Chavez stands there, overbearingly leaning back against the scraggy brick wall like he has the ultimate control over the entire world. He crosses his arms, cocking his bald head to the side, looking at us like we’re a pair of incult kids, and he’s the one who is about to enforce our discipline. His calculating eyes fall on me, and I can’t help but evade them, moving my gaze to Dylan, whose own stare is focused on the bumper evildoer who almost has me in a horror-struck pile on the ground.

“Sorry for interrupting.” Chavez is the one who speaks first, and his gravel voice sends a jittery shiver down my spine. “Believe me, the scenery was pretty fun. I enjoyed watching, and also listening, if you ask me.” He shoves his large hands into his pockets. “Excuse me for asking though, but weren’t you with the long-haired guy?” He asks, the question directed at me, his eyes rigorous and hard to hack. “I meant that fella Trent.” He clarifies when I don’t respond, like I didn’t understand.

But I did. And he knows I did.

I clear my throat, opening my mouth to lie, but then Dylan speaks instead, saving me. “Is there a problem, Chavez?” He questions, his voice so prosaic and unaffected, but from his stiff stance, I know that he’s anything but.

Chavez holds up his palms, like he means no harm. “A problem? Oh no, I was just wondering. That day, I thought that boy was so serious about her. I bet he isn’t aware of the way she’s whoring herself around with Logan, and now you.”

Dylan steps forward, his posture even more rigid than before, his hands balled into rock-ribbed fists, and his countenance austere and sizzling with apparent anger. “Watch the way you talk about her, Chavez.”

Chavez’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Oh? Is that a threat?”

“And it’s not empty.” Dylan avouches, his mien bare of any faltering. I’m taken aback by his intrepidity, and I have to admit that it makes me a little uneasy, considering how bulky the guy is. Even though Dylan is tall and well-built, Chavez’s body is titanic compared to his, and a fight between them is nothing I would want to watch.

Chavez’s lips spread in a devilish smile, and he holds his hands in surrender once more. “I mean no harm. I was kind of confused. I thought maybe there’s some weird relationship that’s going on with you all, like you’re all sharing her.” He shrugs, his revoltingly oversexed gaze moving to me, leisurely inspecting my body. “In that case, I would love to join and have a piece of that ass. I’d-”

He doesn’t get to finish, before Dylan closes the gap between them. It happens fast. One moment Chavez’s eyes are on me, the next they’re wide open, latched on Dylan, who has him by his shirt. “I told you to watch your fucking mouth.” Dylan fulminates through gritted teeth.

Chavez doesn’t hesitate, pushing Dylan back, freeing himself from the stout hold he had on him. “Isn’t that interesting!” He raves back, his eyes murky with nefarious aggravation. “She’s not Trent’s girl, huh?” He asks, motioning to me with his head. “I saw you all over each other out there, but I was convincing myself that she was fucking the three of you, but I was fooled.” He nods, as if understanding everything all of a sudden. “That night, you were all acting like she was with Trent to fool me, huh?” He asks, his annoyed gaze moving from Dylan to me.

Dylan sighs. “That’s exactly why I refrained from telling you.”

It’s Chavez’s turn to advance threateningly toward Dylan. “Nobody gets to fool me.” He prods Dylan in the chest with his index finger. “And you won’t get away with it for trying.”

Dylan doesn’t even flinch. “You benefit from me too much to fuck it all up.”

“What do you mean?” Chavez queries, eyes squinted.

“How much do you want?”

Chavez raises one eyebrow. “And do what?”

“Stay away from us.”

“Us?” Chavez inquires, and I detect a sardonic tone. “How much in order for me to forget the fact that you treated my sister like trash and made her kill herself? How much in order for me to let you be with a girl while you acted like you were too good for my sister?” He crosses his arms, looking cogitative. “You think I’d sell the memory of my sister like that?”

“Is that a no?” Dylan asks, his face earnest.

Chavez makes a tsking sound. “Nah, it’s not. Everyone has a price after all.” The side of his mouth rises in a smirk. “I believe we can settle on one for my sister.”

What the fuck? What kind of humans do we live among now?

Dylan, however, doesn’t look the least bit shocked by the guy’s impertinence, nodding slowly. “Alright then, I’ll call you tomorrow to talk.”

