Today was supposed to be a good day.

It was supposed to be, in my eyes, but things didn't always go to plan.

It was a Saturday, the day before graduation, and I woke up super excited. I even put on my best pair of denim jeans with a nice red button-down because it was my girlfriend's favorite color. I even gelled my hair down so that it would sit nice and pretty on my head, with a little spritz of my most expensive yet best-smelling cologne.

It was that kind of day.

But as I was walking down the stairs, hearing the bustle in my household, no one said anything to me. My parents didn't even blink an eye in my direction as I walked into the kitchen, too preoccupied by what was on their phone to greet me. I just sighed and shrugged, knowing that if I mentioned anything about football or money, they'd be all into it.

I shook my head, not letting that get me down. I was used to it, so it didn't matter. I just went to stand against the pillar of the doorway to the large living room, pulling out my phone to text certain people.

E.V: Hey you wanna go on a date today?

M.G: No. I'm busy studying with Hunter.

I knew Hunter and Michelle were close, that was obvious. Michelle was Hunter's neighbor when he first moved here when we were 10, and because I knew her, I got to know him. It made sense that they were best friends outside of Hunter and I, but damn, this one day she couldn't dedicate time to me?

Neither of them could.

I wanted to say that I was okay with it because it had been like this for years now, but part of me was just so taken aback that I couldn't even formulate my thoughts. I just frowned with immense disappointment surging through my veins, wondering why today was not my day. I slowly dragged myself to the front porch, realizing that I felt so off for some reason.

I just sat on the porch, pulling out my phone to scroll through stories on Snapchat. I bit my lip, seeing that Michelle had posted something within the last 10 minutes. I scoffed in disbelief because I called her exactly 12 minutes ago, but curiosity got the best of me and I started playing her story.

"Don't fall, Hunter!" I heard her laughing as disco lights fell on her face, the familiar music telling me that she was at the roller rink in the heart of Denver. "If you fall, I'll laugh!" She screeched, smiling so widely and I had to remember when she smiled at me like that. "Wow," I whispered to myself, feeling so let down.

All I knew was how much it hurt deep inside of me as her story came to an end with Hunter's loud laugh making its presence known.

This made me remember a conversation that I wasn't privy to at school.

"This is so bad," Hunter groaned, a sound that resembled a slap piercing the air, so he must have slapped his forehead. "I didn't think that they would be found so quickly," Michelle hissed in response, sighing softly. I had no clue what they were talking about, and I wanted to ask, but I didn't think that they would be truthful about it. "We have to be careful next time. We can't risk anyone knowing about this," It wasn't something that they were both in on, that was for sure. All I knew was that I felt left out like always.

I heard the front door open and I looked up to see Tatianna coming out with her purse on her shoulder. She shot me a glance before continuing out, and I had to stop her. "Hey, baby sis, you want to go to the mall?" I offered with a grin, knowing that was her favorite place to go. Growing up, I was always forced to go with her to the mall for school shopping or just because as I was her older brother.

She couldn't resist the lure of shopping.

"Nah," Tati replied with a shake of her head and I frowned, knowing that no matter what was on her plate or what plans she made, she would throw them all aside just to go to the mall. "You sure?" I threw back, and she huffed loudly as she twisted around on the ball of her foot, her hazel eyes narrowed into slits.

"I said I don't want to go with you!" She snapped with a glare and I jolted, hating how sensitive I was. "What don't you understand about that?!" I blinked at her, mad at the fact that I felt my eyes well up at the harsh tone she took with me. "I-I'm sorry..." I sputtered, not comprehending why she was being so rude to me. "God, you're annoying," She rolled her eyes angrily, stomping down the steps while answering a phone call. "Hey, yeah, I'm on my way. My stupid brother was interrupting me..." Her voice got farther and farther as she headed down the street to her best friend's house.

I could feel my lips trembling as I stared after her, questioning what I did to make her hate me so much. The last I saw her was last night, when I went into her room to give her a hug and a kiss on the forehead goodnight.

My heart was beating anxiously in my chest as I pondered what I could've done to anyone. The last time I checked, I was on okay terms with everyone—save for Anthony who still shot a deadly glare every time we were in the same room.

I just briefly collected myself before the world started collapsing around me. I didn't want it to get to a point where I only had a moment before it would start to feel like I was being torn apart from the inside.

