Chapter 31: Fear On The Surface

Hector was in awe of Sharon's masterpiece. He had seen different paintings from different parts of the world before, but none so...well detailed, so skillfully crafted and so compelling.

Sharon had painted on the full canvas an image of one side of Victoria's face; One eyebrow, one eye, half of her nose, half of her lips and neck. The masterpiece of it though was in the structure of the eye; the way the paint was blended and the colors fitting perfectly.

*It all spoke silent words of Sharon's talent and genius.

"This is beautiful. It's so realistic and raw and unfiltered. How did you paint this?" Hector asked perplexed.

"I told you! This is what I do for a living. It's my passion. But it's more than just work, it's my way of getting my frustrations out, unburdening my heart and soul, and turning all of my negative energy into something remarkably beautiful," Sharon said to him.

Hector and Victoria stared at each other as Sharon explained why she painted. Her words were deep and filled with passion and all sorts of emotions. They could sense that her life hadn't been easy despite her obvious talent.

**You truly could not judge a book by its cover.

"Ok. Let's make a deal," Hector said to her and she folded her arms, waiting for his demands.

"Ok. Let's!"

"First, I'll need ten or more, depending on the demand, of new batches of paintings every month. I'll do a little survey to find out the kinds of paintings that have the most sales and you'll create them. Second, you will not receive any monetary compensation for your services, just the shelter of the house and the sustenance of the

food in it."

"Seriously, Hector? She's a grown woman. You want her to paint for you just for food and shelter? How will she take care of herself? She needs clothes and shoes and other personal items. She also needs a little bit of money in her pocket. She can't be coming to you anytime she needs to buy something for herself," Victoria told her brother.

"Fine!" Hector said in frustration, knowing that his sister was right. "You'll be paid a ten per cent cut of whatever profit is made monthly," he offered.

"Ten per cent is way too little. I want forty," Sharon countered.

"No way I'm giving you forty. How about fifteen per cent?" Hector countered too.

"Thirty per cent,"

"Twenty,"

"Twenty-five,"

"Twenty-five. Deal?" Hector said in agreement and offered her a handshake to seal the deal.

"Deal!" And they shook on it.

"Ok, then. We have to get started immediately. I want new paintings by tomorrow," Hector said impatiently.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, slow down there, big brother," Victoria cut him off, "you were going to pay Xavier so much money for paintings expected to be delivered by next week. That's in eight days."

"So, what's your point?" Hector asked, not appreciating how difficult his sister was making it for him to close his deal with Sharon.

"My point is; I think it's only fair that Sharon is given the same amount of time before she starts painting for you...Maybe even longer because I'm sure it takes more time to paint a masterpiece than it takes to steal one," Victoria said to him.

She always got him annoyed by her self-righteousness and decency. These were good traits in their own right, but Victoria sometimes could be a huge pain, Hector thought to himself.

"Fine! Just have them ready by next week. Here!"

He handed Sharon some money.

"That should be enough to get you all the resources that you'll need. Victoria will take you to the market and the both of you will get everything needed and bring them here."

He walked over to the storage room and opened the door to it.

"While you girls are gone, I'll be clearing out this storage room so you can use it as your studio. And here's a little extra money," he said and handed it to Sharon.

"...to get you some personal items that you might need. If you're going to be living here, you'll need to have your own things," Hector said.

Victoria took the money and smiled at Hector in appreciation. The girls started to walk towards the back door to go get prepared to leave for the market when Hector called out to Sharon.

"Sharon?" She turned around to face him.

"Don't make me regret this!"

.

.

.

Sharon was amazed by how different the marketplace here in San Jose was from the ones in Colorado. The people here seemed nicer and more intimate.

She and Victoria walked around for hours, buying everything they needed and paid a man to pull everything in a cart for them. They went into a shop to buy some paintbrushes. The shop was big and well-stocked. They moved around it, surveying the items and picking their choice when Sharon's eye caught sight of a painting on the wall of the shop.

She walked up to it slowly and her eyes widened in discomfort as she got closer to it. It was a portrait of a man who looked like a King holding a chain that was attached to the neck of a lion.

It wasn't the same picture, but it looked a lot like the one Sharon had painted and gifted to Addicus on her eighteenth birthday.

Seeing this image transported Sharon's thoughts back to when Addicus tried to rape her. Sharon tried to think of something else but was already trapped by the fear that the memory carried.

*She could feel his hands all over her again. She could smell his stench like he was right in front of her. She could hear his evil and menacing laughter.

She jolted back to reality with extreme shock when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She almost flew out of her skin in fright but thankfully, the person who touched her was not who she feared.

"Sharon, are you alright?" Victoria said after touching her shoulder.

"I'm fine," Sharon lied.

"Why are you staring at that painting like that? Have you seen it before?"

"No, I haven't. It...It just reminded me of something. We should go. We have what we need," Sharon said and Victoria could feel that something was bothering her.

They had stopped at the beauty shops and had gotten Sharon some clothes, accessories, and other womanly amenities. On their way back to the shop, Sharon was once again overcome by her fear of Addicus.

They were walking along the road when a man suddenly grabbed Sharon's hand. She was so terrified that she screamed and kicked the man away. Victoria ran to her side and held her away from the man.

"Sharon, are you okay?" Victoria asked.

"This man wants to hurt me," Sharon said, the panic very noticeable in her voice.

"Please, Madam, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just need some money. Please help me," the weary-looking man said to Sharon.

"This man doesn't want to hurt you, Sharon. He's just a beggar in need of help," Victoria bent over to the man and handed him some money.

"Try not to grab people next time. You might scare them, okay?" She said to the beggar, who nodded, thanked her, and hurriedly scurried off.

Victoria moved closer to Sharon who still looked like she was in a bit of shock. Her hands were trembling and she tried to get a hold of herself.

"Sharon, what's wrong with you?" Victoria asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I'm fine!"

"You don't have to lie to me, Sharon. You've been acting strange since we left that shop. What happened in there? Did seeing that painting scare you or something?" Victoria tried to make sense of it all.

"Why would seeing a painting scare me?" Sharon tried to make her sound ridiculous.

"I don't know. You tell me." Victoria rebuffed.

"There's nothing to tell Victoria. That man suddenly frightened me and that's all there is to it."

"But..." Victoria tried to probe.

"No Buts, Victoria. Just leave it alone. Okay?"