AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The least they can do is wait until they’re teenagers,” I teased as I stood from the bed.
I didn’t like the feeling of the lotion on my hands, so I went to the bathroom to wash it off. The counter in the bathroom was stacked with boxes we’d kept under the bed that I hadn’t had a chance to return after rearranging the room. I ran the water, then looked around for the soap. I found it shoved in the corner behind one of the boxes and pulled it out.
Oliver chose that moment to jump up on the counter. There wasn’t any room for him, and he could barely fit all four legs on the edge of the sink.
“Oliver, no!” I scolded.
I nudged him off the edge of the counter with my elbow. He clamored for a foothold, and it all happened so fast. Oliver’s tail swished, and it smacked into the pile of boxes. The box on top teetered, and I rushed to catch it, but it was already too late. The box burst open, spilling its contents into the sink under the rushing water.
Panic swept through me when I saw the photographs and other mementos shrink under the water. It was Nadine’s memento box.
Fuck! Oliver took off running out of the room. He knew damn well he was in trouble.
I hurried to shut the water off, but the damage was already done. Photographs were soaking wet, and the ticket from our first date was beyond repair.
“Lucas, are you hurt?” Nadine called.
“No, I—” I cut off. How did I even begin to explain to her what happened? I pulled the photographs out of the sink and laid them out on the floor, as if I could still save them. The corners were wrinkled, and some of the ink had smudged on a few of them. I couldn’t even begin to express the sickness that rose in my gut. I felt horrible.
I heard footsteps, then the sound of Talia’s and Grant’s voices as they came into the bedroom.
“Is everything okay?” Talia asked.
“We heard a crash,” Grant added.
“Lucas is in the bathroom,” Nadine told them. “I’m not sure what happened.”
“I’m okay,” I called.
The bathroom door was open, though, and Talia came to investigate. She gasped when she saw what I’d done. I was on my knees on the floor, trying to separate everything so it could dry, but it was no use. It was already ruined.
I leaned back on my heels hopelessly. “Nadine’s going to hate me,” I whispered.
“No,” Talia said gently. “Just… be honest with her.”
I drew a deep breath, but my heart was pounding. “All right. Can you help me?”
Talia helped gather the things, and I placed a few items back in the box that hadn’t been completely destroyed. There wasn’t much.
I dropped my head and stepped out of the bathroom. “Nad, I’m sorry?—”
Nadine’s breath caught, and she threw her hands over her mouth. “Is that…?”
“Your memento box fell into the sink,” I admitted. “Oliver accidentally knocked it over.”
Tears sprang to Nadine’s eyes. “Oh, Goddess, Lucas. All my pictures… they’re ruined.”
Grant quickly grabbed a towel and placed it on the bed, and Talia and I spread the mementos next to Nadine.
“I think some of them can be salvaged,” I said hollowly.
Nadine stared down at the items I’d destroyed. A faraway look entered her eyes, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She looked wholly broken. “Some of these pictures don’t have digital copies. These were all I had.”
“Nadine, I am so sorry—” I started.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “It isn’t your fault. I manifested this because I called the box stupid. I didn’t want this box to be all I had left of my family, and now I don’t even have that.”
She reached for the ticket from our first date, and it crumbled into two pieces in her hand. She went to pick up a photo of her and her parents, but drew away at the last second, as if afraid that too would fall apart.
