I Draw Too

Chapter Three: Late At Night

He was most artistic late at night,
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"Ivan, would you mind coming here for a moment?" Ivan tensed at the voice of his teacher calling out to him. Mrs. Kirkland was a kind woman, so he knew she wasn't going to yell at him. But, he had to interact with people. He turned, his textbook in hand as he slowly approached the front of her desk. She looked up from the paper she was writing on, folding it into a square.

"Did you, need something Mrs. Kirkland?" He questioned, staring down at her. She sighed, exhaling with puffed cheeks.

"Have a seat, please." She said, tapping the front of her desk. He nodded, pulling a chair from a nearby desk and placing it in front of her desk. Ivan sat down, cringing as the chair slid while he knelt down to set his book onto the floor.  "Okay, listen. I'd been wondering why you seemed so out of it, and then I was concerned when you left school for almost a week. It took a bit to get an explanation from Katyusha." She explained as she set her arms on her desk. He swallowed, staring over at her.

"Mrs. Kirkland, I can explain but-" he stopped, watching as she held up her hand.

"I won't force you to explain anything, Ivan. But I won't allow your sisters to go through what my family did when we lost Alfred. Madeline was more than upset when she had lost her older brother. And she's 16. I can't imagine how Natalya would handle such a thing. Now, I'm not mad at you, not at all. But you need help." She spoke, sighing once again after she had finished.

"What do you mean, help...?" He question softly, blond hair hanging in his face as he stared at her wavering violets. He'd almost forgotten about Alfred.

"You need to talk to people." Mrs. Kirkland said again, "Now, after Alfred's wish, my husband Arthur had started the group our son always needed." She added, handing the piece of paper to him. "They meet every Sunday and Saturday, sometimes we have dinner with one another on Wednesday. I hope to see you then."

Ivan nodded, taking the paper. He swallowed, looking up at her as she gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Kirkland."

She nodded, "It's alright. Go on, you need to get home. We don't need to make your family worry." She gestured to the door as she stood up. Ivan nodded, placing the chair back after he had grabbed his things. He yawned quietly, leaving the room as he pulled his phone from his back pocket. He unlocked it, going through the new messages.

Yao: 'I went by your classroom. She held you back? What for?'

He stopped, opening the door after adjusting the phone brightness. Ivan glanced up and back to his phone.

'She wants me to go to Arthur's support group. It was made in honor of Alfred.'

Yao: 'Are you going to go?'

'Probably. It seems like a good idea.

Yao: 'It does, but I don't think you need it.'

Ivan blinked in question, shrugging his shoulders before pocketing his phone and continuing his walk home. The world around him was oddly quiet for a Friday afternoon. Though Ivan didn't care about it too much, he still wondered. When it occurred to him why everyone wasn't there, he'd pondered how long he was actually kept after class. It couldn't have been that long, Mrs. Kirkland had hardly spoke to him. Yes, she did do most of the talking but it wasn't too much. He kept this mental debate going before deciding to just ignore it and continue his walk home.

When Ivan entered the house, he was immediately greeted by his youngest sister, the small child hugging onto his waist. He ruffled her hair, attempting to smile down at her. Natalya smiled brightly, blue eyes shining as she stared up at her brother with innocence. 'She doesn't understand.' Ivan said to himself. He said this often. She was clueless, and he wanted to keep it that way. Ivan may not have cared about himself anymore, but he did care about other people. He would do anything to save someone, even when be couldn't save himself. Maybe it was all the humanity he had left. Ninety-nine percent of him wanted to die, while the other one percent was what'd he miss. His sisters, his mother, Mrs. Kirkland, and now Yao. That one always got to him, never leaving him be. It hung above him like an umbrella, stopping the rain.

"How was school, Ivan?" Katyusha questioned, blonde hair framing her face as she stood in the kitchen doorway.

"It was... okay." He was unsure, actually. Whether to tell his sister about what Mrs. Kirkland had said to him, or to ignore it and blow it off. Why Yao would tell him he didn't need it, he still wondered. It buzzed around his mind, annoying him like mosquito would. 

"Okay? That's it?" She asked him, attempting to get even a bit more out of him. Ivan nodded, muttering a 'That's it.' before pulling the paper from his pocket. He unfolded it, scanning over the address and time before handing it to his sister. Katyusha's blue eyes skimmed the page.

"I got that from Mrs. Kirkland." He said as the Ukrainian looked up to him.

"She's the French teacher, right? Alfred's mother?" She asked, earning yet again, a nod from Ivan. She clicked her tongue, "Well, it's walking distance. You gonna need a ride or can you walk?"

"I can walk." Ivan said, checking the time on the clock hanging on the wall above the microwave. Katyusha let out a sound of agreement, leaving the room. Natalya followed her, the little white bow in her blonde hair bounced as she skipped. Ivan sighed, puffing his cheeks as he exhaled.

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Ivan unbuckled the seat belt, stepping outside of the car. He closed the door, backing away from the car. Natalya waved through the window as it slowly drove down the street. He turned, walking up the sidewalk to the house. He paused, staring at the cream color of the door before knocking gently. He took a step back, stuffing his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently. He turned, focusing his attention o the world around him. Children rode down the streets on their bikes, chattering and laughing as t.hey played. The sound of a door creaking open cut through his thoughts, turning his attention to a teenage girl as she stood in the doorway. Blonde pigtails hung past her shoulders with her bangs being held back and away from his eyes with red hair clips. 

"Hello Ivan. Welcome to our home."