Little Dahlia

Ch. 4 - Home Pt. 2

Song: If We Have Each Other by Alec Benjamin
Words: 1584
Published: May 15th, 2020
Third Person POV
Rayna

Rayna closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. It's okay. She's safe. It's just Jamie.

"Y- Yeah, come in," she says.

The door opens slowly and Jamie peaks his head in. He gives her a soft smile.

"Hey, sis," he greets. She smiles back, sitting back down.

"Hey, Jamie."

He walks the rest of the way in, closing the door behind him.

"No one else is home, so you can do whatever you want," he informs her. She nods.

"Thanks."

Jamie walks over to her desk and takes a seat, while she bends down to pull some stuff out from under her bed. She grabs her phone and starts playing some music.

She likes music. More so slow and emotional songs. She believes they can send the same emotion as drawings, though she doesn't think words can truly describe stuff or have the same impact as visuals can.

"Got any new sketches?" Jamie asks.

"No, but I have some ideas."

"Oh, right, you've spent a long time working on those cards," Jamie thinks aloud.

It took about twenty minutes to finish each card, and with 39 cards to make, that would be thirteen hours straight if she did it all in one sitting. She had started working on them last Thursday, doing an hour each day, before she realized she wasn't doing enough and spent six hours on them last night. She didn't get the math right.

"Yeah."

"Anyways, what ideas do you have?" Jamie asks. She pulls out her sketchbook from the desk compartment.

"I want to draw Mom," she says softly. She has so many sketches of roses in her honor. She's tried to draw her before, but she never felt like she got it right.

Jamie nods.

"I can send you a picture," he offers. He doesn't know as much about Rayna as Naomi does, but he still knows a lot. He knows she has a phone. His number is in it.

"Please. Thank you."

"It's no problem," he tells her with another smile. She hands him her sketchbook. "You know these are absolutely amazing, right?"

She feels her neck heat up. Usually when she gets compliments, she brushes it off. When it's from Jamie, though, she's not used to the male approval.

She's never had a boyfriend. Even the humans tend to stay away, or she accidentally pushes them away. She's especially not good with guys.

"Sure they are," she says in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm being serious. By the way, Dad—I mean, John—is having Jayce and Danny over tonight. Thought I'd give you a heads up on the extra mouths. Also, I suggest making steak."

Rayna nods. "Okay."

"Oh, I haven't seen this one before," Jamie exclaims quietly, looking down at a page in the sketchbook he stopped on. Rayna looks down and gulps as she sees the page.

It's a sloppy sketch of a little boy crying. The wall behind him is white, but fades to a harsh darkness. The little boy has his palms pressed against his eyes and his knees tucked up to his chest, sitting up and leaning back against the wall.