Choking On Sapphires

22 You Should Be Glad You've Got A Man

You experienced a vast array of shifting emotions. When you thought you had one under control, here came another one rearing its ugly head. So you do what you always do when you have too many emotions. You paint.

Claire sits, laid back on your fainting couch eating an apple with noisy bites, she's looking at the painting you finished last night.

"I mean I like it," she says with a shrug, her foot pointing at the painting, pulling up the hem of her sock. "It's a bit..." she chuckles. "immature, sure but I get where you're coming from." she says, sitting up in the chair and yawning.

You'd been up all night, barricaded in your studio painting in anger. You'd broken two brushes already from pushing too hard as you worked out your emotions in the paint. Claire had come to have breakfast with you in your studio as an act of solidarity against Alfie. You both knew the silent treatment wasn't the way to actually fix anything. But damn did it feel good to be petty when you were mad. And if you tried to talk to him while still being in the middle of your feelings then you'd say something you'd regret because you like to go for the throat verbally in a knee-jerk reaction that can make you say things you can't take back. You did have a professional and personal relationship to take into account here. You also lived with the man so avoidance really was more trouble than it was worth.

"It is childish but I quite like how it turned out." you walk up to her, sipping your tea. You place your finger to the dark black background to check if it's dry. You frown and wipe the paint on your apron. "I mean portraying him as some mediocre cartoonish devil villain isn't the peak of creativity but I think red skin suits his eye color." you say with a snort of a laugh. You'd painted a portrait, a soft focus stereotypical devil Alfie. Red skin, pointy teeth, and tail, big huge sweeping horns, a grin full of bad intentions across his plush poisonous lips.

"You should give it to him as a present." she says with a sleepy smile, only half joking.

"Perhaps if we come out on the other side of this intact than perhaps I will." you say with a shrug and a sigh, looking away.

"You wouldn't give it as an insult?" she asks with her head tilted before she takes another bite.

"Christ no, I worked hard on that. He doesn't deserve it," you say straightening your posture. "Besides I think the bastard would probably like it." you say, a smile fighting it's way to your lips as you think about the laugh he'd let out if he saw the painting.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she says with a nod, eyebrows high. "How's your newest going?" she asks, standing and slowly moving towards the smaller canvas. "What are you doing here?" she asks, tilting her head as you stand next to her, arm to arm, as you crowd in front of the painting.

"After I painted my anger and it faded, I felt the shame kick in as usual and found myself exploring that deep running vein and found myself here," you say, your hand open and presenting the unfinished work.
"I can't tell what the fuck it is Gen," she says, laughing into her tea. You knock her with your elbow and cause her to spill her tea just slightly. "Oh fuck off now." she says with a laugh, leaning away to take a noisy sip.

"You're so rude," you say in a very amused voice because to anyone else this was a red and black mess currently. "It's his lips." you say in a frustrated way. Claire raises an eyebrow.

"Saucy choice. Interesting. Explain." she asks with a bowed head, putting her hand on your shoulder, her head on it, dragging out her words.

"Well ya know how he got all up in my bits after that knife and me being the untouched virgin I am," you don't plan to pause for your joke but Claire snorts in your face.