Piece By Piece (The Ink Nation Series Book 1)

by Jennah Thornhill

  Turning back to her, I lift an eyebrow waiting for her to answer my earlier question and reluctantly she relents.

  “It’s just Zak, I can’t see straight around him and he doesn’t even know it. I know your anti men and I totally get that; I do. But...”

  “But nothing, you’re gonna be okay. If he can’t see how amazing you are, then it’s his loss and you’ll have a fabulous tattoo out of it.”

  Go me, being all supportive and shit, usually I can never get past my own demons to help, let alone give a speech like that.

  “You’re right. Let's do this.” she declares.

  She takes my hand and pulls me through the door behind her, to which I collide with her back, when she abruptly stops.

  “What the fuck, Zo?”

  Looking over shoulder, I finally see what has her looking like she’s swallowed a wasp. Behind the glass desk in front of us, is one big bastard. He’s got to be at least six foot, five inches and eight feet across the shoulders. He’s got a black Ink Nation t-shirt on, that's spread tightly across his chest and fits snug on his muscular arms. Running a hand through his blond, slicked back hair, it’s then I finally notice he’s covered in ink. His neck, his arms and I’m pretty sure his chest as well… Well why wouldn’t it be if everywhere else is? Lifting a hand, Zo gives an awkward wave, as she speaks.

  “Hey Zak.”

  Putting his hands into his jean's pockets, he looks to her and smiles before saying.

  “Oh, hey Zoe. You okay?”

  Not wanting to be a part of this uncomfortable situation any longer, I take myself over to the right, where the waiting area is. Staring up at the walls in front of me, I stand there in complete awe. There’s design upon design all laid out in quirky frames. Some are girly but some are so intricate, and the detail is out of this world. I can see the time and dedication that’s gone into them. They remind me of a time when I thought I would see my art hanging on walls. The passion behind them is evident. I trace a fingertip over one particular frame that has the design of a crying girl, only her tears are blood red. In this moment, I can relate to her. She’s in pain and has nowhere to turn.

  “Fancy that one, do ya, Pink?”

  The sudden gravelly voice from behind me makes me jump and turn around in an instant. With a hand over my chest, I crane my neck back to take in the male before me. He’s another big bastard.

  What’s in the water around here? Are these guys made to intimidate women? My voice doesn’t seem to want to work and I stand there staring at him, the way I just stared at the designs behind me. Where the male species are concerned, they aren’t my thing. I’m not lesbian, but I have validated reasons why I don’t go anywhere near them. The giant in front of me steps forward, causing me to take a step back and wrap my arms around myself as some form of protection against him.

  “Whoa, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

  He protests as he takes his hands out of the back pockets of his jeans and holds them up for me to see.

  “I saw you looking intently at that one.” He points to the picture on the wall before he continues, “And I thought I would come and talk to you. You’re Zoe’s friend, right?”

  Giving him a sharp nod of my head, I finally take the guy in. He’s just like Zak in height, but he’s not quite as muscular. I can clearly tell that he works out, but he doesn’t overdo it, if you get me. Again, like Zak, he’s wearing a black, Ink Nation t-shirt. It fits him perfectly in all the right places and shows off all the art that covers his skin. My eyes trace the rest of him, but they come to a sudden stop when my eyes land on his. They’re the most unusual color, but yet they suit him. Staring back at me, is the most intriguing, violet eyes. I don’t know this guy from Adam, but I can see the damage swimming in them. It’s what I see when I look at myself in the mirror.

  “I’m Trey.” he holds his hand out for me to shake.

  “I… I… I’m Daisy.”

  I somehow stutter out, as I tentatively place my small hand into his large one. For me that’s a big step. I haven’t touched a male in any shape or form in over ten years. Yet with him, it just seemed the natural thing to do.

  “Well hello, Daisy. It’s nice to meet you.”

  A smirk appears on his lips showing a small dimple in his cheek. Letting go of each other’s hand, I clench my fists and dig my nails into the palm of my hand. The sting of pain grounds me, letting me know I’m okay. That I’m in a public place and Trey isn’t going to hurt me here. He isn’t the monster I’m used to.

