My Smile Was Taken Long Ago Novels & Stories

In the picture, I was smiling so wide my eyes disappeared. That was the happiest moment of my life. The End

I asked smiling " Do you want me to take off the rest" I teased " do not even do that…. you know what I need to go take something outside, I can't stay here anymore, I think I'm losing my breath" he said rushing out making me smile It has been a long time since I smiled like this…… he was so funny, I never knew Nick could be this charming and also funny at the same time, now I know I made a perfect choice it was Nick

With a smile. ____

I probed with a small smile as we hooked arms. "Leave me alone." He smiled. "That's for old people." "Anyone can smoke. I'll make you try it one day; it helps."

A smile smeared on my face. Boom!

He took another small step, still smiling that same smug smile that made my skin crawl from disgust. “Well, well. Looks like we’ll be stuck together for a long, long time, Jace.”

At one point, he pulled his phone from his pocket and said, “You've been smiling for at least an hour now. That had not happened in a while.” “TJ, you're embarrassing me,” I said, looking around in fake shyness. “We need proof of this historic night,” He said, “To remind you of the first time you smiled after a life-changing experience. Also, for when you’re running your own business empire someday. We’ll look back and say, ‘Remember when you were just assistant manager of Sweet Treats?’” He took a picture of me mid-sip, looking utterly unprepared and confused. “TJ!” I squealed as I lunged for his phone.

I only knew that the face looking back at me was mine and was not mine, and that the space between us had been there long enough to become its own thing, long enough to grow roots and breathe. I opened my mouth to say something else, to ask the question that was burning behind my teeth, but before I could form the words the reflection smiled. It was my smile. My mouth, my teeth, the same slight crookedness on the left side that I had hated in photographs since I was twelve. "Did Riven actually let you go?" I asked

I had thought the efficiency was the whole point. "The smile stopped reaching your eyes," Sable said. "Not all the time. You were still you. You still laughed for real sometimes, still had good days. But there was a version of your smile I had not seen in months and I kept waiting for it to come back and it did not." I did not say anything.

That was when I realized, and I bit the cake with a smile. He was really good at this, huh? “Let me.” I took the fork from his hand and did the exact same gesture. He let me feed him and smiled. It made me guess how long it took him to master that smile. Did he practice it in front of a mirror? Smile definitely suited his face more than those cold and flat expressions. Whispers and talk surrounded this mega hall. I couldn’t use my phone yet, but I had guessed what kind of news and articles were written today.