~An accident or a Planned Incident~

"Promise you won't laugh when the video is over." Dolores demanded with her arms crossed as she gave him a poker face look.

He raised two of his fingers in a scout's pledge with the ghost of a smile hovering around his lips. "I promise."

At his assurance she dashed upstairs, running down the long hallway and skidding to a stop in front of the door leading to the security room. It was barred with a heavy padlock. The last time anyone had been in the room was the period after her Mom's untimely death. Her Dad had immediately ordered for it to be locked to prevent unhealthy flashbacks or anything that would trigger her asthma attacks.

She dipped her hands into her pocket, digging out the key which she snatched out on the way from her Dad's study in order to gain access to the room. The key was inserted in the keyhole and the door opened with a creaking sound, proving that the room had truly been unused in a long while.

Dolores raised her hand to swipe down the long threads of cobwebs that had accumulated by the door before stepping in fully. It was a spacious room with several computers which were concealed by white cloth to protect them from dust. They clustered on a desk with a black, leather swiveling chair underneath equally covered in transparent wrapper. On a couch next to the desk, sat several CCTV surveillance cameras which had been disconnected from use. All except one which her Dad still left outside the house as it was the first his late wife installed herself.

Dolores remembered that day like it was yesterday. That moment when her Mom squealed in victory after successfully installing the first CCTV camera she received from a friend who ran a security firm. While handing it to her, he said it was a means of advertisment.

Taking her mind off from those tears inducing thoughts, she turned her focus to the pitch black bag now covered with thick layers of dust gathered over the years. With extra care, she dragged out the bag, hefting it on a spare couch with a groan. Carefully unzipping the bag, she began the search for the CDs which contained the time of her infancy.

Along with the CDs too many to count, there were varieties of flash drives displaying bright colours. The choice of bright colors for the drives had to be her Mom's decisions. Her experience in the hospital as a craniologist moved her to make such unusual decisions. Colors helped her get over the patients who didn't survive surgeries by painting her gloomy day bright once more whenever she was in grief for them.

By now, Dolores had two CDs held firmly in her hand and was about zipping the bag in order to have it returned to it's initial position before the sight of something unusual caught her gaze. She abandoned thoughts of the discs in her hand as she picked up a black and grey flash drive.

She studied it with a slight frown tainting her perfect eyebrows and a scowl on her round lips. "Now, this is new."

Turning it over, she discovered that a label was taped to it which stated the exact day her Mom died. The other flash drives of course were dated but this particular one seemed to intrigue her the most because it was the day her perfect little world was ripped out from right underneath her.

"Are you okay there? Why are you taking so long?"

It was Nicolas. He was getting impatient already and his voice thankfully distracted her away from the various questions and theories swarming uncontrollably in the small concave of her head. She grabbed the gray flash drive, then packed the bag before walking out of the room and locking the door the way she met it.

"Coming!" She thundered as she hurried along to meet him before he would pass out from yelling her name in such a loud tone. Even a deaf person could hear him from a mile away. She arrived at the top of the stairs prepared to give him a death glare only to meet him giving one of his.

"What were you looking for in there? Lost treasures?"

She ignored his snide remark. "Of course, they're treasures. You think I'd take the trouble to bring them out for some nobody?"

He rolled his eyes at her exaggeration. "Whatever. Are we watching it or not?"

"You seem way more excited than I am about this. Maybe I should just take it back."

Before she could take a turn, Nicolas had his arms wrapped around her with his body shaking in laughter. "You took the trouble walking all the way for it. Remember?"

She made a face in response before grabbing her laptop and plopping down on a love couch nearby as Nicolas sat beside her. Her mind still hadn't left the flash so she raised it to his view. "This is what I want to watch first and while it plays, let me get us some popcorn."

Nicolas' gaze fell upon the flash drive in her hold. "Is that also--"

"Oh, no. This is a security footage of the last day I saw my Mom. Somehow, I want to relive those memories, see her face again."

His expression softened at her words. "You don't have to if you can't handle it. I'm sure your dad won't appreciate it if he knows you're about to watch something that would bring pain to you."

She cocked a lazy eyebrow at him. "Do you want to tell him about it? Be my guest."

"I didn't say I was going to, but--." He was cut short by her next words.

"Insert it already, will you?" Her voice, impatient, rang out.

Nicolas inserted the flash not wanting her fury unleased on him and waited for the files instilled in it to be displayed on the screen of the laptop. When it did, he clicked on the only file he found on it. It was on black and white display and the time showed 0 hours.

They sat for a long time with their gazes stuck on the laptop. Never wavering, never blinking. Nicolas had began squirming uncomfortably, giving signals that he didn't want to watch any more of the footage. When Dolores showed no signs of acknowledging him, he forced himself to distract her.

"There isn't anything on the screen. Just a car in the driveway and light shining down on it. Can we watch something else or better still skip forward?"

"Hey, watch it. That's my Mom's car you're trash talking." She glared at him before sighing loudly in resignation. "Don't take it out just yet. Sit pretty and watch. I'll be right back."

With that, she pulled herself off the couch, ambling into the kitchen to get the popcorn and glasses of drinks.

"This is going to be a long ass video." Nicolas stated out of the earshot of his girlfriend. She was going to have his ears talked off if she ever heard him. He dragged the arrow, skipping the footage forward by several seconds.

Still nothing.

He repeated the action but didn't release the arrow as quick as he did the first time. There was indeed nothing to look at except for the fancy looking car decorating their driveway. Just as he almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, Nicolas thought he saw a figure move in the screen which dragged all his attention back and caused him to click on rewind. What he saw sent shivers up and down his spine, and made his skin crawl in fear.

He rewinded it again to be sure what he saw was really it. He leaned closer to the screen with his eyes following the every steps of the stranger who just stepped into the driveway. Whoever the person was, their face was not illuminated by the light making it more difficult for Nicolas to tell what gender.

One more thing that had his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets was the hoodie thrown on the person's back. It was an oversized green hoodie with large numbers printed on it. The number 22. He could bet his bottom dollar that it looked horribly familiar to him even though he didn't remember the owner. But that wasn't all that had him on the edge of his seat, the person was crouched next to one of the tires of fancy car.

His head came reeling with everything Dolores had told him about her Mom and how she had died. He looked at the video again. The person was still crouched low next to the car and working swiftly. The way their hands moved tirelessly testified to that. If he was calculating right, and the date on the flashdrive was right, Dolores'Mom didn't get involved in an accident...

She was killed.

"Our popcorn is ready!" His head snapped toward the direction of her voice. He realized she was on her way back. With fingers that were still trembling from shock, he shakily tugged out the flash, slipping it inside the couch.

By the time she arrived where he sat, he was watching her baby videos and hoping for her not to ask about the footage contained in the flash.

Seeing him smile, Dolores completely forgot about the flash as she settled in right next to him. On the laptop was clips after clips of her embarassing baby moments. So embarassing that she was sure she would die from horror if Nicolas gave her that one-sided grin again.

The loud crash and clap of thunder due to the heavy downpour outside, had Dolores scooting closer to Nicolas who merely laughed at her before wrapping his arms around her and reeling her in closer than ever.

~~~{•}~~~

So what do you guys think?
OMG... Cliffhanger or what?
Just watch as drama unfolds

Please leave a vote if this was your best chapter yet.
~~Chinature~~