burning g.d

3

"you ready?" my mom smiles from the island.

"yep. let me grab a snack and we can go."

"hey sol!" richard fakes a toothy grin as he enters the kitchen with a glass in his hand. i ignore him, reaching into the pantry to grab a granola bar.

"how was your day, kiddo?" he tries again.

"fine. don't call me 'kiddo' please."

"be nice." my mom chimes in, turning from the counter.

"sorry, it's just hard for me to be nice to people i hate." i bring my shoulders up in a sarcastic shrug and fake a smile, briskly walking out the front door and getting into our car.

-

the car ride to the gallery consisted of mostly my mom getting on my ass about being rude and richard trying to be nice. i would mumble a few words here and there before just keeping my mouth shut altogether. it's what i've been taught to do. never speak with your mouth full, even if the words are overflowing. because my mind has always been full of forming sentences and growing ideas, i've quit speaking any of them at all. it's just not 'ladylike'.

as we pull up the the gallery a familiar face catches my eye.

"wesley!" i shout, hopping out of the car and jogging up to his figure.

"hey sol! haven't seen you in forever." he jokes, pulling me into a side hug.

"good to see someone who can actually make me laugh."

"awe, good to see you too. even though we literally met a few hours ago." he chuckles.

"well, you want to go see some art?"

"yeah in a minute. i'm just waiting for grayson, he's visiting his brother." his eyes stay trained on the parking lot and i nod, looking around at the wandering people.

"where does his brother live?"

"no he doesn't-"

"wes!" a deep voice interrupts us and our heads snap to the sound.

"grayson." i smile at his soft features as he makes his way through the groups of elders.

"hey sol." his hand reaches out to mine, bringing me forward and pulling me into a hug.

"good to see you again." my warm breath hits his chest.

"good to see you too."

"so, let's go see that art yeah?" wesley chimes in as i pull away.

"let's go."

-

the gallery's halls fill with mostly middle aged couples and older people as we walk through the endless walls of paintings and sketches. of course there are hardly any teenagers, if any, because the adolescent have lost interest in anything more important than kylie jenner and victoria's secret. grayson, wesley and i are the only people younger than 20 gazing at the colorful canvases.

"i mean, these artists are talented but they're all the same really." i shrug, strolling alongside grayson.

"that's why we just need to get to the back." wesley says with a smirk.

we continue to the end of the hall and turn left, coming face to face with the beautiful wire sculptures by g. the skeleton with a large dog brings flashbacks of my nightmare to my mind.

"that's so weird. i had a dream about this one." i point at it, staring into the large hollows where the eyes were supposed to be.

"what kind of dream?" grayson's arm brushes mine when he stands beside me.

"he was playing the trumpet but the sounds... and the dogs bark..." i trail off, recalling the terrifying noises emerging from the dogs wide jaw.

"creepy." wes states bluntly.

"yeah.. come on, let's go see more." grayson gently tugs my arm to follow and i break gaze from the wire skeleton.

once we walk a bit more i snap out of my daze, checking out the darker art beyond the main halls.

"so gray, do you go to high school?"

"i'm an online student." he replies.

"that sounds so much better than public."

"it's okay. it's nice to be able to get away from everybody but sometimes it's hard being alone. it used to be better with ethan."

i'm about to speak when wesley shakes his head from behind grayson, urging me not to ask about him.

"yeah." is all i can manage to say. we walk in silence for a bit, slightly tense. wesley and i too afraid to interrupt the quiet.

"sol?" my mothers voice calls for me and i spin around. she stands with furrowed brows at an extremely basic painting of the ocean. exactly her style.

"what?"

"we were wondering where you went." her thin lips spread into a pursed smile.

"i'm just with grayson and wesley." i gesture to them and they both awkwardly smile and wave.

"oh. well we're leaving in a bit so if you want a ride home you better stay with us." she looks at wesleys tattoos and makes a face, she looks as if he's some dirty rat that crawled out of her toilet.

"i'm gonna stay with my friends for a bit, i'll uber home." i give her an equally nasty expression.

"i suggest you come with us." she raises a harshly plucked brow and i frown.

"i'm gonna stay longer, mom."

"sol. don't back talk. you're making a scene."

"i'm making a scene? okay mom, i'll see you later." i wave sarcastically and pull gray and wesley along, leaving her behind even when she's shouting my name.

"sorry about her. she thinks she controls my life. i mean, i'm eighteen and she moved me again when i'm so close to graduating. i love her and all but sometimes she just drives me nuts."

"i get it. moms can be annoying." grayson laughs, casually snaking his arm around my waist. heat rises to my cheeks and i nervously laugh as well. something about his touch gives me butterflies.

and flashbacks.