Chapter 12

I opened my mouth but clamped it shut again. What if I messed up again by saying something that could hurt him? There was nothing I could say that would comfort him.

" You're really strong if you're able to conceal your pain. I know you're strong enough to face all of it until everything's normal. I believe in you" I said.

Ray gulped as I stopped talking and stared at me. No, into me.

" You've got enchanting eyes. I love how they're big, doe and if someone sees just your eyes, they would think that your eyes are of a newborn's," he pointed out.

What I noticed was that he'd not replied to what I had said. Did he really believe he wouldn't be able to fix everything with his mom? Ray had literally entered my life a few hours ago and I felt half the weight on my shoulders being rolled off. I felt much lighter and it made me want to giggle and sob at the same time. Did he think that he wouldn't be able to make it? Like I wouldn't have to get my feet sore in this Texas heat every day, anymore. I would be able to pay the due rent with the advance I would receive. At least most of it. I wouldn't have to steal from him or anyone else. He seemed like such a good person. Ray didn't judge me even though he knew some of my background now. He wasn't even giving me the scornful looks I was getting from the tables around us. After the tragedy he faced, he would probably be someone who didn't pay heed to wealth.

I realized he was still looking at me with eyes that were the sweet hue of spring clover. There is a kind of green that speaks to the soul of nature, of fresh wands of grass and new buds, his eyes were that bright color, bold and beautiful. They say green is the strongest color because it ignites the new season after the passing of wintry days, and in that, his eyes were born strong. They were softly woven with a chorus of green threads, that spoke of all things newborn in the spring, of a soul that remained ever-young. Eyelashes, long and black, were heaven's whip for my soul. Some gazes are the promise of protection, his was all that and more. It was the sort of gaze that was home and hearth and hearty food. I bit my lip looking everywhere but at him. Ray leaned towards me and smiled, my breathing became softer, the pensive look melting away.

" Hey, I'm here, relax. All these bitches sitting around us are looking at you that way because they're jealous," Ray said with a sincere look in his eyes. I laughed out loud releasing a snort accidentally. I immediately blushed as the perfect-looking girl beside me scoffed. He didn't have to tell me why they were looking at me like that, I already knew. I wasn't dumb enough to believe they were jealous of me.

" Why would they ever be jealous of me? They look perfect, sit perfectly and even move with perfection. They have a whole aura around them that screams confidence," I explained.

" Amber, they're jealous of you because they've never seen a girl who looks so beautiful without makeup. They've never seen a girl who can pull of crimpled clothes and messy hair. They're afraid they can never be the girl who weaves words together and shows her deep truths. If this is body chemistry, it is, and I think for that reason I'm in my element with you, that you bring out my elemental nature, the part that is hidden from others. To say that those are puns is a sort of shallow take on it," Ray said.