Hold Me While You Wait

28|nothing like the world we know

nothing like the world we know

It wasn't very fun for Elis when Mrs Collins dragged her downstairs very early in the morning, so that the walls could officially be painted gray. Elis had always been an early riser, but lately she'd been sleeping in a lot.

"Mom, it's not even five yet," she grumbled, drinking the coffee she made.

But Mrs Collins smiled. "Elis, just imagine the finished product of this. It will look like a new house all together," the woman envisioned, exuberance in her voice. "I'm so excited. Now come on, finish your food, we've got work to do."

"Where's dad? Why is he not helping?" The curly haired girl asked, sighing as she saw her mother already opening the bucket of paint before throwing her a protective overall.

"He volunteered to paint the bedrooms."

"Even the bedrooms are being painted?" Elis articulated, throwing her mother an unbelievable look. "Mom... That's a little extreme."

"Elis..."

"You need to calm down. The house looks fine."

"Elis, just imagine how perfect it will be after the renovations," Mrs Collins remained optimistic, smiling as she continued to imagine what would soon become of the lake house.

Elis sighed in defeat, putting the protective overall on despite the exhausted look on her face.

"So... maybe with all this renovating... we can come back often?" She tried.

"Of course," Mrs Collins deadpanned. "This place, it's our first home. It holds so many memories," the older woman looked at her daughter, an assuring look crossing her face as she smiled. "And along with the wonderful memories of this place, there are also so many people worth coming back for."

Elis almost choked on her coffee, averting her gaze, and struggling to keep from further asking what the older woman meant.

But Elis wondered... she wondered if Mrs Collins had any idea of who Elis was. She wondered if her mother knew anything to do with a certain ginger girl, who's name was the same as the color she was about to paint the walls, just as Gray had successfully painted Elis's soul of her name.

It only proved one thing, for such love to be indefinite, even in the confined spaces and the shortened time that they could freely live it.

Soon the conversation was over, and Mrs Collins said nothing else as they both got to work. Elis's head ran over everything good the summer brought into her life, her unbelievable luck in finding Gray... But it was much later in the day, when Elis felt as tired as she appeared.

The walls of the living room were officially a different color, and Mrs Collins held a satisfactory grin as she phoned to tell Aunt Lauren about the recent developments of the renovations.

Elis sluggishly walked over to her bedroom, where she threw herself on her bed, exhaustion from the lack of sleep fully taking over when she closed her eyes. And the sun began to go down when Gray arrived to the lake house, being welcomed by Mrs Collins who was in the middle of preparing dinner. The woman was incredibly happy when she opened the door to see the ginger girl.

"Aunt Lauren said the house looks lovely already," the ginger girl said, referring to the pictures Mrs Collins had managed to send. The older woman smiled. She looked over at Gray, the ginger girl's left wrist catching her attention. Mrs Collins cleared her throat as she recognized the bracelet.

"Thank you. Tell her I said she should come here soon," the woman smiled, and then brought her attention to why Gray was here. "You're looking for Elis?"

"Yes..." The ginger girl trailed off. Mrs Collins smiled and put a hand on Gray's shoulder. "I think she's asleep now. She was whining and complaining earlier when I asked her to help me paint, but she was just tired. She barely sleeps."

"Why's that?" Gray asked, still feeling her nerves when they talked about Elis.

"Come sit with me." Mrs Collins led Gray over to a chair in the kitchen, sitting with the ginger girl she resumed cooking. "Elis... She's just going through stuff."

Gray wanted to ask what stuff, but bit her lip to let Mrs Collins continue. " You two... You have a great friendship. It helps her while she's here."

The last of the woman's words were a pang to Gray's heart, reminding her of the reality that she would have to face soon. And then she took a big chance, confessing something from the depths of her heart.

"I don't want her to go," she said.

"I know you don't want her to go," the woman said, carefully, as she looked at Gray's saddened face with a calm smile. "It's the same for her. But don't worry, you two will be friends together again."

Gray spared the woman a smile, keeping from spilling out to Mrs Collins that they were more than friends, that they found love right in front of their eyes even when everybody failed to see.

"You're wonderful," Mrs Collins continued, eyeing Gray with a knowing look. "Elis is lucky to have you."

The words meant so much more than what Gray felt the older woman meant, and Gray just wanted to say it out loud,  if everything would remain the same after that. If she could have everyday with Elis and she didn't have to go. But she smiled, accepting the cranberry juice Mrs Collins offered.

"Thanks," the ginger girl said. "Yes, Elis is a nice girl... And a nice friend. You're right. We'll be friends again soon."

The sun went down with those words. And as Mrs Collins continued to cook, the ginger girl trailed up the stairs, going over to the girl who gave her every butterfly there ever was in this world. Who made her incredibly nervous, and a lot more in love every time she looked at her.