Murals Over Morals

I started on the red fog and started outlining the trees she wanted in pencil along the wall, drawing eyes, a nose, and lips in the middle of all of them. So far, it was looking kinda cool. I peeked over my shoulder at Ci and saw that her eyes were closed, but I knew she was still awake. It must be hard with insomnia, especially being a teenager. Being just a teenager with regular sleep habits was hard enough- boy, did I know that from experience.

I gathered my paintbrushes when I had almost twenty minutes left for today and went to wash the off in the sink in her kitchen. I didn't hear her come down the stairs while I was washing them, but she was suddenly right next to me, washing the paint-colored water run out of the brushes, onto my fingers, and down the drain. I jumped a little and smiled softly.

"Oh, hey Ci. What're you doing?" I turned back to the brushes and continued washing them out.

"I just wanted to see what you were doing..." She said softly and blushed a little. I smiled and chuckled softly and peeked back up at her.

"Just washing my brushes so I can use them again tomorrow. " I explained, my hazel eyes warm. "Do you think I could warm up my coffee and drink it before I have to go?" I only had five minutes before my two hours here were over, and I was only half done with my coffee. She smiled a little and nodded. I smiled and went to grab it from where I left it in her room.

When I came back downstairs, it looked like she was falling asleep. She was starting to fall over and my eyes went wide. My instincts took over and I dropped the coffee mug to run over and catch her before she fell to the tile floor. I caught her and held her tight as her eyes shot open wide. She looked around, her eyes filled with fear, but she finally slowly looked up at me and blushed a little.

"What happened?" She whispered, gently clutching my shirt.

"You fell over. I, uh, I kinda broke your coffee cup... But I figured that was better than letting you break your head." I cracked a small smile and she smiled softly.

"Yeah, my mom would freak... Thank you." Her eyes warmed up just a little, as much as she could muster. I smiled a little wider.

"I don't think your mom would've been very happy with me if she got a call from the hospital." I chuckled and watched her eyes. We both fell silent as we watched each other and it felt like electricity was going through my veins.

"I should... I should clean that up." She whispered and I let her go reluctantly before standing up and grabbing paper towels to help her clean up the mess. I chewed on my lip and tried to ignore the feelings I just felt towards her. I couldn't get attached- she was just a client, and she was 16. She wouldn't want anything to do with someone like me, anyway. But of course, she wasn't the first.

I helped her clean everything up and threw away the trash and the broken cup before looking up at her.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow...?" She nodded and went upstairs.

"Good night, Gerard." She said softly and disappeared from my sight. I sighed softly before walking out to my car and getting in. I drove back to my apartment and fell onto my shitty bed, still fully clothed, and fell asleep. Maybe the day would come, maybe it wouldn't. All I knew was life had a funny way of surprising you when you were least expecting it.