Here it is. What a lame intro on my part.
He knocked on her door, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the box, looking around. A moment later, the door swung open, panic in Lilly's eyes. She sighed heavily when she saw him, leaning against the door frame; he caught the relief that flashed in her eyes before she glanced away.
"What, Eddie?" she snapped, crossing her arms.
"Calm down, Rush. I scare ya?," he said, watching her. She'd been scared and he wondered what she had thought. She looked at him expressionlessly, gradually hiding away the terror she'd felt. He leaned against the railing and they stared at each other for a minute, each refusing to look away. Amusement twinkled in her eyes and she inhaled, looking off to the side.
"What do you want, Saccardo?" she finally asked, tilting her head. He shrugged, leisurely making his way up the steps.
"Gotta have a reason for comin' over?" he asked, leaning in slightly towards her with a grin as he passed her inside.
"Nice place," he commented, looking around. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but it was strangely homely. He turned to look at her.
She looked beautiful, even in the casual clothes she was wearing. His eyes fell to the object in her hand. She looked down, too, and stiffened, as if she'd forgotten she'd been holding it.
"Still have it, huh?" he said, walking towards her. She had been looking at it before he'd knocked on the door and his eyes ran over her, gauging her reaction. She rolled her eyes sarcastically, hiding the embarrassment over him realizing.
"Yeah, I love my jewels," she said mockingly. He took the bracelet from her and wrapped it around her wrist. The bracelet looked stunning on her hand and he resisted the crazy urge to kiss her hand, to catch her eyes, the ones that he felt he could stare into forever. Her gaze was fixed stubbornly on the bracelet and he snapped the ends together, securing it on her wrist. She swiftly glanced up at him and moved away, taking a seat on her couch, one leg folded under the other.
"Thought you might enjoy some company," he said, joining her on the sofa, deliberately sitting close to her. A smile twitched on her lips and she narrowed her eyes, smirking.
"Mm and you thought I would enjoy your company?" she teased, leaning her head on the arm positioned on the back of the sofa.
"Don't you?" he asked, looking at her. She stopped, looking at him curiously and he retuned the stare evenly. She looked away and he reached over and handed her the box he'd brought. She stared at it.
"What's this?" she asked, opening it. She looked surprised at the stuffed animal inside, but smiled, picking it out.
"It's for your, uh, niece," he said. "Show her that her aunt's as tough as a lioness. Can't be tamed, does all the hunting, you know." There was a genuine delight on her face and he knew he was staring at her, trying to imprint the memory of her face in his mind.
"Thanks," she said quietly.
"Lioness needs a tough lion, you know, someone like me," he said suggestively, grinning.
She laughed. "Right, King of the Jungle," she mocked. He leaned back, smiling.
"Got that right." A comfortable silence followed. Saccardo glanced at her; there was no trace of the look on her face when she had visited her sister the other day.
He could never get through that layer, the one behind which she hid everything, almost instinctively. He didn't know her past, what she had been through and that was fine. he loved her right now, in the present. But it had been unbearable to see the tears in her eyes in the apartment and he found himself saying slowly, "Your sister..."
She stiffened, hiding her face from him.
"Why d'you feel guilty 'bout her?" he finished, still waching her carefully.
"I don't." Her tone was tight. He leaned forward, peering at her.
"I know guilty. I've seen it on every type of face, including gorgeous ones," Saccardo told her and she turned to look at him, the bitterness in her eyes piercing. Suddenly, she was standing, aggravated, face twisted.
"What do you want me to say? That I wasn't a good sister? That I let her go?" Lilly snapped, voice cracking. He was pushing and he knew it. It was different at work, where he didn't care about the people, where it was easy to get them to spill. But he was too well aware that locking things away only made them so much stronger until they began to suffocate you.
He didn't react, probing her further. She was already lost in her thoughts, speaking too fast.
"I let her go. She came to me and I pushed her away. I... felt like I hated her so much. For ruining every thing, every time there was something good in my life. And then, she... was suffering and I couldn't help her." She laughed once, a heartbreaking sound, and he stood, touching her for the first time in months.
"You don't let it go, it's gonna eat you up," he said silently.
She glared at nothing, the anger unable to hide the misery underneath. "It's my problem, Eddie," Lilly said firmly, refusing to let him see the weak tears.
He nodded, stepping away and leaving the living room, letting her recover. It was torture, seeing her push it all away, destroying her from the inside while she refused to to let anyone help her. She was strong, brave, used to being alone. But he wasn't going to stop trying to protect her, no matter how much she fought him.
He opened the fridge absently and stopped. There was a carton of milk and an unopened bag of bread. Nothing else. He opened the cabinet, wondering now. It was stocked with cat food.
"Your fridge's almost as empty as mine," he told her, strolling back into the living room. It was an obvious reference to the time she had broken into his temporary apartment with a credit card and had spent the night. Her eyes were still dark sapphire from the moment before, but she smiled slightly, a slightly embarrassed look crossing her face as the memory crossed her mind.
"Didn't think that was possible," she replied casually. An orange cat strolled out of the other room, jumping onto the couch. It had one eye, which it fixed on him. Lilly petted the cat affectionately.
"Why's the cat staring at me? Is that a cat?" he said, half-joking and Lilly shot him a look.
"Yes, she's a cat. And she stares at shady people," she taunted, looking at him pointedly.
He raised his eyebrows, moving over to the door.
"I'm gonna go get somethin' to eat. You comin'?" he said, stopping for her. She paused, unsure, and then nodded slowly.
She pulled on her coat and passed Saccardo through the door.
"You're paying."
It's a little, eh, hurried. But the gist is there. Next chapter: some tension. (dun-dun-dahhhh) I've been watching Cold Case (surprise, surprise) and I feel like doing something to Christina in here so that it hurts her, as sadistic as it sounds. But nothing evil enough comes to mind...-_-
