The Color of Truth

two: aris

We all got in the car and Greysen sat quietly while my mom and dad made small talk in the front. I put my hand on his to gain his attention. "You okay Grey? Looks like you've got a lot going on in that brain of yours?" I tell him quietly. He gives me a small laugh, his blue eyes catching the glimmer of every street light we pass.

"Yeah Aris, I'm doing okay, I just hate that I brought your family into this mess." He tells me looking back down at our hands. "Greysen, you've been in all of our lives forever, having you with us is the right thing." I tell him and give his hand a squeeze before letting go. I wish I knew the right way to comfort him during this tragic time but I don't. Not even a little bit. Seeing the strongest person I know look so broken wrecked my heart.

"I love you Air, and I'm so beyond grateful for all of this, I mean without your mom and dad I'd be sitting in a foster home or a jail cell." He says quietly, adding a light laugh on the end of his statement to make it seem less serious. He's scared and I know it.

"I love you too Grey, I suppose that's perks of having your best friends dad be the sheriff and her mom as a damn good lawyer." I say loud enough for my parents to hear, my mom and dad laugh and high-five, causing Greysen and I to burst out into laughter ourselves.

My mom Lauren is 41, she's been practicing law since she was 25, and she's only ever lost one case. My mother is tall, and slender. She has dark brown shoulder length hair and Amber eyes, her and I share the same eye color. She looks polar opposite from my dad Mark, he's 45, short chubby and blonde, his eyes resemble Greysen's some what, with their shining shade of blue. I always curse my parents for giving me the wrong eye color but Greysen always tells me amber is more precious than sapphires. Besides my eyes and stature I don't resemble my mother, my hair is long and blonde and I've always been told I look like my father.

My dad pulls the car into the driveway and asks us all to wait inside so he can check the house, he's done this every night since Grey's parents were murdered. Another thing he asks is that Greysen and I have to stay in town until my parents get off of work. They don't want us near the woods by ourselves or in the house alone which makes sense but it's a little tedious. But if it makes my dad feel better, Greysen and I have decided not to disagree with it.

We wait in the car until my dad comes out and gives us the okay to go inside, Greysen's room is my brother Axel's old room, he's been gone to college for two years and hardly comes home to visit so my parents figured him losing a bedroom to a kid without a home isn't such a bad thing. Grey and I walk upstairs to our rooms and my parents stay downstairs and my mother starts to cook dinner. I go into my room and close the door behind me, placing my book bag on the chair in the corner, todays been to stressful to even worry about homework right now. I lay back on my bed and look at the ceiling, going over what happened June 17th all over again and seeing Greysen's terrified face on a loop that refuses to go away.

A light knock on the door brings me back to reality, "Air can I come in?" I knew automatically it was Grey by the use of his nickname for me, no one else calls me that, and no one else calls him Grey. For awhile both of our parents tried to use the nicknames for us, but it came apparent to them quickly that it was our thing so they stopped. "Yeah, come on in." I say still laying on my back. He opens door quietly and steps in with almost no sound. That's the thing about Greysen, he does everything so silently that it brings peace to the most chaotic situation. I've never understood it but I've always loved it about him.

"You okay?" I ask him sitting up on the bed, giving him enough room to sit down. He doesn't like talking about whatever is going on in his head but that's the thing about me, I love knowing everything that's going on behind his blue eyes. I pry and he gives, eventually.

He shrugs and sits beside me, putting his head on my shoulder. "Grey, talk to me. I hate seeing you this way." I say lightly rubbing my hand up and down his back. "I just miss them and everyone thinks I'm a murderer. I hate this Air. I hate this so much." He begins to choke on the words as they flow out of his mouth. I wrap both my arms around him and he begins sobbing. Seeing him cry always takes me by surprise. He's my rock and I forget that sometimes he breaks too. "It's okay to miss them Grey. It's more than okay. They were taken by a disgusting crime that nearly took you away too. But the only thing to do now is prove your innocence and get the bastard that did this to your family. We'll get your mom and dad their peace Grey. I promise." I tell him. He looks up at me and swear his eyes get bluer when he cries. "I love you Aris." He says simply. "I love you Greysen, don't give up on yourself, you're not going anywhere." I tell him. He nods and lays back on my bed. I follow suit and we just lay in silence for awhile.

"Aris, Greysen! Time for dinner." My mom yells up the stairs. "Be right down!" I yell back. "Let's go get some food. I'm starving." I say, Grey laughs and stands. I do them same and I wrap my arms around him. Hugging him tightly. He hugs me back and kisses my head. "I'm lucky to have you in my life." He says, and it sounds more like he's talking to himself rather than to me. We stay like that for a minute until my mother yells again, "Hurry up its getting cold!" We laugh and break our embrace and go downstairs.