Paint it Yellow: Screaming Colour, #1

By Natalie Miriam

Roman Hastings is comfortable keeping to himself in the small town of Lakeside in Ontario, Canada. He's been living in his lonely world for two years, building up his shop, Romans Woodworking. Routine is essential to his life, but what happens when the flash of a camera upsets that routine? Riley O'Connor and her always ready camera may change his lonely life forever. Will Riley learn the truth about his secluded life? Will Roman have to face the demon he's been running from? Will he finally live his life with colour?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yellow Paint
• Release date: May 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386385790

Natalie Miriam

Natalie Miriam grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. As a child she loved stories. With her brother, she would make her own stories to act out, though some of those are too embarrassing to tell. As she grew up her love for stories turned into a love for reading. Natalie was very active child, participating in as many sporting events as she could, always wanting to be involved. She always found time for reading and a little bit of writing in the business of life. This love for reading led her to pursue an Undergraduate Degree in English Language and Literature at Brock University, where she will be graduating in June, 2019.

Book preview

Paint it Yellow Blurb

ROMAN HASTINGS IS COMFORTABLE keeping to himself in the small town of Lakeside in Ontario, Canada. He's been living in his lonely world for two years, building up his shop, Romans Woodworking. Routine is essential to his life, but what happens when the flash of a camera upsets that routine?

Riley O'Connor and her always ready camera may change his lonely life forever.

Will Riley learn the truth about his secluded life?

Will Roman have to face the demon he's been running from?

Will he finally live his life with colour?

Or will a tragedy suddenly send him back into the darkness he ran from?

Contents

Paint it Yellow Blurb

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter 1

MY EYES DRAGGED OPEN, begging for a few more hours, begging for something other than reality. The brightness of the kitchen forced my eyes closed. A couple blinks and the white cabinets I had built only a year ago stopped forcing burning tears to my tired eyes. The new kitchen took up almost a third of the room, so it was hard to avoid the sun reflecting off the light surfaces each morning, especially when I always woke up on my left side facing it. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched my arms up over my head, admiring my handiwork. The living room to the right–nearly exactly diagonal from the kitchen–looked nearly as new as the kitchen but was a hell of a lot easier to look at in the morning light. I ran a hand over my face, hoping to wake up a little more. Too bad the bed I had made was so comfortable. Across from my bed I noticed I’d left the bathroom door open, the echo of a drip itching at my nerves. The sound was enough to get me out of bed. I’d woken up to this same room for 2 years now. I had recently added the new decorations within the last year, but this was mine. Home.

I got up and made my bed, just like every other morning. I kept my apartment extremely clean. Everything had a place to be, leaving the entire room spotless. I liked it that way. I remembered I’d gone through the messy teenager stage when I was younger and frankly, I had no idea why. It wasn’t a fond memory that’s for sure, though not many from my childhood were. Turning twenty had done wonders for my sense of cleanliness apparently.

I stared at the diffuse pink light streaming in through the blinds. It was about dawn. I scratched at the short blonde hair at the back of my neck as I got dressed, I couldn’t remember what it was like to have a good night of sleep.

Every day I woke up and went through a regular routine. I would grab my shoes, my jogging shorts, shirt, and head off for a 10 km run. I would get back just before 8am so I could shower and get the shop ready to open.

Today was no different.

I opened a wood shop about two years ago: Romans Wood Working. The name was a bit of a play on words I sort of just stumbled upon, but it seemed to do the job, plus any employees could be called Romans, which I found hilarious. I’d fix anything people brought and made anything they asked for. My apartment was above the shop, so I considered it more of a loft. I’d furnished the entire thing myself and even made some art out of wood and metal to hang on the walls and give it that homey feeling. There were no pictures of people, or sentimental memories, but it was good enough for me. There was nothing to be attached to, so there was nothing to lose.

I was 18 when I moved here by myself, opened a shop and started a brand-new life. Lakeside was a small town, but I had enough work to keep me busy and keep my rent paid. I didn’t need much, never did, so I made do with the shop and if I didn’t have enough, I would make whatever I needed with my own two hands.

I hadn’t made many friends, but it was a small town so there weren’t many people my age that didn’t stare at me every time I walked down the street or into the grocery store. Lakeside had a small college, so there were plenty of judgmental people walking around the streets. I don’t think they realized I noticed them. Maybe it was the blonde hair, blonde beard, blue eyes that caught their attention, especially those of the female population. If it wasn’t that then they must’ve thought I was sick or I must’ve been quite scary because when I did look at them, they turned and walked away, whispering. I didn’t feel lonely though. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt like I needed anything in the world. I felt a bit numb some days when no one came in the shop, but I was making my way through life and that’s all that people needed to see.

