A Familiar Face

by Midnighttomoscow

The city is supposed to be a place where you blend, where you fall into anonymity, where no one cares who you are or what you do, as long as you can pay rent. But suddenly Desmond is haunted with this feeling of being watched, this tugging sensation that ebbs and flows as he goes about his life. What is the universe trying to tell him?

4. Part Four

Part Four:

"Desmond…wake up…Desmond…" A voice, far off in the real world. It sounds like nothing he's heard before but feels familiar, warm, calm.

"Des…hey, you have to wake up for me…" Soft and feminine he can feel a hand, a touch skirting over his brow, down his cheek and under his chin. Lovingly caressing but he has no eyes to open.

"Desmond…You have a job to do…" Other worldly, tinny, layered…he feels cold.

"...I understand Cara but we can't just take him in…for now…I don't think he's meant to be here…Don't use that tone with me…What's your father going to think…Sadie you are complicit in this…" Harsh, the movement has stopped but he can feel his cheek against something hard.

A window in the back seat of an old maroon Volvo. Cara and Sadie stand defiantly in a picturesque front yard to a mid century modern suburban home. The landscaping along the front is neat and orderly, little boxwood hedges and tasteful flowers leading to a dark green painted door.

Taking a moment, Desmond wipes the drool from the corner of his mouth, his hands smaller than what he remembers. The window is just barely cracked, the voices of the three women carrying into the car.

Cara looks at him, her green eyes shining in the midday sun. I'm sorry… She mouths and Sadie turns.

Their mother looks just like Cara, only older. Her striking green eyes hold more contempt, her brown hair duller and streaked with grey. The hand on her hip clenches as their eyes lock. She motions for him to get out and stand with them.

The sun is just beginning to dip behind the tall trees of the neighbourhood, golden hour approaches and he's trying to take it all in, to remember what this looks like.

"Desmond…" Her voice is soft compared to the way she was speaking to her daughters, but her tone is still terse. "How old are you?" Her brows furrow together and there's genuine concern written on her face.

"I'm uh…I'm sixteen…" He doesn't even have to think, the words just tumble out. Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind something else itches, scratching on a closed door. It feels like someone else is in here with him.

Her mouth forms a hardline, like she's regretting everything she said just moments ago. Letting a long breath from her nose like she's been defeated, she looks between the two girls and Desmond can see the concern across both of their faces.

"He can stay-" Cara screams first, looking at Sadie "-but only for the week, then we have to take him into the city…I'm sorry Desmond it's nothing against you…I just worry about your mother…"

He can do nothing but nod, a smile quirking his lip for a moment before Sadie grabs hold of his hand and starts to pull him towards the front door.

"Let him get his things first! God Sadie, the poor boy's been through a lot…" brows furrowing once more a moment of realisation hits her "good Lord where are my manners, Desmond my name is Pam." Her smile is genuine, like she really does want to help him but just doesn't know how.

"Thank you." He mumbles, not knowing what else to say. He's taller than all of them so when he meets her gaze he has to look down. Sadie sweeps him up the few steps to their front door.

Their split level home is tastefully decorated courtesy of Pam who has a love for earth tones and rich tapestries. Desmond is enthralled, trying to soak it all in, he can't remember the last time he's felt this calm.

"The pool is really what sold us." Pam stands next to him, looking out the sliding glass door to the in ground pool. "I thought it lessened the blow of winter if we could still swim in the summer"

Sadie scoffs from the kitchen, grabbing a few grapes from the fruit bowl. "Right mom, like a pool lessens the blow of having to live through Chicago winters." She rolls her eyes dramatically, popping a grape into her mouth.

"Hey dinner is ready, stop snacking!" Pam scolds. Cara has disappeared and so has his backpack from the front door. As if reading his mind, Pam puts her hand on his shoulder. "Cara has brought your things downstairs, after dinner we can set you up on the couch" she gives a warm smile and he nods.

Sadie and Cara's dad Dave works as a banker downtown. Pam apologises, saying he isn't home for dinner very often, but he will meet him eventually. Pam calls herself a 'domestic engineer' when Desmond asks what she does.

"That sounds really fancy…" He mutters, looking at Sadie as they sit at the dinner table. The McCormick's always eat at the table and it reminds Desmond of dinners at the farm. Only, Desmond's family never had music on while they ate, only silence peppered with conversation.

"Mom you can't say that to him, he won't know you're joking" Cara chides and Pam rolls her eyes taking a sip from her wine.

"Fine then. I'm a stay at home mom to these brats" She smiles between the two girls, her eyes crinkling, showing her age. He can hear her joking tone, the way her lips curl up when she talks about Cara and Sadie that they are her world.

"Do you like Led Zeppelin?" Cara asks, her green eyes looking at Desmond intently. He meets her gaze, shrugging before looking down at his plate, pushing his mashed potatoes onto his fork with his knife.

"I don't know?" There's a very pregnant pause as Cara and Sadie look at one another.

"Robert Plant? Jimmy Page? You know, the gods of rock themselves?" The words fall from Sadie's lips quickly and he gives another shrug looking between the sisters as they continue to stare at him.

"Sadie, sweetheart, calling Led Zeppelin the gods of rock is rich when The Rolling Stones are in the same genre…" Pam's tone is jovial and she takes another sip of wine.

"Desmond, we're listening to Led Zeppelin right now, we have Houses of the Holy playing…" Sadie says and Desmond nods like he knows what she's talking about.

"Did you…were you allowed to listen to music?" Cara's green eyes once more are on his and he sees it, the recollection of his upbringing and what he's not saying. She presses her lips together.

"We had a little radio in our kitchen. My mother used to listen to classical music…" Quiet, his voice feels foreign, thinking of his mother who he left. The farm that he ran away from.

He can feel the stillness settle around them, like he's broken an unspoken rule. He can hear a sharp intake of breath from the head of the table and when he looks up Pam's eyes are watery. Cara's mouth is still in a hard line, a little wrinkle forming on her forehead.

"Well then. Looks like we have a lot to teach you in a week" Sadie smiles, her voice is kind.

After dinner Pam shoos them away and tells the girls to show Desmond where he will be sleeping. They take him down to the basement and Cara starts pulling blankets from a closet.

The entire back wall is filled with old VHS tapes and new DVDs. He runs his hand along them, reading out the titles under his breath.

Almost Famous, American Beauty, American Psycho…Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon…Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone…

Much different than the movies the old bunny ears would get if he could position them just right. When he was lucky and all his chores were complete, his father would let him watch TV. He's seen the Ten Commandments more times than he'd like to admit. He can recite all of Ben-Hur and even 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But he knows nothing about these movies.

"Are you okay?" Cara rests a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know…" He whispers, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of his decision to leave the farm.

