One Time Only

Chapter 4

Louis grins as he leans back in the chairs he's sitting in, that's the first thing Harry sees when he turns around after locking the doors. "Dude, we have many more days like this you're gonna have hire more help. There's no way in hell we'll be able to give everyone here the tattoos they want." Louis laughs.

"I was thinking the same thing." Harry grins, handing Louis a beer. "But the thought of interviewing, making sure people know what to do, are up to our standards doesn't sound doesn't to fun right now." He sighs.

"Well, I guess we can wait a few days. See how things go. If it stays this busy we won't have a choice, if not then I guess we might be able to handle the flow." Louis says.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about hiring a girl to take calls, make appointments, things like that. I don't know, I guess we need to find a place to live first." Harry chuckles. "The hotel is nice but it's not a home."

"Speaking of, I saw in the paper this morning a condo up for sale. I meant to show it to you but we got to busy." Louis says. "It's not to far from here, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, they only want 2 million for it. I figure if we split the cost it'd be no big deal." Louis adds.

"It's no big deal even if we don't." Harry yawns. "Call, make an appointment for us to look at it. If one of decide later to move out we can buy the others half."

"Fine with me." Louis says. "I'll call in the morning, see if we can look at it before we opens up tomorrow."
........................

ONE MONTH LATER

Jerica sits beside her brother's bed, holding his hand. She knows he won't last much longer, she can tell by the way he's breathing.

"Jeri?" Timmy whispers.

"I'm here. Timmy I'd never leave you alone when you need me most." Jerica whispers, trying not to cry.

"Tell me about your last painting, please." Timmy whispers.

Jerica smiles as she runs her thumb over Timmy's knuckles. "It was of the ocean's waves, lots of blues and greens. Blue like your eyes, Bubby."

Timmy smiles softly. "Where did you get the green from?"

Jerica closes her eyes and remembers the tall guy from the coffee shop. "I don't know his name, but I ran into a guy the other day." She tells him. "He had the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen. When I got to my studio I just couldn't get out of my head how much the color would look so good mixed with the color of your eyes. Bubby, I just closed my eyes and started painting, when I opened them I even surprised myself with what I created." Jerica whispers. "It's truly amazing, the blend of colors, the texture, how the waves look. It turned out beautiful."

Timmy nods, gives his sister a smile. "That's the picture I want to take with me to heaven. Thank you, I love you sis." He says just as he takes his last breath.
.........................

One thing Harry loves about his place of business is not opening it up until noon, meaning he can sleep late if he wants, he thinks as he opens the door to what's becoming his and Louis' favorite coffee shop. 
"Go sit, I'll grab our drinks." Louis says.

Nodding, Harry heads toward the corner booth he and Louis usually sit at, when he sees the girl he saw the first time they came here sitting at a nearby table. She has her head down, but Harry could tell by the way her shoulders were moving she's silently crying. Being the gentleman he is, and not being able to sit by a see a woman cry, he walks over to see if she's okay. When he gets to where the girl is sitting, he squats down, lays his hand on her arm and whispers.
"Hey, you okay?"

Feeling the large, soft hand on her arm and the deep, foreign voice in her ear, Jerica raises her head to look into the green eyes she remembers so well. With a shake of her head, Jerica does something she's never done before, she places her forehead on this gorgeous stranger's shoulder and sobs. "My brother just died." She chokes out.

Harry is surprised by her actions, but the words coming from her next almost breaks his heart. "Oh, love, I'm so sorry." Harry whispers as he wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. "Was he ill?" He asks, barely noticing when Louis joins them.

Jerica nods, then shakes her head. "You may as well sit, it's a long story." She says, not understanding why she feels the need to tell this guy about her brother. Once Harry is sitting next to her, holding her hand, Jerica tell him and his friend about the drive by shooting, Timmy getting hit. Him being paralyzed and blind, the organ failure, her unable to paint until bumping into him the month before. She told him everything.

"Wait. What is your name?" Harry asks.

"Oh sorry. I'm Jerica Jones. I'm sorry I cried all over you like that." Jerica says.

"Wow, I finally found you." Harry whispers, confusing both her and Louis. "I'm Harry Styles and this is my best friend and business partner Louis Tomlinson. I saw one of your paintings a couple of months ago, I've been looking for you every since." He says.

"Wait. You're the guys that opened up the new tattoo shop?" Jerica asks, at their nods she continues. "Well, you should have looked next door, that's where my studio is. It's where I do all my paintings."

"No way. Have you ever thought about doing tattoos? With your talent you'd make millions." Harry says.

Jerica shakes her head. "I already do, the last painting I sold went for 13 million. But I'll think about it if you don't think you'll mind me hanging around your place."

"You're welcome to drop in at any time." Harry says.