Just Who are You

Chapter Three

     We went a room where Tom wouldn't make it seem so weird. Desmond turned off the lights then looked to me opening a window. The only light came in from the window. He moves a desk up and grabs a sketching pad and puts it on top. Then he grabs a lamp that has good lighting.

  "You may ask me why it's dark. I love capturing what I see in the dark. By this I mean, sometimes I see things that people don't see and I am able to capture it in my drawings. All I need is a little light to get what I want and to see what I'm doing. Then I could work my magic."

  I hadn't asked him but I was swayed by his explanation and it made me blush a little. I understand it, I only draw what my mind tells me I see also. For instance, the prompt I got was a girl floating down a river. I remember back when I was 15 I had a dream that a man killed me and dumped my body down a river. I put the girl on her stomach so no one could see her face but all of these girls are me nonetheless.

   He moves an old chair and tells me to sit down.  He adjusts the curtains on the window then smiles heading over get another chair for his desk.

  "You might want to start on a canvas," I tell him."

  "I prefer to sketch first then use pastel or paint."

  I smiled like a giggling girl until he told me to shut my mouth. Look at the door we came in, and lean a little foward with my hands touching the front of the seat.

  I thought this to be fascinating so I did what he told me closing my eyes.

  "Beautiful!" he says grinning and I start to react like a school girl again.

  His hands attach to the paper as he looks up to me, "no, open your eyes."

  I do as he says. It must suck to be a model, but I know I did the same thing too when I was in college. 

  "You have beautiful eyes."

  At this I shivered, I was letting myself be too comfortable with this man and I wasn't even trying to stop him from hitting on me.

   He starts again and looks at me but not directly. It seems like he's looking at something standing behind me. For a while this goes on and then there's a knock on the door.

  "Hey Lia. Done for today, do you want to go get coffee."

  "Don't answer, you position is beautiful. I am almost done Tom then we can go."

  I look at Tom as he looks at me. I know he hated this guy but also really didn't want to hate him at the same time.

  He leans over and looks at Desmond's drawings of me. His face squeezes to an unsound horror.

  "Who's that man looming over her in the back?"
  "I call him The Stranger."

  "I'm finish," he says a moves a movement across his paper as if he's scribbling something. "Lia, you can't see it until I'm done. Now we can get coffee."

  "Actually Lia your sister just texted me. She's in the hospital again."

  "I'll go later."

  Desmond looks at us surprised.

   This is our way of getting out of a situation neither of us want. The roles switch accordingly to both of us and we both get it when we say it but I shrugged Tom's excuse to not to invite Desmond off.

  "I've been there all week. I'm tired. You can go and we'll just go get some drinks."

  "No, I have something to do later on today anyway, you should go ahead," Desmond says. "If your dating or have dated Tom, I wouldn't want to cause tension in the workplace."

  "What do you mean?" Tom says to Desmond.

  "It seems like you guys are best friends. I finally get why you guys are acting so weird around me."

  "It's not that, it's -"

  "Tom!"" Miss Harith calls. "Come here, I need you to do something for me."

  Tom quickly heads over to Mis Harith's office. "He's like a brother to me. He's very overprotective."

  "Oh, it seems I read the situation wrong."

  "Don't we all."

  He set his stuff at the desk and then we turned and went outside the art studio.

  I looked back into his eyes once more as he stared straight ahead.

  "What did you see when I stood in the dark?"

  He looks at me silently for a moment, "there was a man looming over you."

  "What was he doing?"

  "You'll see in the future."

  I smile as we walk down the street into a starbucks.

  So far this is the most liked story I ever wrote for the AIM to Engage Prompts and because you were so kind to vote and add some of my stories to your reading lists. It inspired me to write some more. Thank you monsoonrains1600.