Midnight Colors (01)

*Epilogue*

Tuesday afternoon, cars passed by and a few streetlights, most corners were dark, but somehow she was always in the most visible one. Outside the building, always waiting by the very end of the staircases.

"How long was it going to take this dumb ass to understand no one was coming for her?" Art thought as he looked down the window at her. "It's been weeks, why doesn't she realize no one EVER comes back after they run."

Today was Art's twelve birthday, and he was already comfortable that no one remembered or cared, he continued watching her for a few more minutes. He didn't want to go outside, but it was better than staying inside.

Art heard Karl's fuck face starting to move around in his sleep, and he knew he had just about a moment before shit got out of hand.

Art grabbed his jacket and ran out the door, as he was out the building the first person he greeted was Benny his best friend and the others boys, they were actively messing up an abandoned car. The usual loud music, sirens blaring and random fights from the rest of the neighborhood didn't scare him as much as police patrols did.

Art looked across the street at Lindsey.

"She got to be crazy to think anyone would be coming back here." he had tried to tell her a few times, but she swore every which way her big sister was coming back for her.

Art knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help but walk across the street to where she was, and sit next to her.

"I know what you are going to say, so just save it," Lindsey said as she continued to look down the road waiting to see her.

"I didn't say shit." He said letting his body relax.

"She is coming back alright! she promised, and she always keeps her promises," Lindsey said after a long pause.

"Maybe ... shit, maybe not." He said.

"Hey, happy birthday!" she said, suddenly turning to him with a smile.

"How did you know?" He asked impressed and surprised.

"I have my ways," She said with a grin, "You should do something nice."

"Sure." He said, "I should get going, but just have this." Art pulled a half-eating chocolate bar out of his jacket and secretly placed it in her jacket pocket.

"Hey, it's your birthday! I should be the one giving you a gift." She complained.

"Don't worry about it." Art said, looking away at the other kids and getting to his feet.

"Is it like a redhead thing?" Lindsay mocked him.

"Whatever dumb ass!" He said, as they both laughed, and he started to walk to his friends.

****

~Chapter I

Loud music, low lights, smoke, girls dancing and the men screaming out rock n roll songs while drowning in alcohol and fucked up memories, some sicker than others, it was Tuesday again.

Art was lightheaded, the music seemed louder than ever, and the sea of people in the club made him want to keep drinking.

He had been partying for three days straight, he stopped moving for a second to try and light his cigar, but the lighter seemed stuck.

Art walked outside the club, and everyone seemed to make way for him, at 6'2 he had always been a big man even when he was a kid he was pretty big for his age.

As soon as he took a step outside the club, the humid air made him feel better, although the noises of people laughing and dancing around him didn't die down. If anything, he could swear there was an equal amount of people outside the clubhouse compared to the inside.

Art was in the process of trying to light his cigar when he heard a woman call a name. It sounded familiar, but no one had called him that in a very long time, except his lawyer and a few judges.

"Patrick! I'm looking for Artist Patrick Hans!" she was yelling between cat calls and smoke blown her way.

"Well, shit! Who's calling by your government?" Benny appeared behind him.

Art could hear a woman calling, but he couldn't see exactly where she was standing as she was surrounded by a group of men.

"I am looking for Artist Patrick Hans, would anyone please tell me where he is?" she said, sounding a bit more frantic.

Art walked to where all the commotion was happening and almost laughed out loud when he saw her.

Standing in front of him was a short thick black woman almost 5'6, with short straight-black hair, full lips, and big dark eyes, was just beautiful. She was dressed in a black dress that covered her from head to toe, but instead of being invisible which probably was what she was going for it only showcased her hips, tights, a flat stomach and perky A cubs tits that stood erected through the fabric of her leather jacket.

The fact that she was dressed in designer was a dead giveaway she clearly didn't belong there.

"Now this is some expensive shit!" He thought as he examined her.

" Mr. Hans I presume?" She looked up at him, distracting his train of thought.

"Who the fuck wants to know?" He looked her dead in the eyes.

The intimidating look seemed to have an effect on her, and she steep back, realizing she was surrounded by a crowd.

