He Looked Back

by Hollandaise, Melissa

  By the time Ed raps in a coded knock on the door, the air is heavy with angst and cigarette smoke. I’ve busied myself with watching Dylan smoke—the way he breathes in slowly, his pink lips surrounding the cigarette and then parting as he breathes out. He catches my eye and smirks.

  I quickly put my own smoke to my lips, looking away and flushing.

  He puts his hand on my thigh as George lets Ed inside the apartment and I lean on his arm, shutting my eyes momentarily.

  I wish Lyone Enterprises didn’t have to endanger us, everything would be so much easier.

  “You alright?” William asks Ed as he sits back down.

  “I’m fine, but you might not be,” Ed says, shaking his head.

  I stiffen. “What do you mean?” I lose the desire to smoke and toss my cigarette butt into the ashtray on the coffee table.

  “Alec’s pissed at you, beyond pissed. He’s planning something on the twentieth, and I’ll tell you, it’s not only the party.”My heart pounds. My nightmares surface to my brain, along with the silver pistol. Abigail’s seductive eyes and James’s evil smirk swim through my mind.

  I can tell Dylan’s thinking the same thing as his fingers dig into the skin on my thigh.

  “We can’t go to that party,” he says.

  “Dylan’s right, he’s obviously got a grand scheme planned,” Ethan says.

  Everyone begins talking then about not going and breaking into Ivory or something, but my vision blurs slightly and I shake my head.

  “No,” I say and all eyes turn to me. I clear my throat. “We need to go to the party.”Dylan stares at me. “Are you insane? That’s just what he wants, Katie, he—”“Think about it,” I say, rising from the couch. “We could turn this around, we’ve already got Crane on our side. Alec is obviously going to be there, and if he’s away from Ivory then he’s distracted.”Dylan continues to stare at me like I’m psycho, but Oliver nods his head slowly.

  “I think you’re right,” he says to me. “Some of us could go to the party, and the rest could go to Ivory and break in, maybe with the authorities.”“The ones at the party could be distracters,” I say. “He’d be focused on the people there, and not Ivory.”Dylan shakes his head. “He’s not going to leave Ivory unguarded, there’s going to be people there.”“William and Ethan taped James to a wall, if anyone stands in their way they could do the same,” I say.

  William and Ethan look at each other and laugh.

  “As long as we get to tape some bitches, we’re in,” Ethan says.

  “This is a huge risk, think about the consequences if it goes wrong,” Dylan says, looking up at me from his seat on the couch.

  “We have to take it, or we’ll never get out of this mess,” George says. He shrugs. “I’m with Katie.”“As am I,” Ed says, putting his hand up. “If I’m part of this, anyway.”I nod to him and look back at Dylan, the only one who hasn’t agreed.

  “This could be your chance to break free, Dylan,” I say.

  He sighs. “Fine, I’m in,” he says.

  I smile at him and he manages to smile back, although we both know how dangerous this plan is. My dreams involving the large ballroom knick at the back of my mind still.

  “Who’s going to the party, then, and who’s going to Ivory?” George asks.

  I take a breath. “I think I have to go to the party.”

  Dylan’s gaze snaps over to me. “No, absolutely not. Your dreams, Katie,” he reminds me, his brow furrowed.

  “They were just dreams, Dylan,” I hiss. “And Alec is expecting me there, I’m who he wants, remember?”“If you go, I’m going,” he says sternly.

  “Who else?” Ed asks.

  “Well, he’s expecting you, too,” I say to Ed. “So you probably should.”“Ethan and I are taking Ivory,” William says.

  “I’ll go to Ivory, too,” George says.

  “That leaves Oliver,” I say, looking to him.

  “I’ll go to the party,” he says. “Crane would expect me to.”“Okay, so Dylan, Oliver, Ed and Katie go to the party, and William, Ethan and I will take Ivory,” George says.

  Everyone nods.

  “We need to plan out the details soon, the party is a little over a week away,” Ethan says.

  “Not tonight,” Dylan says, standing. “It’s almost dark, we should go,” he says to me and I nod, picking up my jacket and sliding it on as Dylan throws his cigarette butt into the ashtray.

  “Be careful,” Oliver tells us as we leave. Dylan nods and places a hand on my back as the door shuts behind us.

