Fighting a New World

30

Jax's POV

I hum along to the song Dayton had picked while he begin tattooing his next client. I continued to half ass watch as I worked on another assignment he had given me.

If I was being honest though, I was starting to get bored with this. I still liked working at the shop and with Dayton but I hated that I was doing the same things every day.

The routine was me coming in early to clean the shop a bit, set up Dayton's station, wait for Dayton to give me something to sketch, sketch it as he does the fun stuff, and then let him judge it when I was done.

Depending on how well he thought I had done, he would either give me something new or he would make me re do the same design until I came up with something he deemed tolerable.

The routine was starting to get old at this point. If felt like all I did at this point was draw and clean and considering I used to only draw when I was stressed, I was running on creative fumes.

Little by little the designs started to look more and more similar even if their themes couldn't be farther apart and Dayton was starting to take notice.

"I don't think you understood the assignment very well," Dayton grumbled now that his appointment was over. He looked over my shoulder with a frown, staring down to the sketchbook.

I can't help but flinch back at his tone and small glare, making Carter glare at him while Dayton frowned and muttered an apology but it didn't make Carter feel any better. He had been on edge lately for some reason; almost anything could set him off at this point.

I can't help but sigh when my heart finally slowed back down as I looked down at my sketch. I had allowed myself to blank out as I drew and now a drawing of Callum, Liam, and Ryder stared back at me. Small doodled of realistic hearts and sharks filled the outside of the page where I had played around due to boredness.

"I said I wanted a rose and thorns sleeve, not a drawing of your boyfriends. You've been zoning out a lot here lately. You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," I said with a shrug as I shaded more of Callum's shirt.

"If you're fine then you have no excuse. Don't just keep drawing what ever you want, do what I told you to. But if you aren't okay then tell me what's going on so I can fix it. I'm lenient on a lot of things but I don't appreciate slackers."

I huff at that as I turn the page and start doing the flower sleeve he wanted.

Dayton stares as I work, clearly seeing if he was going to get anything out of me or if this was it.

"You gotta give me something kid," he sighed after a while of him working on his own design. "I can tell something's wrong just by the way you're drawing. Your hand is moving but you don't care anymore."

"I'm just tired," I lie without even looking up from my paper.

"So you've been tired for the past week now," he asked, clearly not believing me. "It might be time to buy a new pillow then."

I don't answer purely because I didn't know how too.

I know Dayton doesn't actually care beyond the fact that I'm slacking. Even if he did, it's not like I could drag him into all of this. Liam lying about Jem, Carter literally being on the verge of a mental break down, Ryder being stressed for no reason, Callum ready to choke someone at work; it was almost too much for the people in the relationship, let alone an outside looking in.

Dayton only frowned as he continued to stare at me.

"Your design won't get done if you keep looking at mine. You better not be trying to copy me." I attempt to joke but it comes out monotone since I can't find the will to put emotion into my words.