"Hey kids! Let's have too much junk food and watch a scary movie!" Pam's voice cuts silence and Desmond is grateful. He doesn't want to feel these feelings yet, doesn't want to fall out of his adrenaline fueled courage.

Somewhere deep within the recesses of his mind, he feels the scratching once more.

Sadie picks a movie called Scream. Desmond sits on the floor in front of the couch with Cara as Sadie and Pam share the couch. On the coffee table sits a plethora of sweet treats he's never seen before.

"Here" Cara shoves a bowl of multi coloured little balls the size of grapes at him. One bite and he's hooked, immediately trying one of everything on the table.

"Sweetheart, you may want to slow down a little you might get sick" Pam warns and he does not heed her advice but continues to stuff his face.

Once the movie finishes, the girls bid him goodnight, disappearing down the long hall off the kitchen.

"There's a bathroom downstairs if you need it, tomorrow is Saturday and we have no plans, if you'd like we can go into town or even go for a hike?" Her eyes show sorrow, like she feels bad for him after she watched him gorge himself on junk food for the last hour and thirty minutes.

"Whatever you'd like to do…" He tries to sound confident but he can't meet Pam's gaze as he shrugs.

"I'm just upstairs if you need anything, don't be alarmed if Dave makes a bunch of noise when he comes home. You can meet him in the morning" He gives a nod before disappearing into the darkness of the basement, closing the door behind him.

Desmond stands alone in someone else's house, in someone else's basement.

His skin is crawling, breath coming out in hurried puffs as he tries to lie down on the couch and calm himself.

He never thought he would get this far. Gone, escaped, free. He never has to hear the word Templar ever again in his life.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted. He knows the Templars could never be true, that him running away would never be permitted. But here he is, in the McCormick family basement, free from the farm.

But his heart won't stop pounding, his hands won't stop shaking and his stomach is in knots. He's free, but why doesn't he feel free?

Why does he feel a crushing sensation in his chest, why does he feel that this will lead to his downfall?

I don't remember feeling this way…

He knows objectively his upbringing was different than most, but being here in someone else's home. Someone who's never had to fight in hand to hand combat, grow their own food, or learn about a secret society of assassins. He realises how much he's missed, how different the outside world is from the compound and those within its walls.

Staring at the ceiling he counts, back from one hundred, just like he used to when he couldn't sleep at the farm. The popcorn ceiling seems to morph, the little bumps forming faces, shapes, stars.

Desmond hears the sound of cars quietly in the distance, he may be in a subdivision but the highway isn't far. The consistent noise is a lull he isn't used to.

In South Dakota there's nothing but forest for miles. Nothing but the sound of animals and trees. Foxes killing rabbits, Coyotes killing foxes, ancient trees cracking before they fall, wind whipping through the canopy.

He tries to focus on the sound of traffic, pretending it's just another animal in the forest. The snoring of a sleeping giant. His body is buzzing but his mind is on high alert sleeping in a new place.

The sound of the door opening startles him. Soft footsteps climbing the short burst of stairs he can hear them pad down the hallway to the bedrooms above him. The open and close of a door, the muffled sound of a greeting and talking.

Dave must be home. Desmond's heart rate quickens and he's brought back to the night before he ran away. The sound of his fathers voice drilling him, yelling about how he should know this already, how he should be farther ahead than he is.

The muffled voices become harsh, quick and angry. They're fighting. He can hear the cadence of Pam's voice, it's stern, she's standing up for herself and the girls. The rebuttal is low and frustrated but he can't quite make out what Dave is saying. They go back and forth, their voices carrying down the vents and Desmond closes his eyes tight.

He's no longer alone, he can feel someone else's presence in the basement, he was so focused on the fighting he didn't hear the door.

Opening his eyes he sees Cara walking towards the couch.

"Can I tell you a secret?" She whispers and he does nothing but nod, moving over so she can sit next to him. "He's cheating on her" pulling her legs into herself he can see her close her eyes, long lashes resting on her cheeks.

He doesn't know what to do, what to say, how to navigate this.

"How do…" Desmond doesn't know how to continue, the words die in his throat when Cara pins him with her green eyes. She's crying, long streams of silent tears fall down her cheeks.

"I don't know what to do…" Her voice doesn't betray that she's crying, she sounds even and unbothered.

It's at this moment he realises that nothing is perfect. Everything is broken and he closes his eyes.

It feels like nothing but a blink, but when he opens his eyes he's outside his apartment in Bushwick. His keys are in the door, his hand on the handle, he looks down the hall, trying to look out the tiny window, to see if there's snow outside on the street.

He gives the door a good hip check and there's rustling in the bathroom.

"Robbie…Robbie!" Lila's voice sounds muffled, Desmond stands in the threshold of the apartment for a moment, waiting for Robbie to poke his head out of his room, call back to her, anything. But there's nothing. He can hear her shifting around and she sounds like she's struggling.

"Robbie…I'm dying!" Her plea is weak but it stirs something frantic in him. He puts his bag down on the kitchen island and in one step he's standing in the doorway.

Lila is kneeling in front of the toilet, her hair in a loose knot at the nape of her neck as her hands grip the back of the seat. She lets out a long and slow groan that bounces out of the toilet bowl.

"Robbie I'm dying, I have dysentery…" She moans before aptly throwing up. Desmond clenches his fists, the stench of bile thick in the bathroom and he's worried it's going to make him vomit as well. He leans his head into the living room taking a deep breath before entering.

"You don't have dysentery." His words cut the air and suddenly she twists towards him, she seems startled.

"Ugh Desmond…What do you know anyways" Sitting up, she turns so she's leaning against the tub, wiping vomit from the side of her mouth with the back of her hand. There's a little angry wrinkle on her brow as she stares at him.

"I know that dysentery isn't vomiting." Her face relaxes for a moment, head lolling back and she looks exhausted. "What did you eat? How long have you been puking your guts out?" He tries to approach her but her head snaps up and she's staring daggers at him again.

"I don't need your help Desmond." She spits his name like a curse before leaning into the toilet once more and dry heaving. He leaves the bathroom, getting water and looking for something bland for her to snack on so she's not just dry heaving and spitting bile.

"Where's Robbie!?" She whines like a child, biting back a sob.

"I don't know Lila, really I don't. I don't even know what day it is." Her eyes are watery, skin slick with sweat and there's purple bruising under her eyes from lack of sleep.

She's exhausted and running on nothing but fumes. He places the water and crackers next to her before backing up into the fresh air of the living room. Slamming the toilet seat shut she flushes it before sitting on the closed lid and holding her head in her hands.

"I think I just threw up all my fillings…" She whispers and Desmond can't help but stifle a laugh. "Robbie wouldn't laugh at me…" She whines and he rolls his eyes.