"Yo! Guy's air! We need air!" Benny called on the crowd to disperse, still standing behind Art.

Soon it was just the two of them.

Art folded his arms to his chest, he was still a bit bussed out, but this situation interested him a bit, he knew exactly who she was.

"My name is Lara Tanice Smith, I am looking for someone." She said after a while.

"Lindsey! You are looking for Lindsey?" He said as he resumed trying to light his cigar.

"Yes! I have Intel. You and she have always been close..." Lara's eyes light up at the mention of her sister.

"Yeah, now I remember you, you are the one who abandoned her like....sixteen year's ego." Art started to walk to his truck; he could feel the headache now in full motion.

"I just want to see her, have you had any contact with her recently, are you guys still close?" Lara asked as she followed him.

"I am going to tell you the same thing I told your private detective Mr. Bad suits weeks ago, I don't know anything about the kid, and she is gone." Art got in his truck and started his engine.

"Please! She can't just disappear like that, someone has to know something, please help me find her!" Lara tried to call out to him, but she was left standing as he drove off.

~

Art had his head on his arm, he was nursing an awful hangover, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep it off, the other hand was firmly securing a glass of whiskey knowing Benny had the bad habit of trying some stupid pranks.

"You know we could get some money out of this rich broad," Benny said, with some pretty girl sitting on his lap.

"This shit again, fuck you don't let shit go, do you?" Art was getting annoyed, it had been a few weeks since Lara had come looking for him at the clubhouse, and he had told Benny all about it.

"I am just saying, let them deal with their fucked up family drama and we get a cut," Benny said.

"I said no, I don't give a damn if she offers me the world and some change I am not telling her where the kid is end of fucking story," Art drank his whiskey "Besides let that bitch suffer, it's what she deserves after what she did to Lindsey."

"Fine! Whatever." Benny said, placing his attention back to the girl in his lab.

"And you better not go behind my back either" Art warned him.

"I said fine, don't be a bitch about it," Benny replied with a smile Art hated.

~

A few hours later Art was on his bike headed to the ink studio, it was getting late, but he had a client he didn't want to reschedule again, and he couldn't wait to finish the tattoo; his waiting list was getting longer.

Tokyo a big Asian woman covered in tattoos was the owner and one of his closes friends. The others were already working on some clients when he got there, Art got started immediately.

He already knew he would be staying late night as the people around him finished up, and he was only on his third tattoo of the night. He didn't mind staying up working on a big design, but he definitely didn't enjoy being the only one staying out late.

Luckily, tonight was a slow night, and he didn't have to deal with drunk college kids looking for some stupid dare tattoo.

Art was sterilizing his needles when heard the door, he expected to see a new customer, but Lara's sad smile was the first thing he saw, Art rolled his eyes in annoyance and slouching on the receptionist's chair.

"Welcome to Paradise Studio, how may I help you?" He said in the most boring and robotic voice he could.

"Yes, I don't really know what design I would like," Lara said, looking and the wall of pictures and drawings behind him.

"Are you sure you would like a tattoo, I do have it on record you're not got at permanence?" He said.

"I definitely deserve that." Lara said eyes low and her voice a bit weak, "I know what I did was wrong, I didn't mean to leave her like that... I was fifteen and stupid."

"Right, great," He said, bored. He wasn't in the mood to hear her sob story, "I kind of only do really large projects and since no one else is here now, I would advise booking an appointment with someone else."

"No, please, I will do anything to find her, please!" Lara started frantically searching inside her purse, "Name your price."

"Woman you can keep your money, I already told you I don't know where your sister is," He said, "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you to save my life." He said, returning to his station.

"You must know something, everyone I asked told me the same thing, maybe you were friends, lovers, or just mates, she must have told you something. I get your really protective of her, we are no different you and I." Lara followed him to his station "Maybe where she was headed next?"

"Why are you so obsessed with her anyway, you had no problem abandoning her sixteen years ago. Shit! She is not even your blood, why don't you go make another family or something," he said turning away from her.

