Chapter 41
Dean
“Fore!” Seb called before swinging his golf club into an old flat screen TV. It cracked through the center, glass flying.
I swung next, slamming my metal baseball bat into the TV’s side. The frame dented inward, and the screen popped from the front.
At the same time, across the room, Kira was pummeling a row of mannequins with a sledgehammer. It was easy to guess whose face she was picturing on each one.
“This day has been the best decision we’ve ever had,” she exclaimed.
Next to Kira, Lily was smashing vases and dishes against the wall. They were easier to break and caused the least strain on her back when she threw them.
“Take that!” she cried, throwing another plate at the spray-painted target on the wall.
Seb hoisted a glass floor lamp onto our table and didn’t hesitate to swing at it. Debris flew out, and I ducked behind my arm, chuckling at the carnage unraveling in the room.
I lifted an old microwave to the table and briefly looked at Lily as I did. I guess it was to see if she was still enjoying herself.
She brought her gloved hand from her neck to check her fingers. A frown was on her face as a tiny line of red bloomed on the side of her throat.
I left the smashing for Seb and approached her with my bat resting on one shoulder.
When she noticed me coming, she smiled quickly. “Just a scratch.”
“From what?” I leaned in to get a better look at the cut, gently moving the collar of her coveralls down.
“Part of the plate. What are the odds, right?”
“You’re good, though?”
“Of course.” Her smile waned, and she jabbed a finger over her shoulder towards the door. “I-I think I might go see if I can track down a Band-Aid.”
“Want me to come with you?”
She looked at me seriously, apart from the faint smile in the corner of her mouth, and cupped my face with her hands. “Dean, it's a scratch. I’ll live.”
I watched her leave and reluctantly returned to smashing some stuff. It wasn’t as satisfying when my thoughts were being pulled in Lily’s direction.
She was gone for a minute.
The minute turned to five minutes, and I was no longer as interested in smashing whatever was in the room.
Our hired hour was finishing anyway.
“Maybe she needed the bathroom?” Kira said as we headed for the change rooms when the time was up.
“Maybe…” I knocked on the door to the change room we shared, and then opened it enough to poke my head in.
Lily wasn’t there.
“Her locker is empty too,” Seb noted, motioning to the wall of cabinets. The door to Lily’s was open, and her bag and clothes were gone. Her coveralls and PPE sat on a chair nearby.
“I’m checking the bathroom,” Kira affirmed, walking down the corridor.
Lily had had time to change, but where was she now?
Send my love to your little doe, Dean.
I strode into the foyer, where Scott sat at the desk, scrolling a website that shouldn’t be open at work.
“Hey, pervert,” I said firmly, bracing my hands on the desk.
Scott jumped and fumbled to close the desktop window before he spun around. “Y-Yes?”
“Did you happen to see my girlfriend come through here?” My right heel bounced impatiently as I pinned him with a glare.
He stammered over something incoherent.
“Fuck’s sake, speak,” I ordered.
Seb nudged me aside to take over. I stepped away from the desk and pulled my hands through my hair. All sorts of possibilities were running through my head, but there was one at the forefront: We had been followed, and Gabriele took his chance when she was alone.
“She’s about yea high, freckles, really blue eyes,” Seb explained.
“Yeah,” Scott gulped. “She got a Band-Aid from me and went back to the change rooms—”
“Thanks for that, genius,” I muttered through gritted teeth.
Kira emerged from the corridor. When I waited for Lily to follow her out, she shook her head.
My fingers interlocked behind my head as I tried to come up with an explanation for why Lily disappeared.
She hasn’t been missing that long. She’s fine. She’ll show up.
I have too many enemies not to worry about them doing something to her…
I paused when someone outside the glass front doors caught my eye. My heart rate slowed right down as I walked to the doors and stepped outside.
The weather had settled. It was still cold, but the sun had made an appearance.
Lily was sitting on a bench with her back to the building and her hands curled around the edge of the seat. Dressed in what she arrived in, her eyes were closed as the sun warmed her skin.
I quietly took a seat beside her, facing the building.
“What happened?” I asked gently.
She opened her eyes. There was a sort of distant stare about them.
“I got a Band-Aid from the front desk. And then had to explain I wasn’t going to sue the place for injury. I went to come back, but then realized our session was up soon, so I figured I’d get changed and wait out here.” She motioned to the sky. “The sun was out.”
Her intentions were innocent.
I stole a glance at our surroundings, watching as strangers passed us on the sidewalk. “I thought you were gone.”
Realization sank into her expression, and her eyes widened. “I’m an idiot. I didn’t stop to think about what Gabriele said.”
I reached for her hand and curled mine around it, noticing the faint stain of blood on her nails from the cut on her neck. “Maybe I overreacted a little… That prick has made me paranoid.”
She lifted her legs over the bench to face the same way as me. With our backs to the sun, she leaned into my side.
“I am sorry.” The words were so soft I barely caught them before the doors of the warehouse opened with a squeak.
“You might wanna come in and change,” Seb said as he leaned through the gap in the doors. “I think Scotty thinks you’re about to steal the coveralls, and he looks like he’s dreading that confrontation.”
I could see Scotty pacing behind the front desk, looking towards us nervously.
“We’ll be right in,” Lily said, smiling politely.
