The Painter & The Pianist

xiv.

 CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Books and papers were scattered all over the desk, and the pencils that were once all in a well-organized system were now a jumbled mess. Monserrat's hair was frayed and his mind fried. His hand held his sleeping head up, with his elbow propped on the desk.

"Mon?" Amadeus' call jolted Monserrat awake. He felt like a bear coming out of hibernation.

"What time is it?" Monserrat mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Eleven A.M.?"

"You let me sleep until eleven!" Monserrat's blue eyes widened to the maximum. He briskly made his way around the apartment. Like Wonder Woman, it seemed as if he got dressed in a few spins. He grabbed a cup of black coffee, not even stopping to put sugar in it.

In one chug, the coffee was gone and Monserrat opened the front door. "Mon! Wait." Amadeus' words stopped him, he pivoted around on his right foot with the frustrated look on his face. "What is it, Amadeus! I have to go, like, now!"

"It's Sunday...so, no classes."

It took a moment for Monserrat to process the information that was plopped on his lap. He then made his way over to the desk with slow, sloppy steps. He sat down and let out a sigh, and picked up his pencil. Once again, he began to study.

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to go do something fun? Go on a date, maybe? You've been studying nonstop and it's not healthy. You know what they say, 'All work and no play make-" Monserrat cut off Amadeus with a look of exhaustion and contempt. "I have work, maybe later."

In a last stitch effort to get his attention, he said something neither of them had said before, those three little words, "Please! Monserrat, I love you."

Monserrat's pencil froze. He turned to Amadeus, his eyes expectant on a response. Monserrat's mouth hung open in surprise and his heart skipped in his chest for a millisecond. "I-I...Thank you?"

It was like Monserrat had blown out the flame in Amadeus' eyes. They lowered to the ground, welled with tears. It was like something broke inside of him. Monserrat saw it shatter into pieces. Monserrat, tears in his own eyes, turned back to his desk, to his cold, calculated notes. He wanted to apologize, to say something, but there was a lump in his throat he couldn't seem to remove. His heart pounded in his ears, his stomach twisted and turned. He couldn't recognize the feeling, it was so bizarre.

Amadeus felt like he hit a dead stop when he was just going full speed. "I'm going to the bar," he said, as he swallowed the lump of hurt that rose from his chest. Monserrat thought about stopping him and had the words bubbled up in his throat, but he swallowed it down. The door opened and closed without an objection, without a reaction.

Amadeus looked at his usual bar, 'Sorry Kiley's Bar and Grill, I think I'll try something else tonight!' He thought to himself, as he made his way past the establishment. 'Til finally he read the sign Buck's Bar and for some reason, he took an interest in this bar in particular.

He smiled as he went through the double doors. He just wanted a few drinks, and maybe some human contact.

*

"Let's get Sushi!" Addison stuck her arm out in front of Monserrat who had been driving around for quite some time. "Addison...I told you I'm vegan!"

"Well, it's not really meat, it's fish. Oh, hey, look we could get KFC!"

"Now you're just messing with me."

"Okay, okay. Let's eat at that restaurant that serves brunch, you know?"