  My back hits Dylan’s soft bed as he kisses down my neck, biting and sucking gently. My heart beats fast as his hands move to the waistband of my jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them quickly.

  “You told me I had to come in to talk further about the plan,” I say breathlessly as he slides off his shirt, mine following shortly.

  “I lied,” he says against my neck and I laugh lightly.

  His soft hands roam my body as my jeans fall to the floor.

  “I’m really scared about this plan,” I blurt as Dylan’s jeans slide from his legs.

  He stops moving, looking down into my eyes from above me.

  I turn my head to look out the window adjacent to his bed, biting my lip.

  He’s going to say he told me so, that he told me it was dangerous and too risky. He’s going to be right, and I’m going to be wrong, as usual.

  “I am too,” he sighs, pushing himself off of me and onto his side, leaning on his elbow, facing me.

  “You are?” I ask, looking over at him.

  “Yeah,” he says. “There’s so much that could go wrong.”

  I nod, frowning.

  “But we’ve got over a week to plan, and we’ll make it as bulletproof as possible,” he says, his hand rubbing up and down my arm.

  I flinch at his choice of words, the silver pistol flashing through my mind.

  He realizes what he said and frowns. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

  “It’s okay,” I say, sighing. “I’m just so on edge.”

  “It’ll be over, one day,” he says, his arm pushing under mine and pulling me closer to him. I rest my forehead against his chest and his chin touches the top of my head, his other hand pushing my hair over my shoulder, twisting his fingers in it.

  “I love you,” I breathe against his skin.

  “I love you too,” he says, kissing my forehead gently.

  “You never told me how or why you got involved with Lyone,” I say, pulling away from him so I can see his face.

  “That’s quite the story,” he says, frowning.

  “You can’t keep it hidden forever,” I say, raising an eyebrow.

  “You’re right,” he agrees. He sighs. “I was twenty one when I first met Alec. I had, uh...a bit of a drinking problem back then, still getting over my mother’s death. I was at some party with Ed, and I was so drunk. Like, I put my right foot in my left shoe, and my left foot in my right one.” I giggle lightly he smiles a bit before going on. “I passed out pretty quick, and when I woke up the next morning, I was in this room that was all white. Not a splash of color anywhere, I mean, it was almost blindingly white. I had a hell of a hangover and was incredibly disoriented, I remember that much. It turns out I was at Ivory, and Alec had picked me up from the party.”I watch his lips move as he talks, my fingers absentmindedly finding their way to his tattoos.

  “He sat me down and told me he knew I was smart, and that I could be of great value to him. He explained the enterprises, and how I would get paid for my troubles.” I outline the tattoo of the ship on his arm. “Being twenty one and practically broke, I jumped at the opportunity.” He clenches his jaw. “Big mistake.”I decide my favorite tattoo of his is the ship as I trace it again and again.

  “So there you go, that’s the story,” he says, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

  “Well, you won’t have to work for him much longer,” I say, touching the little skull tattoo on his arm. My fin
gers find their way back to the swallows, gently tracing them.

  “If all goes well,” he says and I stop moving.

  “We can’t think that way,” I say, looking into his eyes.

  His jaw tenses, eyes moving from mine to look out the window.

  I press a kiss to his jaw, and feel him exhale slowly. His jaw relaxes and I pull back, looking up at him.

  “I’ll make dinner,” Dylan says, sitting up and reaching for his clothes on the ground. He tosses me mine and I pull my shirt over my head before slipping into my jeans.

  I can tell the atmosphere has gotten too heavy for us to make love at this point, with the upcoming party looming ahead. I pull my hair back into a ponytail and follow Dylan out to the kitchen.

  I sit at the kitchen island while he reaches for pots and pans. I offer to help him cook, but he smirks and tells me no.

  A knock sounds at the door and I stand.

  “I’ll get it,” I tell him and he nods.

  “Be careful,” he says as I unlock it and swing open the door.

  My eyes are met with ones green like emeralds, dark brown hair cascading past her shoulders, and strawberry pink lips curved into a nervous smile.

  I gasp slightly, taking a staggering step back.

  I hear glass shatter from the kitchen.

  “Leah?” Dylan asks in disbelief.

  She steps into the apartment, looking around timidly. “Lovely place you’ve got,” she says quietly, her accent as thick as Dylan’s.

