“Denise? Hey, I brought some pizza.” I called into the quiet house as I took off my shoes and carried the pizza box into the kitchen.
The house was quiet and completely still. I shrugged and put the pizza box in the fridge, figuring I’d want some later, as well as Denise or Harry.
I went out that day with a few of my girl friends and bought some clothes. As always, whenever I bought clothes, I tried them on as soon as I got home. I never knew why I did it, I just did. I went to the guest room, mine for now, and took off my current clothes to try everything on, even though I knew they all fit.
Satisfied with trying everything on again, I paused to stare at the framed photograph of me and Niall and felt the familiar heavy feeling I got whenever I saw him. Even though I was moving on with my life, I still missed him so very much. I doubted I’d ever stop missing him, come to think of it.
Straightening up, I mentally reminded myself that Niall wouldn’t want me to cry every time I saw a picture of him. He’d want me to smile back at the memories and move on with my life. And I would.
For him.
Forcing myself to hum a tune, I went back to the living room to watch TV, when I found a box sitting on the table. The small box was wrapped in pastel pink wrapping and had a light green bow on top. A white notecard lay next to the gift.
I sat on the couch and picked up the card, which read:
<i>A gift from me to you.</i>
I furrowed my eyebrows and re-read the note. It was in beautiful, elegant handwriting written in cursive. I didn’t recognize it. Denise had messier handwriting, and my mom never wrote in cursive.
How come they didn’t put who the gift was from?
Licking my lips, I opened the box and tore apart the wrapping to reveal a black DVD. The DVD had no writing on it either, nothing indicating what it was.
The note said to watch it.
But who was it from?
I felt a cold shudder fall across my spine and felt as though someone was watching me. Freezing, I looked around me, only to find the silent features of the house. It was just me. There was nobody else.
I turned on the DVD player and put in the DVD. Then I sat on the couch, hugged myself, and waited for something to happen. I felt like the girl from the Ring was going to appear and come at me, so I was on edge.
I didn’t know what to expect.
Niall wasn’t who I expected it to show.
But there on the screen, in utter silence, was Niall. He was fast asleep, his head lolled to the side, and the camera showed him up close, only inches away and slowly pulling away to reveal more.
