I'm Richard | Johnny Depp [Complete]

Chapter Thirteen | The New Neighbor

Violet's POV:

The past few weeks consisted of Christmas shopping and party planning. Most of the time I'd rather just stay in bed, but I knew I had to get presents for my friends and family. It wouldn't be right if they all gave me stuff and I didn't have anything for them. So I've been holding in my emotions the best I can. That meant I was crying myself to sleep. Honestly I was crying any time I was alone. Everyone seemed so happy that the holidays were just around the corner; I didn't wanna dampen anyone's mood. No one deserves to have to deal with my sadness when they were in such good spirits. I've started feeling kinda like a burden to them. Especially when we're out somewhere and I suddenly feel extremely depressed. I know they can tell something's wrong, but I just deny it and say I'm alright even though I'm not. Besides, Arrow and my uncle have had to deal with so much of my moping around I decided it was better if they just assumed I was okay. It's easier for them that way. "What about this one?" Joe asked, taking me out of my thoughts. The three of us were looking for a Christmas tree we could put up and decorate tonight. I looked at the tree he had pointed out and noticed that it looked absolutely beautiful. For some reason there was something about that tree that set it apart from all the other. "It looks perfect." Arrow replied, and I agreed. After we bought the tree and had it loaded into Joe's truck, we went to a nearby diner to grab a bite to eat and warm up. Joe and I ordered black coffee while Arrow ordered a hot chocolate. Then we spend a few minutes looking at the menus the waitress handed us. When came time to order I ended up getting birthday cake pancakes. They're basically pancakes with sprinkles in them with vanilla cake icing on top. I'd alternate from not wanting to eat at all to eating like a pig from week to week; this week was an eating week. I'm not sure if they noticed, and a part of me wished that they didn't. As I looked around the diner I suddenly noticed that there were a lot of couples in here today. Some where young and others were old or middle aged. All of them looked so happy. I felt so guilty for being jealous of them, but I was just so angry that I wasn't allowed to have my own little piece of happiness. I was angry that the person who had my heart was suddenly and unexpectedly taken from me. Not to mention the fact that he was a ghost. I fell in love with a ghost and he couldn't stay here anymore because I found out that he wasn't truly alive. It felt like someone somewhere was mocking me. I pressed my thoughts to the back of my mind when our waitress came to the table with out food. I drowned my sorrows in birthday cake pancakes and hot coffee. When we got home there was a moving van parked in the driveway next door. "It looks like someone finally bought that house. Maybe we could welcome them to the neighborhood after we set this bad boy up." Joe said. Arrow seemed keen on the idea, but I wasn't sure sure. I really wasn't in the mood to meet new people, but if he really wanted me to be part of a greeting comity then I guess I'd do it. It took all three of us to get the tree inside and set up in the living room. Joe suggested that we decorate after we welcomed the whoever moved into the house next door. Some snowflakes started floating down from the gray colored sky as we walked outside. My uncle lead the way and knocked on the front door, which was a beautiful blue color. After a few minutes the door opened and I stopped breathing for a brief second. It was like time had stopped as well. "This is my niece, Violet and her friend Arrow." Joe's voice said, bringing me back to reality. The man standing in front of us in the doorway had brown curly hair. His eyes were beautifully brown as well. He looked like a younger version of Richard, except he didn't have any facial hair. "It's nice to meet you guys. Thanks for welcoming me into the neighborhood. I'm Richard by the way." He said with an adorable smile on his handsome face as he and Joe shook hands. My heart stopped and my breath caught in my throat. I looked at Arrow and his eyes were wide with shock. I'm sure I looked shocked as well. I couldn't believe that the man I was looking at looked exactly like my Richard. He even sounded like my Richard. Honestly, I felt like I was dreaming or something. 'I can't be awake right now. I have to be dreaming.' I thought inside of my head. "Don't mention it. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask. I know it'll be rough moving into a new place, especially with the holidays coming up." Joe said with a smile. "Yeah, I actually planned on moving in later but life sort of happened and now I'm here." Richard said with a slight laugh. We made eye contact and my heart skipped a few beats. His big brow eyes sparkled so beautifully that my insides melted. Joe asked him to dinner tonight, and after a little bit of convincing he accepted my uncle's offer. As soon as we went back to the house, Arrow and I practically broke something trying to get upstairs. "What the hell is going on?!? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone!!" Arrow said as he paced around my bedroom. "He looks so much like.... like... him." I said as I turned to look out of the window that faced the house next door. Arrow's footsteps stopped for a few minutes before I heard him walk towards me. "Violet, no matter how much he looks like him or sounds like him. He isn't the Richard you fell in love with." He said as he gently placed his hand on my shoulder. When I turned to look at him his eyes were filled with sympathy. "I know, but... he-" I said, but he cut me off. "Violet, it's not him. I know how much you miss him, but he isn't coming back." Arrow said as he pulled me into a tight hug. All the happiness I felt a few moments ago drained out of me faster than I expected. He was right. Just because the neighbor looks and sounds like my Richard doesn't mean that he is anything like the man I fell in love with. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad. It's just.... I don't want you to get your hopes up." He said and I told him it was okay. I knew he was just being a good friend. After we talked for a little while longer, we went downstairs and started decorating the Christmas tree. Joe was in the kitchen making meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. The sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted us. Arrow turned down the music we were listening to, which was The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack. 