Brush Strokes

by Janelle Stalder

  It’s funny how life can take an unexpected turn. It seems like no matter how carefully we plan things, or envision where our lives will go, something can happen to turn it all on its side. Love can do that. Love can make people do things that are completely out of character and push them to limits they didn’t even know were possible. They say all you need is love, but how true is that?

  When you love a person so much that being with them feels like you can breathe easier, when just their nearness is the oxygen inflating your lungs, is that the kind of love where it’s all you need? Where hunger is something insignificant compared to the need and appetite you feel for only that one person?

  Or does love make fools of us all? Is it simply infatuation and lust clouding our sense of judgement? Or is that just what cynical people think?

  It was hard for me to decide as I walked into the bank, my hands shaking as I pushed open the heavy glass doors. People lay flat on the floor on their stomachs, their faces the picture of fear. I looked at them numbly as though what I was witnessing was not real. My steps did not falter, nor did my resolve as I made my way to where the men dressed in black stood, shouting orders at the crying women behind the counter.

  I knew who one of them was instantly, even with his face covered. I’d know Colt anywhere, under any circumstance. My mind and body recognized him like he was my other half. I was pulled in his direction, my focus solely on him and not on the frightened people looking to me for help. I couldn’t help them. I was only there to help the man I loved.

  He turned as I approached and I saw every muscle in his body freeze.

  “Olivia? What the hell?” he said, gripping my arm tightly. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m giving you a ride out of here,” I said as though it were obvious. “I want to help.”

  “Shit,” I heard someone say. I looked over and knew the other man behind the mask was Rannon.

  Colt’s grip flexed on my arm. “Why would you come here?” he said, forcing me to look back at him. “Why, baby? Why couldn’t you just have waited for me to come home?”

  I opened my mouth to explain that there was no way I could just sit by and wait. That there was no way I could let him walk into this kind of situation and not make sure he got out of it alive. How could I sit up in my room and act like everything was fine? I couldn’t. That’s why I was here.

  But any reply was lost as the sounds of sirens echoed from outside. We both tensed, our eyes locking.

  “Who the fuck called the police?” he shouted, turning away from me. He waved around a gun, pointing it at the people who were now openly crying. He was mad. The sirens were growing louder and I knew that meant they were getting closer.

  “We need to get out of here,” I said.

  “It’s too late,” Colt said, pulling off his mask. I stared into his silver eyes and knew that things had just gotten about as bad as they could.

  “What now?”

  He didn’t answer at first. Then he stepped forward and grabbed the back of my neck, massaging it gently as his eyes roamed my face. “You can leave,” he said. “You haven’t done anything. Just walk out and say you were one of the hostages. There’s no reason why you should be involved in this.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” I argued.

  “Olivia,” he growled, bringing his face closer. “This isn’t a game. The only way I’m leaving here is either in cuffs or a body bag. Do you get that? There’s no good way for this to end. You need to leave.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not going. I’ll help you figure a way out of this. I can’t let you do this alone.”

  He growled loudly, ripping his hand away and turning around. His voice echoed throughout the bank as he cursed at the top of his lungs. Rannon jumped over the counter, his face more serious than I think I’d ever seen it.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked, glancing at me.

  Colt paced, rubbing the back of his neck. “We let everyone out of here,” he said, looking at the floor. “I don’t want anyone’s death on my head.”

  Rannon nodded. “And then what?”

  He stopped, looking at both of us. “Then I have no idea.”

  “Great. Good plan,” Rannon said dryly. He turned and started to yell at everyone to get out. No one hesitated, bolting for the doors just as we heard the police cruisers pull up to the outside of the building. Shots rang out and the three of us dropped to the floor. People were screaming loudly.

  “Holy shit,” Rannon said. “I think they just shot the hostages.”

  “Idiots,” said Colt. “They probably thought it was us trying to escape.

  I fell onto my ass, my eyes wide. “They’re just going to shoot us?” I asked, looking up.

  Colt knelt in front of me, his hand cupping my face. “No one is going to shoot us, Olivia. We’re going to be fi –” Glass erupted behind us, cutting off his words. Before either of us could react, we heard Rannon shout something and then fly backwards. Colt wrapped his body around mine to protect me from the other shots that now broke through the front glass of the bank. They really were shooting at us.

  My eyes looked past Colt’s arm to find Rannon who lay unmoving on the floor. “Rannon?” I whispered with a whimper.

  I felt Colt shift to look behind him and then a pained curse escaped him. I thought he’d go to his best friend but instead he grabbed me and dragged me to the wall where we could get some cover. My entire body shook as the reality of the situation started to sink in.

  “T-t-they sh-sh-shot Rannon,” I said, my eyes blurring.

