A week went by in a blur.
Then two weeks.
Then three.
Pretty soon a month had past. All three of them fell into a natural routine. Lea would wake up early and cook them breakfast, before leaving for her shift at Barkers. She'd work her hours as Jade and Dylan worked on their own problems at the apartment. Lea would come home and they'd compare notes, then she'd prepare dinner and they'd all eat together. Sometimes they'd end the day with watching a movie or some TV, but other days the three of them were far too exhausted to do anything but crawl into bed and sleep.
The routine became so familiar, it began to happen like clock work.
Lea got so used to Dylan and Jade being there, it was almost as if she was their third sibling
Almost, but not exactly.
A sister usually wouldn't have feelings for their older brother. Lea couldn't deny the butterflies that fluttered around in her stomach everytime her mind fell on thoughts about of Dylan; and it wasn't just his looks anymore. It was him; it was everything about him.
Lea couldn't stop thinking about him.
'Leave it to you to fall for an escaped convict that tried to kill you not too long ago,' she thought to herself on several occasions. But she couldn't help it.
She was falling, and fast.
It was strange...but she didn't mind it either. For three years she'd put a guard up against liking anybody romantically. 'They'll only hurt you like that asshole Mason did,' her brain would discourage her often. But with Dylan it was different. Oddly enough, she didn't mind falling.
"So, what did you guys find out today?" Lea asked Jade at the dinner table one night. They sat with their bowls in front of them, waiting for Dylan to get out of the shower.
"Not much..." Jade responded. "Dylan tried to use your laptop to hack into Sofia's files at the police department. No such luck. They have quite the firewall over there."
"Dylan knows how to hack into things like that?"
Jade nodded. "He's pretty smart. He knows how to do a lot of tech-y junk that I don't understand. Dyl's always been interested in that sort of thing...he's such a nerd."
Those damn butterflies erupted again at the thought that Dylan actually had brains. Could he be any more perfect? Lea managed to hide her jitters and continued. "So, what's your next step?"
"Our only lead is Sofia's lover, whoever the hell he is...Sofia was an angel, or so everyone thought. People held her on a pedastal and most of the time she deserved it. She was beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, and amazing actress....But people didn't know about her infidelity. It was the only thing she was hiding. She had absolutely nothing else on her record beside her double life..."
"Wow, seems like a pretty complex girl," Lea said quietly. Lea knew she had no reason to feel the way she did about Sofia. But she couldn't help but clench her fists at the thought of how perfect she was...and at the thought that she still had Dylan wrapped around her cold, dead finger.
"She was...try being her best friend!" Jade exclaimed and rolled her eyes. "Damn, if only we knew who she was seeing!" she groaned, frustrated and slammed her fork into her chicken.
Suddenly, Lea got an idea. "Why don't you find her phone records?"
Jade looked up from her plate. "What?"
"Her cell phone records? She must have been calling him...the man she had the affair with? Texting him, or something...they had to have been communicating. Her phone records would give away this guys' number, and there must be some place that kept her records on file. That's a place to start, right?"
"Yea I guess that makes sense," Jade answered, nodding slowly. "Thanks Lea...Dylan's so smart, I'm surprised he didn't think of that...speaking of Dylan, where the hell is he!? I'm tired of waiting for him, I want to eat!"
Lea giggled. "I'll go check on him." She slid away from the table and padded down the hallway toward the bathroom door. She couldn't tell if the water still ran or not. "Dylan!?" she called out as she walked. "We're waiting for you TO--AHHH!"
She collided with something hard and went flying, landing on top of some foreign, rock solid object with a thud. She opened her eyes and gasped as she stared into Dylan's bright green eyes. He stared back at her, a smirk spread across his face.
He wore only a towel, his toned muscles glisteneing with water under the flourescent hallway lighting. His wet hair clung to his forehead in just the right way and his smile effectively melted her, turning her insides into jelly. Her cheeks turned a deep scarlett instantly.
"Wow Lea, I'm happy to see you too," he chuckled playfully.
Lea giggled nervously and patted his chest, urging her fingers not to linger. "Sorry," she apologized awkwardly. "I really need to learn to watch where I'm going."
"I'm not complaining," he responded as his smirk broadened.
Just then Jade walked into the hallway, her eyes diverting toward the floor in confusion. "I knew there was sexual tension between you two, but you should have really gotten a room!"
Lea stood up quickly, then helped Dylan to stand. Her cheeks burned bright red as she brushed herself off and looked back up at Jade. "Very funny."
"Oh I kid, I kid! Can we eat now!?"
Dylan promptly looked down at his lack of clothing, then back up at the girls. "Maybe I should put on some clothes first..."
"Yea. That's probably a good plan," Lea answered with a smile.
"Unless of course, you're enjoying the view," he joked as he looked over at her, his smirk spreading farther, if that was even possible.
She laughed nervously. "Yea right, you wish. Go get changed you loser!"
Dylan chuckled and rolled his eyes, then turned into the bedroom to go put on some clothes. Lea watched him go from behind thinking, 'you have no idea how true your statement was.'
