To Perceive an Image

Nine: Images of His Room

Anyway, serious matter at hand.

"How would you feel about visiting Maryanland with me?" Despite feeling hesitant, I still deliver my words. Although my voice lowered the longer I spoke. His reaction could be anywhere from calm and collected to lashing out and yelling, so I better be prepared.

Flynn, now overcoming his 'too shy to look' dilemma, stares at me for a good few seconds. His eyes were looking at me, but the dilated pupils prove his thoughts are going elsewhere. His black eyes alternate between looking at me and the distant stars the sky gave us the honor of viewing. I knew from the stern look overtaking his face that he was fighting his inner conscience. Almost as if he wanted to think even deeper about his response, his gaze settles on my eye before he sucks his bottom lip. I've seen a lot of thinking habits, but this is the first time I've seen a habit of biting a lip. He should be thankful he's handsome, or else I would not have held back a physical cringe.

A smile upon noticing his confusion lifted the corners of my mouth. Something about me swinging on the swing and him thinking whatever deep thought was humorous to me.

Let's hope he's too preoccupied with himself to ask for explanations about my eye. I jinxed myself because his eyes widened when he saw the rest of my bandages before his glare returned.

Hello, I don't have all night buddy. I made it easy by asking a yes or no question.

Growing bored, my eyes glaze over our surrounding environment. My boredom dies as soon as I see two squirrels climb a tree, I'm assuming to their nest. A small chuckle left me as I thought about how I will encounter squirrels in any world, no matter what.

Flynn takes a deep breath before he gives me the response I did not expect.

"What happened to your eye?" Flynn asks, looking back and forth from my eyes to the bandage. The worry on his face grew the deeper his frown and eyebrow creases got.

That's so sad how a stranger showed me more worry than my mother. Fuck my life.

Part of me wanted to spill out every detail, while the other part of me wanted to stay mysterious enough and make my response short and sweet.

That is the part that won over me, the sole reason being exhaustion not granting me the energy to speak. If I don't put my head on a pillow in the next five minutes, I might as well punch someone.

"I fell, and my eye landed on top of a sharp glass, and the rest is visible history," I answered, yawning. The worry on his face grows before he narrows his eyes, still eyeing my bandages. "Be careful, Azail. You're lucky it didn't lead to any more damage." Flynn scolds, his voice taking a soft, reprimanding tone in it.

Moving closer to inspect my eye, his warm hand presses in any bandaids that are becoming unstuck. I expected his touch to hurt the bandaged areas. His large hands didn't give me a 'I'm gentle' vibe. However, all I felt were gentle, almost nonexistent taps above and below my eye.

After feeling satisfied with his handiwork, Flynn takes a step back, now smiling.

I appreciate the worry, but how do I show him that without saying a sentence with 'um' in front of it?

"Um, thank you, and yeah, I'll do that," I said, not reassuring either of us with my questioning tone. Mission failed.

Before he could change the topic again, I ask my previous question, my voice now assertive in its demanding. "So? Will you come to Maryanland?" I raise my eyebrow, looking right into his eyes. That was the problem, I didn't intimidate him into answering the first time. I hope I did now. "Doing that will be a challenge for both you and me, Azail." He stressed, a defeated sigh coursing out.