“Did you draw the ones out there, too?” I point toward the main room.
“Most of them,” she grins. “I had to fill up my free time while I was trying to prove I was ready to start tattooing. My uncle would critique each one and then hang them on the wall.”
“They’re really good.” It should be illegal for people to have that much talent. I can’t think of a single thing I’m exceptional at, but I hope one day I’m great atsomething.
“Thanks.” She grabs a sketch book from the long table that lines the wall. “Are there any themes, or specific images that you like?”
Randall releases my hand and grabs the extra chair from the corner. “I feel like this is the perfect ‘bestie’ learning opportunity.”
Charleigh laughs. “He doesn’t have to be in here for this part if you don’t want him to be.”
Randall scoffs, and I giggle. “No, it’s fine. He took time out of his day to come with me. He can stay.”
“Okay, so themes, or objects, that you are drawn toward.” She taps her pencil against her leg.
This is something I’ve never given a lot of thought. The only thing I’ve ever collected are dreamcatchers. I wonder if she can tie that into my design. “Well the word I want inked on me is hope. Is there a way you can incorporate that with a dreamcatcher, or even feathers?”
No response. I peek over at her and she’s busy drawing. I’m excited to see what she comes up with, and nervous about actually going through with it. For a split second I wonder what my parents will say. They don’t have any tattoos. They’ve also never said anything about my appearance. Luckily, I think I have some pretty cool parents.
“Why hope?” Randall asks from beside me, making me jump. When did he get up? I didn’t even see, or hear, him move.
“If y’all want a little bit more privacy, you can go hang out in front. Or even Bianca’s area. I think she’s taking a break.” Her hand doesn’t stop moving. “Just don’t mess with anything. She gets bitchy when people touch her things.”
“Good ol’, Bianca,” Randall mutters under his breath. I’ve only met her a couple of times, and I’ve been scared to approach her. She’s really nice, don’t get me wrong, but she has resting bitch face down to an art.
“We’ll be back in a minute,” I tell Charleigh before grabbing Randall’s hand and pulling him out of the room. “Which way?”
“It’s the one right next door,” he chuckles.
“Oh, okay.” I turn left and enter the door next to Charleigh’s. This room is completely different than hers. It’s full of pin-up posters and sugar skulls. There are no pops of pastel colors like there are in Charleigh’s work area. Now, I only want to get know Bianca more. She seems like a pretty cool person.
Randall turns on the light, and takes a seat on the padded table in the middle of the room. Patting the seat next to him, he asks, “So, why did you choose hope as the word you want permanently etched into your skin?”
Sitting next to him, I keep my eyes on the floor and swing my legs back and forth. Right now, I feel dumb for letting a guy get in my head enough to make me run away from my problems. “There was a guy that royally screwed me over, and it destroyed me. He made a joke out of me and let his friends ridicule me to the point of packing up my things and moving here. He made me believe he loved me and threw it in my face by cheating on me, lying to me, and basically calling me a dumbass for believing I meant anything to him.”
A tear slips down my cheek, followed by another one. Ugh, why am I so emotional today? That’s twice in as many hours that I’ve cried. “Any chance I can go kick this guy’s ass?” Randall asks and wipes the tears from my face.
“You can, but honestly, he’s not worth it.” It’s something I realized after my conversation with Reaf, and I’ve been trying my best to focus on the good things since then. My mood has changed so much since I’ve started shifting my focus.
“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve it.” He scoots closer to me until our legs are touching and I can feel his breath on my shoulder. A shiver runs down my spine. This guy is getting to me in a way the asshole never did.
“True,” I whisper. “I chose hope because it’s something to look forward to. Hope for renewed strength, being happy with myself, and knowing I’ll be okay when I go back home.”
“You’re already a badass in my eyes. You picked yourself up and left a toxic situation. Doing what is best for you, and that isn’t running away. That’s working toward being the best version of you.” He places his hand on my knee and begins rubbing circles with his thumb. It’s relaxing and I sink into his side. Grateful he doesn’t think I’m a moron. “If anything, I wish I could be more like you.”
“Randall, you’re doing the best you canright now. You can’t force your dad to change. He has towantto do it. All you can do is show him that you still love him despite his faults.” I lift my face toward his so I can look him in the eyes and show him that I mean every single word.
His mouth inches closer to mine and my breath hitches. “Hey, are y’all ready?” Charleigh says from the doorway. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was interrupting something.” She backs out of the room slowly. “I’ll just, um, go wait in my area.” She’s almost running the small distance to her workroom.
“Oh my God,” my hands fly up to my face until it’s completely covered. My cheeks and ears are hot and I can only guess at how red they are. This is so embarrassing. I know we didn’t do anything wrong, or bad, but I figure we have roughly ten minutes before my phone starts blowing up with text messages from Tonya.
Randall gets off the table and pulls my hands down. He’s almost squatting so that he can meet my eyes. “It’s okay, Amelia. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I know that,” I mutter. “Maybe we should go in there before Jake calls you. I’m sure she’s already told him.”
“She’s not like that,” he reassures me. “She won’t say anything to anyone until one of us says it’s okay.”
Nodding, I slide off the table. “Okay. Let’s go see what masterpiece she has created for me.”