Paper Doll

Chapter Six | Leigh

2 MONTHS AGO

Percy and I were up in their roof. It's so funny because I never thought I'd see the day of being on a roof with the guy I liked. I'd known Percy for only two days and it felt like we connected so much. We're still wet from the rain that just stopped an hour ago, but it never stopped us from sharing our stories. It was past twelve midnight now. I could see the light flickering on Grace's room. She was seeing what I was doing right now. I was sad that I didn't get the chance to share that moment with her but I didn't regret it either. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

        "Tell me about that moment you first fall in love," Percy asked, twirling my hair on his fingers.

        I giggled, not because I was excited to tell him my story but because I could feel the hair twirling on my scalp, tickling me. It was a rare kind of tickle and I liked that only few people get to feel that. I was one of those special people.

         "I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours first," I told him. Grace said that he had a girlfriend. If what Grace said was real, then that's the story he should say. But then again, if he told me a different story first then I wouldn't be able to find out if he had a girlfriend. I should think of something else.

         "Oka—"

        "No, wait," I cut him. "Tell me the last time you fell in love instead."

         He smiled with a shake of his head. "I am actually in love with the girl I'm looking at right now," was what he said.

         My heart... It skipped a beat. How could I let a guy who I knew for only two days fell in love with me?

         "You're in love with me? That fast?" I asked, confused and happy at the same time. Other than my sister, I'd no one who loved me. It was surprising that someone would love me for a short amount of time only.

          "Falling in love to someone doesn't have a time frame. If your eyes set on that person and they make you feel something odd inside you—butterflies, skip a beat—grab it. Take that opportunity. Love, like opportunity, knocks only once in a while. Let it go and you'll never know when the next one will come."

         Oh. My. Gosh. He's a poet. I was sure of it. Or maybe he was an old soul. I couldn't believe it. He loved me.

         But instead of thanking him for falling for me that fast, I said, "You're only saying that."

        He frowned and actually pouted at me. "No, I'm not. I'm telling you the truth."

        That was the cutest thing ever.

        I still didn't let that melt my heart in appreciation. "Yes, you are," I argued with him.

        He laughed, really laughed his heart out.

        I gaped at him, bewildered. Why was he laughing?

        "I'm sorry. Oh my God. I'm sorry." He wiped an invisible tear in the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry for laughing but you're so cute I just can't help it." And without a warning, I felt his lips on mine. I was wide eyed. When he pulled back, he smiled at me and said, "I do love you already, Leigh. You may not believe me yet, but it's the truth."

        I didn't say anything. What I did is, I faced him, stared in his eyes then to his lips. Without the need for words, he leaned in and we kissed. We kissed in the middle of the night and shared that night with only the two of us.

                                                                             ░ ▒ ░

There were voices, loud voices, somewhere. I snuggled close to Percy. I knew I was with Percy the whole night and fell asleep on his arms. We didn't change clothes so we'd probably catch cold later on. But right now, that wasn't my worry. My worry was the voices I was hearing. I knew who it was from.

          I jerked up, wide eyed. We fell asleep on the roof. Oh no.

          "Percy." I shook him. He only wrapped his arm on my waist. "No, Percy, get up."

         "It's comfortable here. Lay back down with me," he mumbled. He's so cute. Ugh. I wacked my head mentally. Now was not the time.

         "No, please Percy, get up. Grace... she's downstairs."

         He looked at me, narrowed eyes. I was starting to love those eyes. "What about her?"

         I shook my head. "You don't understand. Whenever she wakes up, she goes to my room to greet me good morning."

         "And?"

         I groaned, slapping a hand to my face. "She isn't going to like to see an unmade bed for sure."

         "I know she's in there..." I heard Grace's voice rose up a notch. The other voice was probably Percy's mom's voice. "Leigh!"

         "Was that..."

         "Shut up!"

         Percy rose to his feet quick. I did the same. We climbed out of the roof and in to Percy's room. With one quick once over in his mirror, we headed downstairs immediately. When his mom saw us at the end of the staircase, she shook her head, almost telling us not to go out. But I knew my sister. She wouldn't go not unless she got what she wanted.

         "Why are you even hiding her? You barely know her," Grace accused, a hard tone in her voice. She was mad. I feared for what might happen later when I got home.

         "I should probably go," I whispered to Percy.

         He took my hand and nodded.

         Even though Percy's mom told us not to through her eyes, she sighed in defeat and stepped aside.

         Grace's eyes pierced on mine. Then it landed on our entwined fingers. When her eyes returned to mine, they were in slits now. That's her glare. It's not much but it definitely scared me.

         She didn't say anything. She just turned her back to us and walked towards back to the house. I sighed. I started untwining my fingers to Percy's.

         "You don't have to follow her," he told me. I wished that assured me... that it would at least help me with my decision but no. I had to do what I'd been doing since our parents died.

         "I can't. She's half of my life. I can't leave her like that." With those words, I knew I was making the biggest regret in my life. It was the start of something different to Grace.