Eleanor & Grey

by Brittainy C. Cherry

I didn’t do crushes, unless we were talking about fictional characters.

You know those first few minutes after you finished an amazing book? Those moments when you aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself? You simply sit there, staring at the last words, unsure how to move on with your life. How can it be over? How can those characters just fade to black? For you, the characters are still imprinted on your soul. Their actions, their dialogue still alive and strong in your mind. Your tears haven’t even dried, and you crave another fix. I loved that feeling—the bittersweet love story between a person and a novel coming to an end.

“You read Harry Potter?” He nodded. “Yup. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but those are long.” “You…” My heart pounded against my rib cage. “You read all of the books?” “All five, and now I’m counting down the days until the next one releases.” Same, Grey, same. “Why did you read them all?” “So we’d have something in common. Plus, I wanted you to form a stupid, unrealistic crush on me that goes against everything you stand for.”

“He read Harry Potter, all five books, because I told him we had nothing in common, and he wanted to make sure we did.” Mom’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. “He read your favorite series?” “Yup.” “Eleanor?” “Yes?” “Marry this boy.”

“Live in this moment, my dragonfly. Live fully in this moment.”

on his shoulder and breathed him in. “Grey?” “Yes?” “Would it be all right if I kept you forever?”

People didn’t have to talk about love to know it existed. Love wasn’t only real because someone said it out loud. No, love just kind of sat there quietly, in the shadows of the night, healing the cracks that lived in our hearts.

“Nothing in life is personal, not really. Some people will love you for who you are today, others will hate you for it, and none of their opinions matter either way—not the good or the bad. Only you can define who you are. No one else has that right.”