  “I see you’ve got some ink already?”

  He motions to my bare shoulder, where my tattoo of a flying bird is.

  “Erm, yeah. I’ve had that for quite a while now.”

  The bird in question is what I got when I was eighteen and it was my way of showing that I was spreading my wings and learning to fly in the world on my own. Only I didn’t fly quite like I wanted to. My demons and fears still gripped me on a daily basis.

  “Well… I’ve got to get back to work, it was nice meeting you Daisy.”

  Unclenching my hands, I put them into the pockets of my jeans.

  “Yeah, you too.”

  It’s all I have to offer him, he’s a man. Even though he didn’t scream danger to me, I’m not going to be ecstatic that he spoke to me. I’m far too broken for that shit. My wiring doesn’t work like Zoe’s does. I don’t get the same feelings when a nice-looking guy looks at me. In fact, I'd rather claw my own eyes out. He turns on the black boots he’s wearing, goes back behind the glass counter and disappears through the archway. That I presume is where all the action in this place happens.

  With no sign of Zoe yet and totally weirded out from my interaction with Trey, I take a seat on the L shaped, black leather sofa. I notice a pen and some paper on the coffee table in front of me. Upon inspection, I see it’s the aftercare rules for their clients. Turning the paper over, its blank on the other side. So, whilst I wait for Zo, I do something I haven’t done in a very long time… I sketch.

  Lost in what I’m doing, I don’t see Zoe come from out of the archway, until she’s saying my name.

  “Yo, earth to Daisy. Is anyone there?”

  Snapping out of the trance I’m in, I place the paper and pen back on to the coffee table and stand.

  “Sorry, I was in my own little world. Are you done?”

  She glances down at the piece of paper on the table.

  “What’s that, D?”

  She knows what it is but isn’t making a big deal of it, she’s waiting for me to get excited about it, but I don’t. It’s just a small drawing, that means nothing to me.

  “It’s nothing, let’s go. You owe me a Starbucks.”

  “Mmm, if you say so.”

  Leaving the sketch behind, I take her hand and drag her out of there. Before she gets some crazy assed notion that I’m suddenly fixed and I’m back to pre-fucked up Daisy. Opening the door for us, I let her leave first. That’s when I see him. Trey is standing in the archway; arms folded across his chest and is watching me.

  For some reason, I can feel his stare reach into the depths of me, no-one ever has before.

  Chapter Five

  Trey

  I had no intention of speaking to her, to me she was a nobody. Just someone who came along to the studio with a friend for moral support, we get a lot of them. As I stood back and watched her take in the designs on the wall, I could see she was generally interested in them. Not in a, ‘I must have it tattooed on me’ way. She took her time walking back and forth, until she stopped in front of one in particular. The one I titled, The Broken Soul.

  That one took me ages to get right, I wanted to capture the woman's damaged mind within the drawing. When I saw her lift her fingers to it, my curiosity about the girl standing with her back to me was heightened. Being me, I made a joke when I approached her. Not that she noticed, she didn’t even say anything about me calling her Pink, when I referenced her hair. For the few mom
ents we spoke, I could tell she was skittish and rattled by my sudden appearance. Which is something I’m not used to. Chicks normally just wilt when I start to talk to them, but not this one. She’s intrigued me to say the least. In fact, I'd even go as far to say that she interested me and not in a, I want to have sex with her kind of way, although she is hot. Very hot, actually. When she looked up at me with sad green eyes, I felt like she had this invisible touch and I was under her spell. It freaked me the fuck out. Telling a small white lie to her, so I could leave the situation I had gotten myself into, I left her standing there.

  Now I’m sat on my stool, with a drawing pad on my knee and a pencil in my hand, sketching calms me. It takes my mind off all the fuzziness going on around me. I’m also quietly praying that Zak would hurry the fuck up with this Zoe chick because then if she leaves, she’ll take her pretty friend with her. Blocking out the noise of those pair acting like high school teenagers, I smile to myself as I put pencil to paper and by memory, I draw.

