Art Soul - Brittainy C. Cherry.pdf

ART AND SOUL

BRITTAINY C CHERRY

CONTENTS Untitled Untitled Untitled Untitled 1. Levi, Seventeen Years Old 2. Aria, Sixteen Years Old 3. Aria 4. Levi 5. Aria 6. Aria 7. Levi 8. Aria 9. Levi 10. Aria

11. Levi 12. Levi 13. Aria 14. Levi 15. Aria 16. Levi 17. Aria 18. Levi 19. Aria 20. Levi 21. Levi 22. Aria 23. Levi 24. Aria 25. Levi 26. Aria 5/637

27. Levi 28. Untitled 29. Levi 30. Aria 31. Levi 32. Aria 33. Aria 34. Aria 35. Levi 36. Aria 37. Aria 38. Levi 39. Aria 40. Levi 41. Aria 42. Aria 6/637

43. Levi 44. Aria 45. Levi 46. Aria Acknowledgments About the Author Untitled 7/637

Art & Soul Art & Soul Copyright © 2015 by Brittainy C. Cherry All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanic- al, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagina- tion or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. This eBook is licensed for your personal en- joyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work. 9/637

Published: Brittainy C. Cherry 2015 brittainycherry@gmail.com Editing: Edits by C. Marie Proofreading: Emily A. Lawrence Cover Photography: Perrywinkle Photography Cover Design: Quirky Bird 10/637

For Grandma I love you I miss you I love you some more

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”-Marcus Aurelius

color | noun, often attributive | col·or | \?k?- l?r\ 1. the quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the object, usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation, and brightness of the re- flected light; saturation or chroma; hue. 2. Her. 3. Me. 4. Us.

1 /LEVI, SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD Mom was worrying again. Feelings of guilt began to creep in given I didn’t feel bad about her worries. She said I was abandoning her, but I tried my best to make her see that wasn’t the case. The cell phone hung loosely to my ear as her voice filled with an unnecessary but all too familiar fear. Mom worried about everything too much, creating mountains out of mole- hills. My aunt, Denise, always told Mom that her thoughts were the leading cause of her failed relationships. “That’s why things didn’t work out with Kent, Hannah. You pushed him away,” she scolded. “That’s why

you never go on dates, Hannah. You’re an emotional rollercoaster who fears intimacy.” Denise had been married for two years now, so I guessed that made her a relation- ship guru. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again, Levi.” Mom sighed into the receiver. She blamed herself for me being in Wisconsin, but it was my choice to come spend the year with Dad. I hadn’t seen him since I was elev- en, and I had this crazy idea that if I didn’t try now for some kind of relationship with the guy, then I would never truly know my father. Plus, Mom needed her space. I needed my space. After being homeschooled all my life, it had gotten to the point where she treated me like I was her other half. She hardly talked to anyone else except for Denise and me. 15/637

“You’re no good for my big sister, Levi Myers. I know you’re her son, but you’re no good for her,” Denise always told me. “I’ll be fine, Mom.” She didn’t say any- thing else, but I imagined her nervously tap- ping her fingernails against the closest sur- face while she sipped watered down coffee. “Really, Ma.” “Okay. Well, if he gets too bad you’ll stay with Lance, right? Or you’ll come home?” She paused. “You’ll come home if it gets too hard, okay?” We both knew that wasn’t really a choice. I was no good for her and her men- tal health. Hopefully I would be better for Dad. I nodded as if she could see me, and she continued talking. “So where are you now?” “Waiting for the city bus to take me into town.” “City bus?” 16/637

“I guess Dad’s car isn’t working.” A few curse words slipped from her tongue, and I smirked at her obvious distaste for the man. It was hard to imagine that at some point they might have been in love. I didn’t know much about Dad, and the things I knew, I’d learned from Mom. I used to visit him for a week during the summer up until I turned eleven. He used to send birthday and Christmas cards with money and a Post-it note with a short message. Nothing big, just a small note saying happy birthday or Merry Christmas. I still had all of them in a shoebox. Then one year it all stopped. He told Mom it was best if I didn’t visit anymore, never really giving an explanation. My goal for this whole year with Dad was to find out the answer to why he stopped our visits and 17/637

his letters cold turkey. I was going to do everything in my power to try to figure out what happened between us. “I’m going to call Lance and have him pick you up.” “No, Mom. He’s at work. It’s no big deal.” Lance was my uncle, Dad’s brother, and the only reason she allowed me to come spend the school year with Dad. He’d helped me convince Mom that this visit could be good for all of us. He’d promised to keep an eye on me. I didn’t need Lance to look out for me, though. I wasn’t a kid anymore and had seen enough chaos throughout my life with Mom to be able to survive a year with my father. I’d learned quick how to grow up and be a man when Mom and I didn’t have one around. 18/637

