The Color of Hate

Chapter 15

I wake up to my phone ringing.

Izzie

I decide to pick up the phone, I haven't talked to her since she left. I mean we've been texting a few times a week but we didn't really talk. She dosen't even know what happened to Lucas. Or to me, for that matter.

This is the first time I actually had to talk to someone or tell anyone about it. It felt horrible, I could barely get the words out of my mouth.

A few days ago I was walking to the only good grocery store in our town to buy coffee, I was out after all the sleepless nights I had to go through. While I was walking I could hear people talking about what happened with Lucas like it was no big deal, like it was all just a little drama for their bored souls, like it meant nothing and it wasn't that serious. And from an outside perspective, it may not seem so serious, but it is. Even though Lucas may not really like me, I've always felt like we had some sort of bond. And loosing him like this, his whole life and career being at risk because of false accusations and rumors...it hurts, and with my mom and bestfriend on vacation, my brother was the last spark of hope I held on too, the last person that made me feel less alone. But now, with him in prison, I feel more alone then ever.

After an hour of talking to Izzie, she says she has to go to dinner and hangs up. Apparently her parents loved Jess, her now boyfriend, and they are going to be staying another two weeks. I feel genuinely happy for her. When she heard about what happened to Lucas she wanted to come home, but I told her to stay there and have fun. I don't want to be a burden for anyone.

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's Sunday and I am trying to catch up on some of my homework, I fell behind these past few weeks and some of my teachers let me do extra credit work to up my grade.

,,Believe me, I know exactly how you feel.'' they said, smiling.

No you don't.

No, you can't say that.

,,Thank you so much.'' I smile.

While writing an essay for English, I see a notification on my phone, from Eric.

In a few hours, I find myself walking around town with him while he's telling me some things about himself. We went out for coffee, he said he saw me looking sad these past few days and decided I may need some company, which he was right about.

,,Okay enough about me, let's talk about you, You barely said a word all day.'' he smiles, looking towards me.

I sit on a bench nearby, having one last sip of my coffee before throwing it in the bin. ,,There's not much to me, you know.'' I smile.

,,Don't say that, everyone has something." he states, playing with his coffee cup.

I think a little. ,,I was born here, I have an older brother. I had two dogs before my father decided he was allergic and I love walking.'' I wait for his response.
,,Does your brother go to another school? I never saw him around ours.''

I'm looking for another answer than 'Oh, my brother is in prison' when one of his old friends calls him and he excuses himself.

Saved by the bell.

                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eric walks me to my house and while getting my keys out, I realize some more of his company wouldn't hurt. He has a nice energy. ,,Do you wanna come in? We can watch a movie and order some food?'' I ask, hoping it isn't too much for a first hang out.

,,Sure, why not?'' he smiles.

   
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been an hour and we still can't decide on what to eat while a movie is already playing in the background. I go to the kitchen to make some more coffee for me and Eric, hoping that he will decide himself until I come back. While I wait for the coffee machine to start, I hear a knock on the door, followed by footsteps and a greeting between Eric and the person at the door.

I wait patiently for the person to leave, thinking that Eric finally decided what to order and the food got here. But after a few minutes of talking I hear my name and quickly run to the door, beside Eric.

,,Hello, Esma. For a second I thought I came to the wrong house.'' Theo gives me a smile.

,,What are you doing here?'' I snap. How does he have the audacity to come to my house.

,,No need to be rude, Esma. I feel like we ended our conversation on bad terms and I wanted to invite you to dinner.'' he says.

,,Wait, aren't you detective Matisse? I think I saw you on the news today talking about a case.'' Eric smiles, looking mighty excited.

,,Yes, that's me. You can come to dinner too, if you want to of course.'' Theo states, shaking Eric's hand. Eric shakes it back, all happy and jumping like a little kid. He must love true crime.

I try talking but Eric is already putting his shoes and coat on, both him and Theo looking at me. I decide to come too, for Eric's sake. And maybe I will recieve an apology from both the Matisse men tonight. Maybe.

I quickly go in to turn off the coffee machine and the TV, put on my jacket and head over to the house I tried avoiding for the past weeks.

____________________________________

I am so happy that everything is coming together, since this book was never planned out so I started coming up with ideas and new characters while writing it.
Happy new year and I hope you have a great day, week, month and year. Love you all and please leave a comment or vote!!🤍🤍