Chavez shrugs. “Sure, my friend.” He drawls, looking at me. “Now I’ll leave you to finish the business I interrupted.” He winks at me, before he swerves and saunters away.

Finish the business he interrupted? After what happened?

From the look on Dylan’s mien, I can tell that he’s thinking the same. He keeps staring at Chavez’s back, until the mammoth guy disappears out of the hallway, and I can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes my mouth the moment he does, feeling a bit mollified. “What just happened?” I ask incredulously, not expecting an answer in return.

Dylan merely shakes his head, looking at me with a solemn countenance. “Let’s leave. This place is starting to asphyxiate me.” He doesn’t wait for me to walk to him, immediately starting to traipse back into the whopping crowd, like the sweaty, askew bodies are his own solace. I follow him out, and then to the table, where Trent and Logan are back. They both look at us knowingly, a pair of smirks taking over their faces.

“Had fun in there?” Logan questions, raising his eyebrows.

“No shit.” Dylan scoffs. “We’re calling it a night.”

“Too eager to go home, eh?” Logan grills, apparently not ready to let it go.

However, Trent seems to notice that something is wrong. “Something happened?” He lowers, tilting his head to the side.

Dylan solely nods. “We’ll talk later.” Just like that, he grabs my hand, leading me out of Emerald, the place that has been surveilling the blossoming of our feelings ever since the start. Now it smothers him, and perturbs me; a contrast to the cosmic sensations it used to give us.

I don’t know why, but the moment I get into the car with him, something feels wrong, like I’m the one who’s being suffocated now. I roll down the window, but the feeling doesn’t wither. If anything, it intensifies, the silent ambience making it even worse. With his breakneck driving, we arrive in no time, this time to my place. Getting out of the car, I carefully try to move my agitated feet on the pavement, silently berating myself for wearing heels, and my aching toes avouch to that.

I hear Dylan slamming the door of his car shut, following me into the building. We take the elevator, and I can’t help but feel how thick and tense the air is. Not with sexual tension, but with substantial thoughts and worries. Just like my toes, my body aches, but the most intense pain is located in my head, the corollary of the blaring the music and the alcohol. Yearning for a Tylenol, I quickly open the door, leaving it open for Dylan, before I head to the kitchen, quicky fetching myself a glass of water with two pills.

Dylan watches me as I swallow them down, and I can tell from his hazy eyes that his mind is somewhere else.

Thinking of someone else.

“Thinking of her?” I inquire.

He frowns, my voice stealing him from his thoughts. “Who?”

“Linda.”

He gapes at me for a few moments, before he shakes his head. “The guilt feels new.”

I nod, understanding him now more than any other time. I slowly tread to him, taking his hands in mine. They’re big and virile, yet they’re shaking. The look in his eyes is so different from the usual; daunted and forlorn. They stare at me like I’m the only savior out there, silently seeking me out. And I don’t let his call go unanswered, unhurriedly pulling him with me into my bedroom.

We both lay in bed, facing the white, untainted ceiling, the only sound in the room is our breathing. His hand is laced with mine, so lax and abstracted. “Distract me, Candice.” He says to the ceiling, his eyes faraway.

I don’t know if his guilt is contagious, but I find myself slipping into the past and my own injurious memories, and without cogitation, I find the words flowing out of my mouth. “My mom doesn’t come from a deep-pocketed family.” I start, swallowing, and without looking, I can feel how his eyes quickly divert to me, his attention fully mine. “In fact, she never had a family. Only her mother, who died two years after giving birth to her. She lived with her uncle, who didn’t happen to be rich either. But it’s obvious that my father’s family was, and still is, the most loaded family in Tacoma.

“My mom was so ambitious though. She never liked the way she lived, and was aiming too high, studying her ass off in order to get a scholarship to a big university. And she did, and that was where she met my dad, who was so enamored with her. His family never liked her, even though she was the nicest, and most charming woman I’ve ever seen. They never considered her adequate enough for such an opulent family, hence why he defied them and chose to be with my mom. He was so smart, and he started small, and along the way they got me. It wasn’t a very pleasant surprise, but according to them, I was the most blissful gift they ever got. But then I remained the only blissful thing they had when dad’s project didn’t work, and in a trip to fix things, he died, on the same day my mom found out she was pregnant.” I sigh, remembering how life began to darken ever since that day.

