Chapter 35

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Chapter 35

~Nolan~

       My cell phone rang, but I ignored it as I continued to work on my painting. I wanted to get it finished today, and the best way to get that done was to have absolutely no distractions. Though, it was kind of hard to distract me when I was painting. A lot of the time, I would be so in the zone that I didn't realize what's happening around me.

       But sometimes, my family wouldn't realize that I didn't want to be distracted at all. They would constantly try to get my attention, so it was a good thing that I now had a studio to work on my paintings. I could be completely alone.

       And I definitely wanted to be left alone right now.

       However, I guess I couldn't just be left alone at times. I heard the door to the studio open, but I still focused on my painting instead of looking to see who it was. I already knew who it was, anyway. I locked the door, and the only other person who had a key to the studio was Jerome.

       "Oh, thank goodness you're here," Jerome said. "You have no idea how scared we were."

       I looked at Jerome, furrowing my eyebrows. "Why?"

       "Why?" Jerome repeated. He walked over to where I was sat on the floor, crouching down beside me. "You weren't home. You didn't tell anyone where you were going. You weren't even answering your phone."

       "My phone's on silent."

       The cursed device chose right then to start ringing. I looked at my phone, seeing Orchid was calling me. I declined the call. 

       "Right," Jerome said. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were coming here?"

       "Oh, so now it's a big deal if I don't tell someone where I'm going?"

       Jerome was silent for a bit. I was about to go back to painting, but Jerome gently rested his hand on top of mine. "If this is about the party, I thought you weren't mad about that."

       "I'm not."

       "Nolan, you just sounded very accusatory right now. I really am sorry for not telling you about the party and for not responding to your texts. I swear, I would have if I heard my phone go off."

       I gently pulled my hand out of Jerome's so I could go back to painting. "Okay."

       "Besides, it's different for you," Jerome said. "You should tell people where you are, or at least answer your phone if you hear someone calling you."

       "Why is it different for me?" I asked. 

       "Because you're--" Jerome began, but he cut himself off.

       "Because I'm suicidal?" I finished.

       Jerome sighed. "I didn't mean it like that."

       "Sure you didn't."

       Jerome didn't say anything for a while. He just sat beside me, watching me paint. After a few minutes or so, he asked, "What's going on with you?"

       "I don't know," I said.

       "Nolan, come on, you have to talk to me," Jerome said.

       "I don't know," I repeated. "I don't know why I'm so moody right now. It just happens, okay? You should know that. You've been dating me long enough to know that sometimes, I just feel like crap without an external circumstances. This is one of those times."

       "Okay," Jerome said. "Right, okay. I'm sorry. I just..." Jerome sighed. "I know you don't want to be babied or anything, but the last time I was told by your family that they couldn't find you or get a hold of you, I found you bleeding out to death. I didn't want it to happen again."

       I stopped painting, but I just stared at the canvas. "I'm sorry."

       "Don't... Don't be sorry. It's okay. I know it must suck feeling like you need to have someone know where you are at all times when you just want to be left alone, but..."

       "It's different for me," I said. "You're right about that. Look, I just wanted to paint without anyone bothering me. And I know I could have asked you to come here with me since you never bother me when I'm painting, but I didn't want to bother you."

       "Nolan..." Jerome ran his fingers through my hair, and I finally looked at him. "Nothing you say or do is going to bother me. I knew about your mental health before I got into a relationship with you. If I felt like I was going to be bothered by you, I wouldn't have told you I liked you."

       "You could always dump me..."

       "Hey, we talked about this. I'm not going to dump you. Ever."

       "I once said that I was never going to like cilantro, and now it's my favourite herb."

       "Are you comparing me to cilantro?"

       "Yeah."

       "Well..." Jerome gently stroked my cheek. "I'm not going to change my mind about you. I love you so much, Nolan. Nothing is ever going to change that. I promise." He gently pressed his lips on mine before pulling away to give me a smile. "Now, I'll leave you to paint. I'll head to the office and... I don't know, nap or look at videos or something. Tell me if you need anything, okay?"

       "I need you to marry me."

       Jerome laughed softly before kissing me cheek, then standing up. "Ask me again when you're eighteen. I don't think your parents would appreciate us getting married when you're seventeen. We can't, anyway."

       "I really will ask you on my eighteenth birthday."

       "Then I'll hold you to that. But for real, come to the office if you need anything. And before you ask, sex is off the table."

       "We don't have a table in here, anyway."

       "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

       I just smiled at Jerome before he headed into the office. No matter how many times he would tell me he wouldn't dump me, there was a small part of me that kept thinking he would eventually. Wasn't he going to grow tired of me? Tired of making sure I was okay?

       I mean, I was tired of myself. What made Jerome so sure that he was never going to grow tired of me?

_________________

because he loves you nolan, smh.

don't worry, this is me with my dog. i'm always worried she'll grow tired of me and i won't be her favourite anymore, but then i remember that she snaps at anyone who tries taking her off my lap lol

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