The Comeback Season

|chapter seventy|

I unwilling wake up at 8 o'clock in the morning. I reach for my phone on my nightstand and see over seventy notifications. Holy shit, I think to myself. I start scrolling through the alerts and see multiple "Happy Birthday" wishes and greetings. I like a few posts on Facebook and write thank you to everyone. When I finally finish the social media posts, I move on to my text messages.

I open up a video Reid texted me in our group chat. As soon as I click on the video, 2 Chainz "Birthday Song" starts playing. I laugh out loud when I see Nova, Reid, and Coco rapping along with the song. "We love you Cahlia!" Nova yells. "We appreciate you for putting up with our craziness for all these years!" Coco screams, blowing me a kiss into the camera. The camera then turns to Reid and I immediately know he is going to say something crazy.

"Bitch, I've been waiting for you to turn eighteen for a long ass time. However, now that you have finally caught up with us, we are getting so fucked up tonight. Your night is going to be filled with surprises and drinks! Oh, I'm so excited for tonight, so please get some rest and be ready for the best birthday ever!" Reid screams and his voice goes out a little and he says, "oh shit" and I just burst out laughing along with my friends in the background. "We'll swing by in our Uber by 9 tonight. Again, be ready babe and we love you," Nova says while my friends nod their heads behind her.

When the video stops, I quickly text them "thank you" and that I can't wait for tonight. In my other chat, I see all of the guys have texted me "happy birthday". I tell them "thank you" and I scroll up looking for a text from Bryce and Tyler. That's when my phone pings twice and I see I got individual text messages from both of them. I decide to open Bryce's first because I'm pretty sure Tyler's will be lengthy. I click on Bryce's text and I'm quickly surprised by how deep the message contents are.

😉 Bryce 😉: Happy Birthday Cahlia!! Whenever you feel like you are alone or you need someone to be there for you, always remember that I care about you. Have a beautiful birthday and I can't wait to celebrate with you tonight. -Love Bryce.

I'm pretty sure the love was being said in a friendly matter. We have been pretty good at keeping our relationship in the friend zone. That's why I'm taking so long to reply to this message. I don't want to get any lines crossed, but I also want him to know that I appreciate his kind words.

🌼 Me 🌼: Thank you so much, Bryce for wishing me a happy birthday. I know I can always depend on you to be there for me and I appreciate that more than you know. I am always here if you need someone to talk to or just need hang out with. I'm happy that you will be there tonight and I can't wait! -Love Lia.

I press Send and he immediately reads my message. He sends me a smiling yellow face before I close out his messages. I'm proud of myself and my text message. I don't think I should tell Tyler because it was completely platonic. I scroll up to Tyler's message and quickly begin reading it. I'm happy I choose to read Bryce's first because Tyler's message takes up multiple text bubbles.

😍 Tyler 😍: On your birthday today, I want to tell you how much you've changed me for the good. With you, the best of my personality comes out, with you, I wear the brightest of smiles on my face, and with you, my life has gained a whole new meaning. You are wonderful. You are kind. You are beautiful. You are smart. You are fun. You are everything good, Lia. You are the only person I could imagine building my life with and I don't want to think of what I would be without you. I know it's your birthday, but I feel lucky because today I get to remember all the reasons I fell for you in the first place. Thanks for being a part of my life, angle. Happy birthday, Cahlia and I love you more than you know!