Gray Eyes In My Apartment
1630 Words
The apartment was silent.
2:56 AM.
The only sound was water.
_Drip. Drip. Drip._
Like a countdown to something bad.
She locked the door. _Click._
Her hands were shaking.
Not from the cold.
From _him_.
_What the hell am I doing?_
_I brought him here._
_The boy who destroyed me._
_The boy who called me "Black" like it was a curse._
Gray stood in the middle of her living room. Soaked.
His black hoodie clung to him.
Blood was drying on his jeans. Dark. Ugly.
Was it his? Was it someone else’s?
She didn’t want to know.
The apartment smelled like rain.
Like antiseptic.
And like _him_.
After 9 years.
She flipped the light on.
And for the first time in 9 years... he saw her.
Really saw her.
She was beautiful.
Not the broken college girl anymore.
Her black hair fell in wet waves down her back, shining like ink.
Her skin was pale, but not weak. Tired, but _strong_.
Dark circles made her black eyes look bigger. Deeper.
Untouchable.
Gray sweats. An old cardigan. No makeup.
She didn’t need it.
The rain had washed everything away except _her_.
_Still Black,_ he thought.
_Even in the light, she glows in the dark._
His chest ached.
And it had nothing to do with the wound.
*"Bathroom. Now."*
Her voice was sharp. Professional. Cold.
Like she was talking to a student who’d gotten in a fight.
He followed.
Wet footprints followed him across her clean floor.
She hated it.
She hated that she noticed.
She hated that her space suddenly felt too small with him in it.
The bathroom light was brutal. White. Harsh.
It made the blood look worse.
Made the cut look worse.
Made _him_ look worse.
Made her _remember_.
She threw a towel at him. It hit his chest and fell.
*"Take off the hoodie."*
He hesitated. Water dripped down his face.
*"I can do it."*
*"You’re bleeding out, Gray."*
Her voice cracked. Then softened.
Because the teacher in her couldn’t help it.
*"Let me help."*
__Let me help.__
Three words she never thought she’d say.
Three words that felt like betrayal.
Three words that felt like forgiveness.
Slowly, he pulled the wet hoodie over his head.
She gasped.
The cut was worse than she imagined.
Six inches. Jagged. Raw.
Running down his ribs. Still bleeding.
Purple and blue bruises blooming around it.
And another scar. Older.
_God. Who did this to you?_
Her hands moved on their own.
Antiseptic. Gauze. Tape.
The first aid kit she kept for her students.
The one with cartoon bandages she never used.
The second her fingers touched his skin, they both froze.
He was burning up. Fever.
She was ice cold from the rain.
*"Does it hurt?"*
She whispered it. Hated how soft she sounded.
*"Not as much as you do."*
His voice was low. Rough.
She jerked back.
*"Don’t."*
*"Don’t what?"*
His storm-gray eyes locked on hers.
*"Tell the truth?"*
_The truth._
That he was the reason she dropped out.
That she still had nightmares about that hallway.
That for 9 years she told herself she hated him...
And never forgot him.
*"I’m saving your life,"* she said, pressing gauze to the wound. *"Don’t make this harder than it is."*
He hissed in pain. But didn’t pull away.
If anything, he leaned into her touch. Just for a second.
The smell of antiseptic.
Of blood.
Of _him_.
Dragged her back.
---
### *9 YEARS AGO. COLLEGE. DAY ONE.*
The hallway was loud.
Laughter. Voices. Keys to expensive cars.
And in the middle of it, _her_.
*Aria.*
Shiny. Smart. Broke.
There was light in her eyes that day.
Hope.
Dreams.
She’d come from a small village to live in the city with her aunt.
Mom and little sister were still back home. In a house with mud walls.
But Aria had to prove herself.
To the world.
To _herself_.
Her aunt gave her a room. A desk. A lamp.
She studied until 2 AM every night.
She was the top student in her school.
That’s how she got a *full scholarship* to the best college in the city.
First day.
She’d ironed her only good outfit.
In her bag: two books, one pen, and the paratha her mom made at 4 AM.
*"Make us proud, beta."*
Her dreams were big.
Doctor.
A house for her mom.
College for her sister.
Proof that a poor girl could make it.
Outside the college, there were luxury cars.
Designer clothes. iPhones.
Girls taking selfies.
There was no one like Aria.
Too smart. Too poor.
But she lifted her chin and walked in anyway.
People stared.
At her old shoes.
At her plain clothes.
At the file in her hand that screamed *"GOVT SCHOLARSHIP"*.
Then someone shoved her.
Hard.
Books everywhere.
Papers flying.
She hit the floor.
Knees bleeding.
But the shame hurt more than the pain.
*"Watch it, scholarship girl,"* someone laughed. *"You’re making a mess."*
And then _he_ appeared.
*Gray.*
Devilish smile. Storm-gray eyes.
College royalty.
His dad owned half the city.
He didn’t help her up.
