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twilight8218

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<div style="border:1px #ccc solid; background-image:url('/images/ray.gif'); font-family:arial; width:200px; padding:5px;"><center><div style="font-size:20px;"><a href="/story/twilight8218/36364">The Blank Canvas (14)</a></div><table><tr><td width="50"><div style="color:#2CC362; font-size:15px; padding-top:4px; background-image:url('/images/profratebg.gif'); background-repeat:no-repeat; width:44px; height:26px; text-align:center; font-weight:bold; vertical-align:middle; padding-top:8px; padding-left:1px; " valign="top">19</div></td><td><div style="height:100px;width:100px; padding-top:9px; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-image:url(/images/storyCover.png);"><a href="/story/twilight8218/36364"><div style="margin-left:9px; __padding:0px; height:90px; width:70px; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-image:url('http://www.testriffic.com/storyfiles/36364.jpg');"></div></a></div></td></tr></table></center></div>

+ 14	Becca (18)
+ 13	Hearing is Believing (2)
+ 11	Diary of Secrets (2)
+ 10	Diary of Secrets
+ 12	Becca (17)
+ 13	Hearing is Believing (1)
+ 20	Hearing is Believing
+ 14	Becca (16)
+ 18	Becca (15)
+ 21	Becca (14)
+ 14	Ravenwood Manor (3)
+ 21	Becca (13)
+ 21	Becca (12)
+ 22	Becca (11)
+ 15	Ravenwood Manor (2)
+ 30	Becca (10)
+ 22	Scream.
+ 24	Ravenwood Manor (1)
+ 36	Becca (9)
+ 26	Ravenwood Manor (Intro)

 

I looked at Adrien and tried very hard not to shake my head. Those may have been his true thoughts and feelings but that didn’t change the fact that he was drunk. His glazed eyes slowly danced around the room and I couldn’t help but roll mine at his expression.

“Adrien,” I said sternly. “I am going to Paris and nothing will stand in my way. I am tired of making excuses not to go when I deeply do want to.”

“But what about… er…”

“Aubrey?”

“I was just about to say that.” Adrien pouted and for a brief minute I almost thought he had gained back all of his sanity.

“She has a fiancé.” I clarified and for some strange reason that thought no longer pained me, in fact, it seemed to relieve me.

“Couldn’t you just ask her for...?”

“No. I am not going to beg her for money.”

“Well, I mean… oh well fine.”

I sighed and began straightening up the hellish mess that Adrien had created in my room. He watched me heavily but eventually lost his interest and began looking elsewhere. I picked up my canvas and art supplies and shoved them into a rucksack which sent Adrien into more waves of sobs.

“What? You are going now?!”

“Well, not this very minute because the train only leaves at noon so within an hour or so, so yes I will be going.” I clarified but that didn’t calm him down and I hadn’t suspected it to either.

“But why can’t you leave tomorrow, or the next day?”

“The longer I procrastinate, the shorter it will take me to think of some excuse to stay.”

“Please! Just stay one more day! I don’t want you to remember me like…”—a hiccup interrupted his vocals—“this!”

I thought over it for what seemed like hours but in actuality it had been less than a minute. One more day wouldn’t hurt and besides it would give me a chance to say goodbye to everyone.

“Well, well alright.”

“Don’t worry Olivier; you won’t regret staying one more day in your favorite place! I will make sure of it.” Adrien stood up only to be knocked back down by his knees curving and then buckling beneath him.

I stifled a giggle as Adrien stumbled around and dropped my bag that had been hiked up to my waist to the ground. I still thought it would be best if I got that mess cleaned up so I went right back to work. Adrien offered his help but I turned him down because it would be better for him to get some rest.

Aubrey was still somewhat on my mind but rather than thinking about my love for her something else had taken its place. If I should say goodbye to her or if I shouldn’t; it would be nice to say goodbye but I just don’t want it to pain me so much that I’d want to stay here for her.

If only there was one way to say how much I love her and goodbye at the same time without hurting either of us… if only…

Midday had passed a few hours ago and Adrien was sleeping soundlessly along my bed. His snoring droning out all other noises; a few times he shouted out random words and phrases. Finally I began to hear stirring and I cringed at the sound of his slurred voice yet to speak.

“Olivier,” said Adrien. “Do you think you could take me home? I mean I don’t want my mum to see me like this but my bed is so much more comfortable.”

I laughed half-heartedly but nodded and stabled his body to my side and began leading him downward towards the stairs. Along the way across the streets Adrien hummed and sang jolly childhood tunes that made my mind wander in remembrance of my past.

The days on the golden farm and the loud crickets that put me to sleep every night. Wild horses roaming the meadows the tall silo that casted a long shadow across the horizon. I missed my old home terribly but I was a city boy and I belonged here—Paris, actually.

“Oh… Adrien you are in trouble!” His younger sister, Maureen, yelled giddily at him from her window near the top of the shabby home. Her crimson curls swirled across her face as her head bobbed back into the window and I guessed that she was going to tell their mother.

“…Maureen… what...? ADRIEN!” I heard his mother’s voice bellow angrily as she burst through the front door with a wooden spoon that had liquids dripping off of it. She had definitely been cooking.

“What happened?” She asked with a sigh and a sharp glance at Adrien, whom was still zoning out into space.

