The Prince and the Bookworm

Chapter 31

The next morning I was woken by the early morning sunlight pouring in through the window of the bedroom Mariah and I were staying in. It was shining directly in my eyes, and I groaned softly, sitting up in bed. A glance at the clock told me it was just before 7 AM. Beside me, Mariah was still asleep, the comforter pulled completely over her head. 

I considered trying to fall back asleep, but decided against it when I heard someone walking around downstairs. Curious about who it was, I climbed out of bed as smoothly and quietly as possible so I wouldn't wake up Mariah. I grabbed a cardigan to pull on over my t-shirt before I headed downstairs. I didn't even make it all the way down the stairs when I saw that it was Dallas who was sitting at the kitchen table. His arms were folded in front of him on the table and he was resting his head on them. I frowned slightly, wondering what he was doing up so early. I tried to walk silently up to him, but I barely even took a step when he turned around and saw me. 

"Oh, it's just you." He muttered quietly, returning back to his previous position of resting on the kitchen table. 

"Well good morning to you too." I mumbled sarcastically, taking a seat in the chair beside him. As soon as I sat down he turned his head so he could look at me. As he glanced at me I noticed his usually vibrant, green eyes seemed dull and tired.  I watched as he regarded me with almost a weary expression. "Are you okay?" I questioned, my facial expression scrunched with concern.

"Fine." He replied almost immediately, his tone low and exhausted. 

"Alright so now that you've got the lying part out of the way, why don't you tell me the truth?" As I spoke, I copied his position, laying my head down on my arms so I could lock eyes with him. If there was one thing I quickly figured out about Dallas, it was that the eyes spoke more than his words. I found that I could often tell what he was feeling just be looking into the his beautiful, green irises. The corners of his mouth started to lift upwards in a smile, which caused me to feel a bit victorious. Being as though I found it hard to smile at times, it was satisfactory when I was able to make others smile. 

"I just slept pretty bad last night." He answered quietly, his voice muffled. 

"Did you have anything on your mind?" I asked, wanting to push him for a more honest answer. He was always trying to get me to talk to him. It was only fair he opened up to me too. There was a silence while Dallas decided what to say next. He eventually sat up, leaning back in his chair with a soft sigh. 

"It's my parents. I guess I'm just mad both of them are willing to put work and other things ahead of family. Seeing you with your family, and how happy you guys are together, it just made me realize how much resentment I had built up towards my own family over the years." As he spoke, I could hear how miserable and worn out he really was. If he hadn't had looked like he was exhausted, the hurt in his voice would have convinced me. 

"You know, my family isn't always perfect either. We have our issues. Trust me, you saw plenty of it with Caleb and Mariah last night." 

"But they were able to forgive each other and move on. With my family we're all aware we have grudges against each other but we just ignore it." Dallas paused, subconsciously rubbing the back of his neck. "We ignore each other." 

"I understand. There was a time when I never talked to my parents, and they were too busy to talk to me." 

"Wait, there was a time when you weren't close to your mom?" Dallas asked incredulously, and I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath. 

"Yes, believe it or not. It was years ago, back when I was nothing but a depressed introvert and my mom was practically killing herself trying to be a single working mom." I sighed, the bittersweet memories coming to the forefront of my mind. Come to think of it, the memories of those years were always pressing against my mind, begging me to think about them. Somehow, I always ended up pushing them away. "In hindsight, I probably should have been a lot easier on her, I just-" Instantly, I cut off, knowing where the conversation would go next. I dipped my head slightly, staring at the table and refusing to look at Dallas. He must have sensed my sudden change in mood and the hesitation that was written all over my face.