Closer (A Dark Romance, Book 1): The Closer Trilogy

by M. C. Vann

  His troubled expression softened. Was he that affected by my silence or lack of words? His lips stretched into a relieved smile shortly after hearing my confession.

  “Come with me,” Henry muttered playfully. Taking my hand in his, we walked out of his office to the elevator down the hall. But when we trotted past the doors of the elevator, I was unsure of where he was taking me.

  I found this to be a pattern. I always followed Henry, even when I had no idea where we were going. I might as well be wearing a blindfold — I laughed in my head. When did I become so credulous with Henry?

  When we reached a door at the end of the hallway, I realized we were taking the stairs. Henry glanced back to give me a warm grin before taking us both upstairs.

  The building at this late hour was dead quiet. If someone were alone here at this hour, it would be absolutely terrifying. But with Henry by my side, I felt comforted knowing he would protect me if anything were to happen.

  After two or three flights of stairs, we came to another door. Henry placed the pad of his index finger on the scanner and seconds later, the door beeped and unlocked itself.

  The dark night sky greeted the two of us as we stepped out onto the roof of the hotel. To my surprise, the roof had a swimming pool running across the middle, a bar lounge, and a few lit cabanas for guests to sit and mingle up here.

  I strolled to the side railings of the building where my fear of heights and love for sceneries collided. The lights of Chicago twinkled below marvelously and even more dazzling were the stars above us. Although the stars were still obscure, it was much easier to see them from this height.

  As I stared into the night sky, a pair of long arms encased my entire body from behind. I turned my head slightly to be greeted with Henry’s lips on my cheek. I felt the pace of my heart quicken, and I tried hard not to pay attention to how badly I must be blushing right now.

  “Do you like it up here?”

  “Yes, very much.” I smiled. My fingers slid up to hold onto his arms across my chest. “Everything is much more beautiful when it’s peaceful like this.”

  “I knew you would. You’re so easily amused, Ally,” he said with a satisfied smirk.

  “Should I be more condescending next time?” I teased him, earning me a chuckle from him. It was such a lovely sound — his laugh.

  “Would you like to dance?”

  “There’s no music,” I pointed out, turning around to face him. Even in this light, this man still managed to look as handsome as ever.

  “We can pretend then. Didn’t you just say everything is more beautiful when it’s peaceful?” He smiled and I nodded. His hands gently grabbed mine, pulling them around his waist. My fingers casually laid flatly on his lower back as his arms wrapped around me. I smiled contently while I leaned into his chest, allowing him to lead us in this beautiful silent dance on the rooftop. “Do you remember the first song we danced to?”

  “Umm…I don’t,” I lied. Of course, I still remembered the song name and artist, but I was curious if he knew it.

  “I’m kind of offended, Ally,” he stated with a frown, clearly joking with me. “Frank Sinatra’s ‘Always.’ Remember now?”

  I acted surprised. “Ah, right.”

  “You’re a terrible liar, Ally. Did I ever mention that?” Now I was the one frowning at him. All he did was laugh at me which I couldn’t help, but find him adorable.

  It felt like hours passed before we finally stopped to sit down on a loveseat near the edge of the roof. I could stay like this forever and gaze up at the clear night sky with Henry’s warm arms secured around me. I tried my best to reply to Henry as we talked, but before I knew it, the heaviness of my eyelids became too much as I dozed off in Henry’s arms. Not long after, his words became muffled nonsense, and I fell under a sheet of darkness.

  I woke up the next morning, feeling much more refreshed. But as I slowly came to my senses, I realized that this bed wasn’t mine. The room wasn’t mine. Nothing around here was mine.

  What happened last night?

  The blinding light of the sun streamed through the large glass windows, lighting the entire room. My thoughts told me we were still in Chicago. Unfortunately, Henry was nowhere in sight. As I walked back to the bed, I noticed some folded clothes on the dresser and on top of them, a white note with a message on it.

  Morning Ally. I had an early meeting, so that’s why I’m not there. Call me soon

  - Henry.

  P.S. Thanks for last night. I really like waking up next to you.

  What … The …

  I reread the last sentence again and again. And again. Maybe several dozen times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

  Thanks for last night? I really like waking up next to you?

  A million thoughts rushed through my head as I tried to recall what specifically happened last night. All we did was dance, looked at the stars, and then talked. That was it, wasn’t it?

  I reassured myself over and over again that nothing else happened between us last night. To take my mind off it, I decided to take a quick shower before heading out.

  After washing up, I walked out of the bedroom into a long empty hallway. Opulence was etched into everything — the floorings, ceilings, lighting and more. Once I reached the end, there was a grand spiral staircase. There was a whole other level to this place?!

  Of course, there was. Henry was rich.

  As I approached the stairs, a picture frame on the wall caught my interest. In the photo was a family of four. His dad sat on the right side while his mom sat on the left.

  I wondered what they were like. His dad looked like the stern type in all situations — business suit, serious expression, white hair — but on the inside, he must have had a soft and temperate soul. And his mom with that warm smile of hers — it wasn’t hard to tell she was the one the children went to for comfort.

