Falling For The Girl I Bullied
Chapter 79

Violet’s P.O.V.

This was the first time that so many people were inside my house, giving me a feeling of unfamiliarity in my own house. When Sam told me that we were going to celebrate Kyle’s birthday here, in my house, I was dumbstruck. I never celebrated my birthday after my 8th birthday because I felt no use celebrating my birthday when my parents didn’t want me. It was my grandmother and Mrs Hawk, who always celebrated my birthday and, after my grandmother, I didn’t celebrate my birthday again. I didn’t know what to feel because we were going to celebrate someone else’s birthday at my place.

It was not a big party as it should have been. Ethan told me that Kyle didn’t want to celebrate his birthday because of his parents but Ethan’s mother insisted on celebrating his birthday because it was his 18th birthday. I felt bitter in my heart for both myself and Kyle. We belonged to two different worlds yet our fate had the same pain and hurt in our lives. I saw Kyle smiling at everyone, but deep down in my heart, I knew that he was missing his parents because I always missed them whenever this day came. “Violet?” I came out of my stance when Sam called me in a concerned voice.

“Yeah”, I replied to her while exhaling sharply. “Are you okay, honey?” she asked me while looking at me with concern and put down her hand on my shoulder. “Yeah… yeah… I am fine”, I replied to her again but in a calm tone this time. She didn’t say anything this time and pulled me in her embrace lightly. I didn’t resist her because I felt that I needed this hug right now. “You are my angel, Violet… and you know this, right?” she asked me in a gentle tone and I felt tears in my eyes. Sam hated my mother to her core but loved me so much. Selene, her daughter, told me when I met her on Christmas last year that Victor was against taking my guardianship but Sam insisted and forced him to sign the papers.

“I know”, I said in a choked voice and closed my eyes to keep my tears inside me. “Always keep this in your mind, honey… that no matter what the situation is in front of you… you have me. I will always be with you until I take my last breath”, she said in a cracked voice but the determination in her voice was what made me sniff. “Hey”, she exclaimed and rubbed my arm gently. “I am okay, Sam, and thanks… thanks for being with me when I really needed someone to be with me…. Thank you… thank you so much, Sam”, I thanked her with all my sincerity in a choked voice.

“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” we both looked in the direction of Mrs Parker when she asked us in a concerned tone. “Yeah… yeah.. Rose… everything is okay… it’s just… mother-daughter talk”, Sam replied to her in a cracked tone. “Aw… I am so unfortunate that I can’t have this talk”, she pouted making both of us smile. “But now… she has to fill the place of a daughter in my life too”, she came near me and then embraced me from another side. I looked at both women with a wide smile on my lips. I didn’t have my mother by my side but I had Sam, Mrs Hawk, and now Mrs Parker to fill that place in my life. I was fortunate that I had these people in my life.

“Let’s go… it’s celebration time”, Mrs Parker spoke in an enthusiastic tone and this time both of I and Sam giggled. We were inside the kitchen all this time and that was why no one from outside could see what was going in here. Mrs Parker also beamed showing her pearly white teeth to us. We then walked out of the kitchen with food trays in our hands. Mrs Parker wanted Kyle to cut a cake but he refused and insisted on having dinner with all his friends and their families. “Let us help too, Rose”, Mrs McWilliams, Noah’s mother came towards us and asked Mrs Parker in a light tone.

“Everything is okay, Mrs McWilliams… thanks for offering your help, though.. let’s go out”, Sam replied to her in a gentle tone while bowing a little in respect in front of her. “Let’s go”, Mrs Parker said this time and we all walked out. Mrs Parker and Sam had prepared everything in the backyard of my house as the dining room was not that big to accommodate all those people. Noah and Dustin came forward and Noah took the tray from me. Dustin took the tray from Mrs Parker and we all walked towards the table. Ethan, Kyle, and Justin were talking from a little far from us and Victor was with all the fathers. They were all rich people but the way they interacted with us and with Victor, they all were down-to-earth people.

“Come here, guys…. It’s time for dinner”, Mrs Parker clapped her hands and called everyone for dinner. We all took our seats and now I was sitting beside Kyle and Sam on the other side. Kyle looked at me with raised brows but looked to the other side. I was confused by his gaze but didn’t let it bother me. It was celebration time and I really wanted to enjoy this evening. From tomorrow onwards, it will be me again in the whole house alone…. Of course, Kyle was going to live with me now but we would stay out of the house almost the whole day. “Kyle”, suddenly Mrs Parker called him in a gentle tone.

