The Painter's Unending Haunt

y it all truly st

It was the chance of a lifetime, a validation o

Olivia in tears an

" I asked, my

. "I'm so sorry, man. I was trying to help you organize your papers, and I accid

it in the slight smirk he couldn'

the story completely. Sh

ault, Noah. It w

onfronted him.

. You don't have what it

pose. She called me paranoid. She said my "artisti

he words tasting like ash. "I'm l

everything. But she stopped me. She begged me

tand why. It wasn't about love. I

on a show. He "trips" near the staircase,

s to his side, her f

just my old shoulder injury acting up. You remember, from

was a mugger, but Noah didn't do a thing. He hid behind a car

ntle and concerned. "You're always so rec

proval. "What a hero."

he's a fraud, a parasite who has latch

e times he preten

ding in my studio. "You just need the right connections.

ontacts, badmouthing my work to galleries behind my back

tant cousin of Olivia's, pa

dly. "It's obvious how much you care for each other. Olivia de

but doesn't pul

only concern is Olivia's happines

o good

of memory and pain, lurches. She's looking at my c

thinkin

her phone rings. The caller ID sa

specialist fro

, her brow fur

oice, clear and profess

e final invoice for your treatment. We were trying to reach you

. "My treatment? Noah

was the directed blood donor. Your condition, PNH, is extremely rare. Finding a match for the platelet transfusions you needed was nearly impossible. Mr. Miller was a one-in-a-

op. The party noise f

hock. She looks from her pho

hem fall sile

d what?" Oli

were his whole world. Anyway, the final bill is settled, but we

ne goe

r. Everyone is staring

ne breathes. "To do

Noah, her eyes wide with a

quickly. He

. "Always so dramatic. That's just his way of trying to make you feel g

Helping you with your recovery. Managing your life so you don't ha

n hers. She looks at his conce

eliev

the comfortable lie ove

ledge, can only watch as she dismisses t

wasn't just my blood.