I jogged down the stairs and out the door to start my day with the usual run. As I ran, I watched the sun shine onto various landscapes as I passed. It always made me wonder if I would be able to capture the beauty of it in a drawing. I always wanted to be an artist, but knew it was a hard job to do well at. Plus, I wasn’t quite sure drawing was my calling, I liked to make things with my hands, but I preferred big projects. Fine details were important in my life; they made me who I was. I stopped dead in my tracks, narrowly missing the towering oak tree. Wondering about art had me running off the path, it didn’t keep me from returning to that train of thought; a little wondering and exploring never hurt anybody. I drew in the loft, but I had never shown anyone my work; most of it was for the shop anyway, or landscaping. I imagined what it would be like, if people would like it or hate it. Many people misunderstood art and I didn’t think anyone would understand my work. I needed someone special, someone I was sure would understand it like I did. I hadn’t found a person like that yet and I was skeptical that I ever would.

Five kilometers down, five to go. People were starting to stir, windows were open, elderly couples were sitting on porches drinking their morning coffee. I looked down at my watch realizing I might have to pick up the pace a little. I only had a half hour until I had to open up shop. I couldn’t help but let my mind wander sometimes...it never helped anything though and daydreaming always managed to make me late. Maybe that’s why the locals didn’t like me, I was too in my own zone. I jumped over Mrs. Warner’s garden, telling myself it cut down time when really, I just wanted to feel like a kid having fun again and I knew the old woman would hate it.

I was getting close to home now. Running the last couple of minutes through town. I loved being awake in town when nearly everyone else was asleep; there was something peaceful about it to me. The silence, the peace left me breathless. The town was always busy during the day, especially summer days, being so close to the lake. At this hour only my fellow shop owners were out, getting their storefronts ready and spruced up for the day ahead.

Something flashed in the corner of my eye, blinding me. Was that an animal running? It came from across the street. I assumed it was only an animal, maybe a squirrel or a chipmunk or something, but then there was another flash; definitely not an animal. I stopped in the middle of the street to see what was going on.

There, crouching beside a bench on the sidewalk was a woman. At least I was pretty sure it was a woman. All I could see was the reflection of the sun off the store windows behind her. But that still didn’t explain the flash I’d seen earlier.

Um, excuse me, what are you doing? I knew I sounded dumb as soon as I opened my mouth. I hated it when I sounded like a 6-year-old asking questions to a teacher and told myself to do 100 push-ups as punishment when I got home. I was hoping she would explain the flash that seemed to come directly from her.

She started towards me and stumbled, barely catching herself in time, I’m just learning how to walk apparently. She was laughing at her own joke.

I couldn’t help but smile. Her laugh was high, and airy, almost like she would stop breathing at any moment. I desperately wanted to hear it again. Sorry to break your concentration with that then. I turned and continued my run to the store. I couldn’t help but smile all the way back. Something about her was just so happy; I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. She seemed to radiate joy. No one else in this small town had made me even want to smile. I couldn’t help but wonder if my heart was racing from the run or from her. She must be new in town, but I prayed I would see her again soon.

AFTER DOING MY PUSH-ups, taking a quick shower and having some eggs, I opened up the shop, a smile still stretched across my cheeks. I could still feel my heart drumming against by chest and my shower hadn’t helped me cool down at all. I did something completely off my regular schedule and sat down at my drawing board in the back of the shop to close my eyes for a few moments of rest. The cool countertop relieved some of the heat on my skin. I felt the weight of the run on my body.

I felt my breathing slow. Right before I felt myself drift away, I saw the flash of light again, which I still hadn’t really discovered the source of, and the echo of that airy laugh played in my mind. I tried to remind myself to look into it as I fell asleep.

Chapter 2

MORNINGS. I HAD SLEPT through my whole morning.

SHIT! I hoped the walls were insulated enough that people hadn’t heard me yell at the clock from the street; with the amount of windows in the front of the shop, that wasn’t promising. I rushed to the front door, quickly unlocked it, turned on the open sign, and quickly made sure everything was clean and organized. I was busy dusting a few things off when I realized I’d forgotten to grab a shirt after my shower.

