Fall of Rome

When our plane touched down in London, I was more than a bit groggy, partially because of the time change, but also because my mind and body just felt completely exhausted from everything that had happened. I tried to take a deep breath and get my head out of the trance I seemed to be stuck in as the flight attendant filed us out of our seats and off to baggage claim.

My mind was so foggy that I only half remembered Dylan actually picking our bags up off the carousel, and was only fully back in the real world when we stepped out onto the London streets for the first time. The atmosphere was nothing like I had imagined after being diluted by all the misleading Harry Potter films and BBC television shows, so it took a minute for me to take everything in.

Dylan seemed just as astonished as I was, and it wasn’t until he looked down at me and smiled that I remembered we needed to keep moving.

After hailing the nearest taxi and tossing our bags into the trunk, Dylan and I took our seats, which was when he said the first thing I had heard him speak since we had landed, though I didn’t know if he had been speaking before that and I was just too out of it to notice.

“What do you say we just go back to the hotel and unpack?” he asked, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth as he spoke. “Unwind for a bit before we jump into things.”

I nodded my head quickly, because I was so exhausted that nothing sounded better. “That’s perfect.”

Dylan gave me a light smile before giving our hotel address to our driver, who had us there in just moments.

Our hotel was like something out of the fanciest travel magazine, with a huge, open lobby, marble floors and the friendliest staff I’d ever seen. Dylan really knew how to pick them and I couldn’t imagine how much a few nights there was going to cost him, not that he cared about something as simple as that.

Looking at how beautiful my surroundings were put me in some strange, happy bubble where all I could think about was how wonderful things were and how happy everyone who was there must be. All that changed, though, when we stepped into our room.

It was the most beautiful suite I’d ever seen, complete with a hot tub and full working kitchen. It was more than anything I could have asked for, but all I could focus on was the one bed by the balcony. The one bed that was the perfect size for two people. I don’t know if Dylan got a room with a single bed on purpose or if the thought didn’t cross his mind, but it was all I could think about.

Dylan didn’t seem to come to the come conclusion that I did and just set our bags down by the dresser so we could unpack our things into the separate sets of drawers. He was already unzipping his suitcase, hunched over as he began pulling out his clothes. I hadn’t even looked to see what he packed before we left and I just hoped he brought enough appropriate outfits because he usually asked for my help when packing.

Trying not to watch him and criticize every bit of clothing he pulled out of his bag, I unzipped my own suitcase and unpacked much more quickly than he did, probably just because we had to stand so close to one another to put our things away and I wanted to end that as quickly as possible.

When I tucked my last shirt into the top drawer, I walked over to the sofa and kicked my feet up on the ottoman because I wasn’t really sure what else to do while I waited. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long and Dylan came over and sat on the opposite sofa, slouching forwards with his elbows on his knees. He looked at me with his eyes blinking while he bit his lip.

“Are you hungry?” he asked as he clasped his hands together. “You wanna go out for dinner?”

My heart was racing much more quickly than it should have been, and I did my best not to panic. I couldn’t lie; I was pretty hungry, but I knew that having dinner meant we would have to talk, and that made me more apprehensive than anything else.

I felt like I didn’t know what to talk about anymore. I didn’t know what to say to him to have a normal conversation. I wasn’t even sure if we were supposed to have a normal conversation. Was I supposed to ask him what happened? Was I supposed to pry him for more details or was I supposed to pretend that nothing was wrong at all?

Sensing my fear, Dylan gave me an apathetic smile. “It’s okay, El. We’ll figure it out.”

I didn’t know if he knew exactly what I was thinking or if he was just making a general statement, but it made me feel a little bit less scared. I still had no clue what was going to happen or what on earth we’d talk about, but like Dylan had said, we would figure it out.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to put all of my thoughts out of my mind. I forced myself to stop thinking about what Dylan had done. When I looked at him, I didn’t let myself picture him with that girl or think about the fact that he’d been with someone else when he was supposed to belong to me.

As hard as it was, I tried to just roll with it, because I did want to figure things out. I was still angry, but more than anything, I wanted to figure things out.

“What are you in the mood for?” I asked, attempting to keep my breathing steady.

Dylan smiled at me as he stood up from the sofa. “I know the perfect place.”