He Looked Back

by Hollandaise, Melissa

  “What do you want me to do about it?”

  She takes her bottom lip into her mouth. “Can...can I sleep in here?”

  I stare at her. Not two hours ago we were fighting, and now here she is, asking if she can sleep in my room tonight. It reminds me of Dylan and I when we first met.

  “I guess,” I sigh and she pads over to my bed, slipping in next to me. I switch off the light and lay back down, shutting my eyes.

  “Remember when we used to jump on Mom and Dad’s bed and we’d get our dessert taken away?”Her voice rings through the silence.

  “Yeah,” I say. “But it was so worth it because their bed was practically a trampoline.”“Yeah.” I hear Courtney’s smile in her voice.

  I turn onto my back. “Remember when we’d try to make snowmen on the sidewalks in the winter, but the snow was all slush from foot traffic so it never worked.”“And we’d get upset and cry so Mom made us hot chocolate and Dad slipped us extra marshmallows.”“And that one time I spilled it on the couch and I was grounded for a month.”

  “Oh, yeah. Mom was so pissed.”

  We laugh into the darkness.

  “I talked to Jason,” Courtney says softly.

  I exhale slowly.

  “He...he explained everything.” Her voice lowers to a whisper.

  “Did he.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I should have listened to my own sister instead of a sleazebag like him.”I look over at her. “Yeah. You should have.”

  “I’m really sorry about what he did to you, too.” Courtney’s bottom lip quivers. “I..I guess I've just always wanted to have something you don't, you know? You had the brains, you got the great education, and now you have this amazing job. I don't have any of that, I've barely graduated fucking high school." She shuts her eyes. "So when I saw...what I saw, I guess it was the perfect reason to hate you." Her voice cracks and she opens her eyes again. "I’ve been such a shitty sister.” A few tears escape her eyes and I reach over to wipe them away, propping myself up on my elbow.

  “Hey, don’t cry,” I say. “It’s over now, it’s in the past.”

  She nods and takes a shaky breath. “I know.” She sits up in bed. “I love you, Katie.”“I love you too, Lizzie.”

  She reaches for me and we embrace tightly, just like we used to when one of us was struggling. It feels so good to have my sister back. This past year has been such a difficult one without her support, and an empty gap in my chest seems to fill up again. I know Courtney’s crying and I’m crying, but it’s alright, because we’re sisters again.

  “Have a safe flight,” my mother says, squeezing me in a tight hug. “Wash your hands if you use an airplane bathroom. Those things are infested with germs.”“I won’t forget, Mom,” I say as my flight is announced over the loudspeaker. This weekend was horrible at the beginning, but after speaking to Courtney, it got considerably better.

  “I’ll miss you,” Courtney says in my ear as we hug.

  “I’ll miss you, too,” I say. “You should come visit some time, when you’re on break from college.”She nods. “Definitely.”

  My father is last to hug me. I squeal as he wraps his arms around me, squeezing me in a tight bear hug. “Love you, Katie-Posie,” he says, calling me my old nickname. “Make sure to call us soon.”“I will,” I say as I pull away from him, gathering my things. I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. “Good, uh...good luck in court next month.”My parents look to the floor, nodding.

  “See you later,” they call after me as I turn and hand the woman at the desk my boarding pass. I wave to my family one last time before boarding the plane.

  I look around for Oliver, my previous flying companion, but I don’t see his signature dark quiff anywhere so I take my seat and open a manuscript. I barely did any editing this weekend, so I should definitely catch up on this flight.

  Unfortunately, as soon as the plane takes off, I pass out, sleeping for a good three and a half hours. I wake when the captain turns the seatbelt sign back on for landing.

  I rub the sleep out of my eyes and turn to look out the window at the lights of the city. I recognize CraneBusinessPark, where I work, and smile. It looks so small from up here.

  When the plane finally lands, I collect my bags and run a hand through my hair. It’s seven o’clock pm here, a sharp contrast from ten o’clock in London.

  I search for my car in the lot and slip into it to find that it’s freezing. I shiver and blast the heat, turning on the ignition and driving home.

  I know my apartment’s going to be freezing, and I’m dreading walking in there.

  I stumble into my apartment, dragging my bags behind me to discover that it is indeed frigid inside. I race to the thermostat, cranking it high and wrapping a blanket around myself.

  By eight thirty, I’m unpacked and showered. I realize I haven’t spoken to Dylan since Friday night. I slip on socks and walk across the hall to knock on his door.

