Solitude

Forty-Four

"So, which one do you want to open first?"

Friday has rolled in and I am spending the night cross-legged on Jonathan's floor, a pile of unopened presents in front of me and a camera trained right in front of me because people apparently love watching unboxing videos.

I stare at them all, trying to guess who they're from without looking at the cards. The only safe bet is the incredibly pink one which can only have one sender. I point to it and Jonathan hands it over to me.

Mason is busying himself with his incredibly long skin care routine for the night, so he isn't helping with this. This leaves me with Jonathan who looks incredibly attractive in his singlet on grey jumper and in true Jonathan fashion, he is wearing socks like a fucking handsome psychopath.

I shake the small box in my hand, trying to get a feel of what could be inside. Whatever it is, it seems a little bit heavy. More than eager, I tear it open and I am surprised to find a thick leather-bound book about witchcraft for beginners. Atop of it is a necklace with a rather gorgeous purple crystal. I pull it out and examine it closely.

"What –"

"Amethyst crystal. Used for protection against dark magic and diseases. Also, peace and calmness," Jonathan answers and I hum. With a shrug, I wear it around my neck and wait for something to happen.

As expected, absolutely nothing changes.

"I don't feel any different. Do you believe in this stuff?" I ask him and he shrugs, but doesn't provide a response. I take that as him being rather indifferent to the practice. He knows about it, so I'm guessing he's done some reading on it, but doesn't have any valuable opinion.

It's still a warm feeling knowing that Bubblegum cares enough to want me to feel safe and protected. Even if the crystal is absolutely useless, the thought is everything to me.

"I love it, either way. Thank you, Bubblegum." I stare at the camera and make a heart sign with my hands, hoping that she's watching. Knowing her, she probably is.

"This one's from Anna," Jonathan hands me a small gift bag and before I can ask who Anna is, Jonathan answers me. "Mason's lil cousin. Remember?"

I recall the young girl with the gorgeous smile that sat at the table with us when we had dinner with Mason's awful parents. Surprisingly, she made a brief cameo at my party, but I wasn't expecting her to actually get me anything.

I guess gift giving is a thing in the Richmond family.

I peek inside and it is a black foldable casing which I open and spread out to reveal lots and lots and lots of different kinds of pencils and a couple other materials needed for art. A huge grin appears on my face as the thought behind this one.

A small note falls out of it and I pick it up and read out loud. "I've seen your page and you draw so, yeah, whatever! You seem cool, so happy birthday or something."

"She likes you," Jonathan notes and I hum. Somehow, I get that this is the height of affection and I will take it with pride and gratitude.

I spend the next couple of minutes unraveling boxes. Some contained really inappropriate objects like condoms, a lingerie that is definitely not my size, sex toys and a box I couldn't show to the camera because I bet those drugs are not legal and though there is no card attached, I just know it was sent by Andrew.

Some are thoughtful and sweet like a friendship bracelet and a portrait of me, along with some skin care products from Cece, because apparently, I need to take more care of my skin before I become wrinkled at thirty. I got a bunch of gift cards, odd but appreciated plushies, a water bottle, a cook book from Praise – odd because I don't even cook. I also got a rather large set of novels from Cecile. I can swear some aren't even in English.