Nevermore, the Complete Series by K. A. Poe Page A

muscular form in a tight hug.
    He laughed happily. “You’ve been saying for so long that you wanted one, so I’ve been secretly saving up my allowance and money from the part time job at Howard's.”
    Howard's was a small convenient store in town that Jason had worked at for the past five months or so. I could feel them coming, the warmth of tears building up in my eyes. I fought them, but I wasn't strong enough. Not today. I hugged him tightly again. “You shouldn't have...” I whispered.
    “I wanted to,” he grinned, “besides, after what you've been through, I’m extra glad I decided to do it. You needed some excitement, after…well, you know – all that.”
    If only he knew just how much I had gone through. I finally released him and happily ran to my room to put away my new laptop. As I headed back down the stairs, I saw the front door whip open and Karen came waltzing in carrying what was unmistakably a cake box. I smiled and approached her.
    “Happy birthday, Alex!” she shouted when she saw me. “You look so much better than when you left school. I was worried sick, really.”
    “I feel a lot better too, and thanks…I will be okay,” I lied; the excitement from the computer had been enough to mask the stress on my face, for now. “So, what kind of cake did you get?”
    I pictured the cheesecake Salem had summoned for me last night, knowing that this one would not compare. “It’s just chocolate with vanilla frosting. It's not very exciting, I know...but I didn’t know what to get. I figured this was the safest bet with so many people here. And I mean, if you don’t like chocolate you can get out! Right?”
    “That’s right!” We both laughed, and for the briefest of moments everything else melted away temporarily.
    “So he didn’t come, huh?”
    “What? Who?”
    “That new boy from school. I saw him like, right after you told us about him. He’s got a cruuush on you I think,” she said teasingly.
    “He didn’t?” I said as I glanced into the living room, expecting to see him sitting down on the sofa again, but instead seeing a room full of people dancing to the beat of an unrecognizable song playing on the radio. I could barely imagine what it would be like when Jason threw his party – I knew way more than ten people would be showing up for that one. “Let me handle this,” Karen said in disgrace when she saw my face. I watched her casually enter the living room and shut off the radio. “How about everyone get ready for Alex to open her presents while I order us some pizza?”
    Everyone settled down after cheering at the idea of pizza. I smiled thankfully at my blonde friend as she passed by to order the food. The crowd of teenagers deserted the living room and filled the small dining area, surrounding me and the table of unopened gifts. Karen joined them after hanging up the phone.
    “You’ve got to open mine first!” she insisted, handing me a small white gift bag.
    I knew no matter what anyone got me, it wouldn't compare to the laptop from Jason. I opened the bag to reveal a gift card to Karen's favorite clothes store. I smiled, despite my disappointment. A gift card to almost anywhere else would have suited me better, but she was always insistent upon me changing my style. Chances were that this would only end up lost somewhere, never used – but it was the thought that counted, I suppose.
    Next was a present from Mitchell Banner, Jason's younger brother. It was a simple card with ten dollars in it – fine with me; money was almost always my favorite choice of gift – I could get whatever I really wanted that way. I shot him a smile and said ‘thank you’ before tearing open the next gift. As the pile dwindled down to the very last one, I had a mass of random things before me that I didn't need or necessarily want, but was nevertheless thankful for.
    “Who is that one from?” Karen asked curiously, pointing at the last remaining present.
    The last gift on the table