Paintbrush

↬sixteen.

  He warily walked into the drugstore, confused as to why there was a closed sign in front, yet the door was unlocked.

  Worry built up in his chest as he flipped on the light switch. "Noelle? Are you here?"

  It was quiet for a moment. Then, faint footsteps could be heard, and a door opened in the back. She appeared with a book in her hands.

  "Hey, Jack, " she gave him a weak smile.

  He furrowed his eyebrows, noticing the way her face looked puffy and her arms were crossed tightly. "Are you alright?"

  "Of course, " she said, a bit too quickly. "Sorry about the sign. We are closed, but I still wanted to see you."

  "Oh, you could go back home if you'd like. Get some rest."

  She shook her head vigorously. "No, I don't want to go home just yet. I like talking to you."

  "I like talking to you too, my little mermaid, " he smiled, reaching out and cupping her cheek.

  At first, she tensed. Then, her eyes met his, and she instantly melted to his touch.

  "Let's go to the back, " she murmured, and he nodded. Following her to the large room with boxes of extra items, he watched how she sat down on a metal chair.

  He wanted to get to know her, her story, more than anything. She was a private person, but he wanted her to open up to him. 

  He decided to do it first. "Hey, Noelle, I've never actually told you much about myself. Stuff that you can't just know from talking to me."

  "True, but you don't have to. I don't mind."

  "I want to, " he assured her before continuing. "Well, for starters, I'm an orphan. Both of my parents died before I was two years old. I was in foster care for about six years until I was adopted by a nice couple. I didn't have any problems with them, but I can never see them as my parents."

"My entire life I searched for the cause of the death of my biological parents, and who the rest of my family were. I never found the answer to either question. It took me years to come to peace with it, and if I'm being honest, part of me still hasn't, " he finished.

As he spoke, his eyes wandered off to a distant place until they returned to her. She wore a soft expression, one that was truly heartfelt.

  "Thank you for telling me, Jack. I always knew your journey, your story, had to be difficult for you to end up here with me in a drugstore, " she smiled; he chuckled.

  "I found this area when I was searching for potential places that I could've lived in with my parents. I was hoping something would jog my memory, but I was only two at the time."

Her hand found his, and she spoke in the most tender way that had him falling. "It's okay. Maybe you'll never find out what happened, or maybe you will. But I know you're strong enough to wait, or put it to rest."

"Thank you, little mermaid, " he whispered. For a moment, he felt that she would say something.

  Her eyes trailed down to her book, thinking. He was patient with her as he drew circles on her thumb.

  "Jack."

  He locked eyes with her. "Hey."

  "My family isn't so great." There was an ache to her voice, one that seemed to have been hidden for a painfully long time.

"They—they hurt me, " she quavered, and he tightened his grip on her hands. "They still do."

  He slowly pulled himself closer to her. "Noelle, Noelle. How do they hurt you?"

  "My mom left us a couple of years back. My father and my brother blame me, because I'm a horrible daughter. I'm too much work, too much money. I wanted to go to a nice college, but they didn't let me."

"Do they...hit you?" he asked, fear laced in his voice.

"No, " she shook her head. "But their words damage me more than a punch ever could. The lack of love in my family made me realize that I have no value."

Her eyes, icy and fierce, made his heart drop to his stomach. "I hate myself, Jack. And you, always so caring, confuse me. Because there's a part of me that wants to be happy again, but I know I don't deserve it."

She didn't cry, she didn't shout. She held it in, almost like a volcano.

A volcano waiting to erupt.

A/N: this will continue in the next chapter, which is also coming soon.