For Better or Worse

XII. SMILE.

Since she came back from the hospital, Trey forbade Aria from cleaning, cooking, or anything else. 

"Your gonna lie down and rest for the next few days. Don't strain yourself."

Aria appreciated the gesture, but when she wasn't dusting cabinets or baking, she was forced to be somewhere she didn't want to be: alone with her thoughts. 

She couldn't close her eyes let alone sleep. Her subconscious was constantly generating images of that creaking bed and the chipped ceiling of her old bedroom. Even looking at the more than enchanting crystals and pastel colors in this large room that she found so alluring couldn't occupy her thoughts for long. How was she supposed to block out these visions if there was nothing around to distract her? 

And the random stabbing pings in her side didn't help. If there was a brief moment where she was able to clear her mind, the pain would most likely cause a flood of memories to fill her brain. 

In short, there was no escape. 

She lifted her arms over her eyes and let a few tears of frustration fall down her cheeks. Covering her face was a force of habit. She hated to let other people see her cry and even though she was alone in her room, Trey could pop in at any moment. But that was a slim chance. He was usually gone this time of day and didn't come back until mid-afternoon. 

Or so she thought.

A knock at the door and a familiar voice asking "Aria, are you okay in there? Can I come in?" took her by surprise. 

She sat up in bed and wiped her face with the back of her long-sleeved sweater. She cleared her voice and hollered through the door "Yeah I'm fine. You can come in."

Trey opened the door slowly and Aria rubbed her eyes one more time. 

"Sorry, were you sleeping?" He leaned on the side of the door frame, still clutching the doorknob. 

"No, you're fine. I was just laying down. What's wrong?"

"I was just checking in on you. I wanted to see if you were feeling any better."

If she was feeling better? Her own mother never even asked her that question so it came as a bit of a surprise to hear it coming from Trey's mouth. Was he serious? "Uh-yeah. I'm feeling a lot better actually. I think I just needed a little time to rest is all."

"Well then, that's good to hear. I was fixing dinner but-"

Maybe that's what he was hinting at. Maybe he thought she was taking too much time off and abandoning her job. "I can do it if you want. I'm fine now so-" Aria stood up, maybe a little too fast, and was immediately brought back down by a cramp in her stomach. 

"I told you, didn't I? You're not lifting a finger until you're at 100%." In a way, Trey felt kind of responsible. He thought he made Aria overwork herself and was the reason she couldn't move.

"But what about dinner?"

Trey scoffed. "Ya know, I'm not completely incompetent when it comes to the kitchen. Throwing a frozen lasagna in the oven shouldn't be too hard. "

Aria let out a deep sigh and nodded her head. He was right. He was a grown man who lived by himself long before she started living with him. 

Trey noticed that she was still holding her side and rubbing it softly with her thumb. "Are you really okay? It looks like you're no better than you were when you left the hospital."

"No, I'm honestly fine. I-"

"You don't need to lie and spare my feelings. I just wanna know the truth."

The truth? No, she couldn't tell him everything. But she could confess to a small degree. "My side is still giving me some trouble, but the doctor said it should go away as long as I keep taking the medication."

Trey walked towards her casually and pressed the palm of his hand to her forehead. "Well at least you don't have a fever, but you have to start eating more. You're as skinny as a rail."

Much to her surprise, she didn't shy away from his touch this time. Even when his hand touched her face, she didn't move or slap his arm. She couldn't tell if it was because she felt too ill to protest or because his touch was oddly comforting. 

Aria had never been the one to revel in the attention that came with being sick. For her, falling ill meant she couldn't work as much and money would be even more scarce. But she didn't have to worry about that now. So maybe, just this once, she could afford to be taken care off.

"Trey?" Aria said his name on impulse. Her voice was so soft that he almost passed it off as a whisper.

He turned his head towards her, waiting for her to say something, but she was completely frozen. 

"I-um." She didn't know what she was gonna say. She wasn't even sure why she said his name in the first place. Just then, the smell of smoke hit her nose. Whatever she was about to say initially took the form of an alarming statement. "Is something burning?"

Trey took a whiff of the air and could smell the fumes coming from the kitchen. He ran out the door and Aria followed behind him, moving at a slow hobble. 

Trey used his hand to fan away the smog and moved towards the oven. As soon as he opened it, black smoke oozed out and rose to the ceiling. He grabbed the gloves from the counter and took out the burned, tar-colored pan that was supposed to be lasagna. 

Aria turned on the kitchen ventilation system and watched it suck up the gray fumes. The fire alarms were ringing throughout the house and didn't stop until the charred smell was entirely gone. 

Trey and Aria both stared down at the scorched block that was meant to be dinner. Trey rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. Aria looked on with amazement now seeing first hand why his house was cluttered with to-go boxes before. 

"I thought I could cook something this time rather than order out. I figured you'd be tired of pizza for the third night in a row."

Again, Aria was baffled beyond words. She wasn't expecting Trey to constantly consider her needs or wants. From the beginning, she thought she'd be treated like a fly on the wall or a mostly unnoticed tenant. 

And suddenly, she had an epiphany. She remembered what she was trying to say earlier before the smell of a burning kitchen threw her off. "Thank you." She said it clearly this time and not in her usually soft and demure voice.

"For what? A burnt dinner?" Trey laughed.

"No." Aria found herself smiling too. "For caring about me." 

Her gratitude took Trey by surprise, but what really shocked him was the fact that she looking straight at him. Not over his head or to the empty space next to him like she usually did. She was really looking at him. And for the first time since their original meeting, he saw her golden hazel eyes in their entirety. They were bright and warm, and when paired with her innocent and genuine smile, it was a force to be reckoned with. It was astonishing that a simple smile could transform her into something so breathtaking.

"You should do that more often," Trey suggested, flashing his own captivating grin.

"Do what?" 

"Smile."