Mrs. O'Shea forced Erina to go home. If only for a few hours.
"Darling, you've been here for five days," she'd said. "And not to be rude, but you need a shower, love. He'll still be here when you come back."
Oh God. Mothers really did know best, did they? Facing herself in her bathroom mirror, Erina had to agree. Her hair was a greasy mess and her face still carried the faintest traces of hastily-washed make-up. And she smelled. Not in a good way.
She showered, taking her time, letting the cold water cleanse her, stepping out when she started to shiver. The shivering wouldn't stop though, even as she got out. Blow-drying her hair, she combed it straight slowly, trying to calm herself. Her hands shook slightly as she replaced her comb on the table, and she sighed. Okay. Veto the makeup.
There. Daisy-fresh. Ish. She was wearing a slashed My Chemical Romance shirt and faded blue jeans, rolled up at her ankles, and a small dreamcatcher hung from around her neck. Her face looked strangely vulnerable without make-up, stripped of its protections somehow.
It's odd. Her eyes actually seem bigger.
With a shudder, she grabbed her backpack and fled, pausing in the kitchen to say goodbye to Dee. "Just call if anything happens, okay?"
Dee was sipping water, hand over her stomach, looking tired. She nodded. "This baby better be adorable. I'm exhausted."
"I'm sure it will be," Erina said reassuringly. "He? She? You still won't tell me."
"Why ruin a perfectly good surprise?" Dee said, but there was a glimmer of mischief in her eyes.
"You're referring to the fact that I'm hardly ever surprised, aren't you?" Erina said dully. "Well, I call here and now that your trooper will be a girl, and I will not be surprised! Good day to you, my cousin!"
And she stormed out, listening to Dee laugh, and unable to suppress a smile herself.
Nothing wipes a smile away like confronting the boy you're in love with who got beat into a coma by your ex whom you only dated to make him jealous.
You should have really gotten your shit together, Erina Collins, and none of this would have happened. Erina accepted a smile from the friendly nurse at the front and went ahead to his room. She stopped at his door, nervous in a way she'd never been before.
It's Gray. He's awake. It's just Gray. Who's awake. It's just Gray, your friend.
But they were a long way past friend, now. After everything that's happened.
Involuntarily, her hand twitched up and turned the knob. The door swung open. She stared at the sunny window, at the golden shaft of light on the otherwise dull gray floor, and thought, Incongruous.
*********
YOU ARE READING
Red and Gray
Short StoryGray's back. He just spent a year being 'straightened out' - apparently - and now he's back, with his emotions no less conflicted than they were a year before. Only becoming more conflicted when he reunites with his best friend, Red.
