Run to You | Xu Minghao ; THE 8

XI

That caught me off guard, not because she found out about the paintings, but...well, you could say it was because of them. It's not as if I was mad at her for seeing them, but...I never showed my paintings to anyone. Hell, not even my mom or my brother, whom I was the closest to.

"I-I'm sorry, Hao. I'll just-" she muttered as she began picking up the supplies she had laid down on the carpet.

"It's fine." Her gaze snapped to mine quickly as she lifted her head to meet my eyes. There was a hint of guilt and fear in her eyes. I kneeled down next to her and put my hand on hers, which was gripping the canvas. "It's okay if you saw them, I'm not mad, so don't worry."

She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really. Hey, you want to paint together? Let's do it. It's been a while since I painted as well." I faked a smile as I tried to brighten up the mood.

Her mouth curved into a slight smile. "Okay, thank you."

"I'll just freshen up and get some things, okay?" She nodded and I went into my room, trying to control the shaking in my body as I closed the door behind me and opened my closet. I stared at the canvases which brought back tons of memories. Memories I wished would fade away.

Most of the paintings were mainly abstract art. A lot of them were dark. Some were filled with colour; splashes of reds, greens and yellows, and lots of shapes. Some even contained black outlines of people. Most were simple, like landscapes. Some were of people in various positions, and some were simply blank. Others were just simple sketches or portraits.

My breath hitched as I gazed at the next one. It would seem like a normal landscape painting to someone else, although in reality, it was one of the darkest paintings I had made.

The painting seemed calm, almost serene.

The woman had her hair tied back in a long braid and wore a flowy, yellow dress. One of her hands was holding a flower, and the other arm wrapped around two boys, one of whom was drawing a heart on the sand.

All three of them were laughing while admiring the sunset, as seagulls flew by.

My breath was getting shallower, and I felt dizzy.

"Minghao? Are you done?" A knock on the door was followed by a voice. I snapped out of my stupor and forced myself to stand up.

"Yeah, coming!"

I grabbed two easels from my closet and went outside.

"Are you okay? You look...a bit pale," Jia said, her voice laced with concern as she took the easel from my hands.

"Yes, I'm fine." I gave her a reassuring smile.

"But-"

"I want to paint, let's get started already," I cut her off as I set my easel and sat down, rummaging through the box of brushes.

"Okay..." she muttered, glancing at me before focusing back on the canvas in front of her.

The sun had set completely, and the only thing illuminating the lounge where we were sitting were the small lights that hung from the ceiling. The room was silent except for the sounds of us breathing and brushing. Neither of us said anything, just taking in the silence and enjoying it peacefully.

"You didn't notice anything in my paintings? I was expecting a ton of questions when you said you'd seen them," I spoke up, not breaking away from my painting. I heard Jia move and put down her brush. I glanced at her before continuing my work.

"Not at first, no. But...yes, I did have a lot of questions. I just...I don't know, I was a bit scared to ask. I didn't think you'd like hearing that I saw them."