He crouched beside her. So everyone could see. So everyone could hear.
*"Aww. Look at this. The new girl’s bleeding."*
He picked up her file. Flipped through it. Smirked.
*"‘Future Doctor Aria’? Really? You came from a village to be a doctor? Cute."*
He looked straight at her.
*"Is this for me, Black?"*
Everyone laughed.
Someone recorded it.
He didn’t bandage her.
He _humiliated_ her.
He ripped a piece off her scholarship letter and pressed it to her bleeding knee.
Blood soaked the paper.
*"There. Fixed,"* he said.
Then walked away.
High-fived his friends.
*"Fall harder next time, Black."*
She ran.
Cried in the bathroom for 3 hours.
That day she learned what "Black" meant.
A joke.
A target.
A girl they could break.
That day, blood stained the first page of her dream.
That day, she swore she’d never cry again.
---
### *NOW.*
Her hands were shaking again.
The gauze felt like that torn paper.
Red. Stained.
Nine years.
Nothing had changed.
Gray caught her wrist. Gently.
*"Hey,"* he said. Voice rough. *"I’m sorry."*
She ripped her hand away.
*"Don’t touch me."*
*"Then why did you bring me here?"*
His voice broke.
*"Why, Black? You should’ve let me die."*
She didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t have one.
Because when she saw him bleeding in that alley, her humanity won.
She finished the bandage in silence.
Quick. Precise.
Like she was sewing her own heart back together.
When she was done, she stood.
But the silence was too loud.
So she talked.
Because if she stopped, she’d cry.
*"Why are you back? After 9 years?"*
*"Do you know what you did to me?"*
*"I lost my scholarship. I dropped out. Because I could hear you laughing in every damn hallway."*
Her voice broke.
Gray didn’t say anything.
He just watched her.
Didn’t blink.
Like he deserved every word.
She turned too fast.
Her elbow hit the table.
_Crash._
A glass frame shattered.
A piece flew up and cut her cheek.
Blood.
Instant.
Before she could move, Gray was there.
No hesitation.
He reached out and wiped the blood off with his thumb.
Slow. Gentle.
Like she was glass.
Like _he_ was the one who could break her.
His thumb stayed there a second too long.
Her breath caught.
Nine years, and his touch still ruined her.
*"Don’t,"* she whispered.
But she didn’t pull away.
The air between them was heavy.
Hot.
Dangerous.
---
### *SCENE A: KITCHEN - 3:10 AM*
*"Couch,"* she said, exhausted. *"You sleep there. I’m locking my door."*
He nodded.
She went to the kitchen. Filled a glass of water.
Hands still shaking.
Fridge: milk, bread, medicine.
That was it.
She leaned against the counter and closed her eyes.
_Nine years I built myself up._
_Job. Degree. Late nights._
_And today I’m patching up the guy who broke me._
On the wall: her sister’s drawing.
*"Doctor Aria"* in crayon.
Mom’s text: *"Did you eat, beta?"*
Tears.
She wiped them. Went back.
Gray was on the couch. Shaking.
Sweat on his forehead. Lips blue.
*"I’m cold."*
That was all.
_s**t. Infection._
She threw a blanket over him. Turned on the heater.
Brought him tea.
*"Drink. Sleep."*
Their fingers brushed.
Both looked away.
---
### *SCENE B: 4:45 AM - BY THE HEATER*
She couldn’t sleep.
At 4:45, she crept out to check on him.
Lights off. Only the streetlight through the rain-streaked window.
He was asleep. Restless. Burning up.
She touched his forehead.
_Hospital. He needs a hospital._
The moment she moved, he grabbed her hand.
Tight. Desperate.
*"Don’t go,"* he mumbled in his sleep. *"Please don’t go, Black."*
Her heart shattered.
Nine years.
And he was still calling her that.
Even in his sleep.
She sat on the floor. Held his hand.
Listened to the heater.
To the rain.
_I hate him._
_But if he dies, I won’t survive it._
_And if he lives... can I ever forgive him?_
5 AM. Light was breaking.
Then her phone rang.
Loud. Violent.
Unknown number.
*"Hello?"*
*"Is Gray with you?"*
A deep, heavy voice.
Her blood went cold.
*"Who is this?"*
*"You don’t need to know. Hand him over. Or else..."*
_Click._
Dead.
The phone fell from her hand.
Gray’s eyes snapped open.
*"What?"*
*"They’re looking for you,"* she said. *"They know you’re here."*
He was up instantly. Pain on his face. But no fear.
*"We have to go. Now."*
*"You’re hurt,"* she argued. *"You’re not going anywhere."*
*"And if they come here?"*
He tossed the blanket aside.
*"You’ll get hurt, Aria."*
Her name.
He said her _name_.
For the first time in 9 years.
_Aria._
Her heart stopped.
Outside, the rain kept falling.
And danger was about to knock.
_To be continued..._
- Writer
