. I must've been looking a second too long because Declan's hand rises to his chin.
 
"Do I have something on my face?"
 
"Sorry, no, I was just…lost in thought is all."
 
"Well…"
 
A grin spreads across his face and he pulls me close to him.
 
"Happy Birthday."
 
Declan pulls me in for a kiss and I don’t stop him. It's warm, fuzzy and… and...full of love. I pull back in shock. Love. That's what it is- love. I love Declan and it scares me.
 
"What's wrong?"
 
"I-I, I don't... Nothing."
 
"Really?"
 
I can’t lie to him, even if there really isn’t anything wrong , so instead, I walk away. Before I can go more than a step
 
"Cate, what's wrong? Really."
 
"It's noth-"
 
"Cate. You can tell me anything, you know that."
 
I look down at my feet. What if I tell him how I feel and it scares him off? Declan raises my chin so his eyes are looking straight into mine.
 
"I love you, Cate."
 
My eyes widen for a split second before I exhale in relief.
 
"Really?"
 
"Really. Now what did you want to tell me?"
 
"I love you too."
 
Declan laughs and I jump into his arms. It throws him off guard and we tumble to the ground. We laugh hysterically until Declan presses a finger to his lips and tells me to shush.
 
"What's wro-"
 
"Shh…"
 
I look around for whatever caused his alarm and when I turn back Declan has moved right up next to me.
 
"What are you-"
 
He cuts me off with a kiss and I feel on top of the world. Maybe there is such thing as a happy ending after all.