“He drank a few too many, don’t worry I didn’t give him it.” Well I didn’t actually give it to him but he did get it from my home… but I didn’t dare mention that.

“Well, hand him over. Thank you Olivier.” She gave me an extra warm smile before grabbing Adrien and bringing him into the house. I even heard her mumble a few curses under her breath.

The walk home was quieter than it had been before. Not just because Adrien was no longer there, but because the day had simply begun to feel… well paused. As if every step meant the world and every breath meant my life. It felt as if this was truly forever and that I should never forget this day or the little time I have in the nexts.

At home I was once again found myself bored and craving for something to do. In the end I decided on packing so that I would have an early start to the next day. Of course, I wanted to go and visit Aubrey but I knew it would just make everything so much more difficult.

The hours of the day were still at play when I fell asleep and I couldn’t have felt more at peace. A heavy burden felt as if it had lifted itself off my shoulders and in its place relief had made itself at home.

Waking up the next morning felt like I had woken up from a thousand nights, but I knew I still had enough time to say my goodbyes and move onward to Paris.

“Excuse me, Alice.” I asked Adrien’s sister once over at his house. “May I see your brother Adrien?”

“He is still sleeping,” replied his older sister and I felt a small dose of disappointment wash through me.

“Well, tell him if there’s still time to meet me at the station.” I said before walking away.

The ticket in my pocket felt heavy as it once had had and so did the items tucked away in my rucksack. During the midst of my slumber I was able to think of a way to say goodbye without either of our hearts twisting as they have been for the past few weeks.

Walking up Third Street seemed shorter than usual rather than longer as I had thought it would have been. I kept calm when I trotted down her street but couldn’t help a few prickles of sweat run down my neck.

I was aware of the strong sun but hoped that she would not see me, that she was not looking out her window right now as I walked quietly up her front steps. Reaching my hand into my bag, I pulled out a small package and placed it delicately across her stoop. Engraved on the cover in ink was Aubrey’s name in my best pen.

I gave a swift look around the house to make sure I was unseen before going back the way I had come. I was glad that she had a porch to prevent my goodbye gift from rain damage or any other catastrophe that could happen.

Embedded in that cream colored package was one very important thing to me and the other a very important thing for her. The first portrait I ever drew of her—the one that had gained me my inspiration—was placed on the very top and a small letter ran along the bottom. I remember every word I had inscribed upon it:

 

Dear Aubrey,

            These past few weeks have meant the world to me and will definitely not be forgotten. I will love you for as long as I may live but I really do hope that I will be able to open my heart up to other people that I could love and cherish like I could for you.

            I know that you want to come with me or visit me in Paris, but I think it would be better for us not to see each other for a while. Not because I don’t want to see you but because I know that if I do end up seeing you so soon my resistance will crumble and temptation will succeed.

            Please know that this is for the best and I will always think of you every day, and that is a promise, a promise to be kept.

 

Forever yours,

Olivier

 

My last few words buzzed around my head like an angry bee until they finally just vanished off into the back of my mind, only to be awoken by a rainy day.

And there he was. Sitting there, waiting for me by the depot, his whole body a nervous wreck but at the sight of me his dimples shined through the sunlit day.

“I knew it wasn’t noon yet, but I still couldn’t help but wonder…”

“That is alright, the train won’t be here for another half an hour or so.”

“How about this… you see I haven’t talked it over with my mum yet but I was thinking… if I could save up enough money in the future, would you mind if I visited you in Paris?”

“Of course I wouldn’t mind!” I exclaimed with an overjoyed smile. “And don’t worry, I will send you a letter so you know where I live…”

We chatted up for quite some time, only to be interrupted by an obnoxious whistle to our right. A large black beauty swerved up onto the tracks and came to an abrupt halt.

“Well, this is it.” I said with a sheepish smile and for once Adrien too smiled at the fact of my leaving.

“Yes, yes it is.” He beamed as I neared the train and gave the conductor at the door my ticket.

I gave Adrien a little wave before hoping aboard and sitting on a vacant and comfortable looking seat off to my left. Minutes passed before the train set in motion and I began to go off to Paris.

The wind breezed through my unclosed window as I thought I heard something call out my name. I didn’t look back though because it seemed like it was out of a dream, that I was just imagining things. Maybe it truly was someone though…

“Olivier…” I heard it wail again in a shrill and tempting voice.

Or perhaps it had only been the wind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Author's Note: Yes this is the end… because I was beginning to lose inspiration and I don’t want to be dragging it on…)

(I didn’t want to make it that “happily ever after ending” because I have had a tendency to do that in the past. Life does not always work for the better and whatever happens to Olivier’s life in Paris is up to you. Some may want Aubrey to go and get him and others may like it the way it is.)

(Who knows…? I could even decide to make a sequel in the future but if I do I will probably put it in a different perspective—like Adrien’s for example. But that might not come for a bit or at all.)

(Violet Hill— yes it too is a romance—will be posted sometime this week. The character pictures are now on my page… and I would like to give you a preview but I still have to edit it since I didn’t type it and it is only on messy paper… so you’ll just have to wait for the 1^st chapter to come out.)

(Thank you for taking your time to read The Blank Canvas!)

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