Trying to live #Wattys2024

Chapter 21 (Edited)

It was black, and somehow, I had a bad feeling about it.

I put the stack of clothes in the closet and slowly picked up the item, unfolding it.

It wasn't even a thing. It was a dress. A short black dress with long sleeves, a plunging neckline, and a tulle skirt.

What's that in your hands?

A gift for you.

Can I see it?

Well, it's actually a surprise.

Please, pretty please.

Fine, but act surprised in front of the others, okay?

Laughter. Deal.

I clenched the dress in my hand and stormed out of my room. I jogged up the stairs to the third floor, counting the doors until I stood face-to-face with the last room.

I hadn't been here since that fateful night two summers ago before junior year started.

As much as I wanted to turn back and leave, I was disturbed by the fact that I was clutching a dress that was already one year old. And how did it end up in my borrowed room?

I gathered all my courage and stormed in, pushing the door open instead of knocking.

I quickly surveyed the room. It hadn't changed at all except for the photo frames. I wasn't in any of them.

I didn't know if I felt disappointed or not. It shouldn't matter, but it did.

Henry was always a minimalist, who loved neutral colors. He kept everything neat, clean, and essential. His room looked like a magazine spread, as if it was newly renovated and unlived in. The white walls were spotless, and the grey furniture was perfectly arranged, giving the space a cold, impersonal feel.

Henry was sitting at his desk, phone in hand, grinning widely until he saw me. "Em?"

When I didn't answer, he said, "You can't just barge into my room!"

"Of course, I can. You did the same."

"Why is she in your room?" a third person said through the phone.

Henry glared at me before he looked back at his phone. "It's nothing. I'll call you back, Julie."

He disconnected the call before Juliette could say anything else. "What do you want?"

I ignored his frustrated voice, knowing I probably ruined a cute phone date. But I didn't care.

I gave him a quick, annoyed smile and held up the black bundle in my hand.

Henry narrowed his eyes and snorted. "What should I do with that?"

"What is that?" I countered.

Henry looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "I... I don't know."

How dumb was he? Couldn't he see it was a dress?

I glanced at my hand and realized I was holding the dress in a fist, so he could barely see it. I quickly untangled it and held it triumphantly in the air. "Now, look at it and tell me what it is."

"A black dress," Henry said, clearly annoyed.

"Don't you remember?" I asked, confused.

Henry wiped his face with his hands. "What are you talking about? Why should I remember a dress?"

I couldn't believe he didn't remember. It shouldn't bother me, but I felt the disappointment in my whole body. "This dress," I pointed at it, "was a surprise gift from you to me."