The Soul Catcher (Harry Styles)

14 - I Can't!

"Life is a long agonized illness only curable by death."

― Spike Milligan

______________________

The words had barely left my mouth, when she boxed me in the stomach and ran away, escaping my grip before I had the chance to process what was happening.

"Elaine!" I shouted, running after her.

She ran upstairs and rounded the corner, dodging boxes of furniture I had left unpacked. Although I could easily catch up, I let her walk ahead. She couldn't escape anyway.

Her hair flew behind her, I barely saw her running into her own room, but the slamming of the door was a big giveaway.

Unsurprisingly, the door didn't open when I pushed the handle down. There wasn't a lock on the front door, but of course every room had a lock. I wouldn't even question this logic.

"Elaine, c'mon, don't be childish now!" I was totally sick and tired of her behaviour.

"Go away!" She screamed.

"Whatever!" I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. Sooner or later, she would have to come out of her room, and then I'd just drag her to the Council.

I stripped down to my boxer briefs, enjoying the freedom while trying to paint the living room walls in mint green.

The small ladder creaked underneath my feet when I tried to paint the upper part of the longer wall in the living room.

"Crap," I cursed, when I got some paint on the ceiling. Was that the reason why people put tape on the ceiling, at least on the edge of it? Probably. Now I had to get white paint to cover it up. Or, better yet, I could paint the whole ceiling mint green.

Elaine would hate it, I was certain of it. And that was my best argument to really paint the ceiling mint green. Anyway, she wouldn't live her forever. The Council couldn't punish me for that long.

"Harry, I'm totally the- holy mother of God." Elaine's voice travelled up to me.

I turned around, nearly falling down the ladder in doing so, and took in her slightly surprised face. Her mouth was open in a little 'o' and her eyes were wide – and definitely not fixed on mine.

"You're the holy mother of God, Virgin Mary?" I asked, rather amused.

Elaine blinked and glared up at me. "See? This is why we can't have nice things. And Virgin Mary was the mother of Jesus, not God." She did another bitch flip and turned around, stamping down the hallway and upstairs.

I chuckled to myself. That girl was a lot to handle, but there was still something innocent about her. She was amazing at hiding it though.

Painting the ceiling was easier said than done. The ladder was too small, I had to reach up the whole time. All this looking-up made me feel dizzy and even though I hadn't even finished one wall and 5% of the ceiling, I had to take a break.

First of all, I ate a banana, then I took a pillow off the couch and sat down cross-legged in the middle of the living room. I put on some meditation music I had found at the supermarket earlier on, deciding not to think about what my friends would say if they could see me now.

I sat up straight and crossed my hands in my lap, relaxed my shoulders and breathed in and out. The scents that were supposed to ease your mind were missing, but happy thoughts could surely help me relax, too.

Imagining an endless green field with daisies, I turned off anything else, only concentrating on the music and my breathing.

Soon enough, I felt my mind take me to a different place. Something pulled me into a daydream about a farm. There were pigs, cows, chickens, horses and even a cat. A soft breeze blew-