Before You Leave [finished short collection]

Chapter 8

July 10, 2019
I run into my house, completely ignoring the calls of my little brother playing Fortnite in the kitchen. I practically trip going up the stairs but I can't run any faster then I already am.

I take off my jacket and throw it on the floor before opening my closet and grabbing every jacket, shirt, jean that had fallen onto the floor out of the way.

I see it, I find the box. I open the teal box carefully to see hundreds and hundreds of tapes, not knowing where to start I grab Will session 24 and place it onto the VHS player.

I turn on my T.V and skip the tape for a while to see if I can find what I'm looking for...

Until I stop.

Because I didn't find what I was looking for, instead I see a video of Will sophomore year sitting at my desk and playing with of my soccer balls. He's laughing at something I said to the camera and I watch as he grabs the soccer ball and throws it at me, I try to dodge it with my hands and of course, it hits my camera. I watch as he fumbles over laughing and I'm using my other hand to wipe the camera, I was probably yelling because he stands up and walks over to me. His hands up as he says I'm sorry, it's okay. Look it's not broken. I feel my heart breaking at the sight but I skip on, seeing if anyway I could find what I'm looking for.

It feels as if hours have gone by of me looking through videos of Will, at some point I stopped skipping and just started watching them. The times I recorded and he was mad at me, the times I recorded and he was all bubbly and hyper for some apparent reason. I sat on the edge of my bed with my head resting on my knees, just watching endless and endless videos of Will.

I sigh placing another tape of Will into the slot and pressing play, he was definitely a senior in this one. I turn the volume up and watch as he was again sitting on my bed like countless times before.

I fumble with the camera trying to get it into focus, "Why are you so blurry?" I say shaking my lens stupidly.

"Camera's break when they see extreme beauty, you didn't know?" He raises his eyebrow and I scoff behind the camera.

"Hello everyone, today marks May 14th, two zero nine-teen." I say once again.

I gasp realizing I finally reached the tape I desperately looked for, I reach out for the remote and pause it. Wondering if I'm ready for what I'm about to hear, I take a deep breath and press play again.

I clean the lens once again with my sleeve, "You know I made a video on this exact date a year ago?" I point the camera back on him.

He makes a shocked face laced with sarcasm, "You don't say!"

You can tell this was one of his really happy days, the way he smiled and continued to throw of my stress balls up into the air.

"Has anything changed since last year Will? Anything really deep happen to you since 2018 that you'd like to talk about?" I recite in a really harsh interview voice.

I see hesitation but he rolls his eyes, something I obviously wasn't paying attention the first time I recorded this.

God I wished I payed more attention.

"My life isn't a documentary I wish you wouldn't record me so often, kind of ted bundy if you ask me." He looks at me pointedly and I gasp offendedly.

"You disrespect me child, you really think if I was ted bundy I'd waste my fetish tapes on you?" I scoff and now I see him get offended.

"Har Har Cassie, quite the comedian." He laughs and makes a motion that threatens he's going to throw the stress ball at me.