Half and half

chapter 15-dylan

Chapter 15

Dylan

The hotel room was awesome. I’d stayed there a few times before, but always in the presidential suite east, not west. West was way better. There was a large black shiny piano. There were potted plants all around the room and panoramic windows. There were six balconies that gave us view to bel-air and Beverly-hills. There was a dining room, living room and a closed off bedroom with 2 king-sized beds. There were breakfast tables with white surfaces. The walls were decorated in comforting shades of creaminess. There were tiny trees and the ceiling was high. It was like being in a little house. There was even a kitchen. And the best part: a 60-inch flat screen TV. We were in heaven.

The moment we stepped into the black marble foyer, everyone rushed off. I ran and plopped myself in front of the TV. Ethan ran to the kitchen, yelling treats as he found them. Thaila ran to the piano, squealing. Dimitri walked calmly out to the large balcony and shut the curtains. I turned on the TV and it sang a little as it started.

“Milky way!” Ethan yelled. I strangled a laugh. I picked AXN and the crime life in Miami roared to life. I sat up straighter.

“M&Ms!”

Horatio Cain swept his fake-‘blond’ hair to a side and lowered his sunglasses, having revealed another of his ‘We’ll see about that, Mr. Palmer.’ Famous phrases.

“OMG‼ Pringles‼” Ethan yelled.

“SHUT UP.” Thaila replied in her kind way. Ethan sulked a little after that. I chuckled, “you guys are going to end up married.” I announced. Thaila looked horrified beyond words and Ethan dropped his beloved Pringles. “God forbid it.” Thaila managed to say. Ethan rolled his eyes, “frankly, I’d rather marry a horse. No offense.” He added. Thaila’s eyes narrowed, “well, some taken.” She snapped. Ethan looked incredulous. “Well, you’d rather I marry you?” he asked. Thaila scowled, but she was blushing slightly. I didn’t know if Ethan could see it, though. Then she huffed, muttered something about boys-receiving a ‘hey’ in my protest- and shut herself in the bedroom. Which kind of sucked because the beds were there. Dimitri didn’t emerge from the balcony. I frowned and after about half an hour, I started looking for him in all six balconies. In the last one, I knew he’d been there. The leaves finally settled down and I stared. He wasn’t there.

It was midnight when a loud thud and a curse woke us up. Ethan fell off the TV sofa and landed on top of me. To that, I responded with an appropriate curse. “Sorry.” Ethan muttered, rolling off me. Immediately, I leapt to my feet, Ethan following suit. I turned towards the balcony, acting on instinct. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Los Angeles at night, but let me tell you, it’s a sight. All the lights are shining, the clouds reflecting them back at us, making it almost daylight. That’s why we saw the silhouette perfectly outlined on the balcony curtains. “Uh, Dylan?” Ethan asked nervously. I hadn’t realized my shirt had disappeared. Or that my wings had stretched to full width, brushing the walls. I didn’t try to fold them. The silhouette was crouched, one hand on the floor, as if to obtain balance. I slipped out the black knife from my back pocket and held it up. Suddenly the curtains were ripped from their holders and they caved in, dropping something inside. Drops of water hit me in the face. I blinked, thinking it was raining, but if the dry breeze seeping from the balcony was any indication, it hadn’t rained for a while in here. There were a series of curses from the wrapped-up figure on the floor while Ethan and I stared. Finally, a disheveled black mop of hair appeared. Black eyes peeked sheepishly out of the folds and folds of curtains. “Dimitri?” I asked, bewildered. “Urgh.” He grunted, struggling to free himself. Ethan and I hauled him to his feet where he tottered for a moment before regaining his balance. I’d never seen Dimitri unbalanced, so I knew something was up. “wh-hy do-o peoppleeeee thrrrowww bottleeees aatt eaaachh ooothhher…?” he slurred. Ethan and I looked at each other. Then I realized Dimitri was soaking wet. His wet hair dripped into his eyes. “Dimitri? What happened to you?” he seemed to find this hysterical, laughing frantically. I stared at him, then asked, “Dimitri, did you go looking for someone?” he nodded. “At a party?” he nodded again. “Why are you wet?” I finished. He laughed, “Some druuunk threw a bottle of wine at me…” he grinned. “Dimitri…. Are you stoned?” I asked, incredulous. He frowned, as if trying to process my question. “What did you eat at the party?” I asked cautiously. His expression lightened. Then he answered, “I didn’t find the person I was looking for, so I stuck around. Then, I began getting very hungry. I noticed some dudes with trays offering stuff, so I took four.” I winced,            “four… brownies?” I prayed he shook his head, but he just nodded. Then Ethan began laughing and laughing. Dimitri frowned and tried to punch him, but he miscalculated and sprawled on the floor. “Dammit.” I muttered. Just then, Thaila chose to exit her den. She was wearing a lacy white nightgown she had gotten from who-knows-where. She ignored Ethan and asked me, “What is all this racket?” just then, she noticed her brother rolling around on the floor, laughing his head off. Her green eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted. “Dimitri consumed unintentionally, of course, a large dose of pot brownies.” I informed her. Her mouth plopped open.

