There was a vase in the middle of the kitchen table that was filled with flowers my mom bought from the store. It was meant to brighten up the room, add a little life, and for everyone else, it did. But all I could see was an urn. Two urns, actually, sitting side by side. One for Emily. And one for Valarie.
I went to their funeral. My parents didn't know if it would be the best idea, but it was something I had to do. Valarie had given up her life to save us. I couldn't not go. Coden and Rosalie went, too, and we all sat together in the back, away from all of the grieving family members. I felt like an outsider for the most part, but I didn't regret attending. I would've hated myself if I hadn't.
"Open this one next!"
I blinked and suddenly the vase was a vase again, and I looked up to find a small package being waggled in front of my face. I accepted the package from Maddi's hand and tugged the card off the wrapping. "Aw, thanks, Remy," I said after reading the corny message inside. After setting the card on the table, I unwrapped the actual present—an action film.
My smile was a little more forced now, because I had to pretend that the gun shots in the film wouldn't remind me of Dan shooting Valarie, Coden, and some of the others from that night. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know about what I'd went through, not really. She heard what happened on the news, but I didn't give her the gritty details. Not even my family or Maddi knew that much about what happened. I couldn't talk about it. I just couldn't. Not with them.
"Thank you," I said, placing the movie and card next to the other presents I'd already opened and dropping the wrapping paper into the trashcan Skylar so thoughtfully set beside me.
"That's the one we saw in theaters, right?" she asked. "I totally spaced on the title, and then...ugh. I just hope it's the right one."
"It is." I smiled again.
"Oooh, this one's from Coden," Maddi cooed, plopping a small bag in front of me.
I glanced over at Coden, who was sitting in the chair beside me, and grinned. He returned my smile with one of his own. "I wonder what this could be," I teased, taking the bag in my hands and prying it open.
"No idea," Coden replied.
I pulled nail polish from the bag and gasped. "No. How could you have possibly known this was my favorite?"
"I would say intuition, but it was probably the text you sent me when I was at the store."
I laughed.
After that, I finished opening the rest of the presents rather quickly, only having to force one or two more smiles when I found that a couple of my friends also bought me action movies. I used to be an action movie junkie. The more kickass fighters, the better. Now...I didn't think I'd be able to watch any.
A couple days after returning home, I put in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, because I was feeling nostalgic for one of my favorite childhood action flicks. But as soon as there was gun fire, I knew I wouldn't be able to make it through the whole movie. Because, in that moment, all I could hear was my high-pitched screech as Dan fired his gun and Valarie fell. All I could feel was the horror of seeing her dead on the floor.
I stuck to rom-coms after that.
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"Time for cake!" my mom announced.
I cheered along with everyone else, twisting around in my seat to watch as my mom placed the candles on the cake Skylar was holding in his hands. When they stepped closer and I saw the state of the frosting, I immediately knew that Skylar and Tommy were the ones who'd done the decorating. My brothers weren't the best when it came to decorating cakes, so their "Happy 18th Birthday Serenity" looked more like a blob of frosting than anything else. Not that I minded. I honestly wouldn't have had it any other way.
