Eli handed the letter to Hazel.
Her hands shook so badly that she could not hold it steady.
“Can you read it?” she asked him.
Eli looked at her for permission.
She nodded.
So he began.
“Dear Hazelnut,
If Eli is giving you this, it means I somehow managed to convince him to stop being terrified of talking in front of people.”
A few students laughed softly through their tears.
Hazel made a sound that was half a sob and half a laugh.
Eli continued.
“I know you think prom is stupid. I know you’ll probably complain about the music, the decorations, and the people pretending they don’t care who is watching them dance.
But I also know you secretly want to go.
You deserve one night where you don’t hide.
You deserve to wear something beautiful, even though I already know you’ll argue that beautiful things weren’t made for you.
You’re wrong.
Beautiful things were made for people exactly like you.”
Hazel lowered her head.
Tears fell onto the ivory fabric.
Eli paused, swallowing hard, before reading the next part.
“The key opens the wooden box under the loose floorboard in my closet.
Yes, the one Mom thinks I never knew about.
Inside is something I’ve been saving for you.
Don’t get too excited. I’m still cheap.”
The students laughed again, but I felt my heart splitting open.
After Mason died, I had cleaned his room slowly, almost painfully. I had packed away his jackets, his books, and the old football trophies he pretended not to care about.
I had never noticed a loose floorboard.
Eli kept reading.
“I planned to give you the box before prom, but I know you. If I handed it over early, you’d find an excuse not to go.
So Eli has instructions.
He’s supposed to make sure you get there.
He’s supposed to remind you that you are not too loud, too anxious, too awkward, too much, or not enough.
You are my little sister.
That means you are stronger than you think, even when you don’t feel strong at all.
And if I can’t take you to prom myself, then I trust Eli to do it.
He already looks at you like you’re the only person in the room.
Don’t make fun of him too much.
Love,
Mason.”
By the time Eli finished, nearly everyone in the gym was crying.
Hazel stood completely still.
Then she turned toward Eli.
“You knew?”
“Not everything,” he said quickly. “Mason gave me the key and the letter. He told me where the box was, but he made me promise not to open it.”
“And the dress?”
