I could feel the morning sun's glow through against my face, but it wasn’t strong enough to stop me from shivering. A strong pair of arms casually wrapped around my waist and hugged me closer to warmth. I noticed as I rubbed my face against the smooth surface that Dee must've been working out a lot lately because her abs felt rock hard.
With little effort, I opened my eyes. It took me a minute to realize I wasn't snuggling with Dee.
"What the hell?!" I freaked and scrambled away, only to get caught in the sheets and fall off the bed. Greyson sat up and looked at me confused as he wiped the sleep off his eyes.
"Wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were that chick."
"Dee?" I said tilting my head slightly. “You thought a girl, who just met you yesterday would drive to your place, somehow get into apartment, and snuggle with you?”
"Yeah her. I thought it was funny that I couldn't feel her boobs." He said yawning. “And you’d be surprised at how often that happens.”
I should have been angry. I should have punched him or something. One for thinking I was a chick and two for referring to Dee as just that chick. Instead, I laughed, hard. Here we were both thinking we were sleeping next to the same girl. Greyson just looked at me funny as I clutched my stomach.
When I finally sobered up. I noticed he was smirking at me.
"What?" I snapped.
Greyson just shook his head.
"Nothing, it just seems like you're feeling a lot better now." He said getting up. I gave him a small smile before letting out a sneeze.
"Well, I guess I'm not fully recovered, but I sure do feel a lot better than yesterday."
"See medicine does help." He said giving me a cheeky grin.
I scrunched up my nose and shook my head in disagreement. Greyson chuckled and walked toward me with an outstretched arm. "Come on, let’s get something to eat before classes start." I went to reach for his hand and then things got awkward.
I tripped over the entangled sheets and fell into Greyson. I let out a small oomph as my nose collided into his chest.
And there it was.
Strawberries mixed with an untraceable scent invaded my headspace. I admit the first time I sniffed him it was an accident, a happy accident. However, the more I inhaled, the more I felt like a cat discovering catnip for the first time.
I didn't realize what I was doing until Greyson started chuckling. But I found myself burrowing my head into his chest, with my arms completely wrapped around him. With glazed eyes, I slowly looked up. Greyson was trying to hold back a laugh.
"Sorry, that just tickles." Something finally clicked in my brain and I jumped back. I should be the one saying sorry! I'm the freak who thinks he smells... Intoxicating... I shook my head I shouldn’t be thinking things like that. It wasn't right...
Memories of my father scolding me as a child for doing things that weren't right started flooding my mind. He'd scream and shout about what a monster I was. And when my mother was at work, he would do a lot worse than shout. The thing that kills me the most is I can't for the life of me remember what I did wrong.
Suddenly a strong hand landed on my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and my body stiffened.
"Hey don't feel bad about it. I'm not mad." He said ruffling my hair. He brushed passed me, but I didn't say anything. I followed him into the kitchen and sat on one of the island counter stools. I watched as he took out a carton of eggs, some vegetables, and sliced cheese.
I watched him quietly as he started chopping a bell pepper, tomatoes, and onions. As I sat there, I convinced myself that the reason I was acting so strange was because I was still sick. I mean I don't normally sniff people and yesterday had to be one of those rare days that I actually carry out a conversation with anyone other than Dee.
Greyson placed the vegetables in a pan and stirred the food around. I smiled as the food sizzled in the frying pan. It reminded me of the days I spent at Dee's house. Her parents used to make the best meals. I sighed quietly to myself. Don't get me wrong, ramen is awesome and all, but sometimes I wish I could a nice home cooked meal.
Greyson then cracked the eggs over the pan and sprinkled the cheese. My mouth watered as food attacked my senses. Greyson put a lid over the pan and walked over to me. He put his elbows on the counter and rested his head in his hands.
"I'm guessing you haven't had real food in a while." he said smiling at me.
I just shook my head hardly paying attention to his words.
My eyes and mind were fixated on the pan. I looked back at Greyson who still had a smirk on his face. But his eyes looked like they were trying to figure something out. I didn't pay much attention to it and I turned back to the pan. Greyson got up as well and walked over to the stove. He lifted the lid and my eyes grew bigger. He put the eggs and mixed vegetables on a couple plates and walked back toward me. I didn't hesitate to start eating and my mouth exploded with flavor.
"Woah there, Speed Racer!" Greyson smirked, "It's still hot!" I didn't care though, I was just happy to have real food in my stomach. Greyson went to the fridge and came back with two glasses of orange juice. I took one graciously.
