headboard to wait with my plate in my lap.
As the seconds passed, my heart rate increased.
My cheeks began to burn.
Without knowing how, Layne had managed to get to me in a way no one ever had before.
The door creaked open with hesitancy, catching my attention. What I saw forced my lungs to constrict, leaving them practically inoperable. She wore the same clothes she’d had on when she left the kitchen, but instead of the long blond hair over her shoulders, she had short—shorter than mine—brown hair. It appeared to me that she’d styled it with water while in the bathroom, sweeping the slightly longer pieces on the top of her head to the side.
I had no words. No thoughts. Nothing came to me as I watched her stand in the doorway, the bathroom light turned off behind her, and her eyes cast to the floor. She had her chin tilted down, preventing me from seeing her fully, but I didn’t need to. I could tell how difficult this was for her by the way her shoulders hunched and her back arched.
Except, I had no idea why.
“Is this why you don’t like people touching your hair?”
Her gaze lifted, although her chin never did. Her eyes met mine, and I could see the fresh tears in them. “I wear a wig. I don’t like people to know that.”
I shoved my plate to the end of the bed and crawled closer to her. As soon as I sat down on the edge of the mattress, I pulled her by her hands until she stood between my legs. My fingertips met the smooth skin of her face, wiping away the tracks of tears before I ran them through her hair. Her slight wince nearly made me stop, but I didn’t. I pushed through it, forcing her to do the same.
“Can you tell me why?”
“It sounds silly and vain, but my hair is kinda something that defines me as a woman. Without it, I don’t feel very feminine.” She ran her fingers over the the side of her head, and then around her ear, as if unconsciously tucking invisible hair behind it.
My hands dropped to her waist and my gaze roamed her body. Her hips were narrow, although she still had curves. She may not have had full breasts, but they were perfect. There wasn’t a single thing about her to warrant such insecurity, and it made me sad for her. It made me want to do something— anything —to prove her wrong.
“Layne…I’m looking at you right now, and you are the epitome of feminine.” My thumbs swiped over her hipbones, gently grazing her lower abdomen in the process. The slight trembling of her body was apparent beneath my touch, and the bare skin on her arms took on a gooseflesh appearance.
“It’s hard to see that when I look at myself.”
I peered up at her, noticing the hidden pain in her round eyes, the softness in the vibrant blue. “Can you tell me what happened? You don’t have to worry about me judging you. I swear that won’t happen.” Had I not witnessed it for myself and was only told about her hair, I might’ve jumped the gun and assumed she’d gone crazy and shaved it off. But after seeing the fear in her eyes, I knew the reason wasn’t so simple.
“Almost a year ago, during my senior year in high school, I’d gone to the doctor because I was having pain in my side. They found a cyst on my ovary and removed it. A few months later, the pain was back, so I went to see the doctor again. They found another cyst on the same ovary, and when they went to remove that one, they had to take the entire ovary.”
No matter how hard I tried to keep my focus on her eyes as she spoke, I couldn’t help but turn my attention to her flat stomach. I had no idea the things she’d suffered or what it all meant. However, from the way she spoke, I knew how badly it had affected her.
My heart ached for her loss.
“They discovered I had ovarian cancer.”
Saliva pooled in my mouth as I gaped at her, disbelieving what she told me. There was no way. It couldn’t have been true, and I desperately waited for her to tell me it was all a lie. I wanted nothing more than to
As the seconds passed, my heart rate increased.
My cheeks began to burn.
Without knowing how, Layne had managed to get to me in a way no one ever had before.
The door creaked open with hesitancy, catching my attention. What I saw forced my lungs to constrict, leaving them practically inoperable. She wore the same clothes she’d had on when she left the kitchen, but instead of the long blond hair over her shoulders, she had short—shorter than mine—brown hair. It appeared to me that she’d styled it with water while in the bathroom, sweeping the slightly longer pieces on the top of her head to the side.
I had no words. No thoughts. Nothing came to me as I watched her stand in the doorway, the bathroom light turned off behind her, and her eyes cast to the floor. She had her chin tilted down, preventing me from seeing her fully, but I didn’t need to. I could tell how difficult this was for her by the way her shoulders hunched and her back arched.
Except, I had no idea why.
“Is this why you don’t like people touching your hair?”
Her gaze lifted, although her chin never did. Her eyes met mine, and I could see the fresh tears in them. “I wear a wig. I don’t like people to know that.”
I shoved my plate to the end of the bed and crawled closer to her. As soon as I sat down on the edge of the mattress, I pulled her by her hands until she stood between my legs. My fingertips met the smooth skin of her face, wiping away the tracks of tears before I ran them through her hair. Her slight wince nearly made me stop, but I didn’t. I pushed through it, forcing her to do the same.
“Can you tell me why?”
“It sounds silly and vain, but my hair is kinda something that defines me as a woman. Without it, I don’t feel very feminine.” She ran her fingers over the the side of her head, and then around her ear, as if unconsciously tucking invisible hair behind it.
My hands dropped to her waist and my gaze roamed her body. Her hips were narrow, although she still had curves. She may not have had full breasts, but they were perfect. There wasn’t a single thing about her to warrant such insecurity, and it made me sad for her. It made me want to do something— anything —to prove her wrong.
“Layne…I’m looking at you right now, and you are the epitome of feminine.” My thumbs swiped over her hipbones, gently grazing her lower abdomen in the process. The slight trembling of her body was apparent beneath my touch, and the bare skin on her arms took on a gooseflesh appearance.
“It’s hard to see that when I look at myself.”
I peered up at her, noticing the hidden pain in her round eyes, the softness in the vibrant blue. “Can you tell me what happened? You don’t have to worry about me judging you. I swear that won’t happen.” Had I not witnessed it for myself and was only told about her hair, I might’ve jumped the gun and assumed she’d gone crazy and shaved it off. But after seeing the fear in her eyes, I knew the reason wasn’t so simple.
“Almost a year ago, during my senior year in high school, I’d gone to the doctor because I was having pain in my side. They found a cyst on my ovary and removed it. A few months later, the pain was back, so I went to see the doctor again. They found another cyst on the same ovary, and when they went to remove that one, they had to take the entire ovary.”
No matter how hard I tried to keep my focus on her eyes as she spoke, I couldn’t help but turn my attention to her flat stomach. I had no idea the things she’d suffered or what it all meant. However, from the way she spoke, I knew how badly it had affected her.
My heart ached for her loss.
“They discovered I had ovarian cancer.”
Saliva pooled in my mouth as I gaped at her, disbelieving what she told me. There was no way. It couldn’t have been true, and I desperately waited for her to tell me it was all a lie. I wanted nothing more than to
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