Downhill || 𝘥𝘯𝘧

XXXIII

"Wait, so you guys are really dating?" Taylor asked, pointing from Dream to George and back to Dream again. She looked dubious.

"Yeah, we are," George confirmed with a nod. He was standing beside Dream, facing the sisters nervously. Taylor looked unsure about the whole thing. She was staring at Dream distrustfully.

"Okay Dream," her name rolled off his tongue like an insult, "just know that if you hurt our brother in any w--"

"We already went over that," Grace interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Chill, Taylor. He seems like a good guy. I mean, anyone willing to travel across seas for someone is good in my book," she added, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. "It's kind of sweet, anyway."

Taylor looked at Grace, and they both held each others' gazes. A silent communication seemed to pass between them before Taylor broke away. "Fine," she huffed. She turned to Dream again. "But you gotta earn my trust. Grace may be easily influenced, but I'm sure not," she stated with a little indignant "hey!" from Grace.

"Okay. Fair enough," Dream nodded. "You guys obviously care about him a lot. But I'd never do anything to hurt him him," he assured. He stole a glance at George and noticed he was smiling softly at the ground.

"Alright," Taylor sighed, looking wearily at the both of them. "Now that we've got that over with, we need to talk about the elephant in the room."

Everyone looked at the body under the white sheet.

"I think I can help with that," an unfamiliar voice sounded from across the room, and everyone turned to see a tall, lanky-looking man pushing through the heavy door, a clipboard in his hand and bag-full of what looked like clothes propped under his arm. He had a serene expression and his movements were mindful as he slowly approached the four of them. "Hello, I'm Doctor Brycen. We talked on the phone," he said with a nod to each of them. George was wearing a look of realization.

Taylor was the first to reach out her hand for him to shake it. "Good to meet you, Dr. Brycen. Thank you for doing your best to care for our father. We understand that you did all you could," she said sincerely, looking him evenly in the eyes. Dr. Brycen passed her the bag-full of clothes with a sad nod.

"Yes, I was severely disappointed, and I give my most sincere condolences. I really thought we were getting through to him," he spoke regretfully. Grace held out her hand for a handshake next, and finally, George shook the man's hand, too. Dream sort of stood back, watching. He didn't want to intrude.

There was a moment of respectful silence as everyone kind of looked down, mourning the loss.

However, Dream's attention was drawn from his shoes as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He realized that George was subtly moving his hand at his side, not looking up from the spot on the ground he was staring. He was beckoning Dream with a wave of his fingers.

Slowly and hesitantly, Dream walked towards him, head down to not draw attention to himself. Once he was within grabbing distance, George grabbed his hand in one deft motion, pulling him closer until they were standing side-by-side. He was still staring at the ground with an emotionless expression.

A moment passed before Taylor took a deep breath and clapped her hands, startling both George and Dream so much that they flinched, heads whipping up as if they'd been in a trance. "Well," she said smoothly, turning to the doctor. Either she hadn't noticed that she'd startled them, or she just didn't care. "We have some planning to do yet. We need to make arrangements for a funeral and purchase a casket. What is the nearest funeral home?" She asked Dr. Brycen inquisitively. Her tone was all business; there was no emotion.