Monochrome: 31

Finn stood in front of his door in the hallway, staring across the short distance to Kieran’s door. He thought about what he was going to say and took a breath. He approached the door, exhaled, and knocked. There was no response.

“Kieran?”

He waited.

“Are you there?” he started, and the door clicked open.

“Hey,” Kieran said.

“Hi… do you mind if I come in?” Finn asked.

“Sure…”

Finn stepped into the apartment as Kieran opened the door and walked over to the counter.

“What is that smell? Paint thinner?” Finn asked, overwhelmed by the chemical odor.

“Yeah… was paintin’ earlier…”

“I’m going to open a window. Breathing that stuff in can be really bad for you,” Finn said, walking over to the windows.

“Yeah.”

He flipped the latch and pushed open the window, a cold breeze flooding in. He noticed Kieran’s coat on the couch and tossed it to him.

“Thanks…” Kieran said, putting the coat on.

“Hey, uhh, I’m sorry about the other day. Liadan told me you two broke up and you weren’t feeling well or something… and I figured, maybe you were stressed out, and maybe that was my fault. And then, you know, Bee and I broke up again. It was weird. I feel kind of relieved.”

Kieran stared hazily at him.

“Are you okay?” Finn asked.

“Yeah, ‘m fine…”

“You seem really out of it…”

“Uhh, yeah, it’s probably just…” Kieran said, trailing off as he fell back against the counter.

“Whoah!” Finn said, running over. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry… I…” Kieran said, starting to cry. His eyes shut as he passed out.

“Kieran!”