Graffiti Hearts

13.

Nick collapsed on the couch, panting. George was at work and assigned him to clean the whole apartment while he was away. The place was practically spotless. How could he refuse when he was the one who was taking refuge in his home?

He lazily grabbed his phone from his pocket while humming along to the music that he was playing on the speaker. As he was searching for George's contact, he stumbled upon the many messages from Luke and Dream. They even made a group chat to try and coax Nick into speaking. His hand froze mid-scroll.

Nick wanted to talk to them, he really did. His thumb hesitated over their messages, considering typing something back to let them know he was fine. He hadn't talked to either of them since the incident. For the past couple of days of him staying at George's apartment, he'd been getting nonstop messages from both Luke and Dream. They kept asking where he was, how he was doing, if they could talk, and whatnot. Nick has been ignoring them both.

He was surprised that George hadn't notified them where he was yet. His guess was that George understood the meaning of personal space. Nick was extremely grateful for that.

Even though it had been days since the incident, Nick's mind couldn't help but wander back into the haunting scene. His bloody hands, Luke being Punz, Dream's face, and them holding each other in pure fear and horror of what they'd witnessed in the raven. Nick wondered if Dream knew this whole time. Luke and Dream had been friends for months.

He sighed, laying his head against the couch. He could feel the midst of a headache developing. He quickly texted George his finished tasks, shut off the music, then put down the phone.

He closed his eyes, breathing in the lingering scent of the candles that were placed everywhere in the apartment. His headache slowly diminished, leaving only a mild presence. He slowly opened his eyes again, only looking at the ceiling. His thoughts circled.

He regretted everything. His anger took the best of him, and he lashed. He hurt the two people he loved the most.

He could still hear the cracks from when he slammed Luke into the wall and when he collided his head with Dream's nose.

What was he thinking?

His chest tightened with pain, and his throat felt full. Tears slipped out of his eyes again. He cried silently, curling into a defensive ball on the couch. His physical and mental exhaustion brought him into silence as his tears dried on his pale cheeks.

Ever since he'd been living in George's house, he'd been unable to sleep well due to his restless thoughts. Because of this, he'd was always sluggish.

He heard the door being unlocked, and he wiped his tears with his sleeve quickly. He sniffled, his chest still hurting.

George entered the apartment, taking off his shoes with carelessness. He had a blank face, a usual expression when he came from work. However, when he saw Nick, his eyes brightened with a matching smile on his face. "Hi Nick," George chimed. He placed his backpack down on the floor, approaching the raven. "Are you doing alright?"

Nick nodded, a smile easing onto his face at the sudden, yet welcoming company. George flopped next to him, on the couch, groaning. The brunette rubbed his temples, chuckling tiredly. "What's wrong?" Nick asked.

"There were a lot of customers today, surprisingly. Normally that would be fine with me, but we have a staff shortage at the moment. I had to do a lot. Stocking, cashier, helping customers with a fake smile. Basically, I had to manage a lot of jobs today." George continued to ramble about his work to Nick. He merely listened, laughing about some things that George cussed about.

From what Nick saw in George, it was like a break from solitude. All he knew was that George was alone most of the time. Even on holidays, Nick would see him working in the store, a blank, yet gloomy look on his face. Despite Nick only staying to get away from Luke and Dream, he hoped that he was making George's days a little less lonelier.