The party was held at The Silver Tongue, the most exclusive club in Goldstone. As the son of an A-list celebrity, he spared no expense and went all out for the celebration. He booked the whole third floor for the event and invited everyone he knew in the city. Including Mandy and Dennis.
As soon as Marlon and his entourage arrived, the party began in full swing. The music was loud and thumping, the dance floor was packed with guests showing off their best moves. Marlon was the center of attention, surrounded by his friends, who were all dressed in the latest designer clothes and jewelry.
The bar was fully stocked with top-shelf liquor, and bartenders were serving up creative cocktails in elaborate glassware. The party-goers were drinking and toasting to Marlon’s big day, and everyone seemed to be in high spirits.
He wasn’t in a particularly good mood that day, a big part of it was because he hadn’t heard from Hazel since she went back to Chestnut. As if she had disappeared from the face of the earth. He checked to her mom the day she went back and Claire said Hazel was at Theo’s. She could’ve replied to his text once she was available but she didn’t. Not a peep.
As the night went on, the party got even wilder. Marlon and his friends took over a private VIP area, where they were drinking champagne straight from the bottle and smoking expensive cigars. A variety of other substances was involved and girls were all over him too. They were laughing, joking, and dancing to the music.
Outside the club, paparazzi and fans were trying to catch a glimpse of the celebrity guests as they arrived and left. Security was tight, with bouncers checking everyone’s IDs and making sure that only the invited guests were allowed in.
As the party continued into the early hours of the morning, it was clear that Marlon had pulled out all the stops to ensure that his 18th birthday was an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. It was a wild and extravagant celebration that no one in Goldstone would forget anytime soon.
Marlon stumbled into the family therapy session the same morning. He hadn’t slept nor changed his clothes. He went straight from the party to a girl’s apartment then to the clinic, still buzzing from the wild party at the club. It was the session that Hazel had promised to attend.
“Marlon, you okay?” his father asked, he knew what a drunk person looked like and Marlon was on a shitfaced level.
Marlon slurred his words as he spoke. “Fantastic! I just turned 18 … remember? I had a huge party that neither of you attended … wait …” he pointed his index finger, “You weren’t invited … that’s right … and now … here we are,” he smiled widely. His glassy eyes couldn’t focus on any point in the room.
“Would you like to sit down and join us, Marlon? Will your friend be joining us today?” Dr. Seymour asked.
“Hah!” he threw himself on an armchair and lifted his legs on the table in front of him, “Good question … I don’t know … because I don’t know where the fuck she is,” he crossed one leg over to the other.
Dr. Seymour gave his parents a look of knowing, he was signaling them to calm down because he had the situation under control.
“I see … that’s okay … we can set up another meeting with Hazel at another time … shall we continue our session with another topic?” Dr. Seymour continued.
Belinda and Josh fell silent. Marlon took a deep breath and tilted his head back on the chair, “Actually, maybe we can discuss something that I’ve been meaning to tell you guys …” he laughed lightly, “I was going to tell you today anyway … I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and … I’ve made up my mind.” He paused for a moment leaving all the others waiting for what’s to come out of his mouth, “I’m going to file for emancipation.”
His parents looked at each other in shock. “Emancipation?” his father said. “What are you talking about, son?”
“Well … emancipation … to be independent … to be an adult and decide my own shit … you know?,” Marlon said, his words becoming more slurred as he spoke. “I’m done with this bullshit … with your lousy parenting skills and celebrity nonsense … I don’t want to have anything to do with it anymore.”
Josh’s face grew with a smile of ridicule. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “This is the booze talking, right? Or are you on something else? That was one hell of a party I still have to pay for, Marlon … what the hell are you talking about?”
Belinda put one hand on her face, she couldn’t make out a single word to comment.
Dr. Seymour raised his palm at Josh who was about to burst in anger. “I see what you’re saying, Marlon, now that you’re 18 years old … you want to be free from your parents’ consent?”
Marlon pointed his finger to the doctor, “That’s right … see, doctor Seymour knows what I’m talking about, why don’t you ask him, dad?”
The doctor raised his hand even higher at Josh when he was about to burst out in response to his son’s comment.
“Do you think you’re in a condition where you can make that kind of decision, Marlon? I mean … you’re obviously intoxicated, and you sound angry … you know what they say to never make any decisions while you’re angry … are you angry because Hazel is not here?”
He furrowed his brows, his eyes were shut, “This is not a sudden decision, I told you, I have thought about it for some time now … and no … I’m not angry because Hazel is not here … I’m angry because …”
They all waited for him to finish the sentence.
“I’m angry because I didn’t realize how much I needed her to be here,” he sat forward and buried his face in his hands.
“Okay … it’s good that we established where your anger came from … but I suggest that we take a break … you clearly need some sleep … we can continue this session tomorrow and we’ll talk about your plan to get emancipated … I think your parents also find this news … surprising to say the least,” the doctor looked at his parents who were looking away from each other.
Marlon stood up. He wobbled on his feet and almost fell over the armchair. He firmed his foot on the ground and steady himself. “I don’t care … I probably won’t remember half the shit I’m saying right now … all I know is that … I don’t see any point of going back to school in that shitty little town you left me … I think I just lost the only meaningful thing I found there to an asshole jock and I don’t have anything to go back to … so …” he looked down on his feet trying hard to keep his eyes opened.
“You’re not in any condition to drive, son, I think you should crash here and get some sleep,” Josh commented.
“Yeah … whatever …” he said and walked out of that room.
Dr. Seymour told Josh to let his son go and then he made a call to the security guard downstairs to stop him from leaving the building if Marlon tried to drive away.
He didn’t though. He went into his car, and lit up a joint. He took his phone and tried her number, there was no answer. His last messages were left unread. He threw his phone to the dashboard and laughed. But his laugh slowly turn to a cry.