“You dad’s family refused to help you.” Dylan states, his voice genial.

I nod. “I didn’t care that much. My mom still got money for us. She dated different guys, all of them had money, until the very last one.”

“What did he do?” He asks, his hand tightening on mine.

“He abused her, physically.” Surprisingly, I don’t feel as pained as every time I remember, Dylan’s presence soothing my anguish. “She stopped dating, and living for that matter. She’s become a whole other person, more aggressive, less charming. She lost her colors, and became blue.”

“What happened to her?” He whispers.

“She wasn’t a prostitute. But she tried once, and it brought her demise.” I breathe in, thinking of a proper way to put the next words. “It was a drug the guy put in her drink, a strong one, and the next morning I found her lifeless body in our patio.” Recalling the afflictive scene, I feel tears building up, blurring my vision. “I kept wondering where she was all night, and when I was heading to school, I found her laying there. Her eyes wide open and unblinking.” This time the tears slip, even his tight hold on my hand fails to pull me away from my memories and demons. They surround me, finally claiming me as their prey after months of denial. “What are the odds?” I ask, feeling the bed squeak, before I’m engulfed in Dylan’s big, warm arms. “What are the odds of a girl seeing her mom laying dead on the ground on her way to school? All I was expecting to see are the cunning looks of my classmates, and my asshole of a boyfriend!” Dylan rocks me as I weep, the memory so vivid. “Do you know what made the whole thing worse? It’s that I learned later that she was taken by at least three guys, forcefully.”

“I’m so sorry, Candice. Now I feel like an asshole for always interrogating you about your past.” He whispers, still rocking me in his arms like a little baby. I just nod against his chest, letting the silence and his embrace warm my cold soul up. I close my eyes, the sound of his breathing alleviating my tense body, and the air of the room drying up my tears.

“Was that distracting enough for you?” I finally ask.

“Yeah.” He responds. “Yet it left a heavier burden on my chest, knowing how much pain you carry every day.”

“Don’t pity a bad girl, babe.” I joke, and the aftereffect of my breakdown finally comes, making my eyes heavy with long wanted sleep. “Just don’t stop holding me.” I beg, my voice close to a whisper.

His arms tighten around me, and I hear him chuckling, his chest vibrating under my head. “Still think you’re a bad girl?”

“I know I’m not good, and I believe I got what I deserved.” I say, sleep dragging me in. “Everyone I knew let me down; friends, family, and lover.” I mumble, closing my eyes, the world already disappearing around me. “Are you going to let me down too?”

The room is silent for a moment, before I hear a long exhale. “Do you believe I will?”

I shrug against him, not really knowing. I feel him placing a featherlight kiss against my temple, his hand caressing my hair, and in no time, I feel myself slipping into sleep, just as I hear a wretched whisper being proclaimed to the morbid night. “I’m so sorry, Candice.”

I smile, wondering how many times he’s going to apologize for being a snoopy asshole, before darkness consumes me, bedazzling me with serene repose, devoid of any inconsolable memories, or opportunistic animals.

___________________

He left.

I storm out of my room, half-expecting him to be in the kitchen, making breakfast for me. After all, last night was hard on the both of us, and with me finally opening up, I expected him to stay.

But disappointment absorbs me the moment I find the whole apartment empty, bare of any trace of him. Walking back into my room, the smell of him invades my senses, making me miss him already, and I throw myself onto the bed face-down, respiring it where he was sleeping last night with me.

Or did he sleep at all?

Like the universe is providing me with the answer, I feel something rough nudging against the back of my hand. Lowering, I grasp it, sitting up to read the contents of the little piece of paper I found. The fact that he wrote a note for me makes me grin, my heart fluttering, like it's a proof that we're finally a real couple.

But I don't get to rejoice for long.

I double-check what's written, my smile freezing on my face.

'I love you, Candice, but I can't do this anymore.

I’m sorry for any damage I’ve caused.”

It all kicks in.

Last night, he didn't say sorry for being intrusive. He said sorry, because he was planning on letting me down too.

Last night, when I fell asleep in his arms, I thought he was going to stay and hold me.

But he was only saying goodbye.
_______________________

Radish Fiction readers! Don't forget to add Logan's book to your libraries! It's coming out next week!