Chapter 193

Lila's POV

The scratching of paintbrush and pencil against paper in the art studio—the comforting music to my making. But today, with the presence of all those noises, my head was someplace else. I took in the room environment, where Megan sat in deep contemplation over her latest piece of work. She and Max were like glue for the last couple of days, and it would be prominent to the eyes of anyone intent on prying.

This should have made me happy, seeing my best friend so content. Rather, a turmoil of feelings whirled inside me; feelings that I could not somehow make any sense out of. One last deep breath to do more work on my own and this gnawing feeling just would not leave me.

"Lila, you okay?" a voice cut into my thoughts. When I looked up, I discovered Jake, one of the other artists working in the studio, studying me intently.

I made myself smile. "Yeah, just lost in thought. What's up?"

He shrugged and sat down next to me. "You've