Gray POV

I didn't fall asleep when I got home, but I hoped that Carmen did. I could see in her eyes that she was exhausted, and I almost told her to go home.

She probably would've laughed in my face and sat next to me anyway.

I lifted my arm to check the time. 3:27.

I sighed and crawled out of bed, pulling on a red sweatshirt. If I wasn't going to sleep now, it wouldn't happen much later, either. Sitting down at my desk, I opened up a new tab on my computer.

The hours I had spent with Carmen tonight had shown me -once again- that I loved her.

She was so much of a better person than me.

My fingers began to move absentmindedly over the keyboard as I sunk into my thoughts. Carmen had spoken of horrors I didn't think could ever have existed in her life, and now I wondered about how much she might have let on about those things. Had she ever tried to tell about herself in such a way, without me noticing?

I frowned, hoping I was wrong.

Carmen was strong, but even she needed support sometimes.

I needed a way to show her how much I cared. Just saying it wouldn't be enough, not in a million years.

She deserved only the best.

Exiting out of YouTube, I let my fingers pause for just a second before starting to move. An idea was forming in my brain, and I got to work.