“To her?”
“Yeah.”I nodded.“To her.And to what she felt when she was there.”
Katie tilted her head slightly.“There’s a noticeable sense of calm in the piece.Was that intentional?”
“Definitely,” I said.“Kids in hospitals… they don’t get a lot of control over what’s happening around them.So I wanted to create something that gave them an escape.Even if it’s just visual.”
She smiled softly at that.“That’s powerful.It's no wonder you were chosen by the hospital.”
I didn’t respond to that, just gave a small nod.
“What do you hope people take away from it?”she asked.
“I'd say a bit of relief through the chaos.We can spin it all we want, but no one really likes hospitals.”I smirked at her, and she giggled.“I wanted to give a bit of peace to the kids and families… to anyone walking through here.Sometimes you don’t need something big.You just need something that makes it a little easier to breathe.”
Katie held my gaze for a second longer, then smiled again—more genuine this time.
“I think you’ve done exactly that.”
I huffed a quiet breath.“I hope so.”
She turned slightly toward the camera again, wrapping it up with a few polished closing lines.
“Jaxon Cage, everyone—owner of the Cage Ink Studios and creator of the new Westfort Medical mural.”
The camera cut and her smile widened.
“Thanks for that.You're a bit of a hot topic since the last interview we did.I'm glad I caught up,” she added, lowering the mic.
“Anytime,” I replied, already looking past her again.
“If you ever need anything, I don't mind doing some more interviews.Boosts both our images and all, you know?”
“I might definitely take you up on that.Our studio was blowing up after the first one.If you keep working your magic, then I'll have to start expanding soon.”
She laughed and nodded, sweeping a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Bet.I've got to head inside and see what else I can cover, but if you're free later on…”
I chuckled.
“What?A girl's gotta try.”
“Katie, I appreciate the effort, but I really am not interested.And…” I glanced behind her again with a smirk, seeing Savannah’s back to me as she spoke to Benji.“My girl's right behind you.”
“Figures.”Katie breathed out a laugh.“Worth a try, though.Come on, let's see what we can cover inside,” she threw over her shoulder to her camera guy before they both moved to the doors.
Shaking my head, I walked over to the group and wrapped my arms around my girl, pulling her back into my chest.Benji was standing to my right and he raised his hand to fist-bump me.To my left, Jesse and Nerissa had their backs to the wall while Ari was on Jesse's right.
“All set there, Van Gogh?”Jesse teased, his lips twitching to a smirk.“Or do you need another interview?”
“Jealous of my amazing talent again, Jess?It's okay, you'll catch up some day.”
“It's good that you did this for Lyra,” Benji added, nudging his head to the mural.“She'd love this.”
“I hope so.”I grinned.
He reached across to clap my shoulder.“You know she would.”
