[IC] City Comes to the Country (Tyler Night and Whitelily)

[Tyler Night]

"You don't have to leave all at once."

He looks back at her.

"If you don't commit to something you will NEVER know. You will FAIL 100% of the time if you never try something. Better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all."

He laughs.

"I am sounding like a motivational speaker or something and as cliche as all of that is, it is true. You should take a leap of faith, you will probably be rewarded for it. Just imagine, if you were to apply your craft with cars and murals, the money you could make could be incredible. That painting you did on the dragster, if you painted a full size dragster like that do you have any idea how much money you could make from just that?"

[DELETED08735]

"And what if I do come out here and fall on my face?"

Ele challenged, putting her hands on her hips but only managing to look slightly less pathetic than she had a moment ago,

"I quit at my job, move here, and no one hires me? I can't sell any of my art? What happens then? I come crawling to you begging for help, or run back to the city with my tail tucked between my legs? Just because there is a 'chance'?"

[Tyler Night]

"If you don't make it, which is unlikely, then you tried. That is why you try to transition into it. Don't leave it all at once. Do some stuff on the side, see how it takes off. Progress into it, slowly, get your feet wet in the shallow end, get accustom to it then when you feel it is well in hand then leap. Look at the automobile, late 1800's early 1900's people said they would never catch on, now almost every family owns one. Seriously though, in order to get something bigger in your life you have to be willing to take a possible loss. A calculated risk. I left a good job behind to start a career, at first it seemed like a bad decision but eventually, it showed itself to be one of the best decisions I ever made."

He looks at her and steps forward.

"I will ask you again, if you painted a full size dragster like you did the mini dragster, how much do you think you could make?"

[DELETED08735]

Crossing her arms over her chest, Ele shrugged,

"It depends on the amount of time and supplies, the complexity of the design... I would guess anywhere from a couple grand to a couple tens if it's a special or hard request."

[Tyler Night]

"Well, the tie dye. On a dragster you would be covering a 24 foot long body. You could see 40 to 50 grand with the gold flake paint job. Incredible paint jobs are well appreciated here, if you could apply your craft to painting cars, you could see 6 digit yearly income and possibly only have to work on a couple vehicles a year. If I commit to it, I might finally open my own shop not for hobby crafts but a paint and body shop. If I did that you know where you can get your living at."

He smiles at her.

"You are a master, when it comes to designs. That picture you drew of the train layout, you could easily sell for 3 or 400 bucks. Maybe more than that."

[DELETED08735]

"I'm not a master, I'm not an artist, I just love to paint. But why is it so important to you that I change my mind about moving here? Why have you decided to invest so much in me? You don't know me, or how broken I really am. If you did, you wouldn't even take a second look at me."

[Tyler Night]

"Ele, you have a natural ability with painting. Even if the painting is only as a hobby, it is a gift."

Hearing her question he says.

"I want you here cuz I love your company. I don't care if you're broken, wouldn't it be nicer to have somebody to help piece you back together even if it takes a while than to cover the cracks?"

He asks looking directly at her.

"Most of us have cracks and breaks, most of us are not complete. We all have our flaws, you just gotta find that someone that is willing to help you fix yourself and themselves."

[DELETED08735]

"You don't know how badly I'm broken. You don't know what you're saying."

Ele said dismissively, shutting down. Her nerves were too raw and too exposed right now. She hugged herself tighter,

"I'm not fixable."

[Tyler Night]

"Hun, look how much you've opened up to me in these last few days. I would say that you are fixable, just have to work at it."

He walks over to her.

"It may take a long time but you can be helped."

[DELETED08735]

Glaring up at Tyler, Ele looked defeated and tired,

"Do you know how long I've tried to be fixed? How much I have worked at it? How much therapy I put myself though? What was done to me wasn't a one time deal, it was a life time of horror and sadness, and the only person I could ever count on was myself. I only know how to depend on and trust myself. What's happened with you, it's strange and an anomaly, and I don't know why I feel safe enough to tell you as much as I have, but don't get used to it!"

[Tyler Night]

"You feel safe enough with me cuz you know you are safe."

He says looking down at her.

"You want somebody you know you can trust in, I am that somebody."

[DELETED08735]

"But I don't even know you. Not really.... How can I trust someone when I don't even know their middle name?"

[Tyler Night]

He steps up to her.

"It is Jerico."

He says with a smile.

"You wanna know anything, you just ask."

[DELETED08735]

"You're really close..."

Ele said, her voice dropping to a whisper. Her eyes went to the ground, unable to meet Tyler's gaze,

"You always stand really close."

[Tyler Night]

"You get close to me quite often too. Every time your eyes go down when I get close. Don't let them go down, you are stronger than you think. I promise that you are. I know you are scared but the only way you will beat it is to fight it. You always go to the flight response with situations like this. First step is to take the strong stance and fight it."

He says staying close.

"I promise once you get that feeling of standing firm against scary or unnerving situations, you will feel so much more power."

[DELETED08735]

"You're making assumptions again."

Ele muttered, feeling defiant and refusing to look at Tyler still,

"I work in a male dominated workforce, supervising men twice my age
Standing firm in unnerving situations is not a problem for me."

Raising her eyes to glare at Tyler, Ele frowned,

"But I do hate men telling me what to do. So stop it."

[Tyler Night]

He sighs.

"Ele, what are you so afraid of that you will fight against somebody getting close to you? There has to be something there."

[DELETED08735]

Pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes, Ele tried to soften her tone. She was getting upset and worked up, both of which would accomplish nothing,

"It's the fact that there is something there, and I don't know what to do with it."

Opening her eyes, Ele looked up at Tyler, the expression there finally open once more and the defenses down,

"I don't have faith in anyone, and I don't know how to let people in. I've tried over and over, but each time I get hurt again and again. I don't want to be hurt anymore."

[Tyler Night]

"Something is there, just let it in. You can accept it, it will be there as long as you want and need it.

He looks down into her eyes.

"You have already opened up to me, even if it is only partially. You can put your faith in me, I will not betray it. You won't be hurt by me, that is goes against everything I am."

[DELETED08735]

Letting her eyes stay on Tyler, Ele took in a shaky breath as she allowed herself to feel, but it was an emotion she didn't recognize, she had never felt it before. It had never been given to her, nor had she given it away,

"I don't know what this is. What am I feeling?"

She whispered, her body shaking.