The Girl Who Made Life Worth Living

Chapter 4: Green, Yellow, & Brown

Finn and Nora spent a few more hours together, watching TV and her drawing. He saw the time was approaching 5pm.

"My mom's gonna be getting off work soon, you should go home," he said gently. "Will you tell me where you live this time?"

"Lelia Street, if you know where that is." At Finn's unsure face she added, swooshing her arm, "Like 6 blocks down that way."

"I can walk you then."

"Okay," she lightly smiled back as she stood up.

They walked down the main road together until turning on to Lelia Street. It was an average-looking neighborhood, so the neglected house they stopped at stood out. The paint was peeling off some of the trim and the sliding was defined by built-up dirt. The yard was buried in overgrown grass and weeds, leaving only a thin, twisting path to the front door. The carport next to the house looked even more run down, but a shiny, bright red Mercedes was parked in it. It looked so out of place; the only thing visibly cared for on the property.

Nora took a deep breath. "Thanks for walking me." Her smile looked pained.

"Of course," Finn responded. This felt weird. But he silently watched her go into the house anyway.

~~~

The next day was Monday; Finn's cleaning day. His mother and him shared the chores around the house. She was working again today, so he was left alone to do his thing.

He cleaned the bathroom mindlessly, replaying the memory of Nora on top of him, kissing him, grinding against him. It made him hard all over again. He started to blush at trying to imagine what her breasts looked like under his shirt. He felt dirty thinking about all of it. It was superficial; he didn't actually want her.

~~~

Finn was back at work.

"There's a girl waiting for you in the front," the manager notified him towards the end of his shift.

Shit. "Does she know I don't get off for another hour?" he asked.

The manager nodded before walking away.

This girl... He wanted to slam his head against the vent hood in front of him.

4:30pm came and Finn clocked out at a register. He saw Nora sitting in a window booth, drawing in her notebook, and walked up to her.

"Why're you waiting for me?" he asked coldly.

She looked up, her face subtly beaming at the sight of him. "I thought I'd walk with you."

"Why?"

"So you can get to know me better," she said as she packed her notebook away.

Finn sighed and headed for the door.

"Finn! Wait!"

He ignored her calls and stepped outside, starting down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. The sound of children screaming somewhere down the row of shops was poetic; a representation of how he felt right now. He'd hoped he was done with her.

Nora caught up with him. She was quick for how feeble she looked. "Just let me try!" she said between small huffs.

"I already told you no," he said without breaking his focus on the path in front of him. He could feel her eyes on him; probably looking adorably woeful. He wouldn't let her pull on his heartstrings.