Painted On My Heart

The pungent scent of too much of his own cologne, that obviously John had stolen, mixed with liquor and sweaty, unwashed man assaulted his senses. He put both hands around John’s biceps, moving him backward. He was so skinny, a shell of the man he’d once been. It made Kellus sick and confirmed exactly how far John had fallen.

“What are you doing here?” Kellus asked sternly. He knew he couldn’t give an inch. He scanned the room to keep from looking at John. Every eye in the place was trained on them.

“I came to celebrate the night with my famous partner.”

Kellus turned back to John and stared. His tongue lay thick and heavy in his dry mouth from the embarrassment and disbelief.

John had on the suit he’d planned to wear tonight. The one stolen from his closet a few days ago. For the first time in months, his innermost thought wasn’t frustration; it was pity. John looked like shit. The clothes hung off him. His face had changed so dramatically in such a short time, all angular and hollow. Those once beautiful eyes, now flat and dull. Dead from the magnitude of drugs he’d consumed.

Kellus steeled his spine. He had to get John out of the gallery as quickly as possible.

“I’m not your partner any longer. You decided that. You need to leave,” Kellus said firmly.

“Babe! I’m here to support you,” John said loudly. Movement caught his eye as he saw three armed security guards heading their direction, stopping just short of John when Arik raised his hand. Kellus looked first at Arik then at Gage. His heart dropped even further. How would he ever explain this?

“Haven’t you done enough to me? Why would you ever show up here?” Kellus didn’t want to raise his voice and call any more attention to the situation so he stayed on point. “You need to go.”

John leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Give me some money. I know you made loads tonight.”

“No. You’re not my concern any longer. It’s time for you to go.” He started to grip John’s arm, thinking if he escorted John out, maybe it would cause less of a scene than watching the guards drag him out. Of course, John would have none of that. John jerked out of his hold, stumbling back several steps. He had to grab a hold of the wall in order to right himself.

“Sir, it’s time for you to go.” Security surrounded John, who didn’t take it well.

John swung at the guard, but missed. Kellus watched in horror as two guards came in from behind, wrestling him until they were able to drag John through the gallery kicking and cursing the whole way out. He was certain John drew the attention of everyone in the front lobby. Kellus finally forced his eyes away from the screwed-up scene with John to look around. The genuine happy buzz he’d had minutes ago was now completely gone. The best he could register from the looks directed toward him, the expressions ranged from confusion and shock to disgust. That was until his gaze landed on Gage. His direct stare was most definitely pity and that twisted his stomach into knots.

Kellus dropped his head as he started toward the door that security had taken John through. He needed air and he had to make sure John left.

“I’ll be right back,” he muttered to Sara who stood at the doors, watching the scene. Kellus didn’t follow the guards. He went to the side door, pushed through, and watched from that angle. He saw John being forced inside an older, beat-up vehicle. As he got closer, he could hear everyone inside the car screaming and yelling obscenities at the guards, and a crowd had gathered in front of the resort. Of course, John and his crew wouldn’t like being forcibly removed. Kellus just happened to spot Arik standing a few feet away. The man had a front-row seat to this cluster fuck and Kellus’s absolute humiliation.

Great.

The car peeled out as it started to speed away. John hanging out the window, vowing retribution, caused even more of a spectacle. Out of the corner of his eye, Kellus watched Arik giving instructions before whipping his head back toward the car.

John and his gang of losers circled around and stopped directly in front of Kellus from across the parking lot. John was almost hanging completely out of the car window, pointing at him, screaming at the top of his lungs. He couldn’t make out the exact words, but the sentiment was clear. He was pissed and Kellus would be sorry.

He’d heard all that before, many times over. Kellus turned away from John’s fucked-up show just as the security guards started across the parking lot toward the car and a still screaming John. He stopped just inside the section between the two entry doors, lowering his head, preparing himself for what he had to do next. He needed to go back inside the gallery and make apologies. His amazing night had crashed and burned in epic proportions, becoming the perfect end to his crazy-bad week.