Page 75 of The Story Of Us

“I don’t mind,” I tell her because I don’t. I’ll happily stay here for hours doing her hair, live with oily hands for the rest of my life as long as I get to help her with something like this.

She shrugs her shoulders before sitting on the floor in front of me in between my legs, her knees pulled up and her arms folded around them. She passes the oil to me and instructs me on how to do it properly. I listen intently and follow, massaging it into her scalp before running my fingers through the long strands of her hair.

“You know, your hair was the first thing I ever noticed about you?”

“When?” She tilts her head back to look at me, and when I’m momentarily stunned by how pretty she looks, she nudges my leg.

“The first day of school, when we first met. You had those butterfly clips in your hair.” I tell her, still running my hands through her hair. “I thought you were so pretty.”

She turns to her side so she can look at me, a crease between her brows.

“Thought? Past tense?” And I know she’s teasing because the corners of her mouth are starting to lift.

“I think you’re beautiful now.”

I think about all the words in the English language that I know, and even beautiful seems too small to describe what I think of her, inside and out, but I settle for using it now. We’ve got all the time in the world for me to discover new words for her.

She smiles up at me, and I move my hand down to cup her chin, wanting to lift her face closer to mine, but she swats my hand away and shuffles away from me.

“Your hands are gross,” she says, standing up, and I copy her, stretching my hands out in front of me like a zombie as I approach her. She turns to run into the bathroom, but I throw my arms around her, trapping her arms at her side and spinning us so we go back towards the desk. She lets out a small scream, and I shush her, worried that one of her neighbours might hear.

“Someone’s going to think you’re dying.”

“One of us will be if you touch my face with those hands.”

I bring one up in front of her face, and she drops her head as she tries to squirm out of my grasp. We’re both laughing too loud, and I really am worried someone is going to knock on her door and catch us, so I let her go, both of us covering our mouths to muffle the sound.

She drops onto her bed and wipes at her eyes, still grinning up at me, and I take another snapshot in my mind, tucking this memory away for later because she looks so happy and beautiful, and this is already one of the best days of my life. I can’t wait for more with her.

“Wash your hands, then come and sit with me.” She says, pointing towards the bathroom.

I bring my hand to my forehead in salute, and she lightly kicks my leg with hers. I go to the bathroom and run my hands under the tap, taking a second to look at myself in the mirror. The smile on my face is ridiculous. I don’t think I’ve ever looked so happy before.

I go back out to her, and she meets me halfway with a hug. I hold her close, swaying us side to side as if we’re dancing with no music playing. Her head is against my chest, and my chin rests on the top of her head. My entire world is enclosed in my arms.

“Will you stay until I fall asleep?” Even though it’s muffled as she speaks into my beating heart, I hear her loud and clear.

“Of course,” I tell her, running a hand up and down her spine before letting go of her.

She steps away from me and makes her way towards the bed. I follow after her and pull back the covers before she can. She settles in, laying on her side before yanking at the cover, and a soft laugh escapes me as I help her, tucking them around her so just her face is peeking out.

She shifts backward on the bed, leaving enough space for me to perch on the end, and then takes one of her hands out from under the cover to rest it on the pillow next to her head. I take it in mine and lean down to press a kiss to her forehead, her nose, her cheek, and then her lips.

We sit like that for a while, talking about nothing and everything, and eventually, her blinks become slower, and she falls asleep with a smile on her face, her hand still in mine. I wait until she’s deep asleep before I stand and bend down to kiss the top of her hand. Her lips curve into a smile, and I say the words I’ve missed saying this whole time.

“Sweet dreams, jaanu.”

29

VIOLET

I usually look forward to going home for winter break, but this time, I don’t want to. Things with my mum are still awkward, and even though I’ve visited on a few weekends, we still haven’t had a real conversation about what the future holds. I know there’ll be no avoiding it. With the deadline for university applications coming up right after winter break, I’ll have to tell her now that I’m still set on moving away. I just don’t know how she’ll take it.

The other reason I don’t want to go home is the boy knocking on my door as if it’s not ten at night, and there’s no chance of getting caught. I pull him into my room before anyone can see him. Although I try to pretend I’m angry at him for taking such a big risk coming over here, I can’t hide how excited I am to see him before we both leave tomorrow. Being with Isaac again has felt so good, and the thought of spending two weeks away from him now, when I’ve only just gotten him back, is excruciating.

“You’re going to get caught one day.” I chide as we both get comfortable on my bed, our backs against the wall as we sit side by side.

Isaac wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. He starts twirling my hair with one hand while the other plays with my fingers, which are resting on his thigh. I catalogue all these casual touches of his and hate how much I took them for granted before. It feels like I can’t get enough of them now as I lean my head on his shoulder.

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