"You know he would" He's smiling at her but she isn't looking at him. Her bun has completely fallen out now, her hair curtains her face and he can see she's thrown up in it. "Are you going to die if I leave to get you some pedialyte and new clothes?" She shakes her head so he does just that.

Returning from the bodega, pedialyte in hand along with a fresh t-shirt from his drawer and a pair of sweatpants from Robbie's room, when he steps into the bathroom again she has resumed her previous position of her head in the toilet.

He rifles through the vanity drawers for a moment, finding a hair brush and tie before kneeling beside her. Carefully, he collects her hair from around her face. Her eyes are closed but she lifts her head when he begins to brush her hair gently.

Once he's finished, he sections it into thirds and braids it back, away from her face. He blinks a few times as the hair in his hands switch from red to black, there's a woman's voice in his head, humming softly.

She whispers in a language he doesn't speak but he knows what she's saying, he knows she's talking about sweetgrass and sacred medicine. The connection it holds with the Earth.

"Why are you being so nice to me…" Lila's voice breaks and he's pulled back into his bathroom in Bushwick. She looks up at him as he ties off the end of her braid, smoothing the stray pieces around her face and tucking them behind her ear.

"You're my friend Lila…" He knows where he is on the timeline. Knows he's post fuck up and there's no going back, he's on damage control and wants nothing more than to at least try to selvedge their friendship.

He wants to see her smiling again while Robbie makes French Toast on a Sunday morning.

Her face breaks into a sob, mouth contorting and eyes closing before she looks away. She reaches for the water, taking a swig and rinsing her mouth out before she's overcome with dry heaving once more.

"We tried Desmond, we tried to make it work…but you just couldn't do it apparently…" Whatever he did must be fresh, her voice is filled with emotion, with pain. Closing his eyes, he wishes he could apologise, but he can't remember, he doesn't know.

"I'm sorry…" He tries anyway, reaching for her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"You said she was a one night stand…" Leaning into his touch, she curls around herself folding her legs into her chest and when he scoops her into his lap he remembers.

He's hit as if struck by lighting, the white hot memory ripping through his mind with such force he feels like he's been pushed back, pinned against the wall.

They're dancing, the three of them, Robbie and Lila in their sparkly New Years dresses. The entire club is glittering, the lights bouncing off of sequins and metallics. Disco balls and mirrors hang from the ceiling with the performers.

Lila has one arm around Robbie, the other grips Desmond tightly.

Then he sees her. Cristina.

She's dancing, swaying alone in the crowd, eyes closed. It's as if her soul is calling to his, a lamentful song only he can hear, drawing him in. Her eyes open and she looks at him with such love.

The countdown begins, Lila lets go of him to grab onto Robbie and jump up and down.

Desmond is gone, getting lost in the crowd and following Cristina deeper into the centre. She smiles, leading him through the throng of people that part to let them through, swallowing them up as they pass.

Closer and closer he no longer feels like himself.

"Ezio…" She whispers to him and he has no control over his hands, they fall to her hips and she leans in kissing his neck, his collarbone, his jaw.

Eyes drifting shut he doesn't want to see. He knows Lila is looking for him, knows he should be with her.

"Ezio look at me" his eyes open and he can just barely see Lila amongst the crowd, her and Robbie trying desperately to find him.

"Five!" In unison, as if with one voice, the crowd begins to count.

She turns her head, if she looks to her left she will see them and it will break her.

"Four!"

Don't look Lila please don't look…Don't look… His own voice shouts in his head.

"Three!"

Cristina's hands are cupping his face, she's looking at him like she looked at Ezio when Desmond was hitching a ride in his body. Her hands are soft and warm, he wants to close his eyes but he can't.

"Two!"

He catches a glimpse of red and gold and silver mere feet from him. Big brown eyes wide in shock as–

"One! Happy New Year!"

Cristina kisses him full on the mouth and he feels his hands snake around her waist, pulling her into him. Pressing her body into his and holding her there.

His vision goes black but he can hear himself panting, rough, raw ragged breaths tearing from his lungs. He can feel himself gripping her hip, holding onto her for dear life as his breath tumbles out from his mouth.

Cheeks wet, eyes raw, she looks up at him and he's sobbing. He can feel himself crying as he cradles her body to his, holding her against him as they both do nothing but cry.

He's melting, falling through the floor and he feels like he's going to vomit. His breath still saws in and out of his body as he falls. Closing his eyes he lets it take him, wanting nothing more than to get out of this place, out of this time.

The falling stops, but not with a thud or a splat, he's just not falling anymore. Instead he's sitting in the back seat of a beat up maroon Volvo.

Sadie's looking at him through the visor mirror, her eyes shining in the golden hour light. She's applying mascara, opening her mouth and carefully painting her bottom lashes.

"Bump in three…two…one" Cara announces and Sadie pulls the wand away, tilting her head back.

Desmond calms his breathing, counting slowly. He's sixteen again and they're driving away from the farm, away from his childhood in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

But they're not in South Dakota, out the window he sees row upon row upon row of mid century modern homes with their neat little front gardens and new cars in the driveway.

"You okay back there Des?" Cara's voice is calm but her eyes hold worry as she stares at him through the rearview.

"Yeah…yeah…I-uh, I had a little bit of deja vu I guess…" He keeps his breathing steady as they wind through the never ending boulevards and avenues and streets named after trees.

The summer sun has almost set when they pull into a brightly lit gas station. Desmond stays in the car while the girls go in.

"I bought more peanut M&M's since you liked them so much last time" Sadie reaches into the open window of the back seat, placing a plastic bag filled with candy next to him.

They leave the parking lot, driving West into the setting sun and they're no longer on suburban roads but just outside them. This place less travelled has less streetlights and he can just barely make out the blinking of the first few stars.

Cara cranks her window down and Sadie does the same, turning the radio up he knows Led Zeppelin is playing. Robert Plant's wailing vocals echoing out the open windows and into the night sky.

The girls sing along at the top of their lungs and Desmond closes his eyes, letting everything wash over him. He breathes in the summer air, the smell of sweet tall grasses and open fields.

In the distance, at the end of this long open road, he sees a lineup of cars pulling off the road and entering a parking lot. Sadie's wide grin gets bigger and Cara passes the line up, pulling off onto a road just passed the parking lot.

"Do you remember what the station is?" Sadie is playing with the radio dial.

"Something in the 90s?" Cara provides as she pulls off the road, parking the Volvo in a ditch. She cuts the engine as the radio still plays.

Desmond can just make out the back of a giant screen, the glow unmistakable in the dusk blue light. Sadie reclines her chair, reaching around to roll down the back window and hand Desmond a package of M&M's.

