by J. A. Howell
“I'm sorry Trey, but I need to go talk to her...I'll be back in a bit.” Dillan sighed, “Feel free to put something on the TV, or get some rest...you didn't look like you were getting much over at the table.” She motioned to the couch, then disappeared back out the door with a hesitant wave.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Dillan, what is going on with you?” Kay scolded her. She had been standing in the hallway with her arms crossed, waiting for an explanation as soon Dillan had reemerged from her apartment.
“Not right here... walk with me.” Dillan whispered, heading toward the elevators. She didn't want Trey to overhear their conversation. The elevator dinged promptly after she pressed the button and the two stepped inside. Kay leaned against one of the back corners of the elevator, her eyes fixed on Dillan as the doors shut. Dillan did her best to avoid Kay's interrogating gaze.
“I'm sorry I didn't show up last night.” She said apologetically.
“Do you really think that is what has got me so upset?” Kay's tone grew concerned. “If you didn't want to go out, fine! You could have at least answered the door or called me back. I was worried about you all night. That’s why I came over to see you this morning.”
“I know... I'm sorry.” Dillan answered quietly. The elevator doors opened again, and she stepped off the elevator with Kay in tow.
“I'm not looking for an apology. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I know the last year has been hard, but hiding in your apartment and drinking your feelings away is not going to make anything better.” Kay continued. Dillan started to object, but she knew it would be pointless to argue. Last night's drinking had left her worn out and exhausted. She wasn’t exactly in a position to deny this. Instead she just stuffed her hands into the back pockets of her shorts and looked down at the ground in front of her.
“Speaking of...that brings me to the other obvious question,” Kay stopped and turned toward Dillan, “Since when did Jamie have a brother? And a twin at that?”
“Funny you ask... that has a lot to do with me not showing up last night.” Dillan answered sardonically.
***
Trey shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, fidgeting with a coin he had found in one of his pockets. Wrong. This is all wrong...he was screaming inside his head. Not just this situation...everything. Of all the scenarios that had run through his head on the way here, he had never thought that things would play out this way. He thought the past would stay just that. The past. Instead it appeared that his naive, destructive past was coming back to bite him once more.
There were many times that he imagined it would. Just not like this. Whenever he left his apartment, he would half-expect someone to be waiting for him outside, a finger hovering over a trigger, a crosshair fixed on the back of his head. He had waited for years for someone to finally come hunt him down in the middle of the night. But it never happened. After so many years, he had assumed it was safe to move on. He had embarked on this trip expecting to reunite with his brother, expecting to reclaim a small piece of their broken family. He had embarked on this trip thinking that the dark part of his life was coming to an end and that they had finally forgotten about him and what he had done. Sadly, he was mistaken.
Even if Dillan or the cops had no idea who had killed Jamie, Trey knew in his gut exactly who had to be behind it. He just didn't know how they'd found Jamie, and more so, why they had gone after him. As guilty and sick as he felt, there was no time for tears right now. He owed it to his brother and he owed it to Dillan to find out. All he had wanted was to protect his brother from the consequences of his mistakes, and he had failed horribly at that. This was all that was left.
It had been several minutes since Dillan had left the apartment with her friend. He wondered how much longer she would be gone as he glanced over at the portable phone sitting in its charging dock. After a couple more minutes, he shifted one hip up, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. Behind his ID was a folded old scrap of paper with a number scrawled on it in black ink. Just the Letter “L” was scribbled above it. He hesitated slightly before grabbing the phone and dialing. He had hoped to never have to dial this number.
***
After saying goodbye to Kay, Dillan trudged back to her apartment, now both physically and mentally exhausted. She knew Kay was right. Nothing that she was currently doing was helping; it only served to numb the pain. It may not fix things, but for now all Dillan wanted was to be numb. Sure... it had been a year. A horrible year after losing someone she had been with for nearly the last decade.
Hasn't it been a year already? She had heard things like that from multiple coworkers and her small circle of friends. What was so magical about one year that could serve to cure her heartache or that of anyone who had suffered a similar loss, for that matter? She couldn't fault Kay though, because she hadn't lived through it. She didn't know what it was like.
Kay had also expressed deep concerns about Trey. Not that Dillan didn’t share in some of those same concerns, but sometimes Kay made her feel like a complete imbecile. Dillan had known the risks when she first offered to let him stay at her apartment. And he couldn't be all bad. After all he hadn’t left her passed out with her front door wide open, and all her belongings were untouched and intact when she had woken up.
Dillan reached her door, then gently twisted the knob. She could hear Trey speaking in a low voice. But to whom? Dillan froze, straining to hear anything. She couldn't make out what he was saying, and from the lack of a second voice, she guessed he was on the phone. She quietly pushed the door open and walked in, her eyes scanning the room for him. Trey was standing in one of the far corners of the living room, peering out the large window that spanned most of the wall. He had the portable phone cupped to his head; his back and shoulders were tense and guarded as he spoke to whoever was on the other line. She watched him curiously, waiting for him to realize that she was back.
