Jake Undone by Penelope Ward

and each drawing was better than the last. Another one was of the same
    man riding the motorcycle into the clouds in the sky. There were also a lot of drawings of the same woman
    or girl, with wild curly hair. In one of them, she was dancing in the rain and had a long skirt that seemed to
    move within the picture. They were all done solely in pencil with blends of charcoal and graphite.
    There was another picture of a butterfly, but the center was a lifelike woman, instead of a thorax. The
    drawings were so intricate, and the attention to detail was impressive. I felt guilty for looking through the
    book, but Jake left it right on his desk, so it couldn’t have been something he was trying to hide. Right? At least, I made myself believe that.
    I finished going through the first sketchpad and became hungry for more. I grabbed the entire pile and
    devoured each one with my eyes. Some were of people and others were just nature scenes. Certain ones
    were so stunning, that I had to stop and stare at them for several minutes at a time, examining every last
    detail. Then, I would go back to some of the pictures again if I couldn’t get the image out of my head.
    I was frantically searching these photos for clues about Jake’s life. With each drawing, I was more and
    more confused about the possible meanings. Were they based on real people or just characters he created
    from his imagination? Jake was even more complicated than I originally thought.
    At one point, I rested my head on his black pillowcase, relishing the rustic masculine aroma that
    invaded my senses. Between the drawings and the intoxicating scent, I was super aroused.
    Several minutes passed, and I gradually became drowsy, deciding to close my eyes. That was the last
    thing I remembered before I awoke to Jake standing over me with a death stare, as I lay on his bed amidst a
    pile of his private sketches.

    ***

    Was I dreaming? I rubbed my eyes from the sudden brightness. The realization that this situation was
    not imagined caused my heart to explode out of my chest. It felt like I was also about to lose control of my
    bladder, so I clenched the muscles between my thighs and jumped up, scooting back against the headboard.
    “Jake…I can explain.”
    “What the fuck, Nina?” he whispered hoarsely, his tone angry.
    The sad and disappointed look in his eyes scared me, and I was even more terrified because I had put it
    there by violating his privacy.
    His hair was dripping wet from the rain which I could now hear pounding against the window. Under
    different circumstances, being holed up in his room during a rainstorm would have been a dream, one that
    would not include him looking like he wanted to murder me.
    He continued to stand over me speechless, and I knew I had to say something, but the words just
    wouldn’t come out. I noticed his backpack was thrown clumsily in the middle of the floor.
    After several seconds passed, I cleared my throat and started with a white lie about the reason for going
    into his room. “Um…a few hours ago, I was alone in the house, and your door was open. I had thought I
    left the math workbook in here, so I came inside. I noticed these sketchbooks. I only meant to peek in at the
    top one, but when I saw how amazing the first drawing was…I just couldn’t stop looking.”
    He swallowed and continued to look at me with a burning stare, but said nothing. His chest was rising
    as he breathed in and out. Shit.
    I continued. “I must have closed my eyes and fallen asleep.”
    Jake blinked repeatedly but was still silent. A trickle of rainwater ran down his forehead.
    My voice was shaking. “I am really sorry. I should have never thought it was okay to look at your stuff.
    For the record, they are the most phenomenal drawings I have ever seen.”
    I sat there against the back headboard frozen with my knees to my chest. Jake said nothing as he moved

    closer and took the sketchpads, piling them on top of each other. Then, he