Part of the Pack (Daniel Sharman)

Dylan's Love

I ran into the house, slamming the door behind me and flopping onto the couch. I put my head in my hands and sobbed my heart out, wetting everything within a three foot radius of me.

I don't know why I brought myself to Danny's house, why I didn't go back to my hotel, why I didn't go to see Hoechlin or T Pose. But I didn't want to see them. I wanted to see the boy who was here, waiting to crack a joke. The boy who was waiting to ask how our date was. The boy who I really wanted to talk to right now. And no one else.

"Hello?" I heard. My hart jumped at his voice, echoing off the walls. I heard his footsteps clunking down the steps and his calls, "Tessa? Danny?"

Dylan appeared in the Family Room and stopped when he saw me. He didn't even have to ask. He didn't need to know. He didn't want to know.

"Oh, baby, come here," he said, sitting down next to me and pulling me onto his lap. I willingly slid over and rested my head on his chest, my legs dangling over his.

"Nina," was all I could seem to get out through a huge sob. I didn't need to say anything else. Dylan's face immediately went dark, his jaw clenching, his eyes narrowing.

"Ugh, she's back?"

I nodded, my sobs getting louder and louder.

"I really don't like her." Dylan stated.

I would've laughed if not for the lurching gasps for air coming out of me.

"Hey," Dylan said, forcing me to look him in the eyes. His big brown eyes of gold were staring gently into mine. He wiped one of my tears away with his thumb, rubbing it back and forth across my cheek. I pressed my cheek against his palm and held it there with one of my hands. "It's all gonna work out."

I sighed. "Everyone says that...does it ever really completely work out. We'll never be the same again. I trusted him and he cut me open. Wide open. How could he do that?"

"He doesn't still love her," Dylan told me quietly. "He's told me so many times that he wants to tell you he loves you, but he doesn't know how."

My sobs were dying down a little, I was trying to match Dylan's heart rate. "I loved him." I whisper, saying the words for the first time in my life.

"Tessa, you know, maybe you should let him explain to you what happened. Maybe it's not what you think."

I looked into Dylan's face, his eyes clenched shut. "I don't think I can, Dylan. What if he hurts me like this again?"

Dylan opened his eyes and pressed his lips to my forehead, leaving them there as he says, "Just think: would you rather talk it out even though you don't want to or lose the boy you love because you had one little fight?"

I looked up into his eyes again, to see sadness and hurt. For me. For Danny. It didn't matter, he cared at that was all thy I cared about.

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes and snuggling against his chest.

I saw a smile appear on Dylan's face. "Good." He looked down at my closing eyes and tired face, streaked with tears. "Do you want to sleep a little?" He asked.

I nodded, muttering, "thank you." Dylan effortlessly scooped me up and swept me up the stairs, carrying me bridal style. He brought me into a room, I didn't know who's, and laid me on an insanely comfortable bed.

I snuggles into the sheets, cuddling against the pillow. I took on Dylan's scent off his pillow, a mix of a trace of cologne that smelled amazingly as little of it he used, and soap. I breathed it in, watching Dylan walk to the door.

"Dylan?"

He stopped, but he didn't turn around, resting his arm on the doorframe. "Yes?"

"Can you stay with me?" I whispered.

He looked back at me, his eyes filled with kindness and a look that clarified that he was hoping I'd ask him to stay.

"Of course," he said, grabbing an extra pillow. He threw it into the floor and plopped down, his body sinking into the carpet tiredly.

And as I drifted off to sleep, feeling safe with Dylan's presence, I muttered one last thing. "Thank. You." I breathed heavily, pushing away more tears. "I love you, Dylan."

And then my eyes closed before I had time to listen for a response.