  Behind them stood two happy children, a teenage Henry, and his younger sister.

  What was her name again? Did Henry ever tell me? Did I ever ask?

  The name of his sister didn’t matter at the moment. What mattered to me was Henry. He lost all his loved ones and had lived by himself ever since. In some ways, I was like Henry too. We both lost some of the people we loved. But at least I still had my friends, Eve’s family, and Nancy. Did Henry have anyone to depend on?

  Trudging into the empty living room, I heard some noises coming from the kitchen and I stood frozen. Who else could be here if Henry was gone? A ghost? I told myself to stop being so unreasonable and decided to leave as soon as I could. But as I walked by, I saw a lady preparing something on the counter.

  “You’re up!” she cheered and I put on a smile. She knew I was here? How embarrassing!

  “Good morning, honey,” she said, wrapping me in a hug. “You must be Ally.”

  “Yes.” I smiled. “Who—?”

  “Oh, dear, I’m sorry,” she said, putting one arm around my shoulder and leading me to one of the stools by the island counter. “You can call me Nana. I was Henry’s nanny from when he was still a little boy.”

  “I see,” I replied, still smiling nervously. She was too sweet and kind. I hope she didn’t see me as the type of girl to sleep at anyone’s place so carelessly. “It’s nice to meet you, Nana.”

  “I was wondering when our Henry was going to bring you here.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been asking him to. You’re even more lovely in person than he described,” she said.

  I blushed. “Uh, thank you for the compliment.”

  She smiled in response and turned around for a moment to stir the contents in her steaming pot. The delicious scent of her dish filled the entire room.

  “You must be the one who taught Henry how to cook so well,” I commented.

  “I did help him a little, but I can’t take all the credit. Henry’s a natural cook.”

  He was naturally good at everything, I though
t.

  Nana grabbed a glass hanging from the cupboard. “Ally, dear, would you like some orange juice or milk?”

  “Water is fine, thank you.”

  Nana nodded at my request and placed a glass of water in front of me with a cup coaster. As I reached forward to grab it, Nana’s hands rested on the back of mine.

  “Please do take good care of our Henry,” she uttered, her voice slightly more somber than before. “I know he looks like a strong person who he has it all together, but our Henry is fragile. He’s quite … pitiful and lonely.”

  I stared into Nana’s blue eyes, taking in her careful selection of words.

  Henry was fragile, pitiful, and lonely.

  “I will do my best,” I sincerely replied. She smiled and looked more at ease before turning to stir the contents of her pot again.

  Even though I wasn’t quite confident if I was the person for the task, I’d try. Funny enough, this happened to be a reoccurring trend. I remembered the last time I had the same request from Henry’s friend. At the banquet, his friend also asked me to do the same thing. “Nana, if you don’t mind, could you tell me a little more about Henry?”

  “Knowing Henry, he doesn’t like to talk much about himself, does he now?” she asked, and I shook my head. Getting to know Henry was like trying to read a foreign language — extremely difficult, but not impossible. Nana must know almost everything about Henry since she watched over him as a young boy.

  “Where do I even begin?” She chuckled deeply as she sat on the stool next to me. “Henry was very mature. Even as a child, he never whined for anything. He was a very good boy and very determined. And he loved his parents so much. But the one person he cared most for was his sister.”

  “His sister? What was her name? What was she like?”

  She chuckled again. In her eyes flashed memories of the little girl — nothing, but lovely memories I imagined. “Pen ... She was much more stubborn than Henry… It’s so unfortunate what had to happen to his parents. Henry had just started his second year of high school when it happened and then ten years ago—”

  “I see that you two have met already,” Henry’s voice entered the conversation.

  Our heads flicked to the entrance of the kitchen where he stood casually. Was he listening the entire time or did he just get here?

  “There you are, Henry,” Nana greeted him with a hug. She was tiny compared to him. “How could you leave a girl unattended? The poor girl was scared.”

  I wasn’t that scared, but how did she know that?

  “I apologize. I was at a meeting and had to finish some extra paperwork in my office. Thanks for keeping Ally company, Nana,” Henry said to her.

  “Okay, let me set the table for you two.”

  “Did you need any help?” I asked.

  “No, no, dear,” she politely refused. “Henry, why don’t you show Ally around and I’ll call you two when I’m finished?”

  “Okay.” Henry obediently agreed and nodded to his Nana.

  I smiled at the scene before me. My heart felt much more at ease knowing Henry wasn’t all alone after all.

  “Don’t mind Nana. She likes doing these kinds of things by herself,” Henry told me as Nana went into the next room. He was no longer across the room, but standing two feet from where I sat. When did he approach me so quickly?

  “She’s a very nice woman,” I said, looking up at him. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about her earlier.”

  “I wanted to surprise you,” he said with that familiar enigmatic grin.

  Henry showed me the rest of his house, which included his work room and the other extra living rooms there were. How could one person live here alone? Though the rooms were filled with furniture and decorations, it still felt empty.

  Just when I thought we were finished with the tour, we stumbled across another door.

  “Here’s my bedroom,” he said.

