Page 148 of Rules

Chapter Fifty-Four

MAX

I’m not sure how I ended up here, but now that I am, I can’t turn back. Like a siren’s song, the room is calling me. Daring me to take a step inside.

I’ve been trying to avoid the art department since I’d heard she left. Somehow I know, the moment I step inside that room and don’t find her there working on whatever painting she’s creating at the moment, it’ll hit me.Reallyhit me that she’s gone.

Unanswered messages and phone calls weren’t anything unusual. Not seeing her slumped form in the classroom reading whatever book she’s interested in at the moment or seeing her glare at me from the other side of the lunch table, those I could deal with. But not finding her here, that’s unimaginable.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I push the door open. My ribs ache with the strain, the bruise from yesterday’s game killing me. I knew playoffs would be intense, but nothing could quite prepare me for it. Everybody was giving their absolute best, each of us pushing ourselves to the max in order to take advantage on the ice and score the goals that would take us to the championship game.

I look straight to her station in the back of the room. My heart falls when I find it empty, though I didn’t expect anything different.

“Can I help you somehow?” A smooth voice startles me. I turn around, noting the older lady sitting at the desk at the front of the room. She barely lifts her gaze at me before she returns to whatever she’s been doing.

“I was looking for somebody.”

Somebody who apparently walked away, without a backward glance.

“Classes don’t start until later in the afternoon.”

“She used to come here in the morning.” I give another longing look toward her station. I’m not even sure why I’m telling all of this to this woman, but I need to tellsomeone.“She’d let me study while she worked on her artsy stuff.”

That seems to get her attention. “Are you talking about Brook?”

My eyes narrow. There is something in her tone… “Yes. Have you talked to her lately?”

“Not since she left.” She shrugs nonchalantly, but for some reason, I don’t buy it for a second. That lady, she knows something.

“Did you know her well?”

“As well as any of my students. She preferred to keep to herself. A loner, that one. But an amazing artist. I haven’t had anyone quite as talented as her in a long time.”

I nod, not sure what to say. Brook was always really secretive about her art. In all the time we spent in this room, I never caught even a glimpse of what she was working on. Not one peek. But her teacher’s words make me wonder.

What is it that she’s been hiding all this time? If I look at her art, will I discover another layer that makes Brook Taylor the girl—woman really—that she is?

“Are you planning on staying?” She gets on her feet, brushing her hands against her jeans. “I’d love to continue with our chit-chat, but I really need to pack these paintings and send them to my friend.” She gives me an assessing look. “I could use your help.”

There are a dozen things I should be doing, but being here makes me feel more connected to Brook than I have in days.

I need to talk to you.

This is really not the best time.

Not that I have any right.

Swallowing hard, I nod. “I can help you out.”

Her lips curl in a small smile. “Come, I’ll show you.”

I follow behind her, my eyes darting around the room, taking everything in. The light space, all the art supplies, the endless colors... For all the times I’ve been here, I never paid much attention to the room itself. It was always Brook. The reason I came. The one to hold all my attention.

The way she’d tilt her head to the side, nibbling at the paintbrush as she observed her work, her ponytail swaying. Different color smudges on her face. The light that would appear in her eyes the first time she allowed herself to open them and actually see what she’s been creating.

It was always her. Brook. My Firecracker.

“We usually let the paintings dry, and then I put them away, but since I’ll be sending this to my friend who works in the gallery, I pulled them all out. It’s…”

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