Chapter 6

The apartment stayed quiet for the next few days, but it was a different kind of quiet now. It wasn’t empty, wasn’t cold, just... full in a way neither of them wanted to talk about.

Asher still made coffee every morning. He left the mug on the counter in the same spot. Vivi still drank it. Sometimes she rinsed both mugs and left them side by side in the sink. Sometimes she left one of his energy drinks in the fridge, label turned toward her side. Little things. No notes anymore. They didn’t need them.

One Thursday afternoon, Asher came home from class earlier than usual. His shoulders ached from morning practice, and a fresh bruise was forming on his ribs. He dropped his bag by the door and headed straight for the kitchen, looking for something cold to drink.

He stopped when he heard it.

The soft sound of a brush moving across canvas came from Vivi’s room. The door was open just a few inches. Not on purpose, probably. She must have forgotten to close it all the way after getting water earlier.

Asher stood still in the hallway. He knew he shouldn’t look but he couldn’t help it. He then took one quiet step closer and peeked through the gap.

Vivi stood at her easel in an old black tank top and paint-stained overalls. Her hair was up in that messy knot, a few strands loose around her face. Paint streaked her arms and one of her cheeks. She worked with her whole body, leaning in, then stepping back to observe the painting, then leaning in again. The canvas showed a figure broken in the middle, but this time the break had thin lines of warm gold running through it, like someone was trying to hold the pieces together.

She looked focused, tired even but alive in a way he hadn’t seen before.

Asher’s chest tightened. He watched her for a long moment, the way her fingers gripped the brush, the way her stormy gray eyes narrowed at the painting like it owed her answers. Something about her pulled at him. Not just how she looked but also how she FELT on that canvas. It felt raw and honest like she poured every hard thing she carried into the paint and still kept going.

He stepped back before she could notice him. His heart beat too loud in his ears. He went to the kitchen, made two sandwiches, and left one wrapped on the counter with a bottle of water. No note. Just the food. Then he went to his room and closed the door softly.

Vivi came out twenty minutes later. She saw the sandwich. She stood there for a while, fingers touching the edge of the plastic wrap. Her stomach growled. She took it back to her room without a word.

That night, she painted longer than usual. The gold lines on her canvas grew bolder.

The next morning, Asher had an early practice. The field was wet from overnight rain, and the tackles came harder than usual. Finn crashed into him during a drill, and Asher felt the familiar sting as his lip split open again. Blood mixed with sweat on his chin.

“Captain, you good?” Theo called out.

Asher wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned through the pain. “Yeah. Again.”

Practice ended with everyone sore and muddy. Asher walked home slowly, towel around his neck, gym bag heavy on his shoulder. The cut on his lip throbbed.

When he stepped into the apartment, Vivi was in the kitchen pouring water. She wore her usual overalls, but her eyes flicked to his face immediately.

“You’re bleeding,” she said. Flat. Not soft. Not worried. Just stating a fact.

Asher touched his lip and shrugged. “Rugby. Happens quite often.”

She didn’t move at first. Then she walked over to the sink, grabbed a clean cloth, and ran it under cold water. Without asking, she stepped close and pressed the cloth gently to his lip.

Asher froze. She was so close he could smell the faint paint and turpentine on her clothes. Her fingers were steady but careful. Those long, scarred fingers that spent hours holding brushes.

“Hold it there,” she said quietly. “Don’t talk.”

He held the cloth. Their eyes met for a second. Hers were guarded, but there was something else there too. Something that looked almost like concern.

“Thanks,” he said when she stepped back.

She nodded once and went back to her room. The door clicked shut.

Asher stood in the kitchen for a long time, cloth still pressed to his mouth, heart doing something stupid in his chest.