Page 28 of Papers Don't Lie

“Are you just going to watch me sleep?” she asks, taking the same position she had this morning, on her elbows.

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that… a bit creepy?”

“Not at all.”

She’s silent for a moment, trying to figure it out. My intention last night wasn’t to watch her like a psycho, but I tried to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t fall asleep, and she was the only distraction I had. I might know every curve of her body already.

Esmeray is a stunning woman, and even though I have to remind myself how old she is, when she’s in front of me, it seems irrelevant.

“Okay, you creep," she says, then turns on her stomach, making sure to cover her ass with the blanket. “I’m going to sleep because there’s a tough day waiting for me.”

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” I ask, not able to keep my mouth shut.

She sighs, adjusting the pillow under her head before she talks. “Terrified, actually.”

I nod and decrease the intensity of the lamp with a few taps, giving me more than enough light of what I need to see her after the room dims into darkness.

“Goodnight, Ray.” The new nickname just rolls off my tongue.

“Goodnight,Mr. Graves,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

I shake my head, one catching over my lips as well.

A few minutes of silence pass, and just when I think she’s sleeping, she talks again. "Why Ray?”

“Huh?” I ask, not understanding at first.

“Why Ray? Everyone calls me Esme, short for Esmeray.”

I smirk. “That’s a story for another day.“

“But what if we don’t meet again and I die of curiosity? What will you do?” She tries to joke, but her voice shudders like she’s close to tears despite the playful tone.

A corner of my lips lifts. “Then I’ll make sure we see each other again.”

FIFTEEN

ESMERAY

I had to leave for work. Please have breakfast before you leave.

This is the note I wake up next to instead of a proper goodbye before I return to my real life—or a better definition for what’s waiting for me:hell. I can’t even imagine seeing Raven after everything she did, betraying my trust like that. Out of all of my sisters, she was the one I trusted the most to put my happiness above anything else. Even herself.

With a long and dragged out exhale, I get out of bed, still in Kai’s shirt. I glance down at it, deciding to keep it for the moments when I need a reminder that what I lived was true and not my imagination.

My breath gets caught in my throat at the clothing pieces placed on the chair Mr. Graves spent the night in, and I step forward, tracing my fingers over the material.

This is the dress I saw yesterday.

When we were on the hunt for bows, I stopped for no more than two seconds in front of the store where I saw this beautifulyellow dress. Mr. Graves insisted on buying it for me, but I quickened my pace to ignore him. He’d already done enough.

A smile creeps its way on my face.

He isn’t as cold-hearted as I thought.

I eagerly change into the dress, tie a matching bow in my hair, and thread my feet into a simple pair of sandals. My lungs instantly release a relieved sigh at the sight.

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