  I wait for a few minutes before knocking again. A muffled, “come in,” sounds through the door and I twist the knob and enter.

  “Dylan?” I call when I take in the empty living room.

  “In here,” he calls.

  I follow his voice to his bedroom. He lies on his back, palms pressed to his eyes. He wears a grey knit sweater and his signature jeans.

  He sighs and sits up, shooting me a tired smile. “Hey, how are you?”

  “Fine,” I answer slowly. “Everything okay in here?” I raise an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I just have a bitching hangover,” he says, pressing his fingers to his temples.

  “Why?”

  “A client suspected Alec was cheating him for his money so Alec threw him a party, nothing new,” Dylan groans. “Long story short, Ethan beat me at beer pong.”I snort. “You lost at beer pong? Loser.”

  He looks up. “Is that a challenge, Katherine?”

  I shrug. “I just got off a five hour flight, I have nothing to lose.”

  “Maybe some other time, when I don’t have a knife stabbing into my brain,” Dylan says. He looks up at me. “How was it, by the way? With your sister?”“We actually made up, the other night,” I say, sitting beside Dylan on the bed when he gestures for me to sit by him. “I think things are pretty okay now.” I smile.

  “That’s great, Katie,” Dylan says. He pauses. “I ran out of Advil, do you have any?”“I have Pamprin.”

  “What the hell is Pamprin?”

  “It’s...sort of like Advil, I guess.”

  “It’ll do.” Dylan stands.

  “I don’t know,” I say. “Do your symptoms include moodiness, bloating, abdominal cramps, extreme hunger? Perhaps a heavy flow?”“What the hell, no—” Dylan widens his eyes and shuts his mouth. “Oh.”

  I throw my head back in laughter. Dylan rolls his eyes.

  “You—you—” I double over in laughter.

  “Shut up, Katherine.”

  I continue to laugh as Dylan sits back down and puts his head in his hands, a smile gracing his lips.

  My laughter finally ceases and Dylan looks up, his green eyes glinting with humor. “Hey, want to go somewhere?”“Where?”

  “Somewhere cool.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on, let’s go. It’ll be fun.” Dylan stands up and pockets his car keys.

  “I’m kind of tired—”

  “Don’t be a party pooper.”

  “I’m not a party pooper.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  “What if this is your sick plan to kill me?”

  “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”

  “Likewise.”

  We both laugh. Dylan shakes his head, rubbing his eye.

  He stands. “Well, I’m going. You can come with me if you want, or you can go take your Pamprin.”“Hey!” I rise and sock him in the shoulder lightly.

  “Might want to take a double dosage, your moodiness is hitting extreme levels.”“I’m not the one that lost at be
er pong.”

  “Ethan’s good, okay!”

  “Excuses.”

  Dylan rolls his eyes. “Are you coming with me, or not?”

  I sigh. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

  “Good choice, Katie.” He smirks and leads me out of his apartment.

  Chapter Forty Eight

  Dylan turns on the radio as we drive along, and launches into a speech on how music these days is all based around sex. I watch him as he talks animatedly, sometimes removing both his hands from the wheel to make a point. At those times I quickly remind him to have two hands on the steering wheel and he laughs before complying. “Where are we even going?” I ask him.

  “You’ll recognize it,” he says, a sly smile forming on his lips.

  “You’re not taking me to play poker again, right?”

  “No, don’t worry. You won’t have to face losing at poker to me.”

  “I would not lose.”

  “Katie, Katie. I don’t think you know who you’re talking to.”

  I narrow my eyes at him and he smirks, raising his eyebrows at me.

  When he finally parks the car, I furrow my brow in confusion. “Are we at...Crane?”

  “Yep,” Dylan says, getting out of the car.

  “Why?” I ask. “Of all the places to kill me, you think Crane is the best?”

  Dylan laughs and locks his car. “Absolutely.”

  I follow Dylan through the lobby and into the elevator. I eye him carefully as he pushes the button for the fifteenth floor. He notices me watching him and smirks.

  “I’m not going to push all the buttons,” he says, leaning back against the wall of the elevator as it begins to ascend. “Being stuck with you in a small, compact space once is enough for me.”I scoff. “You’re one to talk.”

  We both smirk at each other as the elevator finally stops, dinging open. We step out and I look at Dylan confusedly when he begins climbing the stairs to the roof.

  “Why are we going to the roof?” I ask.

  “Because there’s something I want to show you,” he answers.