  “Bye Trey.”

  Zoe gives me a small wave before saying goodbye to the other guys. Before I can stop myself, I’m putting down the drawing pad and pencil and following her. Stopping at the entrance to the arch, I watch closely as Zoe says something to Daisy. That’s when my interest in her goes up a level. I see her drop a piece of paper onto the coffee table in our waiting area. Zoe points her finger at it only for Daisy to shrug it off, as if it doesn’t matter to her. Moments later, they head for the door to leave. When Daisy opens the door for Zoe and sees me standing there watching her, that invisible touch I felt earlier, is stronger than ever. I’m man enough to admit it fucks with my head as she turns away from me and leaves.

  “Oh yeah, what or should I say who are you staring dickface?” Zak asks from over my shoulder.

  “Fuck off, I was just checking she didn’t make a mess.”

  I point in the direction of the waiting area we have and it’s spotless, apart from the piece of paper that Daisy left when Zoe approached her.

  “Yeah, okay. If you say so, remember assface, I know you and that far away stare you’ve got going on, I’ve never seen you have that before.”

  Chuckling and giving me a back slap, the asshole goes back to his station. Looking over my shoulder, I make sure that none of the fuckers, who are worse than any woman for gossip, aren’t watching me and make my way over to the coffee table.

  Picking the paper up between my fingers, I turn it over. It’s like I’ve been hit by a freight train; the wind is knocked out of me completely as I stare down at what graces the page. I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean, I know, me and the guys can draw and come up with some pretty fantastic stuff, but this, this is epic. It’s like she’s taken the design I have on the wall and made it one hundred percent better. Half of the woman's face is smiling, and the other half is sad, with tears running down just the one cheek. Her lips are plump and defined, but pressed against them is a finger, it’s as if it’s silencing the happy part of her. How the fuck did she do this so quickly? Something like this would take me days, maybe over a week. The detail in the drawing is perfect, she’s captured so much in the woman’s eyes…the way she’s staring back at me gives me the chills.

  “Oi, fucker. Are you planning on doing any work today?” Levi holla’s from behind me.

  I don’t answer him, I’m too entranced with the lines and curves of the woman’s face.

  “Fuck me, that’s fan-fucking-tastic. That one of yours?”

  Levi is now looking over my shoulder, which makes me jump. I didn’t even hear him come up that close. Feeling like I should protect Daisy’s work, I fold the piece of paper and put it in my jeans pocket and turn around to face him.

  “No, it’s not and you’re gonna pretend you never even saw it. Okay?” I snap.

  He steps back and holds his hands up.

  “Woah, okay dude. Whatever you say, but I will say this, whoever that drawing belongs to, should be working here. They’ll make us a fortune.”

  With that said, he spins on his boots and goes back to work just like I should. Thing is, now he’s got me thinking. I need to see Daisy again; I have to tell her just how amazing her art is. Not the fact that on some really strange level, I can connect with what she’s drawn.

  Chapter Six

  Daisy

  “Holy shit, D. Did you see Trey watching you? I could feel his eyes burning holes into you and he didn’t even try to hide it.”

  For someone who’s bright, Zoe doesn’t half talk some shit.

  “Zo, he wasn’t staring at me in that way. He thinks I’m weird, just like every male I meet. I’m not your average female remember?”

  “Oh, fuck off, you’re talking trash. I know when a man is interested and believe me, he’s interested in you.”

  I give her a shrug off my shoulders and cradle my hot coffee between my hands. Since we left Ink Nation, Zoe has been waiting for me to tell her more about my conversation with Trey, but there’s nothing to tell her. Yes, he’s gorgeous, but I’m not interested. I don’t do men… period. I don’t trust them, and I certainly aren’t equipped enough to handle a man like him. He didn’t have to say it out loud, but I could tell he thought I wasn’t all there. Once he started talking to me, he couldn’t get away from me quick enough. As for him watching me when I was leaving, I’ve come to the conclusion that he was just making sure that I was leaving and not coming back.

