His Paper Heart ✓

•31|His Teddy Bear And 5am Kisses

I PASSED OUT ON GRAY'S BED IMMEDIATELY WE GOT TO HIS PARENTS' MANSION. Shards of broken glass were dancing on my forehead, giving me a migraine. Gray says I slept for three hours. I wish I could sleep the night away and just not show up at the karaoke event but my mom is sad enough that Imogene's mother isn't showing up. I don't want to add to the list.

I sneak into Gray's study room and turn on the lights. I stand there for a moment and wait for my eyes to adjust to the bright light. Gray's taking a bath so I'm left to explore this beautiful mansion. It's moments like these when I see the hundreds of books that I tell myself that Gray has to study to know the things he knows. Sometimes I seem to think he knows everything since his birth. I let out a deep exhale and pick the large book on his desk with Genevieve boldly printed on it. I hum with curiosity, open somewhere in the middle and read the first thing I see.

The wind gathers up in her hair as she stands there with her new friend, Alleya. She tells me Bailey ruined Alleya's hijab and she fought back. It makes me proud, I know I've little right to be but I still am. Her fist is covered in dark, purple bruises and I can tell the pain is getting to her yet, her eyes still twinkle like the stars. She's easily the most beautiful person I've ever seen. My sleep-deprived eyes can tell she's still a wonderful art, even if she has stopped admiring herself.

She shrugs her shoulders and says softly, "I don't think I'm that important to you, Gray."

If only she knew. If only she knew she was the peace I was craving in this chaotic world. I open my mouth to speak but the words don't seem to come out so, I grab her bruised hand and press my lips on her knuckles. I feel her tremble slightly.

"Let's take you home."

That little scene is enough to remind me of that day when I went to Alleya's house for lunch. Gray wrote about it, I muse and about everything. I flip through the pages till I get to the last blank pages. I let the smile on my lips spread wide. Now more than ever I feel so safe around him. I can't help but fall in love with all the little pieces of his soul that's so romantic. I tug my lower lip between my teeth and find another page to read.

She has been trying to guess my favorite color for hours since I guessed hers. I would say it's adorable seeing a little crease in her eyebrows that shows she's trying so hard to think. I park in front of her house, yet she still doesn't realize we're here. So I just sit there silently and admire her. She's so artistic painting smiles on everyone's face but her own. She tugs her lower lip between her teeth and I feel my heart. I've been feeling it lately, it beats so fast that I start to shake. I'm afraid she'll notice.

I grab her shoulder and she gasps. "Wanna get out?" I ask. Glancing around her neighborhood, she exhales deeply and steps out of the car. I walk her to her front porch. She's a little bit confident now as she struts to the porch. Which can only mean one thing. She figured out what my favorite color is. Do I tell her I've told it to her before?

"You never told me your favorite color," I mutter to myself.

"What are you reading?" Gray asks behind me and I gasp, quickly hiding it behind me the moment I turn around. His hair is wet from showering, stuck to his moist, shirtless skin. He puts his hands in his pants pockets and tilts his head to get a glimpse of whatever I'm hiding behind me.

"Nothing," I whisper.

He smiles and clears his throat. "Put it back please."

"You wrote a story about me," I say with such tease, I notice the pink in his cheeks. He walks to me and tries to grab it but I quickly dodge him and chuckle. "I'm not giving it back till I read everything."