I can't apologize enough for how long this update has taken. I've been so busy (big professional happenings!) that I've barely had a moment to sit down and write even a line, let alone anything worth reading.
I hope this chapter will suffice as an apology. It's another milestone that I've been working towards and I originally planned on this happening much further down the line but I just felt it was time now. So I hope you like it.
LisaT - Thank you! Michael is always a struggle to write so I'm glad you liked him. I always find Barry and Tom hard as well so maybe I'm just rubbish at writing men lol.
Lexi - Sorry for the wait. Thank you for your reviews to give me a push! X
Chapter Twenty Nine
Dynasty stared apprehensively at the open door and gripped Kevin's hand tightly. Beyond the threshold, the narrow hallway of Chalky's flat was shadowy, dimly lit by the gray light that streamed in from the rooms it adjoined.
Dynasty peered into the flat.
"You don't have to do this," Kevin assured her.
He tugged gently at her fingers, anxious to put as much distance between himself and Dynasty, and the gray cast rooms he had once called home, as possible.
"Yeah, I do," Dynasty shot back candidly, her voice unwavering.
Returning to the flat had been a hurried decision that Dynasty had made the night before. Wrapped securely in Kevin's arms she had convinced herself that 'battling her demons,' as Katie had so colloquially put it, was the best way to move forward. As Dynasty twisted her icy fingers around Kevin's wrist, she was not so sure.
She released her grip on Kevin and wiped sweat soaked palms on her skirt. She took a final deep breath to steady herself before stepping carefully across the threshold.
"Okay," she muttered reassuringly to herself, drifting airily along the once welcoming hallway in an attempt to bypass any unnecessarily worrying objects.
Dynasty wanted to experience the fear. Experience it, fight it and push through it to the other side.
Regardless, she reached desperately behind her for Kevin as the hallway lightened, muted sunlight spilling through open doors.
Dynasty bit her lip and peered dismally into each.
As she contemplated which room; bedroom or living room, might frighten her more, Kevin slipped around her silently and hastily dragged closed the bedroom door. He grimaced as the door clicked shut.
Kevin eyed Dynasty painfully.
"You can, if you want, but I can't," he affirmed simply before edging into the living room.
The hard set of Kevin's jaw warned Dynasty not to argue and she followed him cautiously, pausing only for a second in the doorway until she managed to force herself forwards.
Dynasty's eyes flickered towards Kevin as they surveyed the room together.
The chill of the once comforting space evoked a shudder in Dynasty that raised the hairs on her skin.
"Kev..." she murmured hesitantly, clasping his arm as he ventured further into the room.
As Kevin's fingers smudged the fuzzy film of dust upon the coffee table, Dynasty straightened her back, enraged by their shared discomfort, and stepped into the kitchen.
"I hate him," Dynasty raged, waving her arms about her. Her brow wrinkled with disgust. "I mean, this is my home. This is our home. I swear if I could see him now I'd wipe that stupid grin off his face with a good slap."
Kevin engaged her sudden outburst with wide, startled eyes before his shoulders relaxed somewhat and a small, undeniable smirk raised the corners of his mouth.
"I remember you promising me the same thing," Kevin teased, recalling her undisputed enmity with amusement.
Dynasty snickered in spite of herself and edged away from the kitchen.
"I guess there's still time," she mused quietly.
Kevin heard the underlying jest in her tone but he was oblivious to this as he noted worriedly the heavy rise and fall of Dynasty's chest. Beneath it, Kevin knew her heart was beating wildly, the skin of her exposed arms and throat crawling with nervous disquiet.
Dynasty eyed the bedroom door across the hallway dreamily. She felt her mind detach from the physical revulsion of her body and it drew her unwillingly towards the closed door.
To her left, Dynasty could sense Kevin shuffling his feet anxiously. His insecurity only inflamed the seething anger that had overcome her only moments ago.
In her hatred, she approached the door in a whirl of long golden curls. Her fingers clamped tightly around the handle and twisted forcefully until she felt the familiar resistance. Before Kevin could move to stop her, Dynasty had forced herself through the door so abruptly that she stumbled forwards.
Without warning or cause, she spun around in the open doorway. Her eyes, Kevin registered, were bright and burning with shock as though she was suddenly surprised to find the door open and she on the other side of it.
Dynasty mouthed wordlessly for a moment as her mind and body reconnected in a surge of flashing, traumatizing memories, each more gruesome that the last.
His scent. The sound of his voice. The damp wetness of his breath on her neck. Each horrific recollection stirred an aching sickness in her stomach and she grabbed senselessly at Kevin's arms for support.
"We're going home - now," Kevin affirmed tightly, gripping his shaking girlfriend by the elbows.
No sooner had the words escaped his throat, Dynasty was tearing herself away from him. She shook her head with abandon and wiped furiously at the bewildered tears that had welled in her eyes.
"No," Dynasty said firmly. "This is home and I swear I am not going to let that scumbag take it away from me."
She squared her shoulders and heaved a deep, melancholy breath. In three long strides, Dynasty found herself within a hairsbreadth of the scene that haunted her nightmares so tirelessly.
With a mixture of apprehension and terror, she finally succumbed to the tremors of her legs and sank down onto the bed. To her relief, Dynasty found that it felt different to her now. Unmade and stripped of bedding as it was, the bed felt softer, less ridged and restricting beneath her.
"Chalky binned the sheets," Kevin mumbled. He battled with his legs to follow her; comfort her and sit beside her, but Kevin soon found that Dynasty's resolve was stronger than his.
She tugged wordlessly at the thin, summer duvet and dragged it across her lap.
"It's going to happen again." Dynasty transfixed Kevin with deep icy eyes that studied him imploringly despite the assurances in her steady voice. "You and me," - she nodded sharply at the coverless bed - "here. It's going to happen."
