Chasing the Sun (COMPLETE)

chapter eight

Indigo

I was practically sprinting to the shop, trying my best not to drop all of my things while doing so. Much to my distress, I had forgotten to set my alarm this morning, waking up with only ten minutes to get dressed and to the shop. I probably got dressed, brushed my teeth and hair, and ran out the door in record timing. I was out of breath as I reached the steps and opened the door.

"You must be Indigo?" I jumped, not expecting to see a stunning brunette before me as soon I as walked in the door. I narrowed my eyes at her as Harry walked out of his office, looking just as startled to see me as I was to see the girl before me.

"Did you sprint here, Blue? You're drenched." I narrowed my eyes at him, still too out of breath to say anything. A smile played on his lips but disappeared as the brunette turned to look at him.

"Didnt set my alarm." Was all I managed to get out as I set my stuff on the chair next to me.

"Aw you poor thing. And you didn't have time to change out of your pajamas either?" I gave her a funny look as I looked down at my leggings and t-shirt, knowing full and well I didn't sleep in this. When I looked back up, her lips were smashed against Harry, the insult now making complete sense.

"You must be Kennedy." She broke the kiss, giving me the fakest smile I'd ever seen and batting her eyelashes as she nodded. I looked to Harry, finding his expression almost unreadable, "Anyways, I'm going downstairs to work on a few things for a couple of clients. If you'll excuse me." I grabbed my things and quickly rushed down the stairs, landing on the bottom step with a huff.

     I don't know why I suddenly felt disgusted. Kennedy was beautiful, but of course she was, she was a model. I knew that Josie was a rare breed as most models were exactly like Kennedy; bitchy but beautiful. I sighed, trying to shake the feeling off and get a few sketches done.

     "You didn't have to be so rude," I heard Harry snap, my eyes shooting to the door that I forgot to close. Shit, I didn't need them thinking I was eavesdropping. I made crept over to the door, doing my best to shut it quietly.

     "So what? You like her now? She's not even a model, Harry! And did you see what she was wearing? Disgusting." I rolled my eyes, shutting the door with a little more force than intended. I walked back to the couch, placing my headphones in my ears, and getting back to my sketches.

     Am I surprised with what Kennedy had to say about me? No. Did it hurt? Not really. I knew I wasn't a model so that statement didn't break my heart. I just didn't appreciate people being rude for absolutely no reason. I could see now why Josie wasn't a fan of her either.

     I checked my phone, knowing we opened in an hour and I'd have to be back upstairs shortly. I could only hope that Kennedy would be long gone by then. I groaned, reaching in my bag for my phone to message Josie about having the pleasure of meeting Kennedy.

     "Blue!" I jumped, startled for the second time today, making me drop my notebook. I pulled one of my headphones out, looking up to meet Harry's dark green eyes.

     "Yeah?" I scrambled to pick my things up and turn off my music. I didn't mean to sound angry but that's how it came out.

     "I don't know what you heard but Kennedy didn't mean what she-"

     "Don't worry about it. I didn't hear a thing." I gave him a fake smile, "We're opening soon so I'm gunna head back up there." I got up, trying to brush past him but feeling his hand on my bicep, sending shivers up my spine. I met his eyes once more. He looked as if he was defeated, dark circles around his tired eyes.

     "Blue, are you-"

     "Harry, I'm fine. Everything's great." He dropped his arm at this and I took the opportunity to head back upstairs and to my station. I was relieved to find out that Kennedy had left, the tense feeling in the room gone with her.

     Harry had come up only a few minutes before we opened, never once looking at me. There were plenty of walk ins today, most of them wanting small tattoos and others looking at some of the designs I'd already drawn. Things started dying down around three and I worked on getting my station cleaned up.

     "It's Blue, right?" I looked over to see Brandon, one of the other tattoo artists that worked at the shop. We'd briefly met last week when I had been introduced to the team. Brandon had jet black hair and gorgeous hazel eyes. He was tanned and toned, just as Harry was, with tattoos covering a majority of his arms.

     "Indigo, actually. Harry just kind of called me Blue and apparently it's stuck." I laughed awkwardly, earning a smile from Brandon.

     "Indigo, that's an interesting name. I just wanted to say nice work on that last piece, it was sick." I smiled, thanking him for his compliment before turning back to my work, "Are you from around here?"

     "No, I'm just staying with a friend for the summer." I answered, not minding his company but still in a sour mood from the events that occurred earlier. Brandon nodded, moving over to sit on the stool in my station. I leaned back against the counter, cleaning off a few things.

     "Oh cool. How'd you meet Harry?" I looked over to Harry, finding him already looking at me with a deep frown on his face.

     "He's friends with my best friend." I shrugged, turning my attention back to Brandon.

     "Ah, that makes more sense. Harry doesn't really have a lot of girls who are friends. He actually turns away every girl who comes in here looking for a job so I was really surprised when he hired you. Have you met Kennedy?" I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

     "Sadly, I met her this morning. She's uh-"

     "Like the devil in a really hot body?" I laughed at this, completely agreeing, "She makes him miserable you know. I wish he'd just end things with her. He was a totally different person before her." I looked back to Harry who was now helping out a customer, a look of seriousness on his hardened features. I wondered just who Harry was before he entered a toxic relationship.

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toxic relationships are the worst