"Please, I beg of you in the name of God! Tell me where she is, I just want to see her know she is ok, I promise after I will leave you alone and You guys will never hear from me ever again, " Lara said, getting down to her knees and crying. "Artist, please! If you ever love someone, please! Let me at least see her one last time."

Art had never expected this level of drama, but when she placed her hands on his knees pleading and sobbing like a grieving mother, something inside him snapped and picked her from the floor.

Art place her on his lap like she was a small doll, and she sobbed into his shirt while she repeated over and over that she was sorry, and she just wanted to see her sister.

This moment brought him to memories, it felt like déjà vu as he remembered this is how he had held Lindsey when she was ten and finally realized after months of waiting that Lara was never coming back.

Art rubbed her back and her hair until she finally calmed down, and for some strange reason he felt himself relaxing with her, she felt warm and soft in his arms like a small animal.

Lara finally composed herself and tried to get to her feet, but he wouldn't let her, it was almost as if this moment was for him. After a long while, he placed her on his table and cleaned her tears, her face was a mess of mascara and she looked crazy.

"Wait here" He whispered in her ear, as he rushed to get her a bottle of water and some wet wipes.

As she was drinking the water, a new customer walked into the studio, and Art helped the customer while she waited.

"I'm usually very tough, I don't cry or any of that silly stuff." She said after a while when they were alone again, "But whenever it comes to Lindsey it's always the waterworks."

"You must want to see her really badly, shit, that's exactly how she cried for you," Art said and immediately kicked himself as she broke down again. "Hey, I am sorry, I didn't mean it."

"No, I deserve it..." she said holding on to the hand he had placed on her cheek, "that place was a hellhole, but I never should have left her there."

"I go there every few months, but it's really far and is not an easy road..." Art hadn't even finished, and Lara was already jumping with excitement and hugging his big, tall frame.

*****

~Chapter II

"I knew it" Benny laughed at him, "I knew she was going to come with her tears and sad stories, and you would break like a wuss."

"Shut the fuck up!" Art hated that deep inside he knew it too, all Lara had to do was blink and she had him.

"You can hate me all you want, but I knew it, soon as I saw the ass on that bitch, I knew she had you." Benny said as they played poll in the clubhouse.

"Wow! You really never let shit go, do you?" Art said wanting to break him in half.

"You're really taking her down to the farm?" Benny said after making a play, "Did you tell the kid?"

"Naw! Not yet, she's probably going to hate me after this but, it is what it is" Art admitted.

"So what now, you into older bitches?" Benny said, with a grin.

"I'm just going to take her to see her sister, that's all?" Art answered.

" That's all" Benny said.

Art could almost feel Benny's judgmental gaze on him.

He felt the vibration of his phone and he knew immediately she was texting him. She had been texting him randomly for weeks trying to get information on the trip, but he had refused to communicate unless it was absolutely necessary.

Something inside him made him feel like he was betraying Lindsey, and he hated it, however he knew he couldn't take seeing Lara hurt again, he didn't want to be the reason the two couldn't be together again even if it was ultimately Lindsey's decision.

~

Art realized this was going to be a long trip, longer than usual, when he saw her suitcases. He had specifically told her he liked to travel light, but evidently, she hadn't understood him.

He had already been considerate enough to bring his truck, normally he would have been on his bike by the break of dawn, but he knew she was probably used to being treated differently.

As he started driving, he could feel her excitement, she was beautiful as always and he hated it. She was practically jumping out of her skin as she tapped her expensive handbag and bobbed her head to whatever song was playing on the radio. He was kind of thankful she hadn't started any kind of small talk, he wasn't really in the mood to talk about anything, but soon enough he got tired of the radio too.

"So, where did you go?" He found himself asking as they encounter their first traffic predicament. "After you ran."

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't ask that." She said after hesitating.

"Ok," he said.

"I mean, I don't know how to explain." She said after a moment.

"Ok," he said.

"Can you tell me about Lindsey?" She asked.

"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't ask that," he said imitating her.

"I get it," she said, annoyed.

"We don't have to talk you know, we can just sit! here and wait for traffic to clear," he said sarcastically "shit we don't have to say a thing this whole trip."

