devastation.
that was the only way to describe the feeling that washed over sophie as she stepped into the spare bedroom that she had claimed as her studio. the smile that seemed ever present on her face instantly disappeared as her gaze landed on the wreckage around her. pieces of canvas, broken brushes, and pieces of splintered frames littered the floor, and sophie felt like her heart was being ripped into pieces at the sight.
nearly every painting in the room was damaged. whether they had been cut, smashed, or had paint smeared all over them, sophie didn’t care; it was all the same heart wrenching chaos to her. years of work destroyed, countless hours of passion and expression in pieces around the room. her bag slipped from her shoulder as she knelt down to grasp the now-splintered handle of her favorite brush, and it took almost all of her strength to stop from crying. why would anyone do something like this? WHO would do something like this?
she wanted to laugh at herself from even considering that it could’ve been anyone other than him.
if it wasn’t clear enough already, the extremes to which any of her paintings of ashton were destroyed was the detail that convinced her completely. she could all but imagine the man sneering at her, his threats still ringing in her ears. she’d thought that simply having lunch with ashton would be harmless, but clearly, in xiaotian’s eyes, it was anything but.
there was one painting, though, that broke her heart even more to see destroyed. a painting of a woman in her mid thirties, her long black hair flowing over her shoulders, and a smile so bright it still made sophie’s heart ache. it was hard to see any part of the face anymore, though; the new, messy layers of paint and the cuts in the canvas made it nearly impossible. if one could make out her face, they’d be able to see the resemblance between her and sophie, and might be able to understand why sophie was so devastated at its destruction. her hands trembled as she walked towards it, one hand coming out to brush her fingers over where the smile used to be.
❝ i’m sorry, mom, ❞ she whispered, before grabbing the painting, and moving towards the closet. there was a moment of hesitation before she finally set the painting down on the floor inside. then she turned around and repeated it with every other damaged and destroyed painting in the room, until almost every easel was empty. then she started on cleaning up everything else, determined to have it cleaned up before her brother got home; he didn’t need to know about what was happening.
sophie found herself somewhat thankful for the tarps spread across the floor, as it made most of the rest of the cleanup a lot easier. broken brushes and frames all went into a big bag, and were also stuffed in the closet ( she made a mental note to take it to the curb on trash day ) while the tarps were rolled up and stashed in the corner. by the time she was done, it was hard to tell whether the paint marks that were left on the floor had come from the destruction of her work, or from her when she’d created her work and that’s how she wanted it, for the moment.
she was just finishing up when she heard footsteps ascending the stairs, and she hurried to close the closet before they reached the room. her brother didn’t need to know that someone had broken into their house and destroyed what sophie loved the most. back against the closet doors, sophie mustered up a smile as her brother reached the doorway, his expression clearly confused as he looked around at the sudden disappearance of her paintings.
❝ i’m just making room, ❞ she interjected before her brother could speak. ❝ there were so many paintings in here, i barely had room to start anything new. ❞
she could see that her brother was somewhat skeptical, but she couldn’t help the heavy sigh of relief when he brushed it off and continued down the hallway. her legs felt numb as she slid down the the closet doors until she was sitting on the floor. how had xiaotian even gotten inside their house? if she wasn’t safe from him in her own home, just how would she be able to escape? with her painting supplies destroyed, she didn’t even have her refuge in that way, either. her chest felt tight as she grasped at the collar of her shirt, trying to keep herself calm.
she needed to be calm.
if she didn’t keep herself in check, she didn’t know what xiaotian just might do next, and she had a feeling that she didn’t want to know. but even so, she couldn’t help the panic and fear as they washed over her, and the tears she’d been holding back started to fall. she pulled her legs tightly against her chest as she lowered her head, burying her face in her knees as she silently sobbed.
