The Artist

Chapter Eight

I get up extra early to make breakfast for Scott and I. I'm careful not to wake him as I sneak out of bed.

The kitchen tiles are freezing against the pads of my feet. I pull a frying pan out and place it on the hob. The pancake batter takes me minutes to whip up.

I decide to call my momma as I cook.

"Hi honey." She says. It's nice to hear her voice again.

"Hi momma." I sigh, pouring a thing layer of batter onto the pan.

"Is Scott there?"She asks.

"Yeah. He came last night, I'm just making breakfast for us now."

"Well aren't you the perfect little housewife!" She jokes but I can't bring myself to laugh, and the little laugh I let out is in no way convincing. "What's wrong?" Her intuition must tell her something's wrong. It'd be right. I feel incredibly guilty.

"I-" my sentence is cut off by Scott walking in. "Nothing. I gotta go." I say and hang up. "Morning." I smile at him. "I'm making breakfast."

"Morning and great. I'm starving." He sits down and begins to flick through the paper.

I hand him the plateful of pancakes and maple syrup and we tuck in, eating in silence as he reads the newspaper.

Once I'm finished, I leave him with the dishes and run off to get dressed. I put on my black a line skirt and white shirt. I feel like making more of an effort today. I straighten my hair. I don't usually wear I straight so it takes a while staring in the mirror to get used to it.

I look at the tube of red lipstick on my dresser... should I? Is it too much. I remember Perrie was wearing pink lipstick the other day. It looked so good on her. I'm gonna try it.

I run the red lipstick over my lips. It really works with my skin tone and complexion. I grab my bag and my phone.

"I gotta go to work. I left you a key on the table so you can come and go as you please. I'll be back at three." I smile, kissing him swiftly on the cheek.

"Ok- wow, you look nice." He says. Oh so now he looks up from the newspaper.

"Thanks!" I call, exiting the apartment. I look down to Harrys before shaking my head and running down the stairs.

As soon as I walk into the gallery, I run into someone.

"Oh hello Ellen!" Perrie smiles. "Wow, you look hot!"

"Hi Perrie. Thank you!" I blush, continuing my journey to Harrys studio. This gallery is very well thought out. Every artist here has their own studio, and then all the finished products are either displayed here or sold at an auction by the benefactor. Clever.

I walk in and sit down straight away. To my surprise, the studio is empty.

I'm just settling in when the door swings open and Harry who's closely followed by Zayn, walk in.

"Hi Ellen." Zayn smiles. I return the smile along with a little wave.

The pair stand in front of a canvas I'm assuming Harry is working on. "See what I mean." Harry mutters and points to it. I try to a mee what he means, but I simply can't from my seat behind the desk.

"You could try..." I hear a few words of their conversation. Harry doesn't seem to like Zayns idea.

"I can't blot it out it'll ruin it even more." Harry sighs.

I breathe out before standing up and walking over to them. I immediately see Harry's problem the moment I clap eyes on the artwork. A big ass coffee stain.