This is just not my day. Not my frickin’ day. I ran up the stairs 4 at a time and made it back down in record time. I was gone maybe 10 seconds. I looked around to see if there was anyone around to notice. There wasn’t, but I gave myself an internal high five anyway.

Flash.

There it was again. I made my way towards the doorway and this time I got another flash and saw a big camera in front of a soft face surrounded by long dark wavy hair.

Hello again, stranger. Fancy seeing you here. With that she walked past me and began to browse through the store.

I didn’t say anything. I just stood there, watching her. I could not believe my eyes. It was the girl from this morning, and she was gorgeous. I tried to keep myself from staring, but she made it tough the way her hair called my name as it bounced down her back.

I didn’t realize you had any t-shirts that were dry. It suits you. She smiled to herself over her clever remark. I wanted to smile, but I was sure my face looked dopey and shocked still. All I could think was that I wanted to see that smile again. It was the only thing I was sure of at the moment. This girl was talking like she knew me, but I could only remember seeing her this morning. I was also sure my t-shirt was already looking a little less dry.

So, are you just going to stand there and stare or you going to help me out over here? I just looked at her, her big green eyes. She was beautiful, and not just ordinary beautiful, like the kind of beautiful that leaves you dumbstruck; I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it during my run. I blamed my wandering mind for being too focused on the sun. Okay, then. I should probably be getting home. I must’ve scared her away with my admiring in silence. She turned to leave and I could feel myself starting to panic. I searched for any reason to keep her there longer.

No! Uh... I mean wait a second, I can help you move some stuff. You want to take pictures in here? I can clean up a little if you can hang out a minute. I moved quickly now, running to grab a towel to wipe the dust away and clean anything and everything.

Actually, the dust is good. It makes the pictures look more rustic. The light bleeds through the dust. I didn’t know anything about cameras, so I just nodded frantically and stopped disturbing the dust, eager to keep her there. It felt frantic but I think I only nodded once.

Well take as long as you need. I’ll just be over here. I consciously made myself turn and walk towards the tools. Just work on something you idiot, I muttered to myself.

What do you mean you didn’t realize I had any dry t-shirts? I heard the words out loud before I realized I had been the one to say them.

Every morning your t-shirt is soaked. She said, without missing a beat. I swung my head around to look at her again.

Hold on. ‘Every morning?’ I looked at her, shocked. She must have found something amusing about my facial expression because she smiled again, looked straight in my eyes and burst out laughing. I found myself smiling too, how could I not when she had the laugh of an angel.

I’d better head home. I have a shoot today. She smiled and spun around. I heard the chime of the door telling me she had left. I stood straight to catch a glimpse of her leaving and was startled to find her staring right back at me from the doorway.

I smiled and forced myself not to look away. I wasn’t sure if she was actually looking at me, but I had hope. I was thankful for the hair on my face and the fact that I had been working on some wood, hopefully it would hide the red that I felt come to my cheeks.

I just wanted to say it was nice to meet you...stranger. With that she turned, let the door chime closed, and walked down the sidewalk out of my sight. I watched her long legs walk down the sidewalk in very tight blue skinny jeans. I noticed the way her white tank top was tucked into the back of her jeans and I felt my face go a little redder. I wished I could watch her walk longer, but eventually she disappeared from my sight and I was left with the image of her tall curves in my mind. And those eyes, I’d never seen eyes that green. I found myself thinking about the way her eyes would brighten by me running my hands through her wavy hair.

Shit. You didn’t tell her your name you piece of crap. I rubbed my face, appalled by my mistake. Get it together, Roman. I turned back to the piece of wood on the table in front of me and got to work. Hopefully that would take my mind off of her. She was so confident. I was going to need to get my act together for the next time I saw her.

Chapter 3

SLEEPING WASN’T MUCH of an option that night. If it wasn’t my restless legs it was an itch on my back in a place no person can ever reach themselves. Moonlight streamed through the blinds, offering a soft light, only the soft light was fueling my tireless brain. I gave up when the moonlight shifted to dawn and jumped up, stretching. The red numbers shining in my eyes revealed it was a little earlier than usual to go for a run. Truthfully, I was hoping to run into her again. But as the rest of my life had proven, luck was not on my side.

