Glass Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page B

that I can’t see his eyes. “I sculpted a lot, but it was mostly work for the hotel and exhibit. I only sculpt things I want to remember, and the pain of the last two months is something I want to forget.”
    “Me too,” I say, wrapping my arms around his stomach. When I need to let go of a memory, I paint it, but I don’t paint it to be a replica of the darkness. I paint it to let go of the darkness. Sculpting seems to do the same thing for Dane.
    We spend the rest of the afternoon creating a spot for me next to the lone window in the studio. With Dane, I have an acceptance I’ve never had, and his support means everything to me. I chose him, and he reminds me why all the time.
    I begin to work on my first painting when I feel his arms wrap around me from behind. “You ready to go for another ride on the bike?” he asks, nuzzling my neck.
    “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

There’s an old saying that you can’t know what it’s like to be me until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes. My life would require more than a mile.
    I used to try to hide my problems and pretend that everything was okay, but the negative feelings built inside of me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I tried to medicate the pain away.
    And it worked.
    For a short time, I forgot everything that was going on around me and could just live in the moment. However, living in the moment wasn’t all that great because it was spent hanging out in party houses and abandoned buildings, waiting for my next fix. My way for forgetting all the bad made everything worse. I’ve worked hard to escape that life and move on. I already did enough damage, though, and I’ve done some things I can never take back. If I’d never started down that path, I don’t think Nolan would have either. The guilt consumes me, but Nolan is the only one who can make changes in his life at this point. There are some things I just can’t do for him.
    When Nolan called this morning and asked to meet with me, I was hesitant. I hadn’t spoken with him since dinner at my mother’s house when he made a complete fool of himself in front of Alex. I hate what the kid is doing with his life, but I can’t turn my back on him. I also don’t want Alex to have to be around him because I never know what kind of mood he’ll be in, or what he’ll say. Lying to the woman who just walked back into my life a week ago is probably not the smartest thing to do, but meeting with him and not telling her about it seems like the lesser of two evils.
    Luck is on my side today, though. Alex has an interview at a clothing boutique not far from our apartment, so I’m meeting Nolan at the studio. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, and I’m getting anxious because I want to get back to the apartment before Alex does. I don’t want to lie about where I was if she returns before me.
    I’m ready to give up when the buzzer goes off, alerting me that someone is at the door. “Yes,” I yell, pressing the speaker button.
    “It’s me.” Fuck, he doesn’t sound good. His usual arrogance has been replaced with a somber tone.
    “Come up.”
    I pace back and forth while I wait for him. My mind is racing with all the reasons he could possibly want to meet with me, and why he would sound the way he does. As soon as the door opens, I study the boy who walks through it. He’s thinner than the last time I saw him, and his eyes are sunken in. He looks sick, but I know better. “What’s up? You don’t look so good, man.”
    “Yeah, I’m in deep this time. Fucking Chaps gave me some product, and now the product is gone, but I don’t have any money to give him,” Nolan says, rubbing the back of his neck.
    “How many times have I told you not to fuck with Chaps? Damn it, Nolan. How the fuck do you expect to get out of this one?” This is bad. I used to deal with Chaps back in the day. Even on my wildest day, I would’ve never gone against Chaps; it was a death wish if anyone did.
    “I