"Why..." I whispered to no one in particular as I forced myself to get up to go for a walk. It was okay. I didn't need to be here if no one seemed to want me here. I wandered down the street just until I was in front of the big and intimidating gravesite known as Devil's Tombstone forest. It was super creepy and it always felt like someone was watching my every move. The forest was wide and vast and the trees were so dark, looking as if they belonged on a set of a scary movie.

I just swallowed back the bout of fear that was creeping up my spine, stepping over the chained gate to enter.

I could hear ominous howling along with the clicking of bats, roaring filling the sky above me. I shuddered, thinking about what could be out there as I looked over to the road that extended through the forest. I didn't know who was brave enough to drive through this scary maze. I walked just until I saw an alcove, stuck between three trees. It was big enough for someone to put a bench and a swing inside of it, a relaxing area of this damning forest.

Once I got closer, I saw someone I knew.

"What are you doing in here?" I stepped inside the alcove, seeing Cameron sitting on one of the benches, relaxing. "Oh, I just wanted some fresh air until the sun moved in the opposite direction. It was too hot for me," He explained and I snorted, pointing to his overly-clothed black attire. "Of course it is," I took a seat next to him, feeling at peace with myself.

"Second time seeing you round here," I smirked and he clicked his tongue. "Starting to think that you must live around these parts or something..." I teased and he snorted with a nod. "Round these parts alright," I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but I just didn't have it in me too. I just gazed across the scenery of the forest, getting such an eerie yet calm atmosphere from it.

"Why are you out here?" Cam checked the time on his watch, giving me a funny look with his blonde eyebrows. I frowned and sighed as he continued. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, out with your family or friends? It's a special occasion, you see?" He poked me in the shoulder with a concerned stare and I shook my head, leaning back against the bench.

"Nah."

And that was the truth.

The cold, heartless truth.

I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket, so I took it out to see who decided to be nice enough to reach out to me. The debate vice-captain, Rayne van Camp, sent me a text, and part of me was super hopeful of what it could be, but then that hope quickly died.

R.v.C: hey, do you mind looking over my notes for this last competition? also, i need you to train the newbies in the summer as I'm going on a trip with my family. thanks.

I clenched my phone in hand as I gritted my teeth, taking a deep breath, a much-needed one. School was done and I was graduating, so she had no business asking me that. She had no business asking anything of me because she was now the captain, and all of the responsibility fell on her. It wasn't like I could just throw it all in her lap and wipe my hands free of it, now that I was done. I wasn't that type of person.

But I just wished that...

"What's wrong?" Cam asked, his deep voice piercing my daze and I shook my head, putting my phone back into my pocket. "Nothing," I relented, clutching the necklace that he gave me. I didn't want to get too down in my thoughts because it wasn't like I had someone to pull me back up once I went too far in.

"Hey, what exactly is this supposed to protect me from?" I inquired, showing him the cross. He blinked at me for a couple of seconds before deciding to respond. "Let's hope you never have to find out."

I was sure that he thought that was a gag gift because I was under the impression that there wasn't any piece of jewelry out there that could do so much as to protect. However, he seemed to be pretty serious about it, so I was going to keep it on for his sake. "That's very nice," I pointed to the dark blue stone amulet ring that sat on his ring finger.

"Thank you," He let a small smile grace his features and I sent one back, glad that I could relax and feel somewhat normal in his presence. Cameron wasn't like anyone else, hanging out with me because I asked him to. He didn't ask much of me or demand more out of me than I could give. He seemed to genuinely enjoy talking with me, and that made things a little better.

"Eli."

I heard Cam speak my name in a tone that I couldn't recognize, and I looked up, wanting to know what he wanted. He frowned softly, the action looking natural against his pale skin as he pointed to me. "You're crying."

I furrowed my brow as I put a hand up under my eye, feeling warm tears staining my finger. "O-oh," I stuttered, not realizing that my emotions got the best of me. "Are you okay?" He peered into my face, so much concern etched all over his features and it took me a while to understand that he was the only one who cared. "No..." I whimpered, unable to stop myself from shedding tears. He frowned, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, rubbing my back comfortingly. "It's okay, man," He grunted out, but I had zero faith in his words.

So I had to ask again.

What did I do that was so damn wrong?

I was trying so hard to hold back the tears that were threatening to push forth as I bit my lip to muffle the sounds. I just felt so unimportant, and the ironic thing was that today was supposed to be about me.

It was my birthday today and yet, no one cared to say anything.