“I have to go.” Trey abruptly hung up the phone as soon as he noticed he wasn't alone anymore. “Sorry, I was just letting one of my friends know that I'd gotten here in one piece. I should have asked you first.” He apologized. It seemed genuine, but the tone in which he had been talking on the phone came off like he was trying to hide something.
“No it's fine...Kay can talk quite a bit. There was no telling when I'd be back.” She shrugged as she sat her bag down on the dining room table. He offered a strained smile, relieved that she didn't ask any further questions about his mysterious phone call. Trey turned back toward the large window that peered out over the city. He had remembered his brother describing the view in a letter, but it was much different to see it in person. He heard a few footsteps then when he looked to his right, Dillan was standing a few feet away also looking out the window.
“So, why didn't you move...afterwards?” He inquired as his eyes moved over the numerous buildings in the distance, and the tiny people walking around below.
“I just couldn't. He loved this place...” She said dejectedly, “There are a lot of good memories here. I couldn't bear to leave. Not yet anyways.” Her gaze traveled far away as she spoke. Undoubtedly trying to remember the good as she stared out at the skyline. Trey glanced over his shoulder at the rug on the floor. The one Dillan had motioned to earlier when she had broken the news. Without turning her head, she knew what Trey was looking at.
“I know, it happened right there. And it replays in my mind nearly every day. But I just can't bring myself to leave. It would feel like I was abandoning him here.” Her voice was quiet, disheartened. Trey turned his attention directly to her. The sadness glazing over her eyes became even more apparent as she said the last few words.
From the morbid reminder in the hallway, to the walls that no doubt once echoed Jamie’s voice, he had left his imprint on everything here. In her mind, if she moved, then Jamie really was gone and she wasn't ready to deal with that sobering thought. She wasn't ready to look around a new place and not be able to remember the time she and Jamie almost lit the
kitchen on fire, or the one time he had bathed her when she had felt deathly ill with the flu. A new place meant that that night really happened and she was all alone.
Dillan managed to stifle a tear before it rolled down her cheek, but was unsuccessful at concealing it from Trey. With a deep breath, she straightened her stance and turned towards him, attempting a half-hearted smile. He smiled back sympathetically, and as her eyes met his she saw something in his gaze that she hadn't seen in anyone else's. A silent understanding of what she was saying. So many other people had told her she was crazy to stay here after it happened, that she had to move after a thing like that. Nobody else understood. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to. She couldn't.
“You know, I saw you when you got here last night,” Dillan said after a long silence, turning her attention away from him and back out the window. “You came on a bus, right?”
As soon as she said it, he recalled the eerie exchange with the girl on the motorcycle. The wide, disbelieving gaze as his bus flew through the intersection. It had struck him as odd then, but given the revelation of his brother’s death, it made perfect sense. She had looked like she had seen a ghost.
“I passed by you on the bus, didn’t I?” He asked incredulously.
“Yep,” she nodded, laughing but not because it was funny. “I thought I was seeing things at first. I even followed the bus, thinking maybe it was really Jamie, and none of this had ever really happened. But then I got to the bus station and I couldn’t find him…or you I guess.”
“Is that…Is that why you were so wasted last night?” Trey asked. As if he needed more to feel bad about. Dillan nodded, letting out another nervous laugh.
“I was trying to do everything in my power not to think of him last night. Because it all happened a year ago last night. A year ago that he proposed. A year ago that I watched him die,” Dillan shook her head, “After I left the bus station, that night was all I could think about.”
“I’m sorry.” His head hung low and he avoided looking in her direction.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for. You had no way of knowing.” Dillan said, shrugging her shoulders, her eyes still fixed on some vantage point in the city.
“Just like I had no way of knowing about you.” She couldn’t mask the betrayal she felt as the words left her lips, or the hint of hostility she held toward Trey.
Her words made him feel as though the walls were shrinking around him. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as he stood there. During the last decade she had spent with Jamie, she thought she knew everything there was to know about him. She thought she knew all of his secrets, just as he had known all of hers. Trey’s presence was just a glaring reminder that deep down, everyone always has a secret hidden away.
Dillan turned back from the window toward Trey, her fingers nervously playing with the edge of the window sill as she attempted to look up at him.
“Look I’m not trying to make you feel uncomfortable, but I’m not going to lie. This is not easy for me, being around you,” Her lips formed a tight, straight line as she forced herself to keep a blank expression. “But I feel like it’s important that I let you stay. You were a part of Jamie’s life, even if I never knew it.”
Trey nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. This whole situation was too much for her to wrap her head around, and just looking at his face was too much for her right now.
He felt the same way.
CHAPTER SIX
Tony Luciano stared down at his cell phone as he sat at the breakfast nook in his stark one-bedroom apartment. Shock still colored his expression ten minutes after he hung up. He had barely even moved. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. He had only known Alex for one day, but ten years later, he recognized the voice on the other end of the line.
“You said we’d be safe.” His tone was livid, full of anger when Tony had answered the phone. His voice was deeper, and raspier than the kid he had met, but he recognized it right away.
