Eleanor & Grey

by Brittainy C. Cherry

Needless to say, my people skills were lacking, which was fine, because I was really great at avoiding humans—well, at least until I was forced to interact with them.

Harry Potter > social life.

“The best part of parenthood is making your teenager uncomfortable. Remember that.”

Seeing my fellow classmates outside of school felt like a cruel form of punishment.

There was nothing worse than when an extrovert tried to understand the deep corners of an introvert’s mind.

“I’ve never read Harry Potter,” he said, and for the first time in my life, I felt bad for Greyson East. What a sad, sad life he lived.

I’d always known that the only thing Mom had done wrong was fall in love with a monster.

Actually, there was one other thing Mom had done wrong. She stayed.

The guidance counselor at school told me that over time it would get easier dealing with loss, but I didn’t find that true. It didn’t get easier; it just got lonelier.

making her happy was his favorite activity.

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.

I was still stuck on the fact that he’d read all five books simply so we would have something in common. If he were a book character, he’d be the hero.

“He read your favorite series?” “Yup.” “Eleanor?” “Yes?” “Marry this boy.”

Every time Greyson laughed at the movie, I laughed, too, because he had the kind of laugh that made you think you’d just met the happiest person alive.

That’s what loneliness is—living in world where no one really sees you.”

You can be anything in the world, and it would be good enough. Job title doesn’t matter as long as you have food on your table, and heat on your stove. What matters the most is being happy. So, when you do grow up, make sure you’re happy. Everything else will fall into place.’

It was sad that so many people went through life without knowing they were filled with magic.

Something should be said about the people who show up for the depressed souls. They never receive enough credit for being brave enough to stay.

“Grey?” “Yes?” “Would it be all right if I kept you forever?”

I wished he weren’t a good guy. It seemed much harder to walk away from a good guy.

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.

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” -Fred Rogers

“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.”

Maybe all people needed sometimes was for someone to keep showing up for them during the hard days, even when they tried their best to push everyone away.

My love was patient. For him, I’d wait forever.

Our love story was so much more than a romantic tale. Our story was about friendship. About family. About looking out for those who always looked out for you. His soul was born to be loved by mine.

I promise to my core that I will work on becoming the man worthy enough to love you. Because at the end of the day, you’re the one I want to fall asleep beside. You’re the one I want to wake up to come morning.

What I learned was that hearts are resilient. They always remember how to beat again. We just have to be willing to give them something to beat for. And the only way to do that is to let go of fear.”

And if her heart was breaking, mine cracked, too.

You brought a woman into this world who breathes unconditional love.”