  Knowing that small tidbit of information made me somewhat nervous. I gulped. This was stupid. I was being irrational. It was just another room … with a bed. The words he wrote down on the note suddenly haunted me again.

  Thanks for last night. I really like waking up next to you.

  “Did you want to take a look?” Henry asked. He smiled at me which I attempted to return, but I was pretty sure my smile came out as creepy and strained.

  “No,” I said, my pitch of my voice spiking. I cleared my throat. “That’s okay. It’s your personal space.”

  “Are you positive? Last chance,” he flirtatiously taunted me.

  “I’m sure.”

  I started to walk away, when I felt Henry’s fingers slip through mine, pulling me back.

  “Wrong way,” he whispered into my ear.

  We continued down a hallway that led into the backyard of the house. Back here was like its own paradise. The landscape design was done so professionally — whatever that meant. There was a playground where children could play and a fire pit with outdoor patio chairs under a canopy. There was also a pool, a guest house, and a beautiful heated koi pond in one corner.

  While we fed the koi fish, Nana called us in for lunch. She had prepared turkey and Swiss paninis with sides of mixed fruits and her signature soup. Henry prodded her for her secret ingredient, but she stated it will die with her. Though she found it hilarious, I could sense that underneath her joke, both her and Henry were afraid of that.

  In the middle of lunch, my phone suddenly rang with a text from my sister.

  Can you come by? Eve texted.

  “Is there something wrong?” Henry asked me.

  I looked up from my phone. “No, nothing. Eve just asked me to drop by her house later.”

  “I have errands to run downtown. I can drop you on my way there.”

  “Are you sure? I can take a taxi or the bus if you’re busy.”

  “Ally, I’ll take you,” he insisted. Knowing Henry, he was determined just like Nana said.

  After lunch and saying goodbye to Nana, we managed to make it to Eve’s house an hour later.

  “Thanks again, Henry,” I said after exiting the car. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Call me.”

  Henry watched me walk into the house before backing out of the driveway. As he drove off, I stepped out the door to catch a glimpse of his car turning around the corner.

  Slipping off my shoes and setting my bag by the entryway table, it felt a little strange. Everything was quiet.

  “You’re here,” Eve said to me as she appeared from a corner. She threw her arms around me, almost shaking my balance. Her arms held me with an unfamiliar sense of urgency.

  “Hi, what’s going on?”

  “Ally, can you watch the kids for a moment?” she asked as she retrieved her purse and keys.

  “Of course, I can. But is there something wrong?” I asked.

  “No, no, it’s nothing serious,” she rapidly said. She seemed rushed and stressed about something on her mind. “I have to go out. I’ll be right back.”

  And with that, she sprinted out of the house.

  I locked the door behind her and went upstairs to say “hi” to both my favorite kids.

  While waiting for their mother to come back, we made popcorn and watched Jurassic World on Netflix. Halfway through the movie, my text tone rang.

  A little surge of excitement swirled in my stomach as I read that it was from Henry. Though we were together only a few hours ago, I missed him already.

  What are you doing? Henry texted.

  Just watching a movie with Eason and Alexis. What are you doing?

  How fun! I’m at home right now. I wish you were here.

  I almost sent the message, You’re quite needy, but immediately chickened out. Instead, I texted, Me too.

  Pay attention to the movie. Good night, Ally.

  I was reluctant to say bye to him, so I didn’t reply back.

  If we were together every day, that wo
uld be nice. But we’d probably get sick and tired of each another or would we?

  I supposed space was a good thing. What was it they say? Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or was it distance?

  The front lights of a car illuminated the living room, signaling there was a car outside. Eve was home. I stood up from the couch and padded over to open the door only to find Eve storming into the house followed by Rick. She appeared very upset over something.

  “Eve, wait!” Rick shouted from behind her. “Let me explain!”

  “No!” Eve yelled back. “You told me that you gave it up. You told me repeatedly that you weren’t going to do it again! How many times do we have to go over this Rick?!”

  Oh, no! They were fighting again.

  Eve walked right past me, not minding even her two frightened children who were in the room.

  “Ally, please take Alexis and Eason upstairs,” Rick ordered with a serious tone.

  I nodded in agreement and signaled for the worried children to go with me upstairs. We sat in silence in Alexis’ room with the door locked. Loud exchanges of words boomed from downstairs, but I tried my best to comfort the children by holding them close to me and covering their ears.

  “Ally, why is mommy and daddy fighting?” Alexis asked as she frantically clung to me.

  “I don’t know, sweetie,” I answered softly. “But I promise, everything’s going to be okay. This is how grownups are sometimes. They fight, and then they come back together after working it out.”

  I gave Alexis and Eason the best encouraging smile I could manage while old memories resurfaced. I hated seeing them scared like this because I knew the feeling. My parents had many fights back when my mother was still around. Eve tried to shield Chris and I just like how I was protecting Eason and Alexis.

  At the end of their worst fight, my mother left the house with nothing, but a small suitcase with her. From then on, I never saw her again. Why did she leave after this one? Why was that one any different from the other fights? Later, my father explained to us that he had slapped her and after so many arguments, that was probably the tipping point for her.