If Not for the Mystery Book

008

     Sasha was nervous the rest of the day. Was he going to come by or ignore her completely? She didn't know which was worse. When she got home from work, she quickly went over everything in her house, making sure everything was tidy and setting up a pot of coffee. Once she was sure that was okay, she set her laptop up on the kitchen counter. She didn't have a table, but an island counter in the center of the room. Just before she opened up her drafts for the comic, she heard three quick knocks on her door. Sucking in a breath, she stood to answer the door. She swung the door open, revealing a shivering Anthony.

     "Come in!" she said, pulling his arm to bring him in faster. She closed the door behind him, conserving the heat of her apartment. "Feel free to take your shoes off or whatever you do. Just make yourself at home." She turned around so she was facing him again. "Do you want some coffee?" she asked, then suddenly worried she was bombarding him with words.

     "S-s-sure," he said, struggling to get the word out. It must have been the cold that made it more difficult.

     "I'll go get you some," she said, finally taking her hand off of his arm to go into the kitchen. She heard the sound of shoes hitting the floor behind her, then soft footsteps. She opened a cupboard, pulling out two mugs. She filled both with the coffee she had set up earlier, turning around to see he had followed her there. His eyes were on her laptop.

     She walked over to the island counter, setting the two cups down. "You can come over and sit," she said pulling out the two high chairs. She sat on the left, pulling her legs up into a criss-cross position. She moved her laptop as Anthony came over and sat on the right of her. She saw him pick up the mug from the corner of her eye, holding it close to his face.

     "So, what do you want to see?" she asked, looking over at him. His cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, his hair slightly messier than usual. She was tempted to reach her hand out and fix the hairs that curled around his face, but managed to keep to herself.

     "J-just show me w-whatever you've got," he said, sniffing.

     "Well," she said, stopping to think for a moment. "I could show you my comic, some published client work, or... Whatever, really."

     He looked her in the eye then, though she wasn't sure he had anticipated the fact that it would make her breath hitch. "I really w-ant to see your comic," he said after a few seconds. She slowly nodded, not having any words.

     She clicked on file after file, opening up her comic drafts. She hesitated before opening the image, however, suddenly worried of what he would think. What if he hated it? What if it looked terrible? She had yet to solidify this specific page, still working on the wording. Pushing these thoughts aside, she opened the file.

     The screen lit up with a picture of a girl surrounded by trees. Forested shadows filled the area, but the attention was centered on the girl. Tears were streaming down her innocent face, a look of fear overtaking her features. Sasha suddenly heard a small gasp as Anthony observed the image. He leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at it.

     "Is it that bad?" she asked, her wince evident in her voice. A gasp wasn't always a good thing. He looked over at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

     "Bad? A-are you kidding m-me?" he asked. "This is amazing. The d-detail is incredible." He turned back to the picture, looking at it more.

     "Really?" she asked, voice quiet. He looked back at her, nodding his head quickly.

     "Really, it's... I'm s-speechless."

     "Thank you." Her voice was even more quiet, her eyes settled in her lap. Could she believe him?

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Thank you so much for reaching chapter 8! I hope you enjoyed it, and enjoy the rest of your day!