Page 4 of Autumn Leaves and Pumpkins Please

The dull thud hits my ears, muffled from the water currently standing on the floor, but I know before I even turn around what it is. Capri is lying in the water, her head staining the clear aqua a bright red. Instantly, all the training that used to be part of my day-to-day life kicks in and I rush forward pulling her from the water and carrying her to the stairs. I cradled her against my chest, her soaked clothes seeping through mine, cooling my heated skin. Her head has a pretty nasty cut, but it doesn’t need stitches. “Capri, can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?” I ask her. We go through a series of questions, all of which she manages to answer correctly.

“I’m okay. My head just hurts. Does it need stitches?” There’s a worried look in her eyes.

I shake my head. “No, in my professional opinion it should heal just fine. We just need to get it cleaned up and bandaged.”

“Professional opinion? No offense, but I’m not sure I should take my handyman’s opinion on head injuries as professional,” she tells me with a giggle. I watch in awe as her entire face lights up with a small smile.

“Well, I’m not just any handyman. Once upon a time, I was a firefighter. I’ve had lots of training. So no don’t trust the handyman’s opinion but trust the firefighters.” Her eyes widen and the worry morphs into something serious. Her slender hand tentatively reaches out, brushing against the jagged scars that mar a good portion of my body.

Her head tilts to the side as she studies them under the muted light the building offers. Capri’s fingertips feel like ice against my skin. The scars always feel hot to me, but I think it’s the memories that are attached to them that actually trick my mind into believing that. The black color of nail polish glistens when the lights hit it as she continues to trace the rigid outlines. Emotion or something else like it clogs my throat and I have to swallow everything back down. I’m not sure when was the last time I spoke of my previous life. I’ve spent so much energy distancing myself from it. Constantly, reminding myself that I’m not who I once was. When Capri speaks, her voice is barely a whisper, “Is that how you got these?” Her seafoam green eyes meet mine, the simple sincerity swimming in them.

I nod my head. “Yeah,” my own voice the volume of a whisper. Almost as if we’ll shatter this fragile moment if we speak any louder. “I need to shut the washer’s water off and go grab my first aid kit.”

“I have a first aid kit upstairs.”

My fingers gently sweep a damp, stray strand away from the cut. “Okay, let me get the water turned off and then we’ll get this cleaned up.” She winces slightly as my fingertips brush against it. I sit her down on the stairs and carefully, rush down to the laundry room and turn the water off to the machine. When I reach the stairs again Capri is standing. “Are you ready?”

She blushes. “I’m okay. I can take care of it. There’s no need for you to fuss over me. This is nothing compared to what I’ve had before.” Her eyes dart away from mine, and there’s something about it that makes me wonder what she means by that comment.

I climb the stairs. “It’s not a fuss. I’m not going to leave you to take care of it on your own. Besides, you could have a concussion, so I don’t feel right leaving you alone right now.”

“Jayse, I’m fine, really.”

She starts to climb the stairs and I step in front of her, blocking her path. “I’m sure you are, but I’m still not leaving you.” We stare at each other for a few moments, until finally she rolls her eyes and says, “fine.” Once she agrees, I step aside and follow her up to her apartment. “Shoot,” she mumbles, as she feels around in her pockets.

“What’s wrong?”

Capri sighs heavily. “I must have left my keys out by my car when I went back out.”

“I’ll go grab them.” I headed back outside to Capri’s car. It’s a good thing we’re in Blue Ridge where very little crime occurs because her purse, keys, and sacks are all lying on the trunk of her car. I gather the items and head back inside. When I reach Capri, I hand her the keys and her purse.

Her seafoam green eyes scan my hands. “You didn’t have to grab all that.”

My shoulders shrug and she watches the movement intently. “I didn’t mind.”

Capri turns back to the door and unlocks it. When she pushes it open, the smell of pumpkin and spice cascades out into the hallway between the two doors. This building is a three-story industry warehouse that Clark bought years ago after it was vacated. He had the top two floors renovated to create the two loft apartments where Capri and Ella Mae live. Capri flips the light switch and the area floods with light from the overhead fixtures. We’re standing in a small entryway where a closet just sits beside the door. Capri hangs her purse there and moves through the place. I can see the all-white kitchen from here and the living room it opens up to. The living room is bright. A bright red couch sits across from the TV. Blue, purple, and lime green pillows are scattered across it of every shape and size. A stark white chair sits to the side of it with a vibrant purple blanket lying across the back of it. Tall, silver floor lamps sit at either end of the couch and all the furniture is whitewashed wood. It stands out against the wood floors. Directly in front of us are the windows that line the back of the building, the ones I often watch Capri though. In the corner is a large easel with a half-painted canvas sitting on it. A sheet, stained with every color known to man sits under it. “The first aid kit is upstairs in the bathroom.”

I follow behind Capri as we head upstairs. Her bedroom is just as bright. Neon purple bedding and rugs cover the area. The same whitewashed wood furniture up here as well. I notice the book sitting on the nightstand. War and Peace, definitely not what I expected Capri to read. She opens one of the two doors to her right. The bathroom is rather dull compared to the rest of the place. A couple of soft pink towels hang as well as a soft pink shower curtain. Capri bends down and opens the cabinet under the sink.

When she turns around, she hands me the first aid kit. I look around before motioning for her to sit on the toilet seat. Carefully, I work on cleaning up the cut, doctoring it and placing a bandage on it. Neither of us say anything as I work. The silence isn’t uncomfortable, but it’s heated. Capri is like a siren to me. She calls to me without meaning to, without saying a word. She always has, ever since she moved to Blue Ridge. Of course, it was my luck that she ended up living directly across the alley from me. So close, but never able to touch. I finish up and take a step back. “All done.”

She lightly feels around her head. “Thanks.” We pick up the bathroom then head back downstairs. I stop when the three large canvases catch my eye. All stark white with paints of black, gray and bright colors of red. The first is a pair of hands clenching a bright red heart, the hands and heart wrapped in barbed wire, blood dripping from where it cuts into the flesh. The second is a set of colorless eyes, one shaded giving the image of a bruise, tears slip from the bottom lashes, bright red as if she is crying blood. The last one is a pair of lips, the barbed wire is woven in and out of them, blood dripping from them as well. I have a sinking feeling I know the answer to the question I’m about to ask. “Who painted these?”

Capri looks away as a blush color her cheeks. “I did.”

“Wow, they’re amazing.”

She shakes her head. “No, I was just goofing around.”

My hands stuff into the pockets of my jeans. “I won’t pretend to know anything about art but these...I can feel the pain coming off them, so they have to be good.” Capri smiles, but it’s small and sad and I hate to think of how she captured such a raw emotion like pain into three simple paintings. “So, I should get downstairs and get the water cleaned up. I’m pretty sure you have a mild concussion so you should--”

Capri cuts me off. “Not my first concussion, so I know the routine. No need to worry about me Jayse but thank you again for doctoring the cut. I really do appreciate it.”

Her confession tears at a part of my soul. Capri always seems a little standoffish. Originally, when she first arrived, she seemed skittish. She watched her surroundings like a hawk, her guard never went down. I can’t even imagine what she’s been through. I nod my head. “Okay, if you need anything just give me a call or come over.” Capri nods her head and I turn around to leave. Some part of me, which is odd, wants to stay right here with her.

FIVE

Capri

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