Words Unravelled

Chapter 7

I hear a voice and immediately recognized it as Grey's, the same voice I had dreamt of and known for years. I can't seem to get my eyes to open, but I can hear clearly. What I hear is what seems to shock me.

"Shae, please be okay. Please. I don't think I could handle not having you around. Although we haven't talked in years, before you began helping me, I still see you as my best friend. All of my favorite memories as a kid, you're in them. I need you with me. I called a doctor and did exactly what they said, why haven't you woken up? Please wake up."

I try to tell him I'm okay and awake, but it comes out as an unintelligible string of mumbles and a head roll. I flicker my eyes open to see Grey looking at me hopefully. He lights up when he notices I'm awake. The look on his face reminds me of one of his birthdays when I had convinced my mom to buy him the scooter he had wanted for months.

"Grey? What are you doing here? Why aren't you at the library?" I decided against saying anything about what I'd heard. He looks at me softly and what he says warmed my heart.

"With you in this condition? There's no place I'd rather be." I smile a little to myself. He really has been nicer lately. I look up into his green eyes and realized they weren't actually green more of an almost teal color. They were the perfect mix of blue and green. I took in his features, something I hadn't done so closely before. From afar it would seem that not a thing was the matter with him, but from this close, I can see his imperfections. The way his nose is a little too long for his face and how he had the faintest resemblance of freckles spotting across his face. I smiled to myself. I realized something. I hadn't ever actually noticed him the way I was now I was finally noticing  that even he wasn't perfect, something that took me all too long to notice.

"Shae, I know you aren't feeling well, but I brought you something that always makes you feel better. My heart flutters with excitement. I was wondering what it was when he pulls an all too familiar teddy bear out from underneath his chair. I smile brightly.

"Oh my gosh. You didn't." I giggle a little and look up at his face to see him smiling brightly. He hands me the pink stuffed bear. I run my fingers over the heart-spotted chest and flip it over to see that our names were still written on it's back.

"I remembered that Mr. Snugglelumps and a," at this he pauses and reaches under his chair once more, out comes a book in his hand, "a good read always makes a sick Shae feel better." I smile and feel my cheeks heat up ever-so slightly. I look at the book sitting in his lap and my heart starts to race.

"Grey? Why do you have that book? I thought you said it was best if we stopped reading it." My eyes run over the cover of Between the Lines. I look back up at him and he has his "I'm not sure about this" expression showing.

"I know. I do. It's just, you really want to and I want to see what happens. Plus I'm a little nervous about that riddle it told us. I mean what rules was it talking about?" I understood what he was saying, but I was an all too curious kind of girl. I mean come on, who wouldn't be?

"I completely understand, but Grey, looking back in 20 years, don't you want to say you had the guts to read the story?" I asked with my eyebrow raised ever so slightly. He looks at me and with all my experience in the department of Grey Marie, I knew with one incredibly cheesy question I had won. With that, he handed me the book and leaned in close, so close I felt his breath on my ear.

"Don't you?" He got out of his chair and sat down beside me in my bed. I look at him, frozen in shock. All he could muster to tell me was, "Well, don't you?" I smirked slightly, licked my lips, and opened to the last page we left off on.