  Colt crushed my head against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying myself into him. “I’m going to protect you, Olivia. I swear it. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  I heard the crunching sounds of boots on glass as someone approached. Colt stiffened, pulling away from me as he held up the gun. My eyes locked on the gun Rannon had been holding, now lying forgotten on the floor between us. If I could just get it and get back without being shot, I could help Colt protect us. That was the only concern on my mind. Not that I might shoot someone, but that there was no way I was letting them shoot us.

  I could do it. Without hesitating, I sprang forward and grabbed the piece just as I heard someone yell out. Shots rang as Colt screamed at me to get back there. I turned and fired off two shots, pressing myself against the wall beside him. He gave me a look like I was completely out of my mind. Maybe I was.

  “I’m here to help,” I said with smile.

  He shook his head disbelievingly. Then he swooped in so fast it was blur, his lips landing on mine in a searing kiss. “I love you,” he said, pulling back. “So fucking much.”

  My heart was going to burst. “I love you too,” I said. “Let’s go get ‘em.”

  He nodded, breathing deeply. “Let’s do this.”

  We both stepped out and started shooting. I briefly wondered what this was going to do to my parents, but there was no turning back now. We fired off as many shots as we could until I felt fire ignite in my own body, flinging me backward. More spots erupted as the police continued to shoot. They were shooting me.

  They were shooting me.

  Colt knelt beside me, his lips moving over and over again, my name falling from them. I couldn’t hear him, my ears now ringing so loudly I was afraid I might have gone deaf. I watched as Colt’s body jerked violently, falling beside me. His lips still moved, caressing my name as though it were the only prayer he knew. We lay beside each other, our blood pooling around us, and I couldn’t help but think we looked like some modern of version of Bonny and Clyde. I reached out my hand and found his, gripping it.

  It’s funny how life takes an unexpected turn.

  Breathe in…

  One

  Two

  Three

  Breathe out…

  Three

  Two

  One

  “Olivia,” someone called out. “Olivia.”

  I blinked, looking down at th
e red staining my hands. I wiped the paint off on my pants looking up into eyes so grey they shone like silver.

  “Hey,” Colt said with a smile. “You were pretty zoned out,” he laughed.

  I looked at my painting and wondered how long I’d been sitting there like that for.

  “What’s this?” he asked, stepping around behind me to look at my work. “Is that us?”

  I nodded.

  He chuckled. “Are we dead?”

  I nodded again. “We’re Bonny and Clyde,” I said, looking at my latest piece. Our clasped hands weren’t quite right.

  “Bonny and Clyde huh?” he said, clearly amused. “What are we doing, robbing a bank?”

  I looked up at him, searching. He must have noticed something was off because his face turned serious and he crouched down beside me.

  “Hey,” he said gently, wrapping an arm around my hips, “what’s wrong?”

  I swallowed against the dryness in my mouth. “Did you do it?” I asked.

  “Do what?” He looked confused.

  “Rob a bank. Did you do it?”

  He blinked a couple of times before breaking out into laughter. “What are you talking about?”

  “Rannon told me you had some sort of plan to get money quick, and mentioned something about robbing a bank.”

  The smile on his face stretched even wider. “Are you joking?”

  I just stared at him.

  He shook his head, chuckling. Then he swept me into his arms making me squeal as he walked us to my bed. He sat down with me on his lap. “First of all, do you honestly think I’m dumb enough to rob a bank? And secondly, don’t ever listen to a word that comes out of Rannon’s mouth.”

  I shifted, a little insulted that he was clearly getting a lot of amusement out of my confusion. “Then how were you getting money?”

  “I sold my car, Olivia. That’s all. I just didn’t want my mom to find out because I know she’s going to be pissed.”

  “You sold your car?” I said, my jaw dropping.

  He sighed. “Yes, and the look on your face is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you or my mom.”

  “But that car meant everything to you.”

  He shrugged. “It was a hobby, and I can always get another car down the road. My mom is more important and we need the money. Plus, the memories that went along with that car weren’t the best.”

  I snaked my fingers into the back of his hair. “You should have just told me,” I said. “I was sitting here thinking the worst.”

  He eyed my painting and laughed. “I can see that,” he said. He leaned in and kissed me soundly before pulling away. “Promise me you’ll never listen to Rannon again.”

  I smiled. “I promise.”

  “Good.” And then he kissed me again.

  Epilogue

  Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame. – G.K. Chesterton

  Olivia

  I slammed the locker shut, my eyes catching sight of Colt as he exited Ms. Kelly’s office. I leaned back, waiting for him to notice me. It didn’t take long, it never did. For some reason Colt and I were still as in tune with each other now as we were when we first started dating. Or perhaps even before then when we’d discreetly watch one another from either side of the fence separating our yards.

  He made his way over to me, a sly grin on his face that told me he was definitely up to something. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “What was that about?” I asked, nodding my head in the direction of the guidance councillor’s office.

  “Nothing,” he said, not stopping until he had both arms wrapped around me, pressing me back against the lockers. He leaned down but I stopped him, covering his mouth with my hand.

