Chapter 4

Jerrica carefully navigated around her brother, cleaning up the mess they had made. She packed up and threw out the take out containers and put the half finished tub of icecream in the fridge. She gently guided her brother into a proper position on the couch and covered him with a throw, grateful she had managed to convince him to take his contacts out as he was nodding off. She gently brushed his hair away from his forehead.

*Burrrrr Burrrrrr*

Her phone vibrated on the coffee table and the quickly answered, "Hey Cam..." She glanced and Ronan and carefully walked out of the living room.

"Hey Jerrica, I just got back to the hotel. How's Ro?" Cameron sounded exhausted but his concern was clear to hear.

"He's asleep. The poor thing was tired from all the shopping today, he barely made it to the end of the movie."

Cameron chuckled, "Good job. I'll be back in the country by 3pm, an hour before your flight out. I'll stay at yours for the weekend and then we can all visit mom and dad on Tuesday. That would keep his mind off it for the weekend. Did you get him a suit?"

Jerrica laughed softly, "Yea, I got him three of them. He'll love the gallery opening. How'd you even get the tickets?"

Cameron went silent for a minute, "I asked Kylie... Her Dad's best friend was the organizer."

"Kylie?! When did you two get back in touch?"

"Yesterday....," Cameron sighed and Jerrica could feel his exasperation.

"Cammy.... are you sure that's ok?"

"This is for Ronan. He needs something like this right now. Besides, she owes me."

Jerrica frowned, "If you say so.... but please, take care of yourself..." She let out a heavy breath, "Both you and Ronan seriously worry me."

Cammy chuckled at the irony and they both said goodnight.

Jerrica went back to adjust Ronan's throw again and kissed his forehead. She took his phone out of her bag and reluctantly placed it on the coffee table before heading to bed. She did promise that she'd give it back, but she prayed to whatever god was listening that that bastard wouldn't call.

***********

"Make sure you eat something and start unpacking your things. Your room is still the one upstairs to the left and I left the phone number for the driver and a P.A. for you to call if you need anything. Cameron will be here in two hours and remember that the glasses we ordered for you will be here tomorrow...."

Ronan obediently sat on the couch as he watched Jerrica power walk through the house double checking that she had everything. They had already brought down her suitcase and she was waiting for her driver to drop her at the airport fo her flight.

She was wearing a high waisted pink pencil skirt with a long sleeved white top and beige heels. It was a simple, classic look but she still managed to look stunning. She was thin with noticable curves and long legs. She had on light make up and her dark brown hair was flowing around her shoulders in perfect curls. She checked her phone when a car horn sounded outside and glanced at her brother.

"I'll be fine Jerrica... I already ordered breakfast and Im just gonna unpack till Cammy gets here..."

Jerrica hugged her brother tightly and kissed his forehead before adjusting his hair, "Unpack your paints first... maybe you can paint something for mom and dad..."

He nodded at her and ushered her out the door before waving goodbye. A sigh left his lips as he suddenly felt as if the house was a little too silent.

His face fell and he felt the tears welling up behind his eyes. Devin hadn't called and Ronan couldn't help but dispare that they were over. The tears spilled into his cheeks and made their way down his face as he let out a strangled sob.

Ronan had bared the sadness and emotional pain while his sister was around. Her presence gave him something to focus on other that the fact that his love life was a mess. He stood with his back to the door, crying helplessly. After a few minutes, he took some deep breaths and forced himself to unpack his oil paints and choose a canvas. He had no idea what he wanted to paint, but in the end he had sketched out half of a face and prepped his pallet and his pallet knives.

For the next hour he put all his focus on mixing various skin tones. He had decided on an abstract version of his face with red hair and eyes. It might be a little narcissistic and uninspired but he didn't feel like using his brain and he could use an easy task. He knew his own face well enough for the process to be easy and mechanical. He got to work on adding the skin tones. He added small dashes of yellow and at the last second, decided to add tears. It was a bit on the nose, but he thought it was an accurate representation of reality.

He was mixing the colors for the eyes when he heard a knock. At that same time, his phone rang.