  I furrow my brow but follow him anyway. The cool air greets us as we arrive on the roof. The city is lit up around us, the sound of honking horns and bustling people hanging in the air.

  “Wow,” I breathe. “This is beautiful.”

  “It is, isn’t it.” Dylan sticks his hands in his pockets, sighing.

  I watch Dylan as he walks away from me, making his way toward the middle of the roof. I tentatively follow, wondering what he’s up to.

  As we walk closer, I notice in the middle of the roof area is the large skylight window that looks straight down to the lobby. All of the floors are built around this area, so you can see all fifteen stories from it.

  I watch in disbelief as Dylan steps right onto the glass, turning around and facing me.

  “Are you insane?” I ask him.

  “Maybe,” he grins. “Come on.”

  I shake my head. “No way.”

  “Come on, Katie. It won’t break. This glass is fourteen inches thick, at least.”

  “I don’t care.” I cross my arms over my chest.

  “Katie.” Dylan walks to the edge of the glass, where I stand. He extends his hand to me, smirking. “Don’t be afraid.”"I'm not afraid."

  "Prove it."

  I sigh. “If it breaks, I blame you.”

  “Fair enough.”

  I tentatively reach out and take his hand, stepping onto the slick glass. Below me is fifteen stories, and my stomach does flips. I grip Dylan’s hand tightly, and he smirks.

  “Don’t cut off my circulation, now,” he teases and I loop my other arm around his, just for safety.

  “It’s so far down,” I say softly as Dylan leads me to the middle of the large window.

  “Yeah, if you fell, you’d go splat.”

  I glare at him and he laughs, pulling my hand down with him as he sits. I carefully sit beside him, removing my hand from his warm one. The breeze blows around us, making me shiver slightly.

  “Will we get in trouble for being up here?” I ask.

  Dylan shrugs. “Not if we don’t get caught.”

  I look over at Dylan. His cheeks are flushed with a healthy pink and his curls blow slightly in the wind. His emerald eyes reflect the city lights around us, and his lips are full and pink. I’ve never cared to admit it before, but he’s one of the most devilishly handsome boys I’ve ever seen.

  “So tell me about London.”

  Dylan’s slow voice breaks me from my trance.

  “Well, it was one of the worst weekends of my life,” I say. “Until Courtney and I made up last night.”“What ever did happen between you two?"

  I look at him. “I...”

  As much as I want to trust Dylan, a small part of me doesn’t want to let this secret go. I mean, he’s hardly told me anything about his past, so why should I tell him about mine? This is my darkest secret that I’ve kept hidden inside of me, lurking there in the depths of my soul, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully be prepared to tell anyone about it.

  “Don’t want to tell me, do you?” Dylan’s eyes hold something I can’t decipher. He looks away. “I know the feeling.”“It’s not something I’m very proud of,” I say quietly.

  Dylan chews on his lip. “How about this,” he says. “If you tell me your secret, I’ll tell you one of mine.”My heart rate quickens. He knows he’s using my curiosity against me, and I know it too.

  “Dylan, I...”

  “Come on, Katie. A secret for a secret.”

  I look back into his eyes, and I suddenly believe that he really wants to know. Not just for the sake of knowing, either; he wants to know because he cares. Maybe he cares because we’re friends, or that we’re bound by secrets regarding Lyone Enterprises, but either way, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is he cares. Dylan cares.

  So I open my mouth to tell him my darkest secret.

  “Katie,” my mother says, setting the cake down on the kitchen table. The party is in full swing around us, with music pounding from the stereo and high-schoolers grinding up against each other. The lights are dim in the apartment, casting a club-like feel through the area. I’m surprised my parents are letting this occur—normally they’re so proper and conservative. But Courtney is turning the big one-eight, so I suppose it calls for proper celebration.

  I look up at my mother from my seat at the table. “Yeah?”

  “Go find Courtney and Jason. It’s time to blow out the candles.”

  I nod and stand. Today is Courtney’s eighteenth birthday, and I took the day off from college classes to celebrate it with her. All her friends from school are here, and even some of my old friends showed up. My father has shut himself in his study, not wanting to deal with intoxicated teens. I weave through the throngs of sweaty, dancing teenagers and make my way to the hall. I knock on Courtney’s door, knowing her and Jason disappeared in here earlier. I’ve never felt quite right about Jason. Something has always been off about him, although I don’t know what. I hope Courtney isn’t trusting him with her virginity—she deserves better than him.