Half and hour later, Thaila, Ethan and I sat watching Dimitri inhale pack after pack of milky ways. I was annoyed, but it had nothing to Ethan’s level of pissed-off-ness. Finally, when Dimitri stopped stuffing himself, he observed us. “Open you wings.” He told me, looking curious. “Humor him.” Thaila mouthed, pleading. I sighed and stood up, unfurling my wings. Dimitri stood up and began inspecting them. Then he got into the cupboard where the safe was and took out a measuring tape. He made me open one wing to full length, and it felt good to stretch it. I don’t know if I’d mentioned it before, but my wings are huge. Just one almost covered all of the living room. Dimitri measured it and giggled. “15 feet.” He announced. Thaila frowned. “Measure it again.” She commanded. Then she yanked the tape from his hands and measured it herself. I shifted my wing. “Be still.” Thaila snapped. “It tickles.” I protested. She ignored me, but because my wings kept jerking this way and that, she sat on one of them, pinning it to the ground. I didn’t bother explain that I could easily move it. Instead, I decided to have some fun. I made eye contact with Ethan and he raised an eyebrow. I jerked my head towards my pinned wing and winked. Ethan turned his attention to the wings at once. I raised it a few centimeters from the ground, keeping it as level as possible. Then I swung it in an arc, slowly. She didn’t notice. Oh, and another gorgeous aspect of this suite: it has a large Jacuzzi. I kept moving my wing until it hovered, Thaila and all, above the Jacuzzi. Ethan’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth with a hand. “Got it!” Thaila cried triumphantly, “It’s… 15 feet with-” I upturned my wing and dumped her into the Jacuzzi. Ethan chortled, before I swept my wing sideways and sent him tumbling into the Jacuzzi with Thaila.

The next night, we decided to visit Santa Monica Fair. We walked along the long bridge, laughing and chatting. Apparently, each of my wings was 16 feet long. Making it a 32 feet wingspan. Pretty cool, huh? Dimitri’s eyes were still kind of blurred and he kept wincing and rubbing his temples. “Headache?” I offered. He nodded and winced again. “I’ll be back in a second, meet me in the fair.” Then he disappeared. “YAAAAAAHHHH!” I heard a scream and I turned. Thousands of feet above the ocean, a black figure tumbled feet first. I did it without thinking. I ran a few feet and took to the air, unfurling my wings and pushing off from the ground. I flapped my wings hard until I was flying above the ocean. I narrowed my eyes at the figure and somehow zoomed in, so I saw the features. I stopped dead and the body hit the waves. I stared after it, the sea was so rough today, and it hadn’t caused even a ripple on the surface. I took a deep breath, wondering if I had imagined it. “Dylan!” I heard Thaila scream behind me. “Save him!” she wailed. I numbly turned back to her small figure on the beach, jumping up and down and waving her arms. She didn’t know what I knew. Should I… yes. For her. I folded my wings and dropped like an arrow. I entered the freezing waves and kept going. I saw a blurry shape contrast against the pale sand and I dove toward it. I wanted to breath, but I had to help. As I saw his face, my fears were confirmed. I grabbed him under the arms and hauled him up, beating my wings underwater so they’d push me up. I broke the surface and started panting. I kept flying until I was above cloud level. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I glanced at the beach where Thaila still stood. Should I kill the one I’d rescued? I decided against it and began heading towards Thaila and Ethan. Dimitri couldn’t see him yet. I landed besides them with a poof of sand and deposited the limp body on the ground. I didn’t withdraw my wings, even if every tourist was staring, screaming, or taking pictures of me. “Dylan, why did you hesitate?” Thaila yelled. “Because I know him.” I said calmly, even if my head was spinning. “what? Who is he? What is he doing here?” I looked to the distance. “he’s keeping a promise.”