  “Spill,” I said.

  He murmured something beneath my hand but I couldn’t make out the words. “What was that?” I asked, removing it.

  “I said I’ve been trying to,” he replied.

  I tried to look stern, I really did, but a pouty Colt was hard to resist. We hadn’t had any “alone” time for over a week now and you would think the poor boy was going to die because of it. His mom had decided to take some time off, so she’d been home more often and Colt never wanted to do it in the house when his mom was there. I offered to use my place, but he outright refused to, and I quote, “defile Mr. Banks’s daughter under his own roof”. Even if my dad wasn’t home, Colt refused to touch me. So that left us both sexually frustrated as we spent night after night studying for our exams together, but not being able to do anything else.

  “I need you,” he complained.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re ridiculous, and you’re changing the topic. I’m not stupid. Now what did Ms. Kelly want?” He leaned down to start kissing my neck instead of replying. “Colt Garfield Morgan, you tell me right this minute.”

  He pulled back with wide eyes. “Who told you my middle name?”

  I smiled. “Your mother.”

  “That wench,” he muttered, leaning in again.

  “Colt.”

  “I’ll tell you when I have you pinned beneath me,” he said into my ear, his breath causing my flesh to rise in goose bumps.

  “You’re not playing fair,” I accused.

  He pulled back and winked. “I never do.”

  “We’d better get going,” I said, giving him a light push so he’d step back. It was the last day of exams, and that meant we could look forward to a whole summer together as soon as this day was over. It was funny to think an entire year had gone by and we were still just as crazy about each other as we were at the beginning of the school year. I didn’t know where the time had gone, but I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with anyone else but him.

  We’d been through so much together over the past year. Being in such a serious relationship was new to us both, but every step and bump in the road had been worth it. Colt was also dealing with his father and the whole issue about his step-sister. I couldn’t do much about his feelings for his father, but I’d finally been able to convince him to meet his sister. We planned on doing something this summer with her. If anything, I hoped he could find it in his heart to have some sort of relationship with her.

  “Fine,” he said, walking me down the hall until we had to separate to go to our own classes. “I’ll see you after school.”

  Ella was sitting in her seat beside mine when I walked in. “There you are,” she said like a scolding mother.

  “Am I late?” I asked, knowing full well I wasn’t.

  She ignored me. “Didn’t you get my message about meeting me at the locker this morning?”

  “Funny thing about that, I was just at our locker and guess who wasn’t there?”

  “Whatever,” she said, offering no excuse, not that I’d expected her to. “There’s a party tomorrow night at the lake. Two words – bon – fire.”

  “I think bonfire’s one word,” I replied.

  “Not important, Ollie. Make sure you’re there, and bring your stud-muffin along with you.”

  “Yes ma’am,” I said, knowing it was better just to go along with Ella’s plans than fight them. “You ready for the summer?” I asked, my excitement building at the thought that this was officially our last day of high school.

  “Am I? Girl, I’ve been waiting for this summer since the moment I stepped into this building back in September. It’s going to be nothing but tanning, shopping, and good old fashion fun. This summer will be the best summer of our lives. Guaranteed.”

  I let my hands roam over the muscles in his arms as he braced himself over me. His mother was out, school was officially over, and I was securely pinned beneath him. Life was good.

  “Okay, now I’ll tell you,” he said.

  I blinked, looking up at him in confusion. “Tell me what?” He wanted to talk? Now? Now was not the time! My eyes rolled, catching on the painting I did of him hanging on his wall. I’d thought it was strange when he had asked me for it, especially since it was of him, but now
I loved having it where I could always admire it. I still considered the piece my best work, probably because the subject meant so much to me, even if I couldn’t admit that when I’d been painting it.

  “What I was talking to Ms. Kelly about,” he said, as though it was obvious, grabbing my attention again.

  “Seriously, Colt? Can’t you tell me after?”

  He chuckled flexing his hips in a way that he knew only drove me higher and crazier. I arched into it but he instantly stopped.

  “So you know how my mom forced me to keep some of that money from selling my car?” he said.

  I groaned, not in pleasure but in frustration. “You mean most of the money from the sale of your car?” I corrected.

  He moved a little again just to tease me. I was going to kill him when this was done. “Right, well it looks like my grades were enough to get me accepted to some colleges, and since I have the money now…”

  I froze, looking up at him in surprise. “You’re going to go to college?” I gasped.

  He eyed me warily. “Maybe.”

  “Where?”

  Now he looked away, his answer hesitant. “I was hoping somewhere close to where you’re going.” He looked back at me. “If that’s okay with you.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I gripped him around the neck, kissing him with all the joy and excitement I felt, and then peppering his face with more kisses until I had him laughing. “Of course it’s okay, how could you even ask me that? I’m so happy!”

  “Good,” he said, sounding relieved. “I’ll still have to get a job, but I have enough to start off at least.”