"Ok, I'm sorry I see what you were trying to do, I just ... I'm not used to strangers," he said, looking at him.

"Well me neither, but here you are in my car, on your way to see my kid! And you don't see me making a fuss." He said, a bit annoyed.

"Your kid?! She is my sister!" She raised her voice a bit.

"No! She was your sister sixteen years ago, and then she became MY kid! My family! When she realized you were never coming back." He snorted out.

"I made a mistake, and I have been regretting it ever since, but she is still my sister! I was there from the moment she was born; I was there all along." She protested.

"And then you left when things got too hard, you saw an open, and you took it without thinking twice," he spit back at her.

"What would you know about it, you were beardy a year or two older than her when it happened, you know nothing about what I had to do to survive, to keep us both alive in that hellhole!" She defended.

"And yet I managed to do it and look out for my own, you think you're so fucking special don't you?" he stared her down "So now you got some money, wop it fucking do! We all got a story girl, but Lindsey, hell yeah she is MY KID!"

The silence in the car was deafening, as they both waited.

"Who the fuck does she think she is?" Art thought over and over again, by now he was considering leaving her by the highway.

"For a while, I got into fraud, which landed me in prison for a long time, and then I got married and inherited all his money." She finally said, "But I never forgot about her, she was the reason I kept going, I knew I had to come back for her. Thank you for watching out for my little sister, I'm sorry if I was rude."

She looked so small and calm; he almost regretted yelling at her.

"She is a bit like you; she can be a hothead sometimes." He said after clearing his mind.

"She was never like that with me," Lara said, remembering the past.

They sat there for a while, making what seemed like no advancement in the traffic.

"I am sorry I yelled too, I can be ...difficult at times." He said.

"I'm hungry, do you want some snacks?" she fetched inside her bag.

"Honey, I only do meals, if we do get out of this shit traffic we're going to have to find a dinner or something." He said looking around.

"You look pretty hot when you get mad." She said playing on her phone.

"You talking to me?" he asked, a bit taken back.

"Yeah, you have this danger in your eyes, like you could do something I like or hate, but I never know which one is going to be." She said, looking into his gray eyes.

She looked away and rolled window down.

This conversation was giving him whiplash, one second they were arguing about Lindsey and the next she was talking about his eyes and shit, what was she trying to do here?

He had never been great at figuring people out, and women could be a bit complicated, he had no idea what was going on.

He got a text from Benny mocking him, and it felt like something in the universe was playing a game on him, and he hated it, but it was also exciting.

When they were finally out of traffic, he decided to stop at a bar; he had to admit he was starving at this point.

"Why do you travel on the road if it is such a long way," she said, going to town on her pasta.

"I don't like people, and I was trying to avoid a show like the one we just had." He said enjoying his steak.

"We did look like an old couple fighting about the kids." She said,

"Except we are not a couple, and Lindsey is far from a kid, I just what I call her my kid." He said.

"Yeah, Absolutely, I say crazy things sometimes." She said, looking away.

He had some more of his beer, he wasn't really sure if they should have conversations like this, was she playing him?

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" she asked as soon as they got back in the truck.

"Why would you think that?" He asked amused.

"I don't know, you seem different," she said.

"I am not uncomfortable." He said as they shift to a more open road. "How about we play a game?"

"Exciting! Lets!" She said, "I am thinking two truths and a lie and if you guess correctly, you get a prize and if I guess correctly I get to ask a question, but you can only answer with the truth, and you can't skip it, got it?"

"That seems annoying as hell, but sure, why the fuck not." He said.

"OK, I start, I have three cats, I love cosplay and I hate cake." She said, looking at the road ahead.

"Easy the cat's thing," he said almost eminently, "You obviously like cake."

" OK, then your turn." She said amused.

"I like old martial arts movies, I have a big dog and I like dolls," he said smiling

"I am thinking the martial art one, who the fuck likes old movies anyway," she said as they both started to laugh.

"I am sorry, I said you were hot when you are mad." She said as they both stopped laughing. "I think that made you uncomfortable."