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“Aera, wait!” he shouted from behind, but that didn’t stop me.
As the moon rose, I kept on walking away from him until I could only hear the raindrops landing on the flat surface like furious pebbles.
I was almost at the seventh lamppost when a hand grabbed onto mine and spun me. “I was going to tell you,” Gray said as our eyes met, “but I didn’t know how.”
“So?” Despite my hostile tone, I had tears rolling down my cheeks.
“You were right,” he admitted. “It was me back then.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Now you’re talking.”
“Listen, I didn’t tell you because I was scared. Danger follows me everywhere, Aera. The people I care about get hurt because of me. Because I’m not good enough,” he added, his voice delicate and warm. “Last week, my pack died.”
I softened, feeling awful now. I didn’t see that coming. “Oh,” was all I could say.
“Aera, there’s so much more I haven’t told you.”
I sniffled, unable to take my eyes off him. “There’s more?”
“I love you,” he said, taking my breath away as the sounds of raindrops intensified. He looked ethereal under the rain, so honest and tall, so broken and yet so beautiful. He made my heart godugeun-dugeun (thump, thump, thump, thump). “Why do you think I was always acting too loud, wearing the brightest colors? Because I wanted your attention, even if just for a moment. Just long enough for you to see my worth. I’ve been in love with you for years, Aera.” He touched my cheek with his hand. “And you know what I hate the most? Seeing you cry and hurt. Because I can’t do anything to make you feel better. I want to make you laugh when you’re sad and make you even happier when you’re happy, but this is me. You can’t stand the sight of me. And now that I’m broken? Now that I bring nothing but trouble? That’s why I thought it was better to show up in front of you as a werewolf and never have you find out more than that because if you knew too much—”
I promised not to hold back anymore, so I cut him off with a kiss.
As soon as I pulled away, the thumping in my heart accelerated faster than I could ever imagine. I felt like I had wings large enough to fly to the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until I flipped my own stomach with butterflies and said, “You’re an idiot, Gray. I don’t care if you’re broken, and I don’t care what trouble you’re talking about. I want to be with you. I want to be there for you, and I wantyouto show up in front of me however you want. Be anyone or anything you want to be around me. I like you either way, and I’m not afraid of anything, except losing you.”
Gray blushed, dropping the umbrella he’d been clutching to keep us covered. “Are you sure?” he stammered as the rain soaked us. We were like puppies in love.
A smile lifted the edge of my mouth. “Never been more sure of anything in my life,” I responded before pulling him closer for one more kiss in the rain.
* * *
I finally hada good night’s sleep. Gray and I bombarded each other with sweet and random text messages. He sent me pictures of Howli sleeping, asked me to be his date for prom, talked about how he ended up getting detention with Cole, and then I rambled on about the shows we should be watching together. For the first time, I felt so good I forgot about the rest of the world. Including my BTS addiction. Nobody told me to, but somehow, I found myself putting their posters away. It was a crime I was willing to commit for Gray.
I guess that’s what happens when you’re truly in love. Everyone else turns into a meatless skewer, I thought, giggling all through the night until I fell asleep peacefully.
The next day was supposed to be a day full of love. Mom, however, wasn’t very pleased when she noticed the cloudy weather outside. She slammed every plate and glass on the table before joining me for breakfast.
As I hummed, she asked in a rather offended tone, “What are you so happy about?”
“I kissed Gray last night,” I told her ecstatically, swallowing a small piece of hot dog, “and then we talked all night.”
“No,” she muttered disapprovingly.
Surprised and unamused by her reaction, my brow furrowed. “Gray is a great guy, Eomma. Just because you don’t like him, doesn’t mean he’s not.”
“You being in love with him, withGray…” She emphasized his name as she shut her eyes. It almost sounded like she’d be okay with me falling in love with anyone but Gray. “It’s scaring me, Aera. When you fall in love, your world stops turning and all you’ll ever want to do is to be with that person even if that means dying for them. You don’t throw your life away for a mere boy.”
I clenched my jaw and placed my fork and knife down. “Eomma, I’m not throwing my life away for anyone. Stop acting weird. You weren’t like this when I started dating Cole.”
“Yousavedhim!” She raised her voice, her face contorted with rage and displeasure as she pushed her plate away with a clatter. “You fucking saved a person who’s supposed to be dead, Aera.”
Startled at her sudden outburst, I spluttered, “I—I did, b-but it’s over now.”
“And what if you see another vision of him dying? What’s next? Are you giving up on your ambitions for some random boy? Am I going to lose you too?”
“I may be in love with him, but it doesn’t mean I’m giving up on anything nor am I running away from you. My world didn’t stop just because Gray showed up, Eomma. I’m not you, and I’m not my father either,” I huffed, and then I remembered the call from the strange man claiming to be my dad. “Oh right, someone called—”
Mom let out a huge sigh, causing me to stop and wonder what she was going to say next.