Leaning against the bus stop pole, I dropped my duffle bag before setting my vi- olin case on the ground. “It’s fine. The bus is pulling up right now, anyway,” I lied. She would’ve kept me on the phone for much longer than I wanted to talk. “I’ll call you later, all right?” “Fine. Call me later. Or I’ll call you. I’ll call you, okay? And, Levi?” “Yes?” “I love you till the end.” I echoed the words she’d been saying to me for as long as I could remember. She had a strange love for The Pogues’ song “Love You Till The End” for some reason, and all my life that one song played in our living room at least once a day. The whole bus ride to Dad’s I wondered what kind of music played in his house. 19/637

I was betting it wasn’t The Pogues. The closest the city bus could get me to the town Dad stayed in left me with a twenty minute walk. It was fine, really—except for the darkening clouds overhead. It started to drizzle about halfway through, so I hurried my pace, using an awkward speed walk/slow run movement. When I finally made it to Dad’s, I saw his car resting in his front lawn. The hood was banged up, one headlight was broken, and he hadn’t bothered to close the driver’s door. The front porch had a flickering light that hardly attracted any flies or moths. There was a lawn chair in the yard that looked like it had been sitting there since 1974 and a half 20/637

eaten TV dinner was lying against the brownish grass. The best thing that could’ve happened to his lawn was the rain falling overhead. I stepped onto the wooden porch, which squeaked and whined every time I made the slightest movement. There was a good chance it would fall apart just from my body weight. The black door was swung open, so I didn’t bother to knock. “Dad?” There was no reply. Stepping out of the foyer, I saw him on the living room couch. At least the house is cleaner than the front lawn. His legs were hanging over the arm of the couch, and he was sound asleep. “Dad.” He twisted against the cushions but didn’t wake. Seeing him for 21/637

the first time after all of these years brought on such mixed emotions. I was happy, sad, bitter, and angry all at once. I wanted to yell at him for abandoning me, and hug him for letting me come back after all of these years. I wanted him to say he missed me, to say sorry, and to explain himself for being so dis- tant over the past years. But mostly, I wanted him to wake up from his nap. Trying my best to push those emotions away, I cleared my throat. “Dad,” I said, this time louder, pushing his leg with the sole of my blue Chucks. He grunted before rolling over to face the inside of the couch. “Are you kiddin’ me?” I muttered under my breath be- fore taking my duffle bag and slinging it against his side. “Dad!” 22/637

He sat up, scowling. “What the hell?” The palms of his hands rubbed against his tired eyes. His fingers curved into fists, and he tilted his head up to stare at me. “You made it?” “Yeah. I thought you would want to know I’m here.” He scratched at his peppered gray beard before rolling back into the inner fold of the couch. “Your room’s down the hall and to the right.” It didn’t take long before he was snor- ing again. “Good to see you, too.” Heading toward my bedroom, I glanced inside to see a freshly made bed and a dress- er with towels and bath supplies sitting on top of it. At least he thought of me. 23/637

Heading toward my bedroom, I glanced inside to see a freshly made bed and a dress- er with towels and bath supplies sitting on top of it. A few of my boxes that Mom had shipped over were sitting on the ground. Nothing else. My cell phone started ringing and Lance’s name flashed across the screen. “Hello?” “Hey, Levi! Did you make it in okay? I know Kent was going to pick you up from the airport, but I just wanted to check in.” “Yeah, I’m here. Dad’s car isn’t working so I took the bus, but I’m here.” “Dude, you should’ve called me, I could have picked you up.” “No big deal, I knew you were working. It was an easy trip.” 24/637

“Well, next time you need something don’t hesitate to ask. Family before work, okay? Are you getting settled in? Is Kent treating you okay?” “He’s actually taking a nap.” Lance went silent for a moment. “Yeah, he’s been doing that a lot lately. Are you sure you don’t need anything? Food? Company? Food and company? I can come over and talk your ear off to death.” He laughed. “I’m good, really. I think I’m just going to unpack my stuff.” “Okay. But call me if you need anything, day or night.” “Thanks, Lance.” “Of course, buddy. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up the phone, sat on the bed, and stared at the blank walls. It was far from a place I’d call home. It felt foreign. Mom and I 25/637