Eleanor & Grey(19)

“I see.”

“Yeah. He’s a dick, but he’s my best friend, so at least he’s a loyal dick.”

“Wow. That’s actually really nice of him…you know, until he forced you to talk to a weird girl at a party by blackmailing you.”

“I don’t regret that,” he said matter-of-factly.

Sigh. “Me either.”

“I owe you thanks, Ellie.”

“For what?”

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. “The past few weeks since my grandpa passed away, I’ve been really lonely and sad, even when I’m around other people at parties and stuff, it’s been hard. But, when I’m with you, I’m not lonely anymore. When I’m with you, I feel like I belong. So, I owe you for that. I almost forgot what it felt like.”

“You almost forgot what what felt like?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Being happy.”





8





Eleanor





“What’s our grand adventure today?” I asked Greyson as he walked up to my house one Saturday afternoon. I really needed the break from reality, because Mom had a rough night. She was currently resting while Dad looked after her.

I asked if she wanted me to stay home, but she told me to go off with Greyson and have fun. She’d rather me be having a good time instead of worrying too much.

Greyson smiled as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I was thinking I’d win you a stuffed animal down at the county fair.”

Sounded good enough to me.

There were so many things I loved about being around Greyson. I loved how when he talked about things, he expressed himself with massive hand gestures. I loved how he hummed tunes whenever he was happy. Sometimes we’d just be walking down the street, and he’d start tapping his foot as he hummed some random song.

I loved how when he looked at me, he really stared my way, as if I were the only girl he would ever look at again. I loved how when I spoke, he listened and responded with questions to deepen the conversation. I loved how he had a small dimple in his left cheek that showed whenever he smiled.

I loved how his hand accidentally slid across mine as we held the bar on the Tilt-A-Whirl ride at the fair. I loved how he could eat three corn dogs and then crave cotton candy. I loved his laugh.

Gosh, I loved his laugh.

I also loved his determination to win me a freaking stuffed animal.

“It’s really okay, Grey.” I laughed as we stood in front of a carnival booth where he’d been trying his hardest to hit a bullseye with a baseball in order to win me a stuffed animal.

“No! I can do this.” He huffed, seemingly more resolute than ever, even though he’d already missed the target fourteen times. He picked up the baseball, took a step backward, rounded up his arm, and threw it with all his might.

He missed by a few inches.

“Dammit,” he muttered.

“Five more bucks for five more balls,” the booth guy mentioned.

“It’s not worth it,” I said, lightly touching Greyson’s arm. “These things are made to lose.”

Greyson narrowed his eyes and reached into his wallet, pulling out five more dollars. With the way things were going, the poor guy was going to have to tap into his college fund in order to win me that stuffed panda bear.

He started tossing the balls once more, and, of course, he kept missing. At one point the booth guy even frowned at Greyson’s attempts.

“This is the one,” Greyson said as he held the twentieth ball in his grip. “This is the one that’s going to be different than all the ones before,” he promised.

In a way, he was right.

He pulled his arm back and swung it forward, and in a freak accident, the baseball hit the corner of the bullseye and bounced off of it, flinging the ball directly back at him, hitting him square in the face.

“Oh my gosh!” I screeched as Greying went flying backward and crashing to the ground. I hurried to his side and bent down. “Grey, are you okay?”

“Did I win?” he asked with his left eye closed tight. The redness from the impact of the ball was already in place as I helped him to his feet.

“No, not at all.”

“Damn, I thought I had it that time.”

“Here, man. Just take the panda,” the carnie said as he held the stuffed animal toward us. “Anyone who tries that hard to impress a girl deserves to give her a stuffed animal.”

Greyson smirked with his quickly bruising eye. He took the panda bear and handed it to me. “See? I knew that time was lucky!” he exclaimed.

I laughed. “Yeah, well, let’s just go find a place to sit so I can find ice for your eye.”

He held the stuffed animal to me, and I took it and hugged it tight.

Thanks, Grey.

I led him to a bench and forced him to sit down while I wandered off to find ice for his eye. When I came back, the guy was sitting there with a black and blue eye and a stick of cotton candy, smiling like a fool.

I liked him so much in that moment—so, so much.

He kept funneling cotton candy into his mouth as I sat down beside him.

“Hold still,” I ordered as I placed the cloth filled with ice against his eye. He cringed a bit as it touched his skin. “Sorry,” I said, pulling the cloth away from him. My fingers gently touched the swollen area of his eye. “I just want to get some ice on it before it gets worse.” I put the ice back against the skin, and he smiled.