'That's probably Richard.' I thought inside of my head as I added another ornament to the tree. "Arrow and Violet are in the living room decorating the Christmas tree. You can join them if you'd like or you could talk with me in the kitchen." I heard Joe say. Richard walked into the room and butterflies fluttered inside of my stomach. "Do you mind if I help you two?" He asked us curiously once he walked closer to us. "No, go ahead. We could use the help." Arrow said with a little laugh. Richard helped us decorate the tree and I was having a hard time keeping my heart from skipping beats. The butterflies in my stomach didn't help either. My insides were basically squirming, but in a good way. I went to reach for another ornament and Richard just so happened to reach for the brake one. Our hands touched and if felt like electricity shot through my arm. "Oh, sorry." He said with a laugh. "It's okay." I said in a shy sounding voice, and I mentally cursed myself. "I really like your Marilyn Manson hoodie." He said with a smile as he removed his hand from mine. "Thanks. I... I didn't expect you'd know who Marilyn Manson is." I replied with a small laugh of my own. "I'm actually a big fan of his music and art." He said. As we continued decorating the Christmas tree we talked about music and art. Arrow kept gave us sideways glances. At first I thought that he might think I was getting too comfortable with Richard. I thought he might give me some kind of speech in the same vein as the conversation we had earlier. But after a while I noticed that Arrow was smiling. We just finished with the tree when Joe came in to tell us that dinner was ready. All three of us washed our hands before heading into the kitchen. I sat down in my usual seat and Richard ended up sitting next to me. He was so close I could smell his cologne, and I think I almost had a heart attack. He smelled the same as he did. Deep down in my bones I felt like this couldn't be a coincidence; they were too much alike each other it was a little scary. Joe asked Richard questions and made small talk. Apparently Richard got a job at the local library as a full time librarian. 'Maybe I could visit him at the library sometimes.' I thought inside of my head. I knew that I'd probably get way too attached to him way too soon. Joe mentioned that Arrow and I were going to Salem University, so we decided to mention what we were studying. "I'm glad you're perusing artistic careers. There's far too many people studying boring things nowadays." Richard said which made me smile a real, genuine smile. He smiled as well, looking at me with those doe eyes of his. Once we finished eating Joe made Arrow and I go into the living room while he and Richard cleaned everything up. Deep down I wanted to be in there helping them, but there was no use in arguing with my uncle. "You know... I never thought I'd see you smile like that again." Arrow said in a hushed tone after we turned the tv on. "Smile like what?" I asked him curiously even though I knew what he was talking about. "Like you did before you-know-what happened. There was so much light in your eyes when you were talking to him." He said with a small smile on his face. "I couldn't help it." I replied, which was the truth. I couldn't help the way my heart was making me feel around Richard, even though he isn't the Richard I feel in love with. "I just... I want you to be careful, okay? We don't know this guy enough. I don't want him to break your heart; you've hurt enough already." He said as he gave me a side hug, and I hugged him back. Arrow truly is the greatest friend I've ever had. "I know that, and I promise I'll try not to get attached to him.... no matter how handsome he is." I said, and he laughed slightly. I laughed too. We broke the hug before Joe and Richard came in to join us. The four of us watched a movie together, and Richard was sitting right nest to me. I had to fight the urge to snuggle into his side; it was actually quite painful to be honest, especially since he looked like a snack. He was wearing a lovely blue colored buttoned shirt with black jeans. Everything he had on fit him so perfectly. 'Come on, Violet. You don't even know the man and you wanna cuddle with him!!! Get some self control!!!' I said inside of my head. In my defense, he did look a lot like the man I'm madly in love with... the man who stole my heart. Plus, I've been so empty, broken, and sad for what has felt like forever. 'He isn't the same man you met at the college. They probably have nothing in common.' I thought. But the cologne he was wearing was really distracting. I was pressed kinda close to him. All I had to do was nuzzle in a little closer and see if he'd accept my closeness. Beyond my better judgement I did just that. I thought fore sure he was gonna move away from me. I mean... why would he let a stranger sneakily snuggle up with him? But I did it anyway. He gently held my wrist in his big hand and rubbed my arm with his thumb in a slow circular motion. I thought it would hurt the fresh cuts that were on my wrist, but he was so gentle that I almost thought he knew they were there. When the movie ended he slowly moved his hand from around my wrist, which made me feel a little disappointed. "Well, I better get back and get a little more unpacking finished before it gets too late." Richard said as I slowly moved away from him so he could stand up. "Don't he a stranger. Come over as much as you'd like." Joe said with a smile as he stood up as well. "Aww, thanks. Thanks for inviting me over for dinner and everything. It was really nice meeting you guys." Richard replied with a heart melting smile on his handsome face. "No problem, it was nice meeting you too." Joe said as the two of them shook hands. Arrow stood up and shook hands with Richard as well. But when I stood up Richard wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight, familiar feeling hug. My heart ached for him to never let me go but I knew we couldn't hug forever. "Violet is a beautiful name by the way." He whispered, and tingles went up down my spine. Maybe it was the sound of this voice, maybe it was the tickle of his warm breath on my skin, or perhaps it was both. After we broke the hug I'm positive I was blushing. There's no way I wasn't. My heart was beating wildly in my chest like a caged bird trying to get free. We said out goodbyes and I watched as Joe walked Richard out onto the front porch. "What did he whisper to you?" Arrow asked me quickly. "He said that I had a beautiful name." I replied with a goofy smile on my face. He smiled too. I think he was just glad that I was truly and genuinely happy. That night I went to bed feeling better than I had in what felt like years. I just hoped I didn't get my heart broken again, because if I did I don't think I could handle it.

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A/N: Thanks for reading!! Remember to vote, comment, share, etc. :) <3