There's static between the stations before a booming voice sounds "...don't forget to grab your popcorn from the concession stand, serving since 1940, McHenry Outdoor Theatre proudly uses Orville Redenbacher kernels in their popcorn…"

"Do you remember what's playing tonight?" Sadie leans back, rolling onto her side to look at her sister. Cara gives a shrug before popping a jelly bean into her mouth.

"I hope it's something scary, I always like it when they play The Blob" She says through a mouthful, her teeth black from the jelly beans.

"I think you're the only person who likes the black jelly beans…" Sadie says with disgust. Cara reclines her seat to match Sadie and Desmond sits between the two of them.

"Are we…are we listening to a Drive In movie?" Sadie does nothing but nod, rolling onto her back and closing her eyes.

"Yup. We found this place while out for a drive one night, the radio was scanning for channels and we stopped on this one after we heard War of the Worlds playing. We sat in the car for a few hours just listening to the old movies play…" Cara's voice has a dreamy tone to it. She's looking at him with those green eyes of hers as she pops another jelly bean into her mouth.

Desmond doesn't talk, he just listens as the radio plays a concession stand jingle. The open windows carry in the smell of popcorn and hot dogs so he opens his M&M's.

The car is taken over by the sound of wind whipping through a valley, whistling and howling in a comical vintage way that Desmond recognizes from the late night re-run movies he was allowed to watch.

There's silence, Cara and Sadie are looking at each other intently, trying to piece together what the movie could possibly be.

"It's Tuesday, they usually play old movies on Tuesday's…" Cara whispers, filling Desmond in.

A man's voice breaks the silence that's fallen, his Transatlantic drawl, the rising and falling of vowels in a regal way. "I want a room and a fire…" Sadie furrows her brow, opening her mouth but the radio cuts her off.

"Jenny!"

"Yes?"

"There's a gent here wants a room…"

"That's not Boris Karloff…" Sadie starts, closing her eyes like it will help her listen.

"So it's not Frankenstein, what a shame, that's a good one." The radio continues to spit out different voices, their high pitch tones so different than today.

Both girls have their eyes closed, listening intently as Desmond stares out the windshield of the car.

"He doesn't want to take off his hat and coat?" Sadie whispers.

"Dracula maybe?"

"None of the voices sound like Bela Lugosi…"

Desmond leans back, closing his eyes, focusing on what they're saying.

"It's not The Blob…" Cara's voice drifts.

"Maybe it's space related…" Sadie sounds far away, like they're walking away from him.

"I know that voice…" Even further now, he tries to open his eyes, to pull himself out of the darkness but he can't.

"It's The Invisible Man!"

He opens his eyes as Cara's voice drifts into the summer wind, carried away with the smell of popcorn.

Lila sits next to him, her long legs crossed and she's digging into a carton of Ben & Jerry's with a spoon. Her hair sits on top of her head in a bun. Looking down, he's also holding a tub of ice cream. Only his isn't a name brand.

He's in Brooklyn, in Bushwick, in his own apartment. No longer listening to a Drive In movie in the suburbs of Chicago with two girls who he only knew for a blink in his life but shaped who he is today.

Lila's been crying, her eyes puffy and raw. He scans the room, waiting for the sound to kick in.

The TV is on, she's watching Elizabethtown and crying as Orlando Bloom brings the ashes of his dead father on a road trip. The soundtrack is unmistakable.

She digs out another chunk from her ice cream and Desmond looks over at her. She isn't as frail as the last time he saw her. Her cheeks are pink and not just from tears, her collar bones don't protrude as much and her hair is shinier.

"Are you just digging out the cookie dough?" Her cheeks flush even more and she levels him with a stare.

"So what if I am? It's my ice cream…" they're silent for a while as she continues to excavate the cookie dough from her little pint of half baked.

"We should go on a road trip…" Desmond whispers and Lila quirks a grin, popping a piece of brownie in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

"We can take Moira's car?" She turns to him, full attention on his face, the movie forgotten.

"Who's Moira?" Looking at him like he's grown a second head she leans into the back cushion of their peeling leather couch. He notices Chris's door is closed, looking to the hallway beside the kitchen he can see a few pairs of his shoes sitting by the front door.

Chris still lives here.

"Moira's my landlady." Lila leans into him, helping herself to his plain vanilla ice cream.

"And you're on a first name basis with your landlady?" She scoffs at him like it's so hard to believe. Desmond doesn't even know if he has a landlady or a landlord, let alone what their name is.

"Of course I am, we watch Jeopardy together every Tuesday." Desmond has to control the shock on his face.

"You watch Jeopardy with your landlady every Tuesday?" He asks calmly. She does nothing but nod, about to speak, before someone hip checks their front door open.

"...of course my roommates will like you…" Robbie's hurried voice is cut off when Desmond makes eye contact with him. "You're both home? It's Wednesday? It's the middle of the day on a Wednesday?" His voice is puzzled as he takes them both in, dropping his backpack on the floor.

A tall man stands in the doorway looking a little afraid while Robbie kicks off his shoes.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Desmond asks and Robbie lays eyes on Lila.

"Oh no. Ben & Jerry's, sweetheart you should have called me! You know I'm off this week!" He's rushing across the living room and the man in the doorway follows slowly, closing the door behind him before hovering on the outskirts of the living room.

Desmond looks between Robbie and this mystery man for a moment. Robbie in his overalls that are not yet covered in paint, with a pink baseball cap that just barely contains his curls.

"How bad was it?" Robbie pushes himself in between Desmond and Lila, narrowing his eyes on her before taking the ice cream from her hands and helping himself.

"I mean…it wasn't…" Her voice quivers before she bursts into tears covering her face as she sobs. "Oh Robbie, it was awful! He said I'm childish and naive and he didn't want his parents to meet me! Can you believe it! He didn't want his parents to meet me!" Putting the ice cream on the coffee table, Robbie cradles Lila's head as she divulges into waves of tears.

"Oh you're better than him and you know it. He wore too much plaid anyways, what kind of dumb spoiled rich kid wears that much plaid…" Robbie's guest flushes as he stands behind the couch in a red plaid shirt that looks expensive.

"He was so cute Robbie, so cute!" She lets out a hiccup and the man behind the couch clears his throat shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Oh, right…Lila, Desmond this is my boyfriend Thomas!" He gives a small shy wave and Robbie's full attention is back to Lila.

"I can't believe I'm meeting your boyfriend for the first time and I look like this!" She wails leaning into Robbie's shoulder. He smooths her hair lovingly, tucking her body into his.

There's a twang, deep in Desmond's chest. He knows where he is, he can remember this moment. It's June and Desmond hasn't fucked up. Him and Lila haven't slept together yet. He's 23 and Robbie and Lila just saved him from living in an illegally converted warehouse.

Robbie has been dating Thomas for months, but he refuses to bring him home, until now.

"Uhm…Hi" He gives a timid wave that Desmond catches from the corner of his eye. Lila levels him with a vicious stare.

