Bound By Pain

14

"This is getting wierd."

"What?", Grey asks.

"You keep looking at me. I'm starting to think there's something on my face."

"Relax, Bee. There's nothing on your face.", He assures me. I don't miss the nickname he uses. Just like the one my dad gave me. It makes my heart flutter. He focuses back on his sketch pad.

I kick off my shoes and socks. The cool breeze brushes through my toes. I dip my toes into the water. Wearing a pair of shorts just paid off. I'm surprised to find the water is lukewarm. I wiggle my toes and take in the sensation.

I sit by the edge of the pond and revel in the breeze and warm sunshine that kisses my face. This place is heaven.

"What are you sketching?", I ask Grey.

He raises his gaze and looks at me. "You'll see when I'm done. Think of it as a.... surprise."

I chuckle. "I don't like surprises. I prefer transparency."

"I don't know what to tell you.", He shrugs. "You can only see it when I'm done."

I groan. Make me curious, why don't you. I watch the small fish swim around in the pond and shuffle from place to place. They are colourful.

"How'd you even find this place?", I ask. I raise a dark brow and pull back my braids into a ponytail. I think i just might cut these short. Make it a bob.

"Just stumbled upon it.", He smiles not taking his eyes off his sketch pad. He twists the page over and over again forehead creased, until finally he smiles again. Perfect. And just like he read my mind he speaks. "Perfect!", He exclaims.

"Finally. Let me see.", I get up from my spot by the pond and serenade, bare footed, to Grey. He rips the page out of his sketch pad and gives it to me.

The lines of black and grey are well set for a kind of accuracy i can't quite place. The details are well drawn too. It may have been drawn by pencils but there's so much life to it.

"This is beautiful.", I say. "It's just-- it's perfect." I let my eyes roam the page once again and it looks excatly like me. I'm drawn sitting by the pond and a small smile graces my lips.

"No, you are perfect, Bee.", Grey says.

Heat rises from my neck and settles on my cheeks and ears. I feel hot all over and it's a feeling foreign to me.

"Now.", I start trying so hard to hide the nervous edge from my voice. "You didn't seem so happy earlier. What's up?", I ask him.

He averts his gaze and stares at the pond. His expression changes. I realize how I've dampened the mood but there's no stopping now. I follow his gaze.

He sighs loud and runs a hand through his disheveled hair. The dark stands fall back over his green eyes stubbornly and I'm stuck staring at those magical orbs for a while.

"It's--", he starts but stops. He's looking for the right words and it takes him some time. "I- My grandmother. She's sick."

He pauses and takes a deep breath. "I'm worried about her. She's all i have left." The sadness in his eyes is genuine and it affects me too. "I can't lose her."

Tears well up in his eyes but he blinks them away and clenches his jaw. He looks away and begins walking. "Hey, she'll be fine. You just have to be strong for her."

He doesn't respond and i can see his posture slump. Seeing him this way makes my heart ache. It hits a spot I've never known existed.