The Forbidden Glance

While in the garden, taking a walk, my mind racing, desperate to create a lie about what I had just seen. I replayed the scene at the front door again and again, looking for the thinnest excuses to prove my sight had lied to me.

 "Perhaps I didn't catch his look? Or perhaps thinking about him made me think he was the one I saw? I whispered to the flowers in the garden.

As I considered the consequences, the weight of my secret became heavy to bear. What if he finds out who I truly am? And decides to exploit and blackmail me? I mumbled as I stood still in the garden.

These thoughts made me have cold feet, but it couldn't put off the fire that still burned inside me, a desperate, torching flame of desire for the man who had suddenly made life in Fox City a much more burning hell for my sins.

The moment at the Citadel was still on a loop in my mind, obsessed with every detail of that intoxicating evening —the taste of our lips when we kissed, the gentle drag of his hands on my skin when we made love, the breathless sounds of our moans.

Unknowingly, I dragged myself into a deeper dilemma I was previously trying to escape. I was a ghost in my own body, adrift in the garden, with the sounds of the house distant, I no longer could hear anyone.

….

Hayley had just returned from a business trip, having successfully finalized a partnership with the RSK(Rock Street Killer) group. She missed Allison's arrival but had been told Allison was in the garden. 

She went looking for her, a smile on her face as she sighted Allison's infamous white hair afar as she walked to meet her.

Allison, lost in her thoughts, stood still in the garden, unconscious of her surroundings, suddenly hearing a sound "Hooooo!" that broke her dreaminess, she turns her back and finds Hayley, her half-sister with a smile on her face. "Lost in thought, are we?," Hayley said as she laughed.

She ran to hug her sister, "I couldn't wait to see you sis," Allison said, as she pulled Hayley close for a hug. 

"I'm happy to see you too. Tell me everything. What have you been up to all these years?,” Hayley said, taking her by the hand as they locate a stoned bench to sit on. 

Their voices were a low murmur as they caught up on lost time. Allison found herself wanting to confide in Hayley about the stranger, but a voice inside her held back. The secret was too dangerous to share.

Their conversation was cut short by an oddly gentle voice, their father. "Girls," he said, approaching with a knowing smile, "The Shelbys will be coming tonight for your welcome dinner party, use this time to get to know them, Allison." 

His words were a mix of command and sugar, hung in the air. Allison felt a familiar pressure settle on her shoulders. The party wasn’t a celebration; it was a performance show.

…..

Allison's POV 

Hayley and I made our way to the house, as I proceeded to my room, to get dressed for the occasion. The sight of my own bed, the scent of my own space, instead of being a comfort to me, brought the scent of him back. 

The memory of the Citadel was now mixed with the very fabric of my home, “he could be a gang member, he has to be here," I thought to myself. 

Minutes before the party started, I made my way to the living room, to greet the Shelbys, as I was told they'd arrived already. Also, I was on the lookout for the stranger, hoping I was wrong about him, and maybe he wasn't the one I'd seen. 

The room was filled with not so familiar faces and whispering of conversations here and there. I moved towards the table where the Shelbys were seated, made my greetings to Finn and Esme, my aunt with a forced smile. 

Moving past them, I looked around in the crowd for him, The Stranger, but still he was nowhere to be found.

…..

In Hayley's room, a different kind of welcome party was happening. They were having a reunion, with both of them sniffing off cocaine and drinking strong whiskey. Hayley was all muchy muchy with Michael on the bed.

"I can't let you marry her," Hayley said, her voice with a hopeless plea as she wrapped herself around him. "We can tell him about us. I’m a Wenston too. He'll understand."

Michael pushed her away gently, his expression distant. "We always knew this was just for fun, Hayley," he said. His thoughts were already on his supposed bride. 

The idea of a "trophy wife" filled him with a cold, detached excitement. "I can't wait to have a taste of her," he thought, the adventure of a new conquest was more appealing to him than Hayley clinging to him.

Back at the party, Allison, still saying her greetings to prominent people around with a practiced smile on her face, making polite small talk. The chatter and laughter were a distant hum. 

Then, she bumped into “him”, a choked gasp caught her in her throat, as she covered her mouth with her hands over the drink that spilled over her, leaving a trail of ruin down her dress. 

"I'm sorry ma'am," he said, his voice had a deep resonant sound as he apologized. 

She stared at him, as she recognized it was the stranger –the way his eyes crinkled when he spoke, the firm line of his jaw —coming into sharp focus, "you were the one at the Citadel right?" Allison asked.  

"I have no idea what you're talking about ma'am" he said, with an unwavering tone. 

Allison's tranquility fell apart, tell me your name? She asked. 

Ohh! My name is of no importance, he responded, but Allison insisted, and finally he obliged and “I'm Luke… Luke Reynolds,” he said. 

Allison held his hands, and said “it was you at the citadel”, and he looked at her with fierce worry, "I don't know what you're talking about ma'am," he said as he let go of his hand. 

Luke's denial didn't go well with Allison, as she finds her way to her room for a bit of solace, and by the doorway, lo and Behold, she saw Michael and Hayley emerging from Hayley’s room, Michael with a magnetic pull in his eyes when he saw her. 

"Damon Salvatore," she thought. Michael was a handsome looking man with a fierce look. What was he doing here, coming out of Hayley's room? She wondered, but

it was nothing compared to the turmoil Luke's denial had created.