"You're treating Robbie right?" She says antagonistically. Usually she is much more intimidating, but her wailing really cut the effect.

Her words still catch Thomas off guard.

"Of course…I-I think I treat him right…" He looks nervous, eyes wide looking for Robbie's direction, figuring out what Robbie wants him to do next.

"You don't have to worry about me sweetheart, I know how to pick em" He's holding Lila's face between his hands now, tearing her gaze away from poor Thomas and making her focus on him.

"So…does this mean we're getting drunk tonight…" Desmond tries, elbowing Robbie a little. He can almost feel the eye roll.

"I think I'm going to need a little more than drinking tonight" Lila whines and Thomas clears his throat causing them all to turn.

"Why don't we drive up to my parents place…it's in Cape Cod?" His eyes never leave Robbie's.

"You never told me your boyfriends loaded…" Lila whispers like the rest of the room can't hear her.

"You never asked…" Is what Robbie replies with, whispering back to her before raising his voice. "Okay, let's go on a road trip, we can leave tonight" Looking around in panic Lila's up in a flash, running to the bathroom.

"Let me get ready! I have to get ready!"

Robbie turns to Desmond when the bathroom door shuts and Thomas settles himself in the chair across from them.

"Desmond, you should have called me when Lila got dumped. I know she can be a lot to handle" His tone is soft, so she won't hear even though the shower is on full blast.

"I don't mind. I know what I signed up for when I moved in" He gives a shrug before Robbie wraps an arm around his shoulder.

"And this is why I knew I would love you as a roommate. I know you love Lila as much as I do, I just worry she's sucking you in…"

He looks to Thomas as things begin to shift, as the strings begin to work, pulling and tugging and ripping before settling. The world splices apart, cut to pieces he's surrounded by darkness once again.

Desmond wishes he could stay here. In the darkness, in the grey area between worlds. He just needs a moment, a breath before he's ripped into a new time or a new place. Although it seems like lately he's at least staying in his own timeline.

The world comes back in pieces. He's hit with the smell of chlorine and fresh cut grass. The heat of summer and the sound of Bruce Springsteen.

Pam sings to The River in an off key way that Sadie grimaces at.

"Mom! Stop being so embarrassing!" She's pink in the face as she reclines by the pool, her red swimsuit a pop against her skin.

Desmond is sitting with his feet dangling in the pool in a pair of jeans he's cut into shorts. He wears a borrowed shirt from Pam's closet with a giant red tongue on it.

"Oh Desmond doesn't mind!" She gives a laugh before returning to her magazine. Cara's in an emerald green bikini and all he can think about is how he held her when she cried last night.

How she sobbed silently into his shoulder and all he could do was tell her nothing. The television his parents allowed him to watch did not prepare him for when a teenage girl is sobbing about her fathers infidelities.

But you would never know.

Today she smiles at her mom, applying sunscreen to Sadie's shoulders as they all lay by the pool and listen to classic rock.

"You know there was a rumour going around that Jimmy Page was into black magic" Pam says, putting her magazine down and directing her attention to Desmond.

He can see Sadie roll her eyes before getting up and joining Desmond by the edge of the pool.

"Jimmy Page is the guitarist of Led Zeppelin, remember? Black Dog? Houses of the Holy? We can watch Song Remains the Same tonight after The Simple Life" She gives him a nudge and he nods. He always feels like he should be taking notes when Sadie opens her mouth. She's like his gateway to popular culture, bringing him up to speed on the 16 years he spent on the farm, sequestered away in the backwoods.

"How else could he be that great! Come on, it has to be magic!" Pam says with a smirk. She knows she's just bothering Sadie.

"I feel like it's all practice" Sadie answers hastily, splashing Desmond with her foot.

"He could have just been born talented you know" Cara chimes in, not bothering to look over from her chair.

"See Cara's on my side!" Pam squints at Desmond for a moment before tossing him a bottle of sunscreen, "you're pastier than paper over there, better put some sunscreen on before you crisp up"

He nods, lathering up his arms and legs. They sit in silence for a while, basking in the late summer sun. Sadie humming along to every song, commenting on who's playing like his own private encyclopaedia.

"Mom likes the Stones more than Zeppelin, but I've never been into Keith's playing as much as I've been into Jimmy's" He nods like he knows who she's talking about. He knows who the top three are now in this house, but all the band members still confuse him.

"Give him a little context Sade, he's only been here for a day" Cara calls over and he's silently grateful for her.

"Uhm…do you mind if I go for a swim? Can I swim in this pool?" He asks looking over to Pam who cracks a whole smile, nodding before she can even answer.

"Of course! The pool is meant for swimming! Why don't you get your bathing suit on?" He flushes for a second, bathing suit was not on his list of things to bring when he ran away.

Pam nods when she sees his expression, he can see the recognition cross her face.

"You don't have one do you?" Her tone is sad and her smile fades when she realises where he came from. "Go ahead, just jump in, we can put your clothes in the wash after."

He nods, standing and pulling his shirt off carefully, looking at them and placing his shirt next to Cara's chair. Her eyes are wide when he approaches and he knows she's looking at the scar he has on his side.

"My uh…My dad…it sounds worse than it is I promise," he takes a breath back tracking a little "my parents raised me on a doomsday compound, so me and the other kids there we learned how to uh…how to fight, and once you're old enough you do it with real weapons…and I got nicked with a knife when I was…well when I was 14…" His palms are sweating as he rambles.

He can see that Pam is doing her best to control her facial expression, but when he looks at Cara, it's her striking green eyes that hold grief for him. The same look she gave him in the car, like they're sharing a secret with one another.

I know what it feels like to be trapped. She's saying, what it's like to want to run away but have nowhere to go.

Cara visits him again that night.

After hours of MTV reality television and pop quizzes on pop culture, Desmond heads off down into the basement once more, feeling a little more comfortable. He knows this is only temporary, that they will be dropping him off at a youth centre downtown in less than a week, but for now he is home.

Emerging from the bathroom after brushing his teeth with a new toothbrush courtesy of Pam, he sees Cara's feet dangling off the end of the couch.

"You know, the whole point of trying to scare someone is actually hiding…" She pops up from her spot, sticking her tongue out before smiling.

"What if I didn't want to scare you hmm? What if I just want to sit down here for a while?" He gives a shrug and she moves over on the couch.

"I mean…you're the one who lives here…" she gives a snort of a response, folding her legs under her and fixing him with that gaze of hers.

"Have you ever been to a drive-in movie?" shaking his head she continues, "we should go. There's one around here that's pretty sweet. Sadie and I found it before we went off to camp…we used to go to the drive-in all the time in Santa Barbara…we saw Jaws on the beach once…" she gives a bit of a laugh before realising Desmond has no idea what she's talking about.