My over exhausted brain noticed different things today. I almost tripped over a root when I noticed the sunrise. I really watched it; from the time just the top of the yellow belly was showing till the entire burning star was blazing in the sky. Lakeside had beautiful sunsets; it was hard to believe this was the first pause I’d taken to really appreciate it. Laying on the ground, just me and the sky... I used to love those moments when I was a kid. I made a promise to myself to get back into that habit. Given my lack of sleep I expected to feel tired, but for some reason I had more energy than I’d had in a long time. Ducking under a low branch I turned for the path leading by the lake. I loved to run by the lake, it was a bit of a longer trek, but it was always worth it. Plus, I didn’t mind opening the store a bit later once in a while. I justified it by saying I needed the extra workout of running on the sand, even though I would hate myself after I dragged all the sand into the store. My customers never came until the afternoon usually anyway, so I’d have time to get the extra workout in and clean up afterwards. Justifications were easy to come by when you were as well attuned as I was at making them.

Seven a.m. on an April morning. I expected the cool beach would be empty, but I had never seen so many people walking on it. The sun beaming down was like a summer day. Some people were dressed in their winter coats and others in tank tops and shorts, some were listening to music and others were just enjoying the sound of the waves. You could clearly tell who the visitors were from the people who lived here based on their clothes alone. Lakesiders were still in winter mode apparently. Even being in southern Ontario we still had tourists from further north stopping in our small town. The town was beautiful, and our beach was easily better than any of the others nearby, or on Lake Ontario at all for that matter. Lots of people liked to come in the spring to see the town come to life again, even if it was a little too cold for summer dress. Living in Winnipeg growing up made me immune to almost any cold weather that came my way in Lakeside. I could almost run in shorts year-round.

Getting as close to the chilly blue water as I could get, I fell back, splashing sand up around my legs, but managing not to soak my shorts in the waves riding up to my ankles. The sand was cool to the touch, but it didn’t bother me. I was typically quite warm, something that came in handy pretty often. My mom used to tell me that I had absorbed part of the sun by staring at it all the time. I just sat and gazed over the lake, marveling at its vastness. On a clear day, I could see the big city across the lake, the skyscrapers threatening to touch the clouds. I glanced across the lake and realized today was not going to be one of those clear days after all. The clouds were sitting very low, dark as the night sky and heavy, already threatening to cover the brightness of the sun. A rainy day, great, I thought to myself. I hated the rain; I had never liked the damp feeling in the air or the way it made the entire city look like it was crying over some unknown sadness. I tried to enjoy the last few moments of the sunshine before it was completely taken over by the black masses in the sky. My breaths came in heavy and wheezy, unable to grasp the way lungs should catch and feel relief at a deep breath. Hopefully it would rain so we could get it over with and then Lakeside would be dripping in sunshine again.

Something moist nudged my left shoulder blade followed by something warm moving up my neck. I jerked forward and onto my feet, ready to fight whatever sicko was behind me.

What the h-. I stopped short when I saw it wasn’t a person, but a very large, slobbery dog.

I searched up and down the beach in both directions, trying to find a person with that panicked expression after realizing they misplaced their extremely large pet. Seeing no one around looking like they’d lost someone I turned back to the black and white dog who had sat down in the sand and was pawing at my leg, trying to reach my hand.

Okay big guy, let’s see if we can find your master. I knelt down, stroking the big black and white head and scratching behind its floppy ears. You shouldn’t just sneak up on people you know, some people might be scared by a big dog like you. The drooling monster put both his paws on my arms. You’re pretty harmless, I know. I knelt there, petting this strange dog, having a full conversation with it, for who knows how long. I probably looked more crazy than usual, but I was past caring about what people thought. Well, not all people anymore it seemed.

What are we going to do with you huh pup? Maybe we’ll have to take you home and put up some signs. We’ll find your master yet, don’t you worry. I stood up and began the rest of my walk down the beach. Turning around I realized the dog wasn’t following me even in the slightest. He just sat there, staring after me.

Come on pup, you’ve got to follow me you know. You got a name pup? You’ve got to, I suppose...let’s see...something like Sparky? The dog didn’t move an inch. Actually, I thought he even turned his head away from me, disgusted by such a generic dog name. Alright, not Sparky, got it...Marley? No, you’d have to be an energetic golden retriever to have that name I think wouldn’t you. I grinned at my ridiculous humor. The big goofy dog just stared at me, waiting. Alright well I’ll just give you my own name then I guess...ah what the heck I’m calling you Roger. Roger, come on let’s get home, we’ve got work to do. The dog got up this time and followed me. I chuckled at the sudden response.

Huh, you like Roger? You weird, weird dog you. Let’s get some breakfast, Roge. And try to keep up, we’re going to have to hurry if we want to make it back in time to open up shop.

Having a dog might not be so