"Um, thanks." I said after devouring most of my breakfast in under ten minutes.
"No worries." He was looking at me rather than his food.
"Hey do you think we have time to stop by my place before your classes start? I want to change and freshen up."
"Yeah no problem. We’ll have to leave soon though."
After we finished eating, Greyson got changed into a black V-neck sweater and dark jeans. He grabbed his keys and we walked to his car. I only spoke to him to give him directions to my house. I was glad when he put the radio on. It helped make the ride less awkward.
When we got to my building, I was surprised to see a bunch of police cars and firetrucks near the entrance. I didn't wait for Greyson to park the car before I got out. I walked up to the entrance but one of the cops stopped me.
"I'm sorry son, but there was a fire last night and I can't let you in."
"Do you know where it started?" I asked. Please don't say the fourth floor.
"The fire department said it started on the fourth floor."
Shit.
"Um do you know which room?"
No, no, no.
"7F" He said looking at me skeptically, but I didn't care.
My...My apartment was now nothing but charcoal. "You wouldn't happen to be the resident of 7F, would you? Thankfully they weren't home last night, but we haven't been able to get a hold of them."
I just barely nodded my head.
The officer looked at me grimly. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey! Sorry, I couldn't find a place to park!"
Suddenly I felt a hand clamp my shoulder and I looked up to see Greyson looking at the officer and then at me. He furrowed his brows and his eyes filled with concern. "What happened?"
I wanted to tell him, but I just couldn't find the will to speak. All my things, memories, gone within an instant. This had been my home ever since...
It was beginning to get hard to hold in my tears.
"What happened? " Greyson asked again but toward the officer. There was a drop of anger in his tone.
"There was a fire. We're not sure what caused it, yet." He added quickly, almost sounding afraid. "There is a fireman going around handing out items they could salvage from the homes that were damaged."
Greyson nodded a thanks and walked toward the fireman. I found myself walking as well, but as my legs barely moved all I could think about was needing to call Dee.
Greyson came over to me with a small shoe box. He noticed I wasn't doing too well and put an arm around me.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else."
I just managed a nod.
We walked to a nearby park and found an empty bench to sit on. I just stared at the box unable to open it. Greyson was kind enough to stay by my side and not say anything to me.
“If you’re going to be late for class, you should go,” My voice cracked as I spoke. “Thanks for all your help.”
“Woah, hey, I’m not going anywhere.” Greyson said gently, “No one should be alone when something like this happens.”
I nodded and wiped my nose with my sleeve.
Eventually I mustered up the courage to open the top. To my surprise, there was hardly anything in it, just an old Gameboy, burnt to a crisp, a flashlight, and a small picture frame with me and my parents in it. I rubbed the cracked glass to clear some of the residue off.
I probably no older than five when the photo was taken. Of course, it was posed. My father would never let me ride on his shoulders and my mother would never hug my father unless the social workers were around.
I didn’t care if it was real or fake, I just remembered being super happy because for once, it felt like I was part of something all the other kids had. My parents said, it was if the neighbors ever came over, we would seem like a normal family. They never did though.
Drops started to fall onto the picture and I knew it wasn't raining, which meant I was the one causing the photo to get wet. I tried to squeeze my eyes shut and stop the tears, but they wouldn't stop. The second I let out a small whimper, I was thrashed to the side.
Greyson pulled me into a tight hug and I tried to get out of it, but when I couldn't, I did the next best thing, I cried. Greyson hugged me tighter and I found myself sniffing his chest again. I let myself relax as I engulfed myself in the sweet scent of strawberries.
I looked up at him to see that strange expression he had a breakfast. His eyes were searching for something, but I couldn't figure out what.
"Hey," Greyson said softly, “You’re going to be okay,”
"How could you know that? I asked as a new batch of tears started to streak down my cheeks. "I don't usually cry so when I do, I don't know how to sto-“
Suddenly, Greyson's lips were on mine. I gasped and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth. My eyes went wide and I tried to push him away, but he just held me tighter. I could feel my body lose control as his tongue explored my mouth. His lips tasted like the sweet strawberries that were driving my senses insane. Before I knew it, our lips were in sync and our tongues were dancing to a song only we knew.
I was pulled back into reality when my ringtone started to play on my phone. I pushed away from Greyson. This time he let me go, but not without out giving me another peck on the lips.
"Glad to see the tears have stopped." He whispered in my ear.
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