"I'm always the one getting after Sadie and mom about this I should remember! It's a movie about a shark that eats people. The score is what makes it famous though, it's really simple but very effective"

"I don't think I'd want to see Jaws on a beach…"

"Right? Why my mom took her pre teen daughters is beyond me…but you know my mom, she's a little eclectic." He can feel his heart beating in his chest as Cara looks at him in the darkness of the basement. The rows upon rows of movies and records seem to dampen the sound of his heart in his ears.

"When we first came to Chicago…I used to lie on the floor and do nothing but listen to records all day, get lost a little…pretend I had friends here…pretend that Micah and Bryce were sitting here with me…" She closes her eyes, pulling her knees tighter to her chest.

"I used to watch reruns of the Brady Bunch with the sound off when my parents were asleep and pretend I was friends with Marcia Brady…" She smiles and Desmond wonders if this is what it's like to have a crush.

"Yeah? Friends with Marcia Brady?" She gives his shoulder a shove and he can feel himself flush. Getting up, she moves to the record player, turning it on and grabbing the closest record and tossing it on before turning it down and plugging in two pairs of headphones.

"My dad always says we listen to our music too loud so he bought Sadie and I headphones and a splitter for Christmas one year." She gives a laugh motioning for him to sit next to her.

"This band isn't usually a part of mom and Sadie's roster, they're called Harmonium. I found the record on a trip to Berkeley a few years ago." She places the headphones over his ears and Desmond closes his eyes, leaning against the built-in shelves and tilting his head back.

This is what sunshine sounds like.

Cara's voice is a whisper in the wind and he hears nothing but Harmonium.

"Desmond! Desmond get up! Do you have change?!" Lila has him completely sandwiched, she's leaning over to get to the cupholder nestled in the door of a car, her entire body pressed tightly against his. It takes him a moment to place where he is.

This isn't a maroon Volvo, instead he's in the back seat of a BMW sedan with Thomas driving and Robbie in the front seat. Robbie has his head tilted towards Thomas as they whisper to each other.

"What? What do you mean do I have change? Where are we?" She purses her lips, leaning back onto her heels before delivering a dime to Thomas's outstretched hand.

"We need it for the toll, we're almost in Cape Cod sleepy head!" Robbie says with a smile, rooting through all of his overall pockets and handing over whatever he can find.

Desmond's beat up backpack is sitting at his feet, he roots around the pockets and finds the wad of tips he keeps.

"Here, how much is it?" Robbie bursts into laughter as Lila climbs back into her seat. They're pulled over on the side of the highway about half a mile away from the toll booth.

Thomas assures them that it isn't much farther but Lila whines anyways, Desmond can't help but look at her. He sneaks glances from the corner of his eye, soaking it in.

The way the sun streaks across the sky and peaks in through the windows, how it hits her and Robbie's faces. They're both glowing almost ethereally in the pre dusk light.

The pinks and oranges kissing their summer tan skin. Lila looks to him, her brown eyes flecked with green and a devilish smirk on her lips.

A song is playing on the radio.

It's Going to California by Led Zeppelin.

"Whenever you hear this song, think of me…" Cara and her green eyes tell him in the same kind of sunshine light. But looking at Lila, he can't think of Cara and her quiet troubled soul.

"It's your old people music" She whispers in the back seat of a BMW, not a Volvo and he can't help but smile, throwing his arm around her and pulling her in tightly, not wanting to let her go as she lets out a huff.

He's aware of where he is, what time he's in and how Lila makes him feel. The beginnings and blooming of what he will soon know is a weird love for this wild girl. He remembers this trip and because of that it feels like a memory playing out. Almost as if he's sitting back and reliving a beautiful time in his life.

When they get to the cottage the sun has set and they're all starving.

"I don't think this is a cottage…this is a house on the beach" Lila whispers and Robbie elbows her. She purses her lips shooting him a look before getting her stuff from the trunk.

"We can order a pizza or something? There's a grocery store in town that will be open tomorrow so we can get real food." Thomas is already unpacking a few things in the kitchen, Lila is loading the fridge with the alcohol she brought and Robbie is lugging his bag up the stairs.

"Pizza is real food Thomas. What kind of New Yorker are you?" She narrows her eyes at him and Desmond can see he doesn't really know what to do with her.

After living in an apartment for years, being inside a home is something different. Stairs that just lead upstairs instead of to someone else's shoebox apartment, rooms that are divided by walls instead of just furniture denoting a change.

"There are three bedrooms upstairs and one down here on the main floor." Thomas is looking at him and he just nods, deciding to take the bedroom on the main floor just off the laundry room.

Better to be far away from Thomas and Robbie since they're still in their honeymoon phase of their relationship.

"Apparently a few of Thomas's friends are coming up to stay the weekend tomorrow" Lila's voice startles him as he unpacks his toothbrush.

"You gonna scare all the boys off?" He says raising a brow at her.

"I wonder if they're all gay, I could use a rebound you know…" When she says it, the threat doesn't reach her eyes.

The cat and mouse game of friends with benefits has just begun. Her subtle hints, the way she always tries to sit next to him, to be close to him.

He remembers this weekend well.

"Goodnight Lila"

"Goodnight Desmond"

He can hear the ocean, the constant crash of waves on sand when the door creaks open and he feels like he's sixteen again in someone else's house.

His back is to the door, facing the window he can just make out Lila's shape in the light from the hall. The light disappears and the bed shifts as she climbs in behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him in as tight as possible.

Usually she crawls into Robbie's bed and demands to be the little spoon, but Robbie is preoccupied upstairs, so Desmond knows he's nothing but a consolation prize.

He's reminded of Cara sneaking off to the basement while he was staying there, her silent and terrified looks she threw his way. The way she held his hand in the back seat of the car as Pam drove him into the city.

Her soft lips on his the night before he left, a goodbye kiss between two scared teenagers.

But this girl is not Cara. For all of Cara's timid looks and shy smiles, Lila is bold and petulant, her energy filling an entire room. Her hand never searched for him; it was always just there as if it were meant to be.

He rolls over, collecting her into his arms and pressing his body against hers.

"You're lucky I'm wearing clothing" He says with a laugh and she does nothing but roll in closer to him, burying her face into his chest and breathing deeply.

"I love the way you smell…" Her voice is far, slipping through his mind and it's being replaced with a hum.

Body heat surrounds him, his feet sticking to the floor. The smell of sweat and alcohol filling his nose.

He's in Playhouse, the windowless basement with a stage and a low hanging disco ball. The bar along the right side of the room protrudes with standing room only. Tara's shoulder is pressed against his and she sways gently with another girl he barely remembers.

"We're going to dance!" Tara shouts, ruffling his hair and tossing a look over her shoulder as she links hands with the mystery girl.

