Malachi Barton

It’s your 18th birthday in exactly 3 hours, and your mind is racing with thoughts that you can’t control. They’re all about your closest best friend, Malachi. You and Malachi just had a fight about some guy that you used to like but never dated. His name was Austin Knowles. He used to be the nicest guy ever, but now he’s a huge jerk to everyone but his girlfriend, Rayleigh, who is the head cheerleader at your school. She hates you. You hate her. And that’s how it is.

The main reason you and Malachi are fighting is that Malachi thought you still have feelings for Austin, and he hates him for breaking your heart, even though you guys never dated.

You and Malachi have been friends for 2 years officially since yesterday. But he doesn’t seemingly appear to remember the anniversary. He usually apologizes after every fight and is all over you, trying to make amends. You guys have kissed a few times, but you just assumed it was a mistake because you and Malachi never talked about it.

You and Malachi met at a beach party where your mom and his mom met 13 years ago. His mom, Felicia, and your mom, Bella-Rae, are close friends, but you and Malachi are never around them to truly notice them being so close.

Malachi has a personality that everyone loves, and that’s why he has so many friends. You don’t really have a lot of friends that truly care about you. Most of them are fake friends that don’t care about anything or anyone but themselves. That’s why you only have Malachi and your sister, Delilah.

Delilah is your best friend and twin sister. You guys are both gorgeous, but Delilah has more confidence than you do. You’re slightly insecure because you’ve been bullied in the past. And you still get bullied, just not as much as last year.

It’s still 2 hours and 30 minutes until your birthday. You still can’t sleep. You’ve texted Malachi about 20 times; all unread. You’ve called him 12 times; all unanswered. You left one final voicemail saying that you need him to be here with you, that you’re sorry, that you love him, and that you can’t sleep without him. Through it all, you’ve been crying, praying, and begging for him to come to you. You start to think he’s hurt somewhere. But he’s not. He just turned his location off, letting you know he doesn’t want to talk to you. But you don’t stop trying.

Finally, he sends one text at midnight. “Happy Birthday.” He obviously knows you hate your birthday, but that text shows he still cares.