Scraps - Technical Knockout

 I really figured she was going to like it. 

I don’t know why. She had always been brutally honest in regards to my work. If there was ever a person that refused to sugarcoat or play with kids gloves though, it was Lilah.

To be fair, I probably didn’t approach it in the best of ways. My lack of confidence in something had never inspired confidence in me from Lilah. She wasn’t mean or anything, she was just honest. Sometimes honesty came in a tiny, brutal, cutthroat and ego deflating package, though.

Which was an unfortunate side effect when you had an ego as frail as mine.

I shuffled the manuscript pages in my hand for the latest chapter of the new Archon book -- the one that I had saddled with the title, ‘The Last Battle’ -- while I sat at Lilah’s kitchen table. It was a tentative title, really. Probably one that wouldn’t stick for the long run at all. Mostly because it felt too forced and unimaginative -- two things that Marley Denning was not. No sir.

“Hey,” I started in an unsure voice that cracked right away. I cleared my throat and attempted to speak again. “Hey, uh, I have a question for you, babe.”

Lilah looked up from her task of chopping tomatoes with a hum and a raise of her brows. “What’s that, love?”

My eyes scanned the first page in front of me, reading words at random and considering how I would bring this up. “Well,” I drawled and shuffled the papers a little bit more. “You remember how I finished chapter thirteen, right?”

“Armac arrived at the ruins of Tanderes and Foltun showed up out of literally nowhere to explain the prophecy,” Lilah replied without missing beat and went back to cutting.

“Yeah. That,” I said and uttered a small, thin laugh. It was not my laugh. Everyone present was well aware of that too. “It’s just, well…”

“God, will you please spit it out already? You’re killing me over here,” Alex muttered from the corner of the living room. 

I had almost forgotten that she was here. In fact, if I would have been more aware that she was here I might not have brought this subject up. After all, it felt unfair to taunt Alex with a book I wouldn’t even let her look at. Lord knew she sure acted interested enough.

Probably why she’s getting pissy now you insensitive jerk. I frowned at my thoughts and put the papers face down on the table. Maybe I should just wait…?

“Don’t listen to her, Marley,” Lilah said loud enough to have Alex scoffing and me humming in my throat in uncertainty. 

“Well, I had to do something,” I muttered out finally and ran my finger in an uneven circle across the table’s surface. “It wasn’t the smoothest, or really the most logically sound for the lore. I mean, it may not even work, but-”

“Look, it might be bad, but it’s probably not that bad.” Lilah grabbed a hand towel off of the counter and turned to me while wiping her hands dry. “Let me read it.”

I clutched the papers to my chest and frowned, my brows coming together in a hard furrow. “Well, hold on a second. Who said it was bad?”

Lilah arched a golden brow and pursed her lips. “Let me tell you something about yourself, Marley.”

“O-Okay…” I muttered, feeling the fear grip my chest just by the way she was staring me down.

“If you don’t believe in something you’re doing, it is glaringly obvious for the rest of the world to see.” Lilah raised a hand and gestured toward me, while her other hand went to her hip. “So if you won’t even let me see the thing, then it’s probably bad.”

“Burn!” Alex hollered from her spot away from us and then immediately broke into laughter. 

This house is just full of sensitivity, isn’t it?

“Yeah, well… whatever…” I grumbled, folded my arms across the table -- conventiantly on top of my manuscript -- and dropped my chin down on my forearms. “Stupid anyways…”

“Baby,” Lilah said with a soft sigh and came over to put a hand on my shoulder. “Even if it is bad, which I’m not saying it is, I’m merely suggesting. But if it is bad, then you can always rewrite it. A bad first draft has never stopped the super amazing Marley Denning before, right?”

I looked up at her big, honest blue eyes and sighed in defeat. “No.”

“Alright then,” she said and kissed my cheek before strutting back to her duties in the kitchen. “Tell me when you figure it out and I’ll let you know what I think.”

“But, wait!” I burst out suddenly. “I thought you wanted to read this?”

Lilah turned back to me with a confused expression. “And I thought we just agreed that this draft wasn’t worth looking through?”

My open jawed look was matched by another loud shout from Alex, “Oh shit! Double burn! She is owning your ass, Marley!” An obnoxious laugh before she shouted at the top of her lungs, “This girl is on fire!”

Lilah laughed with Alex while I slammed my head on the table and groaned. 

This is my support system? No wonder there are so many alcoholics in my profession. I looked between Lilah and Alex and shook my head again. These girls… They’ll drive you to drink.