“Yes, mom”, he replied her immediately in a gentle tone. She cleared her throat and then looked at her husband sitting beside her and then looked back at Kyle. “There is something that both I and John want you to accept as your birthday gift”, she said with a gentle smile on her lips. “Mom”, Kyle exclaimed helplessly. “I told you that your love is enough for me. I don’t need anything else than your support and care”, he said in a firm but gentle voice. Everyone looked at him with so much love and admiration in their eyes. “Still…. I want you to accept this gift as your birthday gift from us, son”, Mr Parker spoke this time in a gentle tone.

I didn’t know why but I put my hand on his hand placed on his lap unconsciously and squeezed his hand a little. I only wanted him not to be stubborn and accept whatever they were giving him as a gift. He was about to say something but stopped. I was not looking him direction but through my peripheral vision. He took a deep breath and then held my hand, intertwining our fingers. “Okay… mom… dad”, he said with a sigh and Mrs Parker beamed showing her teeth to her. Mr Parker also smiled gently while looking at him.

He was lucky that he had someone who wanted to gift as a token of their love to him. I looked up at him this time and saw him looking at me with a calm gaze. I immediately lowered my eyes to my plate. I tried to remove my hand from his grip but he gripped hard making my heart skip a beat. This time, I peeked at him giving him a pleading look. There were so many people around us and it was my luck that Sam was also looking in the other direction or else I would be doomed for having his hand in mine. The corner of his lips curled a little and then he slowly let my hand go. I couldn’t tell how relieved I was as I immediately put my hand on the table while trying to calm myself down.

“Then you have to accept our gifts too, son. You are no less than our sons in our eyes. We have seen you grow up from a toddler to the fine young man that you are today. From now onwards, you are entering adulthood where you can’t just think like a teenager anymore. You have to think about the outcomes of your decision too. I know that you are more responsible and sensible than any other boy present here, including my son”, Mrs James, Dustin’s mother, paused and everyone chuckled including her. All the boys pouted while looking at their respective parents who also had the same teasing expressions on their faces. I looked at Sam and Victor and found them also smiling while looking at them. “So…. I want to wish you a very happy life from now onwards. May God bless you with all the happiness of life that you really (she emphasized this word while jerking her head a little) deserves and always remember that we are always here for you, son”, she wished her in a sincere tone with all her love for Kyle. She raised her glass of wine to him and everyone raised their glasses too. Only adults had wine in their glasses and the rest of us had juices.

“Thanks, aunt… thank you so much”, Kyle thanked her and then drank some juice from his glass. Everyone cheered for him and I also smiled while drinking from my glass. This was not a dream birthday party but this is the best party ever for me. Then we all started eating our food. It was not late at night but we all had school tomorrow and I was now dreading going school. I didn’t want to face Sia but I had to. “What’s wrong?” I heard Kyle asking me in a low tone. “Uhhhh… nothing.. just thinking something”, I answered him in a low tone too. I was still looking at my plate.

He didn’t say anything again and I was glad about that. Everyone chatted while eating happily. The best part was that they included Victor and Sam in their conversation too. The topics were mostly about current politics or entertainment. They didn’t let them feel like outcasts among them. I was surprised to hear Victor’s opinion about politics. I didn’t know that he was interested in politics. They all exchanged their numbers with him. The boys were busy discussing their game plan. They had a tournament in the next 20 days. I had to go with them too but I was not interested in knowing their game plan.

After finishing our dinner, everyone just stayed in their places while I, Sam, and other women stood up to clear the table. I didn’t want them to do this but they all just shrugged me off as if I was a guest here. I didn’t mind because they were friendly and they were taking care of everything as it was their home too. I was a bit scared because this was the first time that so many came here. “Why are you tensed, huh?” Ethan asked me in a concerned tone. I looked up and saw him sitting on Sam’s chair now. They sent me back here so that I could spend time with the boys. “Uhhh… nothing …. It’s just”, I tried to give him a suitable answer but exhaled sharply.

He put his hand on my shoulder and massaged it gently. “Relax… everything is okay… and you did a great job”, he tried to comfort me and I passed a weak smile to him. I knew that he only wanted me to be relaxed. He was really a good friend. He looked at Kyle behind me and I followed his gaze. Kyle was now talking with all the fathers. He had a pleasant smile on his lips and he was answering them in a very polite and friendly manner. “Did you think about what I asked you yesterday?” he suddenly asked me in a low tone and I looked back at him. I pursed my lips into a thin line and looked back at Kyle. I didn’t know how I could help Kyle when I, myself, didn’t have confidence in facing my problems. It was not like I wasn’t living with them still I sometimes, tried to ignore them. Kyle was looking so happy and carefree now and I really wished that he remained like this forever. I looked back at Ethan who was still looking at me with a hopeful gaze. “I will…. I… I will try”, I at last answered him in a meek tone and a small smile crept onto his lips.