He leans against the bar, watching everyone dance, blinking away the fog that has settled in his mind.

A girl with long red hair leans her upper body onto the bar, trying desperately to get the bartender's attention. She waves her hand impatiently at him as he belts out another verse with his coworker. Her brows furrow together and she tosses a look over her shoulder, clearly looking for whoever she came with.

She's wearing a backwards baseball cap with Graphic Design embroidered on the front and he has no clue what that even means. Something Desmond has come to realise is, he may be street smart, but people did weird shit to make money in this city. Her black jeans are oversized and belted tightly around her waist, her black tank top is tucked in and she's wearing a pair of converse that have seen better days.

She catches him staring at her, wrinkling her nose before shouting loud enough for him to hear "Hey asshole, can you get this guy's attention?" He gives her a nod, a little surprised she even acknowledged his presence, and makes eye contact with the singing bartender with ease.

"I've been trying to get your attention for like five fucking minutes! Jesus, can I have two double gin and sodas?" Someone comes up behind her, placing a hand on her back in a possessive manner before taking off the baseball cap and perching it atop his wild brown curls.

The ball cap is a weird juxtaposition with the man's oversized neon orange cargo pants and bright pink racer back tank top.

"Lila darling you know how strong their doubles are…" He chides in a playful manner before turning his gaze to Desmond.

"Meet my knight in shining armour who finally got the bartender's attention" she slaps a twenty on the wet bar. Collecting her drinks, handing one to her companion, they're both looking at him now.

"I'm Robbie, our damsel in distress here is Lila-" he takes Desmond in, his soft brown eyes travelling from head to toe "-you're new to New York aren't you?" He tilts his head, giving a crooked grin. Lila holds her drink posessively, sipping from her straw intently and never breaking eye contact.

"I've lived here for a while, about a year and a half" They look at each other like they're sharing a secret.

"How sweet, in this neighbourhood?" She says in a condescending tone, looking him up and down once more.

"Kind of, I'm two subway stops North of here" They share a perplexed look and Desmond is worried he said something to offend them.

Lila squints at him before saying, "North? Where the fuck is north? Is that like uptown or downtown?" He can feel himself flush, looking down and catching Robbie tap her lower back lightly, reprimanding her for her tone.

"...so what do you do?" Robbie is changing the subject as he inches closer to hear them better.

"I'm a bartender over at a place in Greenwich, what about you?" It's Robbie's turn to step closer and when he does he plops his arm around Lila's shoulders.

"I'm a graphic designer in publishing and Lila works in marketing" Desmond gives a nod, pretending to be impressed but he has no idea what either of those titles do. Lila's drink is half gone and Robbie orders another.

He hands it to Desmond with a big smile before saying "to new friends" as they cheers.

Lila bobs her head to the music, focused on her straw and Desmond can see Robbie eyeing the bartender in his glittery halter top.

"Robbie is going to leave me to go hit on the bartender." Lila shouts to him just as Robbie moves along the bar. "Do you want to dance with me?" Looking down at her, she looks childlike with big brown eyes staring up at him.

He does nothing but nod, finishing his drink which tastes like gasoline and plopping the empty cup on the bar. She leads him into the centre where a disco ball swirls and everyone around her parts. Desmond catches Tara's eye as he passes and she gives him a cheeky thumbs up.

Lila moves to the music with the ease of someone who's had a few drinks, her hands snaking around his neck and pulling him close. He smiles down at her, savouring the feel of her against him.

Desmond blinks and he's still dancing with Lila but they're somewhere else, she morphs into club clothes with wild makeup and they're in House of Yes. Another blink and they're dancing to soca in the basement of Kind Regards, another and they're in his living room pre drinking with house music on.

Rapid cycle, her dance moves become erratic as she laughs, an uncontrollable tinny sound and he feels like he's falling again. Tumbling through time and space and through nothing at all.

He no longer feels the pull before the change in time, no longer feels the uncontrollable build and pop. Now it's nothing but free falling.

"Here, let's get you a few more t-shirts…" Cara, Sadie and Pam stand around him in a circle. They're in a store dimly lit with hundreds of knick knacks.

"You need Led Zeppelin, Joy Division…maybe this New Order shirt! This is cute" He dutifully holds his arms out as they pile shirts on, debating with one another as if he's not there.

"You really…you don't have to…" He manages to squeak out but Pam levels him with her green eyes.

"Nonsense." Her stern tone shuts him up and he doesn't say another word until they're walking out.

"I've only seen malls on TV…it's definitely not what I expected…" Cara gives his shoulder a sad squeeze.

"Come on, let's get some ice cream before we head home"

The girls insist he try pistachio because it's their favourite but all he wants is vanilla. He succumbs and accepts a bite of Sadie's cone and he nods along as they gush about how delicious it is.

Pam helps him bring the shopping bags full of clothes downstairs into his makeshift bedroom. She lets him throw everything he owns into the washer so when they drop him at the youth centre tomorrow he will have something clean to wear.

"I'm so sorry" She tells him, hugging him close before going back upstairs.

Cara visits him in the middle of the night. After hours of reality TV and Gilmore Girls, after everyone's asleep, he can hear her crack the door open slowly.

She cradles something to her chest as he moves over on the couch, making room for her to sit down one last time.

"I made you something…" she hands over the zippered black case and he looks inside. Blank CDs in clear slipcover cases with sharpied titles fill the entire thing. "I made you some mix CDs, but there are also some real CDs," she leans over, flipping the pages all the way to the back.

Forty Licks, The Song Remains the Same, Unknown Pleasures…and some newer ones Desmond hasn't heard of. Let Go by Avril Lavigne, Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World, Rock Steady by No Doubt…

"Sadie thought you might want some newer things too…since she won't be your pop culture pulse anymore…" she takes a long slow breath as he continues to flip through. "I also made you this…" Cara pulls out a notebook covered in stickers.

"It's a track list for all the mix CDs…it even has little notes about the songs…" She cracks it open before rifling through "like this, Ramble On has references to Lord of the Rings because Led Zeppelin are just a bunch of fucking nerds. Or, well this isn't song related but the entire Exile on Main Street album by the Stones was recorded in France because they were dodging the tax man…" she gives a little chuckle and Desmond feels a clenching in his chest.

She's leaning over him, flipping through pages and pages of her scrawling handwriting and tiny doodles. Yellow highlight shows her favourite songs of all time, she's starred Sadie's and put little hearts next to the love songs. Her right arm is against his chest, her thigh pressed tightly to his. Turning his head he can see her cheeks flush in the dimly lit basement.

"Cara…" Turning quickly they're a breath apart before he leans forward and kisses her. He doesn't really know what he's doing and she doesn't either.

