As Killian clocked out that evening, he mentally planned his route towards the University. Thea was working a little late and he wanted to see her one last time before he went home. They'd been texting now and then since they went their separate ways after lectures had ended for the day.

Killian headed towards the exit, just passing the front desk when Sandra's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"What's got you smiling like that?"

Killian's smile disappeared as he turned around to give her a look. Her smiling face brought back his smile.
"Not what. Who."

"Oh," Sandra focused her gaze between him and the task she was getting done behind the front desk, "She's one lucky girl."

Killian shook his head and sighed dreamily,
"Believe me, it's I who is blessed to have her."

Sandra made a cute face as she watched him leave for the night.

Killian pulled out his phone as he sat behind the wheel and shut the door. He sent Thea a text.

Hey baby, I'm about to head home. How's it going there?

He waited for a few moments and when he didn't get a reply as quickly as he normally did, he was unsure what his next move would be.

Did he grab something for her on the way over there or did he wait for her to finish work and head somewhere together to eat?

He started the engine and drove out of Brookdale Allenmore hoping he'd get Thea's reply on the way to her. A few minutes into his eight-minute drive there, his phone rang with an incoming message and he spared his phone a glance to see her message before the screen went dark.

Hi baby. I'm leaving in a moment, just wrapping up.

Killian sped up a little bit, foregoing the idea of grabbing something to eat on the way to her. He was there in under three minutes and was glad to see her just exiting the building. He stopped in front of the building and she spotted him almost immediately. He watched her head towards him with a smile on her face. She walked around to the passenger's side and got in.

"Hey beautiful," He leaned in and kissed her cheek,

"Hey handsome," She kissed his cheek, "Hope you haven't been waiting for long."

"I just got here," He watched her put her stuff away, "Where do you want to go grab a bite?"

Thea thought for a moment but gave up just as quickly,
"I don't know," She looked at him, "You choose,"

Killian kept his smile to himself,
"Ok,"

He headed towards Ezell's which was just five minutes away. He knew she would like the food there.

"Where to?"

"Ezell's,"

Thea brought out her phone and pulled up their menu,
"I'll just have the Mac & Cheese, maybe some crinkle fries."

"You should try some of their chicken, it's pretty dang good."

"Alright, I'll have some of the tenders if you share them with me,"

"Would be honoured,"

Killian parked his car outside Ezell's and stepped out for just a few minutes to grab their food. He was back in no time.

"Here you go," He placed their food on the center console,

"Oh, it smells so good."

"Are you sure you don't want to dine in instead?"

"I want to hang with just you," She smiled sweetly at him,

"Do you want me to drive somewhere else?"

"No, I like it here. It's cosy." She started to dig into the bags for her main dish,

Atlas grabbed his meal as well.

"What did you get?"

"The barbeque beans and some rolls, got extras for mum too."

"Oh, can I try?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Thea tried it and loved it, but she loved her Mac & Cheese even more. That was until she tried the chicken and went to bliss-land.

"This place needs to be on our radar. Why haven't you brought me here before?"

"Mostly because you love your baked goodies,"

"True that," She nodded, "How was work?"

"Good. Martin sends his regards,"

"I really should find the time to come along to say hi,"

"He'll love that." Killian looked at her lovingly and smiled, "How was your work?"

"Good. A bit hectic, but nothing I couldn't handle."

They were silent for a moment and Killian could almost hear her thoughts.

"Talk to me,"

"What?"

"Tell me what's going on in your head."

It never ceased to surprise Thea how easy it was for him to read her mind. He knew her so well it scared her a bit.

"I was just thinking about art, yours specifically." She got out, "You never talk about it. I mean, I don't even know if you still do it."

Killian chewed and swallowed on his last bite, carefully weighing his words,
"I haven't...painted in a few years."

Thea put her Mac & Cheese away, turning to face him completely - her front facing his side.

"I have sketched and doodled here and there," Killian said honestly,

Thea had seen some doodles on his college notes.

"But there's a sort of resistance with painting." Killian swallowed, "I'm having a hard time getting back to it,"

"How long?"

"Four years, give or take."

Thea inhaled but remained quiet. The look on his face told her he was having a hard time talking about it and she didn't want to push if he wasn't ready to talk about it.

"I know that's a long time," Killian sighed heavily, thinking about his painting and everything Martin had told him about using his God-given gift,

"Do you know why you stopped?"

Killian froze for a moment but eventually nodded,
"It wasn't something that impacted me directly, but someone I love."

Thea swallowed and reached out to hold his hand,
"I'm sorry that whatever happened took your art from you,"

Anyone who understood art, knew that the gift, talent or skill you have feels like a part of you - especially if you've spent years trying to get better at it. Not being able to do it due to certain circumstances is a loss in its own way.

However, in his case, he had been the one to step back because he was scared of what would come out of it. He was even more scared that all the years of his buried pain would result in something worse than his last.

"Do you think you'll ever get back to it?"

"Goodness, I hope so," Killian said passionately, "I'm just having a hard time thinking about what that journey is going to look like."

"Stop thinking then,"

Killian turned to look at Thea who shrugged,
"Maybe it's time you take a leap of faith and trust that God's got you,"

Killian immediately felt like his burden had lightened at the mention of God's name. It was so easy to get lost in the burdens of life that he sometimes lost sight of what was more important.

Not to say that his fear and worry were unwarranted. But he had a God who was far greater than those things. He needed to be intentional about getting back to it. He knew he needed to go to God about his fear and worry.

But what?
He asked himself. Deep inside he knew any but's would be excuses. Nothing could stand against God, not his fear or worry.

Killian made a conscious choice to start praying about it.

He looked at Thea and smiled,
"You're incredible, do you know that?"

Thea smiled and grabbed her Mac & Cheese,
"You remind me every day."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

And this is the last chapter for 2024. Crazy!

There's one more month before 2025 is here and I have to say that this year has been incredible - getting to work on this story and sharing it with you. I don't say it enough, but I am so blessed and I'm truly grateful for you - tuning in every Saturday to keep up with this story.

Thank you so much for your love.

Thank you so much for your support.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for reaching this far in the story.

Thank you for simply existing.

I'm super thankful for you and I love you, but God loves you more. JESUS loves YOU! So, go end this year with a bang - nothing too crazy 😉 - but do so knowing that whatever situation you're in right now that feels impossible to get through, it won't last forever. If you're breathing, God's not done writing your story. There's so much you're yet to experience and whatever is happening right now, it shall pass!

See you beautiful souls in 2025.

Lots of Love,
Jane. <3