Smile - CrankGameplays

35. Honesty

The band was wrapped tightly around her finger, placed on her left hand. Strapped around the finger that vows commitment, that vows to be together forever. She gazed at the small diamond placed in the center, regardless of the size it still twinkled under the fluorescent lights in her bedroom.

For what seemed like an eternity of staring, she ripped off the promise ring and threw it back in the box, tossing it towards her bed as she vigorously shook her head.

"This isn't right," she hummed out, ignoring the constant vibrations her phone was producing.

Reese stared at the piles of notes that cramped around her desk, she had finals next week and she hadn't even begun studying. She didn't have an excuse not to, there was plenty of time during the day where she could've carved an hour or two into studying the material for her classes but there was just something - just something that kept her from sitting down and trying to focus on the real problems she had.

But she knew deep down in her heart that she wasn't going to be able to concentrate until she went over and told him the truth. To be honest, to be truthful, to be hurt.

She grabbed her phone and unlocked it, checking her recent messages and scrolling through them. She tapped his name and started typing her message;

"Hey! Can I come by?"

And the reply was almost immediate;

"Of course."

She grabbed what she needed and headed to her car, making her way over to his place so she could finally calm her racing mind and hopefully put an end to this neverending anxiety.

But did things ever go her way? Not really.

She stared at the front door in front of her, light brown eyes scanning the door and landing on the palm of her hand which she absentmindedly brought closer to the door. Her knuckles echoed a few taps as she stepped back, giving herself some space between the one that opened the door and her body.

The door opened abruptly as she found herself staring up into a different pair of orbs, a lighter tint.

"Hey," he said with a small smile.

And she smiled back and almost for a second, for a second, she thought about turning around and leaving everything how it was. Because running away was always easier than facing the truth and getting hurt in the end.

"Come in," he stepped aside and pressed his back into the door, allowing for her presence to enter the cozy apartment that she had been in so many times before.

She flipped around and checked her surroundings, "Is anyone here?"

He walked towards her and took a seat on the couch, "No, Mark and Tyler are both out studying at the coffee shop."

She looked at Ethan and something in her heart broke.

"I just decided to stay back here and study. What are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your studying! Or distract you."

Ethan chuckled, "Don't worry, you're the good kind of distraction."

Her heart warmed at his simple compliments. The simplicity of his words had meant so much, especially at a time where she felt the need to question every little thing about everything.

"So what brings you over?"

She took a seat next to him on the couch and winced, "Ethan, I always want to be honest with you. Always."

"I want to be honest with you, too."

She reached for his hand and took a hold of it, running her thumb across his white knuckles. A similar feeling coursed through him, this action, the intimacy, had been done so many times before that he sought comfort in the way her fingers gently glided along his skin. He sunk into the tender care, feeling safe exactly where he was.