  “Maybe he could be the one, you know to put you back together. Make you realize that not all men are complete dicks.”

  I give her my, don’t be fucking stupid, stare over the rim of my mug and she just laughs at me.

  “You’ll see, I’m telling you now Missy. One day you’ll get the happiness you deserve. So, don’t look at me like that.”

  Placing my coffee down, I pick a piece of my muffin and throw it at her.

  “You read far too many romance novels, not everyone gets their happy ending.”

  The conversation ends there. We drink our coffees in silence, while we people watch out of the window before heading back to our apartment.

  Since our little outing this morning, all I’ve done is lounge on the sofa and sketch. Since I picked up that pen and paper at Ink Nation, the craving to draw got the better of me. So, I went in search of my sketch pad and my pencils that I have hidden under my bed. I changed into sweats and spent the afternoon lost in the art. I don’t realize how late it is, until I hear Zo speak.

  “I’m gonna go get Chinese takeout for dinner, I don’t fancy cooking.”

  Looking over the back of the sofa at her, I answer.

  “Yeah that's fine, will you get me…”

  “Yes, I will get you your usual of beef in black bean sauce with rice and noodles. Don’t worry girlfriend, I’ve got you covered.”

  Smiling my thanks at her, she picks up her purse and heads out the door, leaving me to my drawings. I’m smudging and shading with the tips of my fingers, when there’s a loud knock on the apartment door. I look at the time on my phone and I know it can’t be Zoe, she’s only been gone ten minutes.

  When she goes for takeout, she takes forever deciding what she wants. Throwing my legs off the sofa, I place my sketch book on the coffee table and stand, just as the knock comes again. My nerves and anxiety at who it could be, are taking over my body. On unsteady legs, I go to the door and look through the peephole, but all I can see is black. That is until the figure turns around and the wind once again, is knocked out of me.

  “Daisy, answer the door please? I know you’re in there, I’ve just seen Zoe.”

  His voice penetrates through the hard wood of the door, causing my skin to pebble into goosebumps.

  Fuck. Shit, Son of a bitch.

  What the fuck is he doing here?

  Making sure the door chain is firmly in place, I crack the door open slightly, just enough for us to see each other through the gap.

  “H… Hi. What are you doing here?”
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br />   I’m curt and stand offish. The last thing I ever expected was to see him again. Let alone him turn up to where I live, just a mere few hours after we met for the first time.

  Taking something from the inside pocket of his leather jacket he’s wearing, I see the familiar piece of paper that I left on the table at Ink Nation.

  “Where did you get that from? No-one was supposed to see it.” Surprise evident in my voice that he’s seen it.

  “Well seeing as you, left it lying around in my studio, I thought it was trash you left lying around. That was until I picked it up and saw what you had done. Look, Daisy. Are you gonna let me in or what? I don’t really fancy talking through a gap and if anyone sees me, they’re likely call the cops, thinking I’m harassing you or some shit.”

  A smile lights up his face and for the first time in forever, I feel like I can be alone in a familiar environment with a man. His smile and the look he’s giving me, tells me he could actually be a genuine male, but then again, I could be wrong. Even the people who were supposed to love and protect me, hurt me. He did just say he’d seen Zoe though, so she knows he’s here. If anything were to happen to me, she will be back in no time to save me.

  With shaky fingers, I close the door, take the chain off to open it up all the way and let him in. Standing with my back-ram rod straight, against the wall, I gesture for him to come in and wave a hand in the direction of the living area.

  Now that I’ve let him in, my nerves have gone to def-con five level. My feet are still firmly in place by the door and my hand is still on the door, keeping it open, while my natural instincts are telling me to run.

  “I don’t bite, Daisy. Well not unless you ask me to of course, I’m here to just talk to you.”

  He’s turned to face me, and his features are relaxed, his smile is soft and I’m hoping, genuine.

  One Mississippi.

  Two Mississippi.

  Three Mississippi.

  I count in my head as I take three, deep breaths and take what would later be, the first steps to my savior.