Come Home to Me (Dylan Holland Fanfiction)

Hearing His Voice

On Monday morning I found it really hard to get up for school, but I knew I couldn't stay home. My dad never would have allowed it. It was my fault for barely sleeping all weekend. I stayed up with Brett two nights in a row and the second night I had to get up at 5:30 to get ready for Seb's tournament. I pretty much got zero sleep the second night because Brett stayed up nearly all night and then Seb talked my ear off the whole way to the ice rink.

I didn't regret it though. Had I stayed home with Brett I would've gotten to sleep for most of the day, but I would've missed Seb's greatest game yet. It was hard to believe he could play that well because I thought I'd already seen him at his best. He kept me close as he talked to scouts and coaches between games and I was happy for him. If he ever doubted having a future with what he loved it was erased. Still, staying up all day on almost no sleep was as draining as it could get and we didn't get home until pretty late.

Addie came barging through my front door just as I was trudging down the stairs. "Hey girl!" She exclaimed in a too-cheerful-for-monday-morning voice.

I nodded in her direction and went to get a mug of coffee from the kitchen. My dad was already gone, but he texted me saying he left some coffee for me. I swallowed my morning pills and led Addie out to the car.

I managed to take a nap in study hall at the end of the day, but it wasn't enough for how tired I was. The only bright side was Dylan finding the time to text me all day. He was stuck at home for family stuff that day, but apparently wasn't so busy with it that he couldn't keep me awake with his messages.

On the walk to my car after school I thought back to the conversation I had with Seb about why Brett said he got in a fight. It was in the car on the way home from his tournament. I figured that the pressure was off and it was okay to leave him with something new to think about. "So I figured out why Brett got in his fight," I said after turning the radio down a little.

"How'd you manage that?" he asked and glanced over at me from the driver's seat. He decided he wanted to drive halfway.

"Jaret asked him at lunch yesterday. He got in a fight over us."

Seb looked at me longer. "What?" He couldn't seem to wrap his head around it either.

I shrugged. "I don't know. He said people were talking about you being bad at hockey or something and saying stuff about me taking him to formal. He got tired of it and fought back. He was defending us. I don't get it either."

Seb shook his head with a smile on his face. "Damn I love that kid."

I smiled too. "Yeah. I know what you mean. I don't think I ever expected anyone to fight for me like that."

Seb was silent for a second. "You know I'd do the same thing, right? I might not have some huge crush on you, but I would fight for you any day of the week. You're my best friend. Out of everything I've been through all these years, you're the only one that never left. You've been here for Brett too."

I didn't say anything for a long while. I knew Seb cared about me. I never doubted it. Even when he was absolutely pissed at me, but I never expected him to get in a fight for me. "But what if it meant losing your hockey career?"

"Annah. If someone is trying to hurt you, I'll be there. I might not put my career on hold for someone making fun of you to someone else, but if you were ever in danger-" he cut himself off and took a deep breath, shaking his head. "If someone hurts you, I'll hurt them. You don't deserve it, Annah. You're way too good for that."

I felt like the Grinch when his heart grew three sizes that day. I felt like I was getting choked up. "I really don't know why you would do that, Seb, but thank you. Hopefully you never have to do it."