night changes. {a csi miami story}

nineteen.

Time never stops for anyone, and that summer, it definitely didn't stop for Ryan and Dinah. Before either knew what was happening, hours morphed into days, and days turned into weeks. Soon, it was July, a month that brought changes that neither were expecting, alterations that ran deeper and were much more personal than simple rises in temperature or an influx of tourists to Miami. Up until that point, things had been going unbelievably and incomparably well, Ryan spending every waking second that he possibly could with Dinah, every moment that he was away from work reveling in her presence and the calm serenity that came with it. Spending this precious time with each other only helped to strengthen their bond and, in turn, assist with their relationship. Each day, they found more ways to fall in love with one another, with enough intensity to rival that of an Atlantic hurricane. Love was something that had somehow found its way into Ryan's life, and he wanted to do everything and anything he could to ensure that it never left. However, much like the way the tides modify and alter themselves in tune with the pull of the currents, love is one constant that never stays exactly the same, and he would soon learn that, as quickly as it can appear, it can vanish just as instantaneously. Secrets and lies would tear at the seams of his and Dinah's relationship in ways they never thought could be possible, compromising the trust they had both worked so hard to invest in each other.

It all started on a simple Saturday, Dinah waking up earlier than usual to find Ryan's Mercedes absent from its place in the driveway. She didn't find this immediately strange; by now, she had acquainted herself with his hectic work schedule, knowing that he could be called in to duty at any given moment. After going through her normal and admittedly long morning routine she made the decision to venture out of the apartment that, at times, she jokingly referred to a jail cell, the remarks always earning her an amused chuckle and a playful tap on the arm from Ryan. He had been more than lenient when it came to letting her use his vehicle or offering to drive her places, but after hearing enough complaints from her about not wanting to take advantage of him or their relationship, he eventually bought Dinah a car of her own. The glossy red Audi had caught her eye as soon as they had driven onto the lot, Ryan noticing the way her face lit up when she noticed the vehicle immediately and, consequently, paying the dealer an undisclosed amount of money that he had yet to confess to Dinah, who was constantly worrying and fretting over how much he spent on her.

The morning was humid and sticky, Dinah pulling her hair back into ponytail to try and spare her skin from any unwanted heat almost immediately after locking the front door and making her way to the lustrous convertible. Once safely in the vehicle she turned on the air conditioning as high as it would possibly go, rolling down her window and removing the felt top by pressing a red-painted fingernail to a tiny button in the center console. With a contented smile she backed out of the narrow driveway and turned onto the main road, beginning the drive to her favorite shopping mall, which was conveniently located less than ten minutes from hers and Ryan's apartment.

At this relatively early hour, the parking lot wasn't full; Dinah easily manuevered the Audi between a Maserati and a black Hummer with tinted windows that were darker than she thought could be legal. Retrieving her purse from the backseat, she stepped onto the pavement, high heels sounding out behind her as she pushed open the glass double doors and stepped into the expansive mall. Her vision was graced with an aesthetic array of colors ranging from silver metallics to red neons, her nostrils filling with pleasing scents of both perfumes and chocolate from somewhere upstairs. She loved shopping; it was something that always brought her an unexplainable sense of peace and comfort, the true meaning of retail therapy, and although she usually did this with Ally, the absence of her best friend didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. After all, she was still recovering, and Dinah didn't want to do anything to risk causing her even more harm than she had already endured.