Several minutes later, we handed in our PPE and headed out, leaving Scotty to finally relax.
Seb and Kira were still riled up from the rage room, walking ahead of us arm and arm and laughing as they talked. They fed off each other’s energy.
Lily and I stayed in a comfortable silence. Mostly enjoying the company.
I looked down at Lily.
She was staring off into the distance as she held my hand, chewing the inside of her cheek.
Lifting the back of her hand to my lips worked to bring her back to reality. It almost startled her back into it, like she suddenly realized where she was.
“Talk to me,” I said.
She smiled, shaking her head. “I’m fi—”
Seb suddenly spun around, snapping his fingers. “We should get dinner on the wharf. Watch the sunset.” He wagged his eyebrows.
“Oooh yes!” Kira beamed.
Lily hesitated. “I’m kind of tired, but you guys go ahead.”
“What? No, you have to come,” Kira pleaded, taking Lily’s hand.
“I won’t be great company. So go on. Have fun.” Lily paired her words with a shooing motion.
After a little back and forth of Seb trying to convince Lily to go, the two walked on. When Lily saw I was staying by her side, she nodded towards our friends.
“You can go too, if you want. I’ll get an Uber home from here.”
“Nah. I’m stickin’ with you.” I was trying to remain nonchalant as I watched her closely. “Besides, I think I did somethin’ to my shoulder.”
It was a small white lie, but there were only so many times I could ask what’s wrong and receive the same answer.
I paid more attention to her on the way back to mine. Mom wasn’t home but had left a note about going out with friends. I left her a note beneath hers letting her know I was staying at Lily’s.
We took the Cadillac back to the apartment. The entire drive was quiet. At one point, Lily dozed off, reiterating that her silence might’ve been from a simple lack of sleep.
So why couldn’t I convince myself of that?
I was tired too after last night, but something was off with her.
Lily poured us a glass of red wine and started dinner early, beef stroganoff on rice. She didn’t protest when I stepped in to help. She offered me another small smile, sipped her wine, and continued stirring the packet mix sauce into a pan.
Tired was now an understatement, but our stomachs growled hungrily.
She was deep in thought for most of the late afternoon, sometimes offering one-word answers to anything I said as we ate dinner.
Half the shit I said was trivial. I wanted her to talk to me about literally anything just to keep the connection open — weather, the new shelves in the living room, her latest read…
She was slowly sinking behind a wall in her mind, disguised in smiles.
“Did you wanna talk about last night? About what went down with your parents?” I asked, dumping our dishes in the soapy water of the kitchen sink.
Lily was pouring us another glass of wine as she leaned against the counter. She shrugged and put the bottle down. “Not really.”
I scrubbed at the dishes and rinsed the suds off. “You’ve got that appointment with the psych on Monday, right?”
Lily hesitated, and I looked over my shoulder.
Another quick smile brushed over her features.
“I almost forgot. I’ll talk to him about it then, but for now.
..” She pushed away from the counter and sauntered over to me, sliding her arms around my waist while I faced the sink.
“I want to enjoy the weekend with you. We do have the apartment to ourselves right now. And the dishes can wait.”
I dried my hands on a towel and turned around, leaning on the lip of the counter while she pressed herself against me, smoothing her hands to my chest. “Yeah?”
She hummed, rising to her toes to kiss me.
The sound of a zipper pulled me out of the kiss as she opened my fly.
“What about your back?” I asked, trying not to let pleasure cloud my thoughts yet.
“It doesn’t hurt so much anymore.” She brought me back into the kiss, one hand clutching the front of my shirt while the other dipped into my pants.
She cupped me through my briefs, and I groaned. “Lily.”
Her teeth grazed my bottom lip. “Yes?”
It was a strange feeling to be stuck between wanting sex and the barrage of concern racing through my brain.
I held her jaw gently and reluctantly pulled away.
She removed her hand, allowing clarity to sink into my head.
“We should talk,” I breathed.
Her pupils were dilated, and her lips were parted with a question. “About what?”
I dropped my hand. “You.”
“Dean, I told you, I’m fine.”
“You’ve been actin’ different since you cut your neck… If it’s not about the discussion with your parents, is it the gun?”
“No,” she sighed.
“Did the blood trigger somethin’?”
“Dean…”
“Was last night too rough? Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m just overtired and a little restless, that’s all.” A smirk toyed on her lips, and she reached for the hem of her shirt. “Now, can we continue before Seb and Kira get home—”
I caught her wrists, and her eyes widened. “If you’re tired, you need sleep.”
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t think you are,” I said softly.
Keys jingled at the front door before Seb and Kira entered the apartment, calling out happy hellos as they walked down the short hallway. They were back early, crushing Lily’s plans, but also failed to read the room as they talked about what they did at Coney Island.
I wasn’t listening. My eyes were on Lily while I waited for her response.
As our friends entered, Lily withdrew. Not only physically from me, but mentally. I saw the walls in her blank stare, enclosing her firmly in her thoughts as she backed away towards her room.
I followed until the door was shut in my face and locked.
Seb and Kira fell silent.
A second passed as I held the door handle, but didn’t try it. I had witnessed my father barge through doors enough to know not to.
I wasn’t him.
“What happened?” Seb asked carefully.
I shook my head. “She won’t talk to me.”