Live Paint Issues: inconsistent

Hello -

I am a new Illustrator user so this may be a possible user error.

Steps I took:

1. Used the pen tool to create a shape

2. Used the "United" tool to make sure the shape is full closed

3. Clicked Object > Live Paint > Make to turn that shape into a paintable thing

4. Attempted to use Live Paint to turn the previously white space into a teal

5. The color does not change

However, when I restarted the app, I can see on my homescreen before clicking into this specific file, the preview shows me that the image is now teal. However, when I click into the file, it's white. I don't understand why this is happening. Something must have happened to show the teal color in the preview but why doesn't the color show when I open up the file?

I am on the free trial version currently but my project will take longer than a week and I do want to improve my skills so it should convert into a subscription in a couple days. 

Has this issue happened to anyone else? What am I doing wrong? It's driving me nuts because I restarted the app and my macbook.