Remembering Grey

~ Delta ~

Please excuse any errors whether it be grammatically or otherwise for I have not edited this chapter.

I didn't get any sleep last night not a wink. Expecting the doctor's visit to be fairly quick my mom had left the toaster oven on keep warm and as a result the entire house smelled like her pancakes. It made me think of that morning and I realized that I'll never be able to come into the kitchen and kiss the top of my little brothers head. All those nights I woke up to him stealing my Oreo ice cream would come to a devastating halt. I've loved that little boy since my parents bought him home all bundled up in his white blanket the same blanket I'd gripped tightly to my chest last night. I pause from packing my mother's clothes to regain my composure, I don't want to cry again. After placing the last item into her bag I grab the car keys off the counter and head out the door. This hospital is about an hour away unlike the other one I'd been at with David which was only five blocks from my house. Just as I turn into the hospital parking lot my stomach growls and I curse myself for not eating anything before I left home. I quickly text my mom to meet me in the lobby before going inside.

"How's he doing?" I ask as soon as she gets within earshot.

"He's tired but he's awake chatting with one of the volunteers."

"So they'll let a stranger into his room but not me?" This is ridiculous.

"I know, I've been trying to convince the doctor to let you see him but he isn't letting up." I can tell that I'm upsetting her so I calm down and hand her the bag I packed and change the subject.

"Did you talk to Larry yet?" My mom is a sous chef at the Marriott and Larry, her boss, always gave her a hard time about taking time off so I know she wasn't looking forward to it which meant she was procrastinating but this isn't something she could hold off for very long.

"I will when I get to work." She reassures me.

"Do you know if they have Wi-Fi here?"

"I think so, why?"

"I bought my computer so me and Milo can video chat, I'll use yours." I dig in my bag pulling out my out of date computer and passing it to her. She goes to walk away telling me that she needs to get dressed and pass the message along to Milo when she's just two steps away her words finally register with me.

"Mom, did you say a volunteer?" she nods confused.

"Yes, a young man couldn't be more than two years older than you, covered in tattoos."

"Grey?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"Sort of." She raises her eyebrow before disappearing behind the double doors. I have to wait for her to finish so she can take me back home so I make myself comfortable in one of the bright colored lobby chairs. Five minutes later Grey comes sauntering through the doors in his orange shirt, he smiles when he sees me and I wave.

"I got to meet Milo."

"Yeah, my mom told me did she also tell you that I was here?" he lets out a short laugh.

"You could say that, Milo insisted that I was your... boyfriend." The way he said boyfriend sounded like a question but I wasn't completely sure.

"He would." I start to laugh but stop short as my stomach growls at an unbelievable volume.

"What was that?" Grey asks looking around making the situation all the more embarrassing.

"I need to eat." I can feel my cheeks burning.

"Eat?"

"Yeah, you know that thing you do when you fill your stomach with food?"

"Of course I know silly," He releases a humorous scoff before pointing toward the door. "I could take you."

"Really? Um, let me just text my mom then we can go."

"Any place you prefer?" he asks as we settle into the black car seats.

"There's a burger joint called Delta about three blocks from here." They have one closer to my house too but that's not nearly as close.

"Sounds good." The engine literally roars to life scaring the crap out of me. Grey chuckles just the slightest bit and I playfully narrow my eyes.

"Not funny." I don't know if my amusement wasn't apparent enough or if Grey just didn't have much of a sense of humor but he took my words seriously and stopped laughing any trace of humor erased from his handsome face. We get to Delta's in no time and I hurriedly jump out of the car. Delta's is without a doubt my favorite restaurant it's like a subway for burgers. They have a variety of buns from plain to buttermilk biscuits. They've got veggie burgers, chicken sandwiches, all types of stuff. The bright hipster feel of the place isn't so bad either.

"Sorry bro." I hear another voice and I immediately turn toward it. The man, who looks vaguely familiar, had grabbed the door handle at the same time as Grey. I tried to remember his where I'd seen him, taking in his Filipino features and caramel complexion but I just couldn't place him. Grey gestures for him to go in first and that's when I notice his date, she frail and pulling an oxygen tank behind her but the guy makes no move to help her lug it over the threshold. Grey seems stuck, shocked maybe as he stares in the guys direction but he snaps out of it and help the young women with her tank.

"Thank you." She says meekly.

"Stacy, hurry up." The extremely rude man calls over his shoulder in an annoyed tone. Grey and I share a look as Stacy races off to meet him. We approach the counter and Grey peers at the food behind the glass clearly confused.

"It's like Subway but for burgers." He still looks confused so I step in front of him. Our hands briefly touch and I instantly feel something foreign moving through me.

"Just follow my lead." I tell him disregarding the whole touching thing.

"Bun?" the giddy girl behind the glass counter asks.

"Jalapeno mozzarella."

"Meat?"

"Spicy turkey."

"Meaty topping?"

"turkey bacon."

"Cheese?"

"Pepper jack." What can I say, I like spicy food.

"Choice of spread?"

"Mango, but not a ton if you put too much it'll ruin the whole sweet and spicy aspect, just a swipe."

"It's like a science project." I hadn't noticed that Stacy was at my side until she spoke.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I laugh with her. I can hear Grey behind me ordering the exact same thing I'd ordered. I give him a confused look and he sends one right back to me. I continue to stare wondering if he'll change anything but he doesn't, everything is the same down to my specification of how much mango spread I wanted. He catches my eyes again and shrugs.

"Following your lead." His smile fades when a black feather breezes into the restaurant landing right in front of me. It seems to be swimming in whirling circles like contained smoke but when I bend down to inspect it, it looks normal like a large raven's feather. Weird, those aren't around here much.

****

I need a song for this chapter, any suggestions???

Don't forget to vote & comment!!!