  Dylan looks utterly stricken, his eyes wide.

  “And who might you be?” She asks, turning to look at me.

  “R-Katie,” I stammer.

  “Katie,” she repeats. “I’m Leah,” she says, although there’s no need for introduction.

  “Hi,” I say.

  “You’re quite pretty, Katie,” she says.

  “Thank you,” I manage to say. “So are...so are you.”

  She gives me a warm smile.

  “What are you doing here?” Dylan asks, not moving from the kitchen.

  “I came to see you,” she replies.

  “I thought I made it clear to stay away,” he says.

  “You did, but when have I ever been one to listen to my baby brother?”Dylan’s jaw tenses.

  I stare at Leah, taking her in. Her features resemble Dylan’s quite closely, but it’s obvious she’s older. Her eyes are tired and she looks almost sad. I see in her eyes how much she wants Dylan’s affection back, and my heart breaks for her.

  “Leah,” I say. “Would you like something to eat? I think we were just about to have dinner.”She swallows, looking back at me. “I’d love that.”

  Dylan’s breathing is shallow. “Katie, can I talk to you for a minute?”“Yeah,” I say.

  “Alone.”

  I swallow and follow him into his bedroom, the door clicking shut behind us.

  “Are you out of your mind?” He whisper-yells.

  “Are you?” I counter. “She’s your sister, Dylan. Give her a chance.”“You’re forgetting what she did, Katherine,” Dylan snaps.

  “No, I’m not. Dylan, you need to give her a chance to at least explain herself. She loves you, and she misses you.”“She’s dead to me.”

  “If she came here, Dylan, it must mean she wants to mend your relationship.”Dylan looks down, his jaw clenching. “I don’t think I’m ready for this,” he says quietly.

  I bring my hand to his cheek, stroking it lightly. “Are you ever going to be truly ready?”He chews on his lip, shaking his head.

  I step forward and kiss him gently on the lips. His arms snake around my waist as he leans into me, pulling away from my lips and kissing my temple, exhaling slowly.

  “If Courtney and I could do it, so can you and Leah,” I whisper to him.

  He nods, pulling away.

  I give him a last look before opening the door, leading him back into the living room.

  Leah is sat on the couch, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. She stands quickly when we enter.

  Dylan looks at me before turning to her. “I’m making spaghetti, if you want some,” he mumbles.

  Leah nods furiously. “I’d love some, Dylan, thank you.”

  He nods and walks past her, into the kitchen.

  I help Dylan clean the broken glass off the floor from when he dropped a plate. He curses, saying it was a nice plate, and I suppress a smile. He sees and smirks at me.

  While Dylan continues to cook, I join Leah on the couch.

  She smiles at me warmly, seemingly grateful that I’m making Dylan reach out to her. I suppose I can identify her, never being forgiven for something and trying desperately to mend a relationship.

  “So, where have you been living?” I ask her politely.

  “Oh, different hotel rooms,” she says, smiling wanly. “I’ve been travelling the world for a few years, now.”“Wow,” I say. “That must be...”

  “Tiresome,” she sighs. “But it keeps my mind off of things.”

  “What’s the best place you’ve been?”

  “Paris,” she answers instantly. “I’m, uh...an aspiring fashion designer.”“Oh, how lovely,” I say.

  “Yes, quite. Too bad I have no resources.” She laughs dryly. “But enough about me, love. Tell me about you.”I can tell Dylan’s listening from the kitchen.

  “Well, I’m from London City,” I say.

  “Oh, how nice. Beautiful city, truly. Been there quite a few times.”I nod. “It is nice.”

  “And what do you do?”

  “I’m a copy editor for Crane.”

  “Then you and Dylan must work together,” Leah says, looking to Dylan.

  I nod. “Yes, we do.”

  “And you two are...” Leah smirks.

  “Yes, Leah, grow up,” Dylan grumbles.

  Leah chuckles, turning back to me.

  “How many years are you and Dylan apart?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “Three,” she replies.

  “Oh,” I say, nodding. “I have a sister, too.”

  “How nice. How old is she?”

  “Nineteen.”

  “Ah, so you’re the eldest.”

  “Yes.” I nod.

  “Quite the job, isn’t it?”

  I laugh lightly. “That it is.”

  “Dinner’s ready,” Dylan snaps and we get up.