Lending a Hand

When Zane returned, Evan felt he lost his excuse to stay at the hospital. Unfortunately, the recently totaled truck eliminated his obvious ride home. Thankfully Tara offered to drop him off since she had to check on Bandit anyway. Zane was still arranging for his rental car, and opted to wait for news on when Rylee could be released.

While Evan expected to find himself in some type of pink Volkswagen, the car they walked up to was a truck that put the term "lemon" to shame. When he slid into the passenger side, there was a notable spring to the seat, and it came to life with a roar that made his feet tingle. "I'm starting to think you and Zane shop from the same car dealer," he remarked, noting the aged radio.

"Don't insult my baby! It looks rough on the outside, but what's under the hood is what matters!" She declared. They lurched into gear, and Evan struggled to get his seat belt to click with his one good arm.

"What exactly are you plans to get your work done like that," Tara asked in that annoyingly blunt way.

"Right now? I foresee a lot of cussing," Evan admitted.

Tara watched the traffic with a thoughtful look on her face. "You know, I might have an idea for you if you're up for it..." she merged into a lane, shifting roughly until they reached the right speed. She raised her voice to be heard over the engine. "I wasn't lying when I was taking about Rylee. She's good at what she does, but her confidence sucks...So, would you consider asking her to help you?"

Evan blinked in surprise. The suggestion came out of nowhere. "Help me? What do you want her to do, hold my pencil?"

"No, you loser, let her do the drawings. She has a tablet, I've seen her line work. She thinks I'm too dumb to pay attention to stuff like that. But she could be a good designer if someone gave her some help. You can rough out what you need done, and let her finish it. You can't draw, she can't walk. It's a win win," Tara insisted.

Evan hated to admit, it was a tempting suggestion. His webcomic was set to update every Monday, and he had two other projects due by this weekend. While he could postpone them a bit, any delay would hurt his clients, and he wasn't that selfish. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to try," he found himself agreeing.

"Great! I'll drop her off tomorrow on my way to work. Show her the ropes, and just let me know what you think, okay?" They pulled up to his place, and she shifted into park. Knowing there wasn't much else to say, Evan got out and thanked her for the ride. She waved him off and quickly drove away, her car speakers suddenly blaring loud rock music through the windows as she did.

"Strange girl," Evan muttered to himself before slipping inside his apartment.