Day 21

I didn't know who was more distraught. Abraham or his other friend who told me his name was Polk (named after one of the former U.S. Presidents).

When I entered Kyle's room, it was easy to see why they looked like that. Kyle was puking his guts up that day in a pink bucket.

I went to stand near Tripoli and noticed she was recording Kyle's day of misery. "Tripoli?"

"Hello!" she said cheerfully, making sure her camera phone is steady. She also had the phone in both of her hands to make it appear like she was texting.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, as Kyle went through another wave of nausea, while the nurse rubbed his back.

"I'm not an actor like my boyfriend Polk, but I do love video," she whispered to me. Then she said a little louder, "Everytime Kyle is an ass, I have a momento that can make me smile."

"What momento?" asked Polk as he glanced at his girlfriend and grinned. He grinned like how rockstars on television do it, it was enough to make any girl swoon. His girlfriend didn't though. Instead, she took a step toward him before he reached her, like Tripoli was sizing him up.

"None of your business, Polk," she replied.

"She's recording Kyle puking," I said to Polk. Kyle and his nurse looked up at Tripoli.

The nurse shook her head as she said, "That goes against medical law, young lady!" Then Polk took her phone and raised it way above his head, while Tripoli tried to reach for it.

"What's wrong with you, Tree! You're going to make us lose our phone privileges." She tried, in vain, to jump up and grab her phone.

"Let's take this matter outside," she finally replied with a huff.

"Yeah, let's!" Polk pushed her roughly towards the door with his other hand, while she swings her arm up to try and get her phone again. When the door slammed shut, I jumped a little.

I walked towards Abraham and asked him, "Is Tripoli in an abusive relationship with Polk?"

Abraham then started to laugh, until he looks at my face. "Oh, you're serious?"

"Well yes. Polk just pushed Tripoli out of here like he was a bouncer at a nightclub." Abraham just shrugged. He was the only one that bothered to dress nice in a black suit. Tripoli and Polk didn't even try to dress up in business casual.

Abraham finally said, "It's just how they are." He added in a lower voice, "They didn't leave this room to argue or talk."

It took me a moment to process Abraham's words. "Oh!" I finally exclaimed as the nurse threw the pink bucket away.

As the nurse was leaving she said, "Just press that button if you need help again, kid."

"I'm not a fucking kid!" yelled Kyle in a raspy voice. He took some deep cleansing breaths as he looked at me and then at Abraham. "I approve."

"Approve of what?" asked Abraham with a raised brow.

"Of this," said Kyle, gesturing to Abraham and me. He focused on me as he said, "I would prefer you end up with Abraham than my little brother."

"You're acting silly!" I exclaimed.

"I accept," replied Abraham as he grinned at me, causing his black lips to stretch far and wide on his face. Before I knew it, he had both of his hands on my cheek. I didn't fight back as he whispered to me, "My Brown eyed girl." Then, he bent down to kiss me on the neck.

"Not now!" Kyle said.

Abraham frowned as he replied, "You didn't specify when. Besides, I didn't make it official. I would've kissed her on the lips if I did."

"Her has a name and it's Renata," I said as I grabbed Abraham's wrists and lowered both hands away from my face. As I did that Tripoli and Polk come back in looking flustered and breathless.

Tripoli smirks as she looks at me. "Is that like the goth version of a hickey?"

"Totally is," replied Abraham.

My cheeks grow hot as I smudge away Abraham's black lipstick with my hand. "Ugh! It's not like permanent marker is it?"

Polk's jaw drops for a moment. "That's what you're worried about? What happened while Tree and I were gone?!"

"Ask him," Abraham and I say while we both point at Kyle.

Kyle shrugged as he said, "What? I'm an angel."

"So was Lucifer," was Tripoli's reply. "You must be like, his illegitimate son right?"

Polk slapped his girlfriend's hand and grinned. "Good one, Tree!"

I glanced at Kyle, before I stepped forward and handed him the birthday card for his twenty-first birthday. I drew cartoon depictions of flutes of champagne, blood red wine glasses, and cartoon mugs of frothy beer all over. After drawing as best I could the cartoon versions I found on Google, I also deleted all of that search history.

"Aw! How cute...too bad I can't have Alcohol because the nurses would disapprove."

"Screw the nurses. I have two big brothers, remember?" said Polk as he shrugged off his backpack. "Those two bastards owed me a favor so, here it is!"

Out of Polk's bag, were little plastic bottles of various colorful liquids. He handed everybody in the room one, including myself.

"Uh, I don't drink...."

"You have to drink on my twenty-first birthday," said Kyle with a smirk. "As the birthday boy you must obey whatever I say."

"YEAH!" screamed Abraham and Polk while Tripoli shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"I say drink or don't drink, it's still gonna be a party." After she says that she presses a few buttons before setting her phone down on the window ledge. The dance music blasts from Tripoli's phone as she drank her little bottle in one gulp before saying, "Dance bitches dance!"

Kyle, Abraham, and Polk clink their plastic bottles together before downing theirs. I handed Kyle mine as I said, "One more for courage."

"Don't need it, but what the hell." He took my baby bottle of booze and downed it before looking at me and whispering, "Mom."

"Are you going to read the card?" I asked him.

"After the party I will," said Kyle. "Go dance!" he waved at me. "I'm nauseus but not dead yet. I can still watch Ms. Renata dance!" As Kyle said that, Tripoli pulled me on to the dance floor. Where Tripoli, me, Abraham, and Polk were dancing with no rhythm like we were getting electrocuted. It was fun and Kyle's twenty-first birthday went just as written in his card: The day you drank like a fish and puked your guts out.

So, who cares if it was in the wrong order. His twenty-first birthday was still epic and I'm so glad I found Abraham's Facebook page to contact him or Kyle would've just spent his twenty-first birthday with me.