She lets out a little noise before smiling against his lips. When he realises his eyes are still open he bursts into laughter, hand flying to his face to catch the sound.

Soon they're both falling, stifling each other's laughter with awkward teenage kisses. Her quiet giggles are replaced with booming laughter and the sound of cooking.

Desmond is sitting at the luxurious kitchen island in Thomas's cottage. He's surrounded by classically rich looking white men. Their chiselled features show a stark contrast between Robbie's soft face as two of them argue.

Lila looks like a deer in headlights, her doe eyes looking around, searching for someone to latch onto. She looks to the door before slipping into the dark, bottle of wine in hand.

He follows her as another eruption of laughter ensues. Shutting the glass door he's hit with the smell of sand and the ocean, the moon hanging low in the cloudless night and the endless stars that overtake the sky.

Lila sits on the edge of a sand bank, feet dangling over the six foot drop and Desmond pulls up beside her.

"It's really beautiful isn't it?" She doesn't look at him when she speaks, instead she keeps her eyes on the horizon and takes a long swig from the wine.

"It reminds me of home" This catches her attention, her brown eyes fixed on the side of his head before he elaborates.

"Do you ever get a feeling, like you've lived a hundred lives and this is just one of them?" He takes the bottle from her.

"I'm not sure I understand…"

"I feel like I've seen these same stars…but hundreds of years ago…Like I've been here before but I haven't…"

"Did one of those frat boys slip something into your charcuterie board? Desmond I've never heard you wax poetic before" She gives a forced laugh but it doesn't sound fully genuine.

He leans back, expecting to feel sand but he's greeted with terracotta tiles. He rubs his hands over them. This isn't his memory.

Cristina throws her head back, taking a long swig from an old bottle before throwing him a glance.

"You look very handsome in the moonlight" Lila's voice comes from her mouth and when she moves it's painfully slow, like something is wrong with the render, like they've been overlaid on top of one another.

"Wha-" She smiles, turning away in a swish of red hair and the words die in his throat.

"I'm not real…this isn't real…Nothing is real…" Turning again she gives a smile, "you look really cute in the moonlight" Sitting up he feels like the air has left his lungs, like the sand beneath him is crumbling. Because it is.

Lila's desperate hands grasp for his arm as she lets out a squeal and they tumble onto the sand, their previous seats crumbling beneath them. Sprawling on her back Lila lets out a disgruntled noise and Desmond can't help the laughter that falls from his lips. He breaks into uncontrollable laughter at the sheer absurdity of what is going on in his mind.

"Hey lovebirds! We're playing two truths and a lie and eating dinner! Get your asses in here if you want food!" Robbie's voice echoes off the waves. They gather one another up, scaling the sand cliff and brushing off before going back into the chaos.

"I feel like we need some ground rules here." Thomas is sitting at the head of the table with Lila at the opposite end. His friends, Michael and Emmett, sit on either side of him while Robbie and Desmond sit next to Lila.

"Desmond, Robbie and Lila, you can't answer each other's questions. You know too much about each other." He continues, popping a potato in his mouth.

"Who says I tell these idiots about my life?" Robbie says with a smile and Lila kicks him under the table.

"Is there going to be a winner? What do we win?" Thomas looks taken back by Lila's question and Desmond stifles a laugh.

"Why don't you go first?" Michael turns to Desmond trying to prod him into the conversation.

"Uh sure…So I tell two truths and one lie and you have to guess what the lie is?" He looks for clarification and receives a few nods. "I was raised in a doomsday cult, I only paid $1200 for an apartment in Chelsea and I speak Italian"

"You have to at least make it a little difficult! It's impossible to pay that little for an apartment!" Emmett yells, clearly disappointed in how this seems to be going. Desmond catches a smirk from Robbie.

"I didn't know you spoke Italian?" Lila whispers.

"I don't…that's the lie," Desmond looks around to Thomas's friends for a moment before elaborating, "the Chelsea apartment was an illegally converted warehouse. I lived with quite a few other people."

"Twelve people is not quite a few people Desmond, that's too many people. But that was before we took him in!" Robbie winks before pointing his fork to Lila, "your turn sweetheart."

She closes her eyes for a minute, "Okay, my name isn't actually Lila, I rode horses competitively as a teen, and I'm from Pennsylvania." She smiles and Desmond watches the rest of the group. Thomas's mouth forms a hard line as he stares at her, looking to Robbie for any form of hint.

"Lila literally all of those could be a lie." Robbie pipes up taking a bite of his food and levelling her with a stare, pointing his fork at her menacingly.

"What, you don't believe I'm from Pennsylvania?" She looks at him innocently, batting her long lashes and pushing her food around her plate.

"Wait, your name isn't Lila? Is that the lie?" Emmet pipes up, the first sentence he's spoken in hours.

"Bingo!"

"Lila are you fucking kidding me?" Robbie sounds angry but Lila just laughs.

"My full name is Delilah, who names their kid fucking Delilah?" Thomas puts his fork down in excitement.

"Hey there Delilah what's it like in New Yo—"

"Don't you dare!"

Desmond can feel himself laughing, a full hearty laugh as his vision tunnels. He watches as the table erupts in laughter before falling into a pin prick, like the curtain coming down at the end of a performance.

It smells like beer. The first thing to hit him when he opens his eyes. Bad Weather on a cool evening, the windows fogged with perspiration and all the patrons in costume. He pulls a beer from the tap, noticing the chits next to him and falling into a rhythm.

That girl Tara was with at Playhouse is here, her black hair pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. She's wearing a brown leather jacket with a scarf and cargo pants.

Is she dressed like Indiana Jones? Lara Croft? What's with the cargo pants?

He catches himself thinking how that's such a Robbie comment.

Tara is dressed as an undead cheerleader, when she laughs he can see her pale face paint creasing in the dim light of the bar.

He can't remember this Halloween, can't place where he is along his own timeline, but it must be early on in his friendship with Lila and Robbie if that girl is here.

What's her name…He rolls through his memories like a rolodex, pictures in a Kodak carousel, CDs in a zippered pouch trying to pull it from the depths of his too tired brain.

Layla, like the Eric Clapton song Desmond! Come on you should remember that.

Cara…

But you know what the song is actually about…don't you Desmond…

Her voice, smooth like silk as he closes his eyes and pictures her in front of him. When he opens his eyes, everyone is staring at him.

"Desmond…you know the truth…" He hears Tara's voice first, but it isn't hers, it's tinny and far away and she's no longer looking at him but at another patron. A man in a hood with the same scar, a devilish smile that he knows too well and a woman with dark hair and dark eyes sitting next to him.

Ezio clinks glasses with Connor who looks to him like they're sharing a secret. And they are.

This isn't real. None of this is real.

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

"I know it's the truth. It's already started. I need to do this now." There is nothing but calm, before he can feel the pain.