the rooftop / g.d

8

GRAYSON'S POV

We were walking a little too far apart for my liking but I didn't say anything. It took me so much courage to hold her hand back there and I'm too scared to try it again.

She's been hurt before. I can tell. Not just by the asshole, Tyler...by someone else. When she said it was getting too personal, I knew.

The way she got upset, it made me want to help her, understand her.

I gulp, walking a little closer to her. The attraction I feel towards her has increased. It increases every time we talk.

"Why'd you get fired?" I love it when she asks me questions. She wants to figure me out.

"I showed up 45 minutes late." I admit, embarrassed.

I don't know why, but it's so easy telling Ren, who was a complete stranger to me an hour ago, about my personal life. I can barely tell my family anything.

"Geez, you're late once and your boss loses their shit?"

"It was my fourth time being late, this month." I correct her, jamming my hands in my hoodie pocket, too afraid to hold her hand.

"How shit is your job that you won't get there on time?" She asks, stifling a laugh.

"Hey! Waiting on people is my favourite past time." I speak with sarcasm, making her laugh.

I like making her laugh.

She looks over at me, a shy smile on her face. I smile back, before looking ahead of me. A small cafe on the end of the road catches my eye and Ren follows my gaze.

"You hungry?" I ask.

"Hmm, I could go for some waffles." She murmurs.

We walk in and order waffles with strawberries. Turns out, we both had the same beverage interest. Orange juice.

We were lucky entering when we did. Usually, this cafe is open 24 hours a day as it read of the sign, however tonight, it closes at 10:30 in ten minutes, making us the only customers and the last order of the night.

We slide into a booth and Ren scoots right over to the edge. I sit in front of her, wanting to be able to see her when we talk and eat.

I wanted to tell Ren more about the situation. I trust her, as weird as that may be. I've kept myself bottled in for years. 

The only friend I've had is Brad. Now that I'm fired, I practically have no one. I'm alone, I always feel alone.

Most people during the holidays are happy. Me? Not so much. For the past three years, I've hated the holidays and I usually feel more upset that usual.

So during this month, I was extremely unhappy. Work made everything worse and I purposely took naps before my shifts. I've been lethargic, to the point where I didn't care about work.

Not having close family for the holiday season and seeing everyone around me, at work or in the city, with their close ones, it made me jealous. I wanted that.

So, ever since I came to this state, I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas or New Year's. 

Tonight is the first time I'm not alone on New Year's Eve and I like it. I'm almost celebrating the upcoming new year with Ren.

Could Ren be in the same situation as me? Feeling depressed during the holidays? She was alone on the rooftop instead of going to see her family.

I mean, if I was her and that happened to me, I'd confide in my family. If I was close to them.

"What's the matter?" Ren breaks me out of my thoughts. I dart my vision to her.

"Do you live in the apartment building alone?"

"Yeah." She confirms my thoughts. "I'm guessing you do too." She stares at me and I nod.

"I figured, if you weren't going to be with your ex tonight, you'd be with your family." I say quietly.

She stills, unsure of what to say. I may have caught her off guard.

"Well, why are you hanging out with me tonight instead of your family?"

She's figured it out. I know she has.

Our waffles are placed in front of us but we don't focus on that. We're only focused on each other.

"My family doesn't live in New York." I reveal quietly.

"Oh. Mine do. But they're fucked." She says blankly, grabbing her cutlery and digging into her pancakes.

Now, I'm curious. I contemplate whether or not to keep talking about our families. I decide against it and start eating the waffles in front of me.

I feel Ren looking towards me every so often, and I know she's contemplating the same thing. Should she tell me about her family or not?