Strawberry Fields

7

William's POV

"William! If you are my friend, you will not do this." She exclaims with pleading eyes. Her brothers are chanting for me to do it and I succumb to their verbal suggestions as I throw her into the large pool in her backyard. The sun is setting slowly and as she comes out of the water, I notice that her hair is now wavy. Her brothers high five me and I can't help but stare at her appearance.

Her natural face is beautiful and shows to me freckles that I've never noticed before. Her plump lips are chapped slightly but still makes her look flawless. She catches me staring and I look away.

She goes out of the pool and goes to sit in the hot tub while the other four of her siblings go inside for good. Obviously taking some unknown hint from Grace and I that we want to be alone.

I follow Grace's actions and sit in the scalding water that feels nice on my muscles. She stares at the sunset and eventually the dark night is shown. She comes over slowly and unknowingly, and she sits on my lap. She's light and she stares at me. Not a word is said until I catch her eyes looking down at my lips.

"I have loved you since the day I first saw you." I say and she looks at me with soft eyes.

"You have?" She says, shock in her voice. Her hands caress the back of my neck softly and I can feel her trembling slightly.

"You are the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. I'm sorry for ruining our friendship this way but you need to know. I love you. If those words were taken away from me then I would show you a hundred other ways of how much you mean to me Grace." Tears well up in her eyes and our moment happens.

Her plump pink lips crash into mine roughly but they feel soft as our lips move in sync. She lingers and it makes me shiver at the bliss. Her lips feel heavenly to me and I can't believe that she feels something for me too. Her lips move against mine and eventually she pulls away.

"I think we should go inside now." She suggest as her perfect cheeks turn red. She gets off my lap slowly and I get out. I wrap a towel around me and as she steps out of the hot tub, I watch her shiver. I gently wrap the towel around her and she leads us inside. Her hand in mine, fingers intertwined. She goes up the grand staircase and I grab my bags that sit at the bottom steps. I take long strides to catch up with her and as I do, we get into her dark room.

...

"What are we gonna tell our friends?" She asks while running her fingers through my semi-dry hair.

"I'm gonna tell my friends that you're my girl, my strawberry." I say while kissing her forehead delicately. She smiles and meets my lips once more to kiss me.

"I like you a lot William." She says and my heart somewhat breaks at the word like. I understand that we've only hung out for a couple of days now and she can't possibly fall in love with me as fast as I did with her but I know eventually she will.

We lay in her bed and I hold her close to me and I can't help but just smile at having her finally in my arms. Music plays in the background from her album and we just enjoy each other's company in the moment. Not a word is said for a while as I watch her slowly fall asleep in my arms.

"I love you." I whisper into her hair as I kiss her gently. She smiles as I pull away and eventually I fall asleep myself.

... 

When I wake up in the middle of the night, I notice Grace is crying. She has tears streaming down her face and she is in a fetal position far away from me on the bed. Her crying wakes me up with alertness and I rush over to her.

"Grace. What's wrong?" I say to her and she doesn't respond. I go into her bathroom, start the hot water running in the bath tub and I carry her over to the water. I sit her down outside of the tub and she speaks up.

"How can you love someone like me?" She says with empty eyes. I stare at her and wonder what happened to my princess that could make her break like a China doll.

"I love you for how kind you are. I love you for how beautiful you are. I love you for how smart you are." I say while the tub fills up more and more with water. She pushes me away as I try to hold her and eventually I am sitting outside of the locked bathroom, listening to the water run while my beautiful princess is breaking.

I let her be and eventually I hear the water shut off and the door unlock. I wait for the sound of her getting in the large bath before walking in on her. When I walk in, her tears have stained her cheeks red and her eyes are puffy. I sit down with my back towards her and wait for her to speak up.

I don't know what to say about all of this and I honestly can't comprehend what happened seconds ago since I am still groggy from my awakening.

"Have you ever felt broken on the inside but you know you have to put on a happy face for everyone you love every day?" She says silently, a few sniffles in between her words.

"I have." I say while reminiscing on the night of my little sister's death.