The City Of Misfits

11

Colton went over to the bed. Bending down, he pulled out a small stack of three or four black sketch books. He handed them to me and I took them while going to sit on his bed. Colton grabbed extra blankets and pillows then started to make the bed on the now inflated air mattress.

Taking hold of the first sketch book that was on the top of the stack, I flipped through it. It was realistic drawings of faces and each one had a different expression. It was incredible. In one of the pictures, I could tell it was a drawing of his mom.

I hadn't realized that Colton had come sat down on the bed next to me until he looked over at the pages with me. For the next couple of minutes, I awed at his drawings. All the drawings looked so real. It amazed me that he drew them. All the small details and the shading of the faces must have taken a long time. We flipped through the other books and I recognized more drawing of his brother and his mother.

"These are amazing, why did you stop?" I finally asked as we finished going through the last book.

He shrugged his shoulders and stood up taking the sketch books from me then put them back under the bed. "I don't know, it's just that there are a billion other artists out there. They could easily draw the same things that I can," he explained, "so there is no point."

I rolled my eyes, "Artist's don't create just to say that they did, most the times they create something to tell a story or a feeling that they can't explain."

Colton laughed, "When did you become such a philosopher?" A smile grew on my face. Colton had a contagious laugh.

A knock sounded at the bedroom door, "Come in," Colton said.

Weston's head popped in a moment later, "Can you guys stop giggling like a bunch of school girls? Unlike you, some of us are trying to sleep."

"Sorry," Colton and I said in unison.

"We were just about to go to sleep," Colton assured his brother. Weston sighed and then closed the bed room door softly. Colton turned to me, "I guess we better get to sleep."

"Yup," I agreed as I crawled off his bed and then onto the air mattress. "Good night."

"Night," he responded as he turned the bedroom light and television off. The only light left in the room was the soft glow of the moon light from the window and the city lights from below.

Surprisingly, as soon as I laid down I wasn't at all tired. I could hear the small clicking of the hands on a clock moving slowly. I must have been laying down for more than thirty minutes when I heard Colton shuffle around in his bed. "Brynn, you awake?"

"Yeah, I can't really sleep."

There was a moment where Colton didn't say anything, but I could hear him looking for something. Seconds later, the lamp next to his bed turned on lighting up the bed room. "Do you want to see something cool?"

~

Moments later we were climbing out his window onto the fire escape. The city was awake with lights and the stars were blinking above us. It was quite a beautiful sight. I followed behind Colton as he climbed the fire escape stairs. We tried to walk as quietly as possible because every time we would step, the stairs would clank beneath us.

Once we reached the top floor of the fire escape, he put his foot up on the railing and hoisted himself up and onto the roof. "Come on, Brynn, just don't look down."

"If I die, my blood is on your hands," I whispered.

"I do this all the time, you won't die," Colton assured me. He reached his hand down to help me up. I sighed in relief when I finally stable on the roof of the apartment. We sat on the ledge and looked out over the outskirts of the city.

"It's peaceful," I said as I shuffled closer to Colton.

"Sometimes, you just need to be alone and get away from everything," Colton was looking up at the stars.

"Look who the philosopher is now," I joked.

The warm summer air surrounded us and gave me a sense of relaxation. It made me forget about the events earlier this day and I was glad I didn't have to remember. Silence surrounded us as well as the darkness of the night.

Colton scouted closer to me until our shoulders were touching, "I used to do my homework out here."

I gave a small laugh, "I would too, and it's a good spot."

There were sirens in the distance and I could hear the cars passing below. It was a perfect spot to sit and think. If I lived here, I would be up on this roof every day.

"I can't wait until we graduate," He finally said.

"Me too, I'm so sick of this place and the people." And I really was.

"So you're going to leave after graduation?" he said as I looked down into my hands that were now in my lap.

"I don't know where I'll go but I know that anywhere is better than here."

His head turned to me and our eyes met. In the dim moonlight, I could still see the dark speckles in his light brown eyes.

I gave him a small smile and broke the eye contacted. Standing up I said, "We should go back."

"Yeah," he agreed and then he climbed back onto the fire escape. Shimmying ourselves through his open window, we crawled into our beds and fell asleep.