Fake Smiles

#22: She isn't imaginary!

Grayson woke up to find his bed empty; Lily was no where to be seen. He looked around his room, but there was no sign of her. "Lily?" He called out. It was silent. "Lily?!" He repeated. He jumped out of bed and looked around the apartment. His bathroom; empty. The living room; empty. The kitchen; empty. The balcony; empty.

There was no sign of Lily. She was gone. He walked into Ethan's room to see Ethan sleeping. He ripped the covers off his brother and shook him awake. "Ethan! Where's Lily?" He asked. Ethan sat up and looked at him.

"What? Who?" Ethan was still tired.

Grayson sighed. Ethan knew who Lily was. "Lily?! Lily Lovegood?!" The expression on Ethan's face told Grayson he didn't know what he was on about. "Lily?! Like the flower?! She's like me! She has depression, but also had cancer! She has light brown hair and big brown eyes that makes you fall in love with her! Her cute little button nose! Her soft pink lips! Her smile brightens your day! Her laughter is joy to your ears!"

Ethan looked at his brother with a blank expression. Grayson continued to talk about Lily. "She loves pepperoni pizza. Her cravings are chocolate and coca cola. She hates bananas and kiwi. She's watched every video we've uploaded. She's been to our shows. She's been in some of our videos and she's helped us film and edit our videos. She's stayed with us countless nights".

"Grayson, we don't know anyone named Lily" Ethan said.

Grayson's face fell. He grabbed his phone and called his mom. She answered after the third ring. "Hey, mom. Do you remember Lily?" He asked.

"The flower?" His mom asked.

"No!" He said, slightly annoyed. "You met her a few months ago! You told me you were happy I found someone who makes me happy! Why don't you remember her?!" Grayson looked at Ethan. His question was towards his mom and brother. He hung up on his mom. "She came to our 17th birthday party!" Grayson said to Ethan.

"Grayson" Ethan started. "We haven't had a 17th birthday party. We're not even 16! We don't know anyone named Lily. We have never met anyone named Lily". Grayson's heart stopped. Lily was real! He's met her, touched her, smelt her, kissed her... loved her. Lily is real, isn't she?

Grayson ran out the apartment. Ethan jumped out of bed and followed Grayson out the apartment. Grayson ran to his therapist for an explanation. Grayson burst through the doors of his therapist building. He ran to the desk and saw his therapist.

"Grayson?!" His therapist was surprised to see him. "Where's Eth-" The door opened and Ethan came running in. He was breathing heavily as he stood next to Grayson.

"I need to see Lily! Lily Lovegood!" Grayson said. Sandra gave him a blank expression. "She has light brown hair and big brown eyes. Her cute button nose and amazing smile that brightens your day. Her adorable laugh that's joy to your ears". He paused. "I need her! And she needs me!"

Sandra turned to Ethan. "He's talking about a girl he loves. His imaginary girlfriend".

"She's not imaginary! She's real!" Grayson snapped. He glared at his brother.

"Grayson, calm down" Sandra said. "Let's go somewhere private and talk about this". They followed his therapist to an empty room. He sat on the bed and ran his hands through his hair. "Right, tell me about this Lily"

"Her name is Lily Lovegood. She had light brown hair and beautiful brown eyes that shine with happiness. Her voice is soft and seems to be distant; like a whisper. Her laughter is heavenly. Her smile could light up a city. She loves pepperoni pizza and hates bananas and kiwi. Her cravings are chocolate and coca cola. She loves to read and listen to music. She cares about others more than she cares about herself. She is depressed and was diagnosed with cancer. She has been battling cancer for a while. But she doesn't let that get her down. She tries so hard to make others happy. She's so fragile, anything could hurt her. I hurt her once. I will never do that again. I need to find her!"

His therapist wrote down everything he said. She turned to Ethan. "He may have created his own little happiness where he is loved and happy. He may feel that he would never be happy here, so he created an alternative world where he's happy. His mind could have used what he likes in a girl to create this Lily. He probably just wishes it was real so-"

"SHE IS REAL!" He exclaimed. "AND I WILL PROVE TO YOU THAT SHE EXISTS!" He stormed out the building and walked to the park. It was the same park he took Lily the first day they spent together. He was sitting on the swings, remembering Lily.

He felt someone sit next to him. He turned to see Ethan. "I'm sure she's real, Gray. But we're not certain. We need to continue living our lives. Just don't give up on what you love".

"I know she's out there. I can feel it! My heart can sense her love! She isn't imaginary!" Grayson explained.

"I believe you" Ethan said. "If you believe she's out there, living her life, then I believe you. We will find her. You just have to wait for her to walk into your life. You'll find her eventually. Follow your heart".