Canvas & Crumbs

XXII

Shattered Reflections
t/w: profanities

North's POV

The walls of my studio are lined with unfinished canvases and scattered paint tubes, remnants of countless hours spent lost in my art. The studio feels like a cage today, trapping me in frustration and confusion. I can't shake the image of Aurelia from my mind, the way she's been avoiding me, the way her presence has been a painful reminder of everything that's gone wrong.

I pace back and forth, my hands clenched into fists. The more I think about how she's shutting me out, the more my anger builds. In a fit of rage, I start hurling things across the room—paintbrushes, tubes of paint, and sketches flying through the air. The sound of crashing objects echoes around me, each noise a release of my pent-up frustration.

The studio, once a place of creativity and calm, is now a c h a o t i c mess. The once neatly organized space is now littered with d e b r i s. I feel a twisted sense of relief in the destruction, a physical manifestation of the turmoil inside me.

The door to the studio creaks open, and Caroline steps inside, her eyes wide with shock as she takes in the scene. "North, what on earth is going on?" she asks, her voice a mix of concern and alarm.

I don't stop my rampage, even as she moves closer, trying to reach me through the chaos. "Just leave me alone, Caroline!" I yell, throwing a stack of canvases against the wall. "I need to figure things out. . . alone."

Caroline hesitates, clearly unsure of how to approach me. "North, this isn't going to help. You're making things worse. Please, just calm down."

Her words barely register as I continue to tear through the room. My anger is a storm, relentless and consuming. The frustration I feel over Aurelia's refusal to let me be part of her life, combined with the sense of helplessness, fuels my rage.

Caroline steps closer, placing a hand on my arm in an attempt to calm me. "North, stop this. You're destroying everything here. You need to take a step back."

I shake her off, my eyes blazing with intensity. "No! I'm done listening to everyone. I've tried to do what's right, but no one seems to care. I just need to be left alone!"

The tension in the room is palpable, and Caroline's attempts to calm me only seem to intensify my frustration. My vision blurs with anger, and I slam a heavy easel against the floor. The sound of splintering wood and shattered glass is almost satisfying, a stark contrast to the helplessness I feel inside.

Caroline's face shows a mix of hurt and frustration. "North, please. I care about you. Don't push me away."