Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Colin
22 Years Old
Scarlett had been right about Theo, for the most part. Non-verbal was his preferred form of communication, and Colin was happy to comply, leaning against the wall and waiting for a proper introduction. Occasionally Theo would make his way over to the supply station and point to a tube of paint he needed that was just out of reach, but for the most part, he didn’t speak or even acknowledge Colin’s presence. Colin didn’t mind the silence, too intrigued by the way Theo set out his colors in order of shade in the plastic tray on the little side table by his easel. Everything had its place, and even the brushes he used were perfectly separated with an inch of space between them, the handles arranged in a straight line. The orderly way he went about everything scratched an itch in Colin’s brain.
While Theo started in on the outer edge of his canvas, rocking back and forth yet making dots with such precision it was clear he had done this a thousand times before, Colin took a moment to observe the room. He hadn’t had a chance to focus on much, and he could finally take in the commotion of Scarlett’s class with Pepto curled up in his arms. She was soft, and the warmth under his hand coupled with the subtle vibration of her purring when he pet her made him think that he needed a cat of his own. That would undoubtedly make his already difficult apartment search even harder, though, so he discarded that idea quickly.
The plants scattered around Scarlett’s studio were the most surprising. Colin had seen pictures of the space on her social media before, and there had been a few plants in those, but the wide shot of the whole thing was a sight. Vines hung from hooks off the ceiling, and there were stands in every available space, with overgrown plants climbing up the walls. Scarlett had once told him that she always wanted to be a crazy plant lady but could never keep plants alive. She must have figured it out, though, because the plants in the room were thriving. He could almost imagine what this room would look like in the spring when flowers were in bloom—like Scarlett’s tattooed sleeve she had unveiled from her cardigan once the room had heated up enough.
In the front of the classroom, once the students, who were mostly middle school aged, were set up in front of their canvases, Scarlett began her lesson. Colin listened in while he surveyed all the various paintings Scarlett had hung up like a never-ending gallery wall, some of which he could tell were her own: watercolor pictures of buildings, a sunset, and his favorite one of all, the lookout up the Trenton Creek Pass. It was the place his parents had gotten engaged and the place his dad had taken him a thousand times growing up after he’d had a bad meltdown and needed a place to decompress for a few hours. There was something so calming about that spot. The harsh lights in the city weren’t as bad when he looked at it from a bird’s eye view. It was one of the locations that was listed on the sheet he had given to Theo’s foster mom, and he was secretly hoping Theo would choose that one off the list.
When the class ended and the chaos of pickups got a little too loud for Colin’s liking, he pulled his headphones from his tote bag and slid them over his ears. Theo, who he thought hadn’t paid him much attention, surprised him by turning toward him and pointing at Colin’s ears, then his own, a question written on his face that was so clear, Colin knew exactly what he was asking.
“I need them, too.” Colin pointed to himself and made an explosion motion with his hands near his ears in case Theo couldn’t hear him through his headphones. “It’s too loud.”
Theo bobbed his head and returned to his painting with no further communication. Colin smiled to himself, counting the interaction as a win. He would have put the headphones on a long time ago if he knew they would interest Theo, but he also enjoyed watching Scarlett’s lesson on color theory. Her voice was like a soothing balm, and he missed the long-winded stories she used to tell him.
“Why don’t you paint, too?” Theo’s voice was quiet, muffled by the headphones pressed to Colin’s ears, but he heard the small voice well enough. It was the first thing Theo had said all evening, so Colin figured the question must have been important enough for him to ask. That, and Theo had clicked the side button on the right of his headphones, which meant he could hear the response.
“I’m not very good, and I don’t like doing things I’m not good at,” Colin said. Theo nodded, taking his answer at face value. Colin pointed to the painting Theo was working on. “You’re very good. I own the DNA painting you made.”
“I like that one,” Theo stated.
“Me, too,” Colin agreed. Sensing that the conversation was over and not wanting to push too hard, Colin added, “I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to help Ms. Wallace clean up.” The button on the side of Theo’s headphones was pressed once more, and just as Colin had suspected, Theo seemed relieved by the silence. Colin wasn’t offended by it. People were tiring, and trying to keep up a conversation with someone he didn’t know had to be all the more exhausting for Theo.
“What did he say to you?” Scarlett asked eagerly when he approached her.
“He wanted to know why I was wearing these.” Colin lifted the headphones that were now resting around his neck. “I told him it was too loud, and then he asked why I wasn’t painting.”
“What’d you say?” Scarlett’s eyebrows rose.
“In layman’s terms: I suck at painting.” Scarlett laughed, covering her mouth with her hand, and Colin shrugged. “You know I do. You have all the artistic talent between the two of us.”
“Mmm.” She nodded. “And you have all the math and science knowledge.”
“Carter always says ‘different strokes for different folks,’ but it was usually to explain why he’d skip class in high school, and both my parents and Walker didn’t think that was very funny.”
“Makes sense.” She picked up some paintbrushes that had been left out by a student who hadn’t cleaned their station very well, and Colin took the cue to start wandering around to pick things up.
“You know a lot about the science of art, though. I didn’t know Issac Newton made the first color wheel,” Colin called out as he grabbed a spray bottle and a rag from the counter beside the metal sink in the corner of the room.
“I think you’re probably the only person who found that interesting,” Scarlett said. “The kids barely pay attention when I lecture them, and it usually ends up being a free-for-all, but I figure if one of them ever listens, it’s worth it.”
“Theo was listening.” Colin sprayed a spot on the ground that must have been the byproduct of a messy painter, and he started to scrub.
“He had his headphones on the whole time.” Scarlett scoffed.
