"Why are you asking that? I can take care of myself, you know. You don’t need to start pairing me with guys now" I said, trying to keep the mood light.
"I hope that that’s true. Hayden...he’s not a bad guy, you know," my grandma said.
"Why do you think that?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.
Looks can definitely be deceiving and I think she’s being deceived by his looks for sure. I mean, she’s probably met him like three times.
"He didn’t want me to tell you this and he even told me to act like I don’t know him, but the truth is...he’s been here to visit me and keep me company many times before," she said before she smiled at me.
"Oh...I didn’t know that..." I mumbled. Honestly, that was very unexpected.
"I think he’s a kind person," she said with conviction.
"I...guess..." I mumbled, not entirely convinced.
"Let me tell you a secret, Malissa," she whispered.
My grandma beckoned me closer to her with a few waves of her hand. I got out of my seat and leaned down towards her so that my face was close to her. As if she was seriously telling me a secret, my grandmother began whispering close to my ear.
"No man would visit a sick and old woman like me almost everyday if he doesn’t care for my granddaughter, dear," she whispered before grinning at me.
"I think you’re reading too much into this..." I said before smiling a little at her.
Hayden cares for me? That just sounds very unlikely or just too good to be true. I smiled down at my grandmother.
"Don’t worry about anything. The contract that I’ve entered into with Hayden’s father will end in around two weeks. Then, everything will go back to how they were," I replied, reassuringly.
Who else could it be besides Hayden...
"Don’t just barge in here without knocking!" I snapped.
"Well, the door wasn’t locked..." Hayden said innocently.
"Why are you making this out to be my fault?" I asked, feeling a little irritated.
"What are you doing?" Hayden asked curiously without answering my question.
"I’m...painting..." I stated flatly.
Hayden came to stand very close to me as he peered over my shoulder to take a look at my painting. It was weird for him to show such interest in what I was doing. I glanced over at his face and saw that he had an intense look of concentration as he stared at my painting. I wondered what he saw...
"Don’t you think that her smile looks a little sad here?" Hayden asked, as he cocked his head to the side, his eyes focused on my painting of my grandmother.
I turned my head back and stared at my grandmother’s lips in the painting.
"You think?" I asked, feeling uncertain.
Now I was also staring at the painting from various angles, trying to see if her smile looked a little sad just like Hayden had pointed out.
"I don’t know...it just makes me feel that way..." Hayden replied, his eyes lingering on the painting.
Well, I painted this painting with the facial details based on my grandmother when I visited her in the hospital and asked her to pose for me. If Hayden thought that her smile looked a little sad then perhaps, my grandmother is actually feeling a little sad?
--To be continued...
Thank you for reading my work!