Page 5 of The Colors Between Us

Pete looked up at him with one of his beautiful little blue cat eyes. Donny tilted his head down and looked incredulously at his cat. Pete mewled one more time and then scooted off the sketchbook onto the floor.

Donny resumed his position and picked the sketchbook up, taking a swallow of beer and sitting the bottle beside him. He looked down at what he’d drawn and couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes back into his head.

Roland.

Donny had drawn Roland.

Or at least, he’d drawn what his mind remembered of Roland. Their encounter had been fleeting, but Donny had managed to recall a tall and broad form, strong shoulders stretching the seams of a paint-stained shirt, and an unmistakably beautiful mane of hair. Donny’s colored pencils were in the other room so he couldn’t even begin to try and capture the indescribable golden-brown shade of Roland’s hair, but it was fresh in his mind. And his eyes— Roland had green eyes that looked like polished glass bottles.

Donny wanted to capture their color so badly, but he didn’t fancy himself talented enough to sort it out. That was his ongoing struggle when it came to his art. He could see it in his mind clear as day. He could even see himself creating the artinhis mind, but something didn’t communicate clearly between his brain and his hand. What he did create wasn’t bad, but it never matched the visions in his head.

Putting the sketchbook down, he grabbed his beer and took another drink. Pete moved and curled up on top of the drawing again. Donny assumed that meant he was done for the night.

His phone chirped with an incoming text.

Athena: You getting some D from D?

Donny: Negative, big sis.

Athena: WHYYYYYY??????????????

Donny: He was a tool. Joel dodged a bullet.

Athena: You need some D.

Donny: You need to stop worrying about everyone else’s sex life.

Athena: ADONIS, I just want you to be happy.

Donny: One, I don’t need to get laid to be happy. Two, DON’T CALL ME ADONIS. You know I hate when you do it.

Athena: But Donny sounds like Donatello and while you are definitely an angry little twink, you are not an angry little turtle.

Donny: I’m gonna go now. Bye.

Athena: My brother, the angry twink turtle.

Athena: I’m sorry, I’ll stop.

Athena: Donny

Athena: Donny

Athena: Donny

Donny: OMG, fucking stop.

Athena: Donny

Donny: I’m disowning you.

Athena: You love me.

Donny: Maybe, I’m going to bed though. I need to take Pete to the emergency vet tomorrow. I think he has some kind of infection in his paw. It’s swollen and he keeps chewing at it when he thinks I’m not looking.

Athena: Not my Pete!!!!

Donny: He’s not yours, he’s mine. I’m really going now, Athena.