“What are you talking about? What's happened?” There was a sick feeling in his gut. If Alex was calling him, only one thing could have happened.
“My brother is dead. They killed him.” Alex growled on the other end of the line. Tony shook his head, stunned and dismayed by the news. He remembered Alex and his brother. He had met them on what had been the worst day of their lives. They'd lost their mother and were about to be separated forever. He had taken pity on them, and helped them the only way he could think of that wouldn't risk their safety.
“When did this happen? Are you sure it was them?” Tony asked.
“No, I'm not sure...but I don't see who else would be capable of it.” Alex answered. “Why didn't they come after me?” His voice broke, agonizing over the last question. Tony had no answers for him. He had no idea why after this long anyone would seek them out. Maybe it was an unfortunate coincidence. But it didn’t feel like it.
“I'm sorry about your brother...” Tony sighed truly disturbed by the news, “I'll see what I can find out. Is it okay to call this number later?”
“No, tell me when to call you back Luciano...”
“Give me 3 or 4 days. I need to check with some of my people, do some digging.”
“I have to go.” Alex whispered suddenly, the phone clicking silent. A knock at the door interrupted Luciano’s thoughts. That had to be his partner, Agent Decker. He scooped up his phone and slipped it into the holster on his belt, before dumping out the mug of coffee that had gone cold.
“Everything okay Luciano?” Agent Decker looked at his partner as the front door swung open.
“Huh? Oh yeah... I'm still waking up, sorry.” He mumbled in reply as he locked the door. Decker nodded, but wasn't buying his partners excuse. They headed out to the black sedan parked in front of Agent Luciano’s building, Decker suspiciously watching his partner. Something was bothering him; they'd been partners over 14 years, and Luciano couldn't fool him.
“You're unusually quiet this morning. You sure you don't want to talk about it?” Decker glanced over at his partner as they pulled onto the highway. Luciano furrowed his brows as he stared out of the passenger window, still contemplating the earlier phone conversation.
“I was just thinking about the De La Rocha bust,” He said, his eyes still on the passing buildings and signs.
“What brought that up?” Decker raised an eyebrow, glancing over at his partner.
“Oh nothing...was just thinking. There hasn't been any recent activity with the family, has there?” Luciano side-stepped his question.
“Not that I know of,” Decker scratched his chin thoughtfully, “Carlos De La Rocha was released a year ago though. He was captured in the bust, but not linked to any other activities, so he only got 10 years.”
“I didn't realize that...but no other activity from them otherwise?”
“Like I said, not that I know of...why are you so concerned with them?” Decker was more insistent. He knew his partner was dancing around something, bringing up an old case out of nowhere like this.
“You remember the kid we'd picked up?”
“Yeah... that was the easiest interrogation ever.” Decker laughed, “That kid was a scared little bunny. He rolled over real quick.” Luciano remained stoic, unamused with his partner's comments.
“Yes, that kid...I found out his brother was murdered last year.” He sighed.
“Really? His brother?” Decker sounded surprised.
“Yeah... I'm not sure if it's related though.” Luciano shook his head. “Either way, it's a damn shame.”
“Probably just dumb luck is all...” Decker shrugged his broad shoulders, “How did you find out about his brother though, did he contact you?”
“Yes, but that isn’t to leave this car. You and I both know that could get us in serious trouble,” Luciano's voice grew stern as he eyed his partner. “I'm going to see what I can find out for him, but I am hoping I find nothing. At least concerning the De La Rochas.”
/>
“If you need my assistance, you know I've got your back.” Luciano nodded in response to his partner's offer but kept silent, his attention turning back to the passing scenery. All he could think about was those two teenage boys sitting in his office that day ten years ago. Decker didn't think much of them, especially Alex. He really couldn't have cared less about what became of them after entering witness protection.
In Decker's defense, when they'd caught up with Alex, they could have slapped him with several charges, including attempted murder. But Luciano hadn’t seen a criminal. He had seen a naïve, scared, and misguided boy. Although the events that day were life-altering for those boys, he had hoped that their brief interaction and the steps he had taken to help them would have ensured them a better life. The fact that one of them now lay dead was certainly disheartening.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dillan stretched out as she slowly gave in to consciousness the next morning. Trey was asleep in her living room. He was a complete stranger to her until yesterday morning. She knew little about him other than the most obvious. Everything else about him was murky and unclear. The whole day had been spent awkwardly together as he tagged along on some random errands, then shared a silent dinner with her. He didn’t talk much at all, which was just as well since she didn’t know what to say to him. She had hoped upon waking that she would realize it was all just some strange dream. But no, he was here, only a few yards away. Passed out on her couch.
Sitting up in bed, she grabbed her robe off her chaise lounge, wrapping it around her tightly before swinging her legs off the bed and making her way out of the safety of her bedroom. Opening the door, silence greeted her. Either he was still asleep or he had decided to book it out of there. Part of her hoped for the latter. As she quietly padded around the corner, he came into view, sprawled out across the couch, a blanket laying over him, his limbs and some of his chest exposed. He was sleeping on his back, just like Jamie used to. She sighed and looked toward the kitchen.
