Between Shadows

Between Shadows: Chapter 04-C (Symbiosis)

After they’d finished dinner, Lorian guided Evelyn down the stairs, both with drinks in hand. He carried their coats on one arm. “I might want another one of these,” she said, stepping carefully down the wooden stairs. “Don’t like bourbon, but the peach helps. That and dinner have kept me wonderfully warm.”

Lorian shook his head. “Okay, but you’re cut off after this one. You’re two drinks in, and you told me you don’t drink.”

Downstairs was dimly lit, speckled with fairy lights draped between rafters. It was busier than the quiet of the restaurant, livelier. Evelyn found a seat at the end of the bar, propping her head up on one arm. Lorian draped their coats over his chair, settling in next to her.

She finished her drink, then slid it across the bar. Lorian waved to the bartender. “Bourbon, please.” He motioned to the glasses. Two more, one half-full, replaced them after. “No more after this. You still have to walk back.”

“Are they usually this liberal with their measurements, or does everyone here know you?” She asked, swapping their drinks.

“I like to think that speaks to our lack of turnover,” Lorian said, smiling. He paused as she took a drink. “You’re going to regret that when we stand up to leave.”

“It’s one more,” Evelyn said. “The other two weren’t so bad. Better now that I’ve eaten.”

“Just don’t blame me when you can’t get up the stairs.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “But back to earlier—how on earth did you wind up with him?”

He held her gaze, switching the drinks again. “I mostly got to know him through work. We got to talking, and he came to the bookstore a few times. I think he wanted something to do. I gave him books.”

Evelyn placed a hand on her forehead, pushing up her fringe with a pained expression. “Books?”

“I mean, someone like him? I didn’t think he could possibly be interested in me, not like that. He was always buried in work.” He leaned forward on the counter, taking a drink. “Five years later, law offices started prying again, right after Faye took the reins. He started getting stressed. Irritable. Needed an outlet, a distraction from work.” Lorian sighed. “As it turned out, we had some mutual interests, complementary needs.”

“Sounds very…transactional. You were okay with that?”

Lorian nodded. “For a while. I just kind of went along with it, never really expected anything from him.” He paused. “Somewhere down the road—I don’t know when things changed—he wanted something steady. Commitment. More availability.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“I saw a warmer side of him I never thought possible. Not from him. He opened up, told me everything. Not to unload, just—to let me in. Showed me who he was.”

“So what happened?” Evelyn had moved to the edge of her seat, curiosity cutting through.

“Turns out, Silas doesn’t really handle vulnerability well. I think that may have been the first time he ever let himself feel anything,” Lorian said. “And with emotions comes a loss of control he wasn’t ready for. He shut down, and I wouldn’t let him withdraw again. Things got heated, and I said some things I wasn’t proud of. We fought. I crossed a line. He never let me near it again.”

“And that was it?”

“If only,” Lorian chuckled, dragging a hand down his face. “We carried on like that for five years. Transactional. Back to business. Like some sort of fling that ended after summer vacation. I stopped helping him with work. Eventually, I went back to writing and helping my old man with the Nightjar. Took over when he was ready. And then a month ago, he just—” He paused, taking a drink. “You know the rest. Shut the door. Hasn’t come calling since.”

Evelyn sipped on her drink, quiet. “After five years, he’s still able to just shut the door like that?”

“You and me both,” Lorian said, leaning on the counter again. “But I had all the warning signs, and willingly overlooked every damn one.”

Lorian finished the rest of his drink, with Evelyn mirroring. He gave her a look, but stayed silent.

“What?”

“Nothing, I’m just going to give you a few minutes.” He motioned the bartender over. “Water, please. No ice.”

Evelyn’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t press.

Lorian waited a few minutes as she downed her water, quenching a thirst she’d only just noticed. He held out his hand. “Okay, let’s try to stand.”

She tilted her head—a question. “Lorian, I’m fine,” she said, sliding off the chair, taking a few steps back, arms open. “I’m not— Oh.” Suddenly, she felt as if gravity was pulling her sideways and had to widen her stance slightly. But her leg didn’t quite move and just barely shifted enough to tilt her shoe.

Lorian grabbed her shoulder, steadying her, guiding her back to the chair. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She placed a hand on her chair, regaining her balance. He held out her coat and guided her arms, then pulled on his own. “We can continue another day,” he said with a slight smile that didn’t quite feel appropriate for the moment. Evelyn felt it nonetheless. “More about your archive and less about my questionable love life.”

—

It was almost eleven by the time they decided to head back to the hotel, having wandered the streets until Evelyn’s head stopped spinning. She walked until her heels started aching and a tightness crept up her ankles.

“Remind me never to drink with you again,” she muttered as they hovered outside the Filigree.

Lorian laughed. “I did try to warn you.”

“I won’t swear off it, but this is definitely not my choice downtime activity.”

He ruffled her hair, then tugged her scarf tighter as the wind picked up. “Just as well we still have Tuesday,” he said.

She paused. Her mouth formed a silent, “Oh,” before she remembered they had scheduled an off day together.

“I figured we’d start at the bookstore, find you some reads, and then hit the park. Get to know your choice in books.”

“Horror, usually. But that might be slightly on the nose.”

“Yeah,” Lorian said, stretching the word out, “Might stay away from that. Maybe pick you up some rom coms. Fantasy. I don’t know. What else do you read?”

“Paranormal,” she said with a groan. “Mystery, true crime, thrillers—this isn’t really helping, is it?”

Lorian shrugged. “Long as you don’t burn yourself out. Maybe try romance if you’re not big on comedy.”

“I liked what you ordered.”

“That’s not the same.”

“I’m a little more open to surprises after that. Try me,” Evelyn said over her shoulder as she headed in.