Page 10
Sharing a bathroom with a minotaur definitely wasn’t on my bingo card this year.
Or ever.
Yeah, Otis convinced me not to kick him out immediately. He promised he’d start looking for somewhere else, and I gave him two weeks, but he hasn’t shown any signs of even starting to look into a rental or anything. He’s also using the room I wanted to turn into my home studio as his bedroom. If I don’t sort out a proper workspace soon, I’m going to fall behind before I’ve even started. For now, I have to paint in my bedroom, which isn’t big enough for all my supplies and my bed. It’s super annoying.
But not as annoying as the fact that I’m slowly getting used to having him around.
It’s actually kind of nice not to come home to an empty house after having gone out. Not that we’ve suddenly become best buddies who spend all their time together. Otis is either at the garage where he works as a mechanic or doing God knows what in the shed out back.
I grab my purse from the kitchen counter and check that I have my phone and wallet. My small sketchbook is already inside, along with a couple of pencils and markers. I’m not planning on doing any serious drawing today, but going anywhere without something to sketch with feels wrong.
Otis is sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in front of him. He glances at me when I walk past.
“Where are you going?”
“Into town.”
“What are you doing in town?”
“To the bookstore and then to the Fall Celebration, Dad.”
He pulls a face. “Don’t call me Dad.”
“Then stop acting like you are,” I say with a smug smile.
“Well, have fun.”
“You’re not going?” I ask, partly because I want to know and partly because I had hoped to run into him there.
“No.”
“Why not?”
He shrugs. “I don’t want to.”
“You’re not a fan of fall?”
He sighs. “Fall happens whether we celebrate it or not. No reason to have a party. We just have to suck up the fact that the days are getting darker and colder.”
“Okay then. Have fun sitting here by yourself all day.”
“Oh, I will.”
I grab my jacket and head outside before he can ruin my mood. It’s a beautiful fall afternoon, and after days of unpacking and trying to make the cottage somewhat livable, I’m excited to finally explore Screaming Woods properly.
And if I happen to find someone willing to let me paint them while I’m at it, even better. I need to get ten portraits done in two months, whether they’re of regular people or transformed people. I didn’t get this grant to sit back and do nothing.
I walk past the weeds in the overgrown front yard and make a mental note to figure out how to tackle this mess later.
I shove my hands into my coat pockets and smile. It’s truly a gorgeous day. The crisp air and sunshine make the gold and orange leaves seem even brighter. I can’t wait to whip my pencil roll out and make a few sketches, but I can’t right now. I have to focus on finding people who want to let me paint them.
Walking into town lets me notice details I missed when I drove through. At first glance, Screaming Woods looks like any other town, but the longer I look, the more I notice what makes it different.
A woman with pale purple skin walks past me with a little girl holding her hand. The girl looks completely human except for the pointed ears poking through her dark curls. A few feet ahead of them, a man with a long, furry tail is trying to keep it out of the way of someone pushing a stroller.
Nobody else but me seems to pay any attention to it. I guess when you live in Screaming Woods, seeing someone with horns or a tail is about as interesting as seeing someone wearing a hat.
The cozy shops are different too. Hearth & Hollow has shelves filled with glass bottles and jars, along with a handwritten sign advertising something called a sleep charm. I’m tempted to go inside, but The Spellbound Shelf is only a few doors down, and I’ve been wanting to check it out since I first drove past it.
