His Paper Heart ✓

•43|In It's Wake

The welcoming scent of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the air as the waitress teeters over with Gray's coffee, my hot tea and the croissants. The sun is hidden behind the picturesque clouds, it makes it aesthetically pleasing to be sitting outdoors the cafe, overlooking the beautiful city of Paris, the Eiffel tower, my head adorned with a wine-colored beret, listening to Bolero, a French classical music by Maurice Ravel.

Gray, on the other hand is wearing a beanie because he refuses to put on a beret.

We flew in to France two days ago, after three weeks of me lying on a hospital bed trying to perfect my health. As perfect as a girl with three deathly syndromes can be. The moment I was discharged, Gray invited me to France. My parents couldn't say no since I nearly died so instead, they turned it into a family vacation.

They are all at the Arc de Triomphe, per Diana's request whilst Gray and I are sitting in a cafe, emotionally preparing ourselves to finish a book we started on the plane as a distraction so my heart wouldn't explode in my chest from flying. Memoirs of Geisha by Arthur Golden. The novel tells the story of Geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before, during and after World War II, and ends with her relocated to New York City.

"Est ce que je peux te prendre autre chose?" the waitress asks, her lips stretched into a smile. Being in France now makes me regret not paying attention in my French classes.

"Non, merci," Gray says and the waitress leaves.

"Tu as. . .uh. . .promis de m'apprendre le français," I stutter, earning a laugh from Gray. "I said that correctly." I giggle.

"You did." he nods. "And you're right. I did promise to teach you French and I will."

Christmas came slowly and spending every second of it in the hospital wasn't what I intended, but I couldn't ask for a better one. I had my entire family and friends with me. Each one of them never without a smile on their faces. Every morning, we would all gather in my room and thank God for the gift of life, for Christmas and for our families. Gray wasn't particularly enthusiastic about that part but what made it so special was Alleya and her family. They too would come to my room and say a prayer for me. Each sentence that came out of her mouth had the word best friend in it.

I am that best friend.

Alleya and her family are in Turkey for the holidays.

Heath has been asking Alleya out on a date for the past two weeks but he keeps failing horribly. Reason being, Alleya has been getting some inside information from someone in my family that Heath doesn't shower.

The person giving the inside information to Alleya is Gray. Gray is an ass hat.

Oh and God forbid I forget the fact that Asher wants to kill Gray for making him lose the one grand on that bet.

As for Imogene, she's doing well. She has started seeing a therapist and one day at a time, she's getting back on her feet. She's strong. Her mother and Mr. Segal got engaged on New Year's and she has decided to plan the entire wedding.

Mr. Rhimes still hasn't been caught yet but Imogene always tells us one thing he can't escape is the wrath of God. I believe she's right.

Diana and Darlene have basically been doing the same thing this entire trip. Always facetiming a boy. Diana with Michael, Darlene with Simon. So I would say, they're both having a great time.

"Do you want to get the coffee and tea for free?" Gray whispers to me.

"Oh my God, Gray. Not again. We're in a different country, let's just pay." I shake my head.

"Where is the fun in that?" he asks as he pulls a jewelry box out of his pocket and places it on the table. A smirk hovers his lips and his dimples crinkle as he says, "happy seventeenth birthday, my love."