“Yeah, but there are different settings on our headphones, and he clicked off noise cancellation during your lesson.” Colin had noticed it immediately because the button was located in the same spot as his.
Scarlett stalled at the sink, the water running over the brushes in her hands. “Oh… I didn’t know he did that.”
“Your lessons are worth listening to.”
“Thanks,” she murmured. “They’re a bit more put together than the rambling side note stories I used to annoy you with.”
Colin hummed and shook his head. “Did I make it seem like those stories ever annoyed me?”
“No, but I annoy myself sometimes.”
“I like your stories.” He stood up beside her untouched canvas at the front of the classroom. “What story is this one going to tell?” He had thought she was going to paint earlier, and he had been somewhat disappointed that he didn’t get to watch her do it. It had been forever since he’d seen her create anything.
“Something I’ve been putting off.” Scarlett walked over to the canvas and stared at the rich brown color she had washed over the whole thing.
“Why are you putting it off?” He was sure he seemed entirely too eager to get her to keep talking, but he couldn’t help himself. Every interaction with her left him wanting more, hoping maybe he might just be satisfied with one more story. One more moment with her to make up for all the ones that he had lost all those years ago.
“It’s a portrait of my brother for the foundation’s annual gala. It’ll be a silent auction item.”
“From experience, silent auctions are definitely the way to go. Definitely don’t do a live auction where you auction off a date with your aunt to the highest bidder,” Colin jested and added with an off-handed shrug, “in case that was ever on your radar.”
Scarlett barked out a laugh. “I still can’t believe you guys did that.”
“I do recall you telling us it was a bad idea. As usual, you were right.”
“Not always,” she said. “Were they mad when they found out that you snuck out the window that night?”
“Only a little mad.” He sighed. “Talia actually found it hilarious, which I think helped Walker be less pissed until your sister told him what happened after I snuck out.”
Scarlett winced. “Sorry. She really hates you. I’ll try to get her to stop holding a vendetta on my behalf.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Harper’s ire felt like his inner thoughts personified, the punishment he felt like he deserved. “She didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
“But she doesn’t need to stir things up,” Scarlett argued. “I was the reason you snuck out. I was the reason you broke that window. We were both young and stupid.”
Colin thought about it for a moment, then frowned. “Young and reckless, maybe, but I don’t think we were stupid. I don’t regret any of it. I’d endure the bad parts all over again for a chance to relive the good parts.”
Scarlett’s posture visibly stiffened beside him. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better, Colin. I’m over it. It was a long time ago.”
“I’m not telling you to make you feel better. I’m just stating a fact.” Before he turned loose every emotion he had in the last four years on an unsuspecting Scarlett, he took a few deep breaths and refocused his attention on the reason he was there to begin with. “I need to find a way to communicate to Theo that I want to take him to the lookout tomorrow. Can I take down your painting of it so I can show him? I’m more of a list person, but I think he’s more like you and will respond better with pictures.”
“You’re going to take him to the lookout?”
“It’s still my favorite spot in the city. I have no bad memories there.” The implication of his statement was that every second they had spent together there was a good memory. Scarlett didn’t seem to react, though, as she walked over to the painting on the wall and slowly pulled it down from the shelf it was sitting on, nodding her head for him to follow her over to Theo.
Engrossed in his painting, Theo didn’t immediately look up when they came to his side until Colin stood in his line of sight, tapped the mode button on his own headphones, and pointed at Theo’s right ear for him to do the same. Theo complied, but continued dotting his painting.
“The picture Ms. Wallace is holding is a real place. My favorite place,” Colin said. Theo glanced at the picture, then did a double take. His brown doe eyes stared with interest the second time around, and he pushed his shaggy hair out of his face to see better. “It’s very quiet up there. I never even need my headphones. My dad used to take me there to read sometimes. Maybe you’d like that, too?”
“I like comic books,” Theo said.
“Any particular comic?” Colin asked. Theo tilted his head to the side as if to consider the question before making the universal sign for Spider-Man with his middle and ring fingers bent into his palm and his wrist up, ready to shoot webs. “Ah, good choice. I can bring you a few of those. Do you want to go to the lookout with me tomorrow, then?” Colin pointed at the painting in Scarlett’s hands again. Theo bobbed his head somewhat excitedly. “Great. I’ll pick you up at six.” He gestured to the clock, then held up six fingers for good measure. “The lights are prettier when it’s dark, but I’ll bring you a book light so you can still see the comics. Sound good?” Colin held two thumbs up, and Theo returned one in confirmation. It was a good start. Theo might not talk much, but he clearly understood the things going on around him.
“You have about twenty minutes until Miss Jessie comes to get you, which means you need to start cleaning up,” Scarlett added.
Theo grabbed a few brushes covered in paint with his left hand, holding them out to Colin. He gestured wildly to his painting with the one brush in his right hand, his eyebrows bent in concentration.
“You want me to clean up so you can paint a little longer?” Colin inquired. Theo vigorously nodded his head. “You have to learn to clean up after yourself, but I’ll do it this one time because I want you to like me.” Scarlett laughed beside him as he held out his hands, palms up, for Theo to drop the brushes into so they didn’t accidentally make contact.
“I’ll paint Miss Wallace or Pepto for you when I’m done.” As if that were answer enough, Theo turned back toward his painting before Colin worked out what he meant. The two things in the room Colin had paid a keen interest in other than Theo himself were Scarlett and her cat. Naturally, the way Theo thought to prove that he liked Colin was to paint one of those two things. Colin briefly glanced at Scarlett to see if she understood the meaning as well, only to find that her face was bright pink, the way it got when she was embarrassed.
“Pepto is fine.” Colin chuckled. “I don’t think Miss Wallace wants me to have any more pictures of her.”