Page 52 of When Darkness Calls

He scoffs. “What? No, of course not.” I breathe a little in relief before he continues. “I used two.”

I click my tongue with a quick nod. “Right, yeah, of course you did.”

Paper after paper was pulled from the bag as the guys kept making jokes and comments until I finally reached the bottom.

Quickly hiding my smile, I choke back a laugh as I mumble, “Wow…”

“Right? I knew you would love it!” Alex beams, pushing through the guys to stand beside me, slinging a heavy arm across my shoulders and jostling me.

“Of course I do! How could I not love a five pound chocolate bar and—and a Return to Zombie Island DVD? And…is…is this a picture of you?” I splutter, holding up the frame. It’s such an odd shape, the edges are wavy with sections of the glass cut through with wooden swirls. Along the top in a loopy cursive the word “Besties” is written and painted in the most striking, hot pink I’ve ever seen. I’m certain it would glow in the dark or under a blacklight.

“Well, duh. Of course, it’s me and you, silly. See—” He points at one of the swirls. “You’re right there. That’s your arm and your hair, and there’s your shirt.”

“I—” I snort, my laugh finally falling free. “I love it. Thank you so much.”

Alex squeezes me tight against his side before turning his head towards the others with a smug grin. “I told y’all fuckers mine was the best.”

Cade claps him on the shoulder steering him back to the other end of the table. “Yeah, big guy. You really killed it.”

Keegan shakes his head as he passes me his present, another gift bag, but this one is a dark green and significantly less…packed.

“I think I got the size you’d want, but the receipts in the bag if you wanna exchange it for a different size, or something else.” He scratches the side of his head, just to the right of a smear of—What is that? Chocolate? — sheepishly.

I shrug, pulling out a couple pieces of tissue paper, seeing the store bag in the bottom and opening it. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Keegs.” I shoot him a reassuring smile that he responds to with a small dip of his chin.

My hand grazes the soft fabric and I could already tell. Even if the size needed to be adjusted, I wasn’t going to get something different. Unfolding it, my smile grows wider and wider.

Across the front of the zipper hoodie is a scene like a gothic graveyard. The smokey gray color is perfect for the black silhouette. The top of each headstone and fence along the bottom is highlighted in shimmery silver thread.

“Oh, my God. Wait, this is so cool!”

Keegan’s smile lights up his whole face. The deep blue sparkling in the kitchen light. “You mentioned wanting a zip one when we had that bonfire before school started. I hope it’s what you had in mind.”

“It’s perfect, Keegs. Thank you so much.”

Then Nick comes forward.

“I hope you aren’t expecting anything spectacular from me.” He raises a dark brow, an impish gleam in his dark eyes.

I roll my eyes dramatically with a smirk. “From you? Never.”

“Atta girl. Here,” he drawled, pushing a wrapped gift forward. “I also have Grays’s since he was in such a hurry to get outta here.” Another gift is placed beside his. It was a nondescript box, just plain cardboard.

My shoulder’s sagged a little with the reminder he left before I even had a chance to say hi.

Nick’s gift is wrapped in a dark brown paper with a sandy colored twine tied tight around the center. In a black marker, his spindly handwriting has spelled out “TO DANI HAPPY BIRTHDAY”.

Short, (kinda) sweet, and straight to the point as always with Nick.

He passes me his knife he always keeps on hand, and I cut through the twine, tearing open the paper to reveal a thick, hardcover book. The cover is of a skull, part of it removed to expose the brain. In bold font beneath it, the title says, “Abnormal Psychology”.

“Ooh…” I coo, turning the book over, skimming the back.

“If I remember right, it goes through everything from phobias to disorders to a couple of analyses with excerpts of interviews from notable serial killers.”

I tilted my head in his direction, waving the book lightly. “Have you read it?”

Nick shakes his head. “Not this one, but I’ve read a couple others from the same author. His books are really good, and the information is accurate and portrayed in the correct context, so you know that what he’s saying is true. The guy knows his shit, Dee.”