Winter girlfriend. h.s.

Part Eight

h.s.

I scrub the towel over my head trying to dry it. I comb out the knots, I shake my hair like my usual shake and place with my hands and I walk out to my closet. I take some jeans, a shirt a jacket and socks. I put on my underwear and pants feeling weird, I needed to put on a shirt. After dressing completely I put on the boots and walk out of my room and heading toward the door in front of me. I knock on the wood hearing after a faint "In a moment." I say nothing and walk to my desk sitting; I open a drawer and take out a small leather bonded notebook which contain so many memories so many feelings so many secrets. My hands caress the cover of it. The texture of it took me back to great nights of constant writing and some harder ones filled with tears and sadness, now all I'm filled with is greed, emptiness and coldness. I've become a façade of hopeless dreams and stupid jokes. There are no truths, or logic, of any feeling left inside. No fire, no life, broken hearted, scared and empty.

I'm jump out of my trance when I feel a hand touch my shoulder. "Harry, are you okay? I've been calling you and you didn't move at all." I look at her dark eyes and nod. "Yes, sorry. Are you ready?" I ask putting away the notebook and closing the drawer. She nods and walk towards the door. I walk to the small table by the door and take the keys of the apartment, open the door and close after me. We walk silently towards the elevator. Our steps make the usual sound against the marble I wait for the elevator after she pressed the button. The doors opened and we head in and waited until the elevator got into ground level; opening the crystal door for her to walk out me after her I realize that winter was upon us. The cold air rushed trough every thread of my clothe and into my skin and bones. I shiver at the dropping temperature and realize so is She. We continue our walk towards my car. I open the door for her and she gravely enter the car, I close her door and walk around the car getting in myself. I turn on the car and put the heat as fast as I could. "Thanks." She says.

"No need to, anything that you need I'm here and the house work might be divided but a lady should always be treated like one. And there's no other way around it, I hope that's not a problem." She nods and looks away. I don't get a chance to see her face, but I believe she agrees with my rules. "I don't know why but I think we agree on many things." I say breaking the silence. "Besides that you have your ways and I can clean and cook?" She asks. "Yeah, that and that you agree with me and my bad color choice for the guest room."

"And my heavy flip flops." She says making me laugh for the first time in a long time. Her giggle caught me off guard and I had to look at her. Her eyes shrink and her smile was really cute. I look back towards the road and ask her "Tell me something your profile don't say about you 4645235." A moment passed and I say "Don't have to, but it will help me understand your ways and thoughts." For a moment she hesitated but sighted and started saying "Well- well I'm only child, I think. I hated high school and I'm probably not as social as I wish I were. I write, that's my passion, I hope one day someone will agree with my thoughts." I nod at her words. "You should let me read your works." I suggest. "In time, maybe; when I trust you." She says shyly. "Fair." She when's silent I don't know what's on the thoughts and that intrigues me. "I can't read minds; you'll need to tell me what's going through your head."

"Oh, sorry. I told you I wasn't very social." she says a tad timid. "That's your first step. Talk it out; little by little. Okay?" I ask looking at her. She nods and responds "Okay, I'll try." Silence fall upon the car ride until we park close to a hardwood store. "I've been here before, people will recognize me but they won't freak out. Okay?" I tell her she nods and I turn off the engine. I open my door and get out. I walk around the car and open the door for her. She steps out nods in appreciation and walks ahead trough the cold. Once we enter the store the smell of wood brings me back home. A small grin grows in my smile and before I know it I take her hand in mine walking towards the paint section of the store. "What colors you had in mind?" I ask her and she walk to the different color cards choosing random colors and then taking my hand guiding me to the counter and before me she displayed the colors options she had. All different and yet pleasing to the eye. "I was thinking that since your whole apartment is this light shade of gray and cream and the kitchen is a dark blue and cream pattern and I'm guessing your room is gray and blue you could use a light gray with the dark blue of the kitchen, a light blue with the dark gray or you could bring a new color a down grayish green with the cream." She talked to me so fast I almost didn't recognize her. "I like how you think; you're unique. I think I'll go with the green and cream, it's more you and it will be after all your room." She nodded with a soft smile playing on her lips. She took the other color cards and put them back where they belonged. When she walked back Tommy came to me asked me how I was doing. I told him I was okay and that I was pleasing my 'girlfriend' into putting a new color on my walls. "That's awesome man!" He said before he looked beside me at her. "Hello, I'm Tommy." He said stretching his hand for her to shake. "Beth." She simply said with a kind look in her eyes shaking his hand firmly. Her movements make me wonder about the contrast within herself.

"So what colors are you convincing Harry here to paint his apartment, that's an achievement in life I must say." Tommy asks. "It will be the grayish green and the pale cream over here." She say handing him the correct color cards. He nods and walks away. "Life achievement?" She looks at me questionably. "I might be a little controlling and it must be the same color pallet thing." "Then you must really like me." She said playfully. "Mhm." I say winking at her. She giggled and slapped softly by arm. "Stop that, you're an strange man sir."

"Sure I am, but you're living with me now." I say in a deeper voice that I intended. Her scared eyes when from been terrified to analyzing what I said and relaxing afterwards.

Tommy came back with the gallons of paint. "You remember where are the brushes and the rolls?" I nod and take the gallons with me. "Thank you." She says to him "No need to, have a great day." He responds. I walk with her by my side to the corridor with all the brushes. For some reason I can't explain she gasped and walked throughout the whole corridor admiring the brushes one by one. I place the gallons of paint on the floor out of the way so that people could walk and I leaned on a platform and looked at her. Studied her. I'm guessing that choosing her above the others will take me on a path in life that I never though I could live within the life I have.

_______________________

Hello,

I hate to do this, but I'll be quick. I'll dedicate this chapter to everyone who reads this fanfic. And I want to dedicated to Michael Clifford because I know he would never read this and he didn't see me back in Miami, I saw him 5 feet away and that gave me enough strength.

Love,

Cici