Fake Smiles

#39: Grounded

Lily returned home and was helped out the car by Grayson. Grayson carried her up the stairs and placed her in her bed. She sat in bed as she looked at him. He crawled into her bed and sat opposite her. He smiled at her while she had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Why do you look so sad?" He asked.

"I have to stay in my best for a week! It's going to be so boring!" She exclaimed. Grayson laughed at her sudden outburst. She looked at him and began to smile.

"It's not that bad" he reassured her. "I'll be here with you every day! We can do fun games while still being in bed. I promise, it will fly by so fast, it wouldn't even feel like a week!" Lily smiled as she lay down. Grayson lay next to her as they both looked at the ceiling.

"What if I die?" Lily asked. "How will it feel? To you, I mean? How will you feel if I died?" It was silent for a while. The conversation she had with her parents at the hospital was replaying in her head.

"I'd be heartbroken" Grayson replied after a short while. "I mean, the only person I have ever loved - and will ever love - will be gone. I don't think I will be able to move on. My happiness will be gone. I think I would go into severe depression".

"How will you feel if we broke up?"

Grayson sat up and looked down at Lily with tears in his eyes. She could see the thought broke his heart. "Are you trying to break up with me?"

"No!" She said. "I just thought that, maybe, I could ease the pain for you before I'm gone".

"Lily" he started. "No matter what you do, I will get hurt. That's what happens in life. Especially if you fall in love. Whether you break up with me or die, I will be heartbroken. Nothing can stop that. I love you. I can't spent a second of any day without thinking about you! You are constantly on my mind - you practically live in it! You are the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing before I go to sleep. I even dream about you. I dream about us growing old together; creating a family of our own. I'm in love with you, Lily".

Lily was crying at his words. She sat up and smashed her lips on his. She wrapped her hands around his neck as he placed his hands on her waist. They fell down on the bed, Grayson lying on top. But that didn't stop them from kissing. They had a long and passionate kiss. They broke away when Grayson's phone pinged. Grayson stared into her eyes as Lily stared into his.

"I love you" he whispered.

"I love you more".

"You have no idea how much I love you".

"Well, picture that, and double it. That's how much I love you".

Grayson smiled as he sat up. He grabbed his phone and checked the notification. It was a message from Ethan.

Ethan
Where r u?

Grayson
@ Lily's

Ethan
Oh 😉

Grayson
Not like that!

Ethan
Sure its not

Grayson sighed as he shut his phone. He smiled at Lily. "Shall we watch a movie?"

"Netflix?!" They cuddled in bed and began to watch Netflix. Half way through the movie, Grayson felt Lily twitch. He looked down to see her sleeping. Her head was resting on his chest as her legs were intertwined with his. Grayson turned Netflix off and cuddled closer to Lily. Soon, he fell asleep.

Lily woke up intertwined with Grayson. She looked up at Grayson. She smiled as she buried her head into his chest. She played with her fingers as she thought about everything that has happened. She smiled as she remembered what Grayson said last night.

She felt a kiss being planted on the top of her head. She looked up to see Grayson awake. "Morning, beautiful" he greeted her and kissed her lips. Lily smiled as she sat up. "Shall we go get breakfast?" He asked.

"Yeah".

They climbed out of bed and left the room. As Lily was walking, Grayson picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. Carefully, he placed her at the table. "You didn't have to carry me" Lily said as she watched him cook.

"The doctor said you need rest" Grayson replied, not taking his attention away from cooking. "I will make sure you rest. Carrying you makes you do less". Lily laughed at him. She stared at him while he cooked breakfast.

They sat at the table and ate the breakfast Grayson had prepared. As they were eating, Mrs Lovegood entered the kitchen. "Good morning" Mrs Lovegood greeted them. She smiled at the couple at the table.

"Good morning" Grayson and Lily replied.

Mrs Lovegood joined them at the table with a bowl of Special K. After Grayson and Lily had eaten, Grayson carried her upstairs. He placed her on the edge of her bed and sat next to her. "I'm going to take a quick shower, okay?" Lily said. She stood up and got fresh clothes. She entered the bathroom to shower.

Grayson lay on her bed while he waited. After 10 minutes, she left the bathroom. She lay on the bed with him."What shall we do today?" She asked.

"How about we write a bucket list?" He suggested. "It'll be fun! Come on!" He searched for pens and paper and sat on her bed. They spent an hour writing their bucket lists. After that, Grayson spoke up. "What have you written?"

Lily looked down at her list. She tried to hide it from him. "I... I don't want to read it".

"That's fine" he held her hand. "Would you like to hear mine?" She nodded her head as she wiped away a tear. "Okay. I'd like to: conquer my fear of heights, travel the world, become an actor, marry you, and start a family of my own".

Lily smiled at him. "I'd like that to". They spent the rest of the day watching YouTube videos and movies on Netflix. It was late and Lily had fallen asleep on Grayson's chest. He took this opportunity to look at her bucket list.

1. Beat cancer

2. Visit Paris?

3. Marry Gray?

4. Start a family with Gray?

5. Show Gray how much I love him

Grayson smiled as he read her list. He placed the list where it was and kissed Lily's head before going to sleep.