Running In Circles || Nicholas Ruffilo

eighteen

Cassidy

We had to be more careful or define the relationship. Either way, I needed to not be at Nick's too much until we decided what was next.

I really, really like him. He's thoughtful and makes me feel safe and respected. I would dare to say that I might... yunno. But that might be too soon.

I stood in front of the shop, tray of coffees in hand, but couldn't get my feet to move. I don't know how long I stood there before Davis finally popped outside, a sad look on his face. He wordlessly takes the coffees out of my hand and as a breeze hits me, I realize that I had been crying without realizing it.

"Hey, if you're not ready..." he trailed off.

I shook my head, wiping the tears off of my face. "I can't keep running," I breathed out, but it just made the tears worse. I was now sobbing; Davis just puts the coffees down on the bench in front of the shop and pulls me into his chest. It's not like how Nicholas does; it's like the comfort of a sibling. He rocks us back and forth, as though I was something so small that needed that to be soothed.

I hated feeling this small.

I heard the shop door open again and two sets of feet coming towards us, closing us into a group hug quickly. I chuckled aimlessly, and Nicholas was in my eye sight when I dared to look up. His eyes were pleading, kicking himself for not being able to comfort me right now. My cries slowed and I took some deep breaths, making all of them back away to give me space.

Davis wipes my cheeks with a rough pressure, definitely nothing romantic. "I hate to brag, but the shop looks so sick," he says with a chuckle.

"Show me," I say, extending my hand to let him drag me through it. Nick grabs the coffees and follows with Vincent in tow.

I had to stop for a second and make sure that I was in the right place because it looks completely different. Where the walls all used to be a tacky blue color, they were now all black. There were new display cases with different flash sheets in there, one being my own. There were vintage paintings and huge plants in the corners of the waiting area and these beautiful burnt orange vintage couches. We also had brand new benches at our stations; thank God, the old ones were falling apart.

"Jesus," I breathed out, an excited chuckle leaving me.

"It's everything I've been wanting to do for a long time," he admits.

"Well, you crushed it," I reassured him, which he just smiled back at me. "Anything on the books today?"

"Not for you, but walk ins are always possible," he says. I nod and grab my coffee before going to my station. I decided I wanted to make more flash sheets to land in that case, so I start to brainstorm some ideas on a notepad.

"Hey," Vincent says carefully from behind me, making me twirl around to face him. "I'm really sorry for everything that happened. I wanted to give you space to heal and process, but I'm always here if you want to talk about it or not talk about it over some beers," he semi-joked, making me smile. "I do have a client today, but if you want to stay in your bubble, I understand."

"I appreciate it. I want to just draw today," I say honestly.

"I totally get it. I do have a super sick piece scheduled for tomorrow, so I definitely want you to shadow for that," he says, probably to help push me back into routine.

"I'll be there," I reassure him before he goes back to his station.

I waffled around with a bunch of different concepts before landing on doing a bunch of American traditional love themed ideas such as hearts, a Sailor Jerry type of couple, a cherub... stuff like that. It allowed me a lot of time to think.