Bloom (ARBAON #2)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Length: 3.7k (Heavy duty chapter)🙈
Chapter Song: Valentine (What's It Gonna Be) - Rina Sawayama

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Mechanically, I cleaned my brushes and left them to soak in a cleaning fluid before going to wash my hands. As annoyed as I was from my conversation with Mike I made sure to wash them well.

Then, I took a shower, washed my hair and got into bed. There were a couple messages from Mike that I ignored and a few from Ira that I replied to. I could totally do this falling in love with Ira thing. It would just take time, and I had to focus more on Ira than stupid Mike.

Despite that, I was feeling a little lonely. Lately, all Chrissa did was talk about Kevin, and Roe was six, she couldn't exactly inspire any intelligent conversation. So, I stared at my phone a little before calling Ky. He picked up as quickly as I expected him to.

"Why in the fuck are you calling past midnight, Derrick?" Ky's voice was strained and gruff and as annoyed as I expected it to sound. It was a good sound.

"Can we meet tomorrow at our usual time?" I asked quietly.

And just like that Ky was professional. As crass as he could be he knew how to be nice to me at the right moments and I always appreciated him for that. "Did something happen? Are you having any strange pains?"

"No, I just...need someone to talk to." I admitted.

"Oh," his voice softened, and he shuffled around. "That's okay, too."

"It's just—Mike's being stupid and I accused Ricky of cheating on him. And Ira is acting like I'm a criminal and Tommy thinks he can say whatever he wants and I'll just take it. And Roe is perfect, she's always perfect. She makes me hate children less. And I don't know—Everything is just not where I want it to be." And I felt like I'd never get to that place where I was completely satisfied with my life since I was constantly fucking things up.

Ky took a deep breath. "My brain is not awake enough to process this. We are going to attempt to unpack these things, tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Sure."

"Or, I can come over? If you feel that it's urgent I really don't mind, Derrick. Honestly."

"That would be nice." I nearly whispered because that's really what I wanted.

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When Ky arrived he came with a wrapped plate of cookies. They were lopsided and misshapen with heavy icing all over.

"My son is experimenting with baking and everything tastes pretty good but I'm worried about getting fat." Ky said as he clobbered into my apartment. He was dressed casually, in a form fitting red t-shirt and some fleece sweatpants. He was a lot taller than me, and having him stand by me made me feel towered over.

I snorted. "You have the kind of body that's used to seeing the inside of a gym. You, of all people, are not going to get fat."

Ky twisted every which way, scrutinizing his body, before patting his noticeably flat stomach. "Well..." Then he blinked. "Ah, well, never mind. Tell me about your day."

I ushered Ky into my living room and we made ourselves comfortable. He folded his long legs up on the couch, and huddled against a blanket. He was sitting across from me and it reminded me of our weekly sessions.

Sol sashayed into the living room, giving Ky a look before leaping elegantly onto the couch and curling up beside me.

Ky raised his eyebrows. "That cat is massive! What're you feeding her?"