This is what regret feels like [2]

Brandon sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the box in his hands. 

"...."

It was clumsily wrapped in Christmas paper, some edges not even fully covered, as if the person wrapping it had been in a rush or simply bad at it. 

A small smile tugged at his lips, but it quickly faded. Vanessa had left it for him, insisting that it was important.

He didn't want to open it.

He thought he'd moved past the worst of it, but because of Vanessa's appearance, and the sight of this gift, this reminder, made everything resurface.

With a heavy sigh, Brandon slowly peeled away the wrapping. 

His hands shook slightly, and for a moment, he paused, staring at the small USB flash drive inside. 

There was no label.

He already knew, though.

He knew it was from Evelyn.

His chest tightened painfully as he plugged the USB flash drive into his laptop and clicked the file. The screen flickered for a second before her face appeared.