Dylan

Part 2

Dylan and I first grew close when we were chosen for seven minutes in heaven. We were in 6th grade and at our friend's birthday party. We were sent into a closet for 7 minutes and he kissed me. We didn't tell any of our friends about it and we didn't talk about it again. Over the years, we all grew closer as a group, and we'd hang out together. Some of the girls would hook up with some of the guys, and there was one couple. Jackson and Elise. Elise was the popular girl in our group. She was the most sociable and energetic. Every guy wanted her, but she was dating Jackson. That didn't stop her from cheating multiple times on him though. I would say I felt bad for Jackson, except he was the same. I think they knew they were bad for each other, but they would never leave each other. Jackson and Dylan were best friends and the most popular guys in our school. You could compare them to Damon and Stefan. Jackson was Damon and Dylan was Stefan. I hated Jackson so much. He was a cunning asshole and he flirted with me numerous times. I never told Elise because I knew she'd find a way to blame me. All the girls wanted Jackson. He was the hot jock with a banging body and a smile to die for. He was funny, charming and had an incredibly big ego. Dylan was the quieter one, he didn't feel the need to make everyone laugh and be noticed to be significant. Most of the girls though Dylan was boring and reserved and that he wasn't as entertaining as Jackson. That's what I always liked about him. While everyone saw Jackson for who he was, I felt there was more to Dylan than what met the eye.

We were in 9th grade now and playing hide and seek at the beach, but we were in pairs. Elise suggested it would be more fun if we were in boy/girl pairs, and the couple that wins gets to choose where we eat after. Jackson and Elise were one pair, obviously. Now that Jackson wasn't an option, really didn't mind being with any of the boys. That's when Dylan said, 'I'll go with Zara". My eyes met his and we both smiled. I was happy he wanted to go with me, always thought Dylan was special. the rest of the group then got into pairs and one pair was chosen to be the seekers. We all went off in our pairs and Dylan said, 'follow me, know the best place" Dylan and hadn't spoken alone much since that kiss in 6th grade. We spoke briefly within our group, and we would laugh at each other's jokes, but we never conversed. I'd been to this beach many times before, but he took me to a part that I hadn't seen. When he finally stopped running, we were standing in front of a big rock on the sand. It was under palm trees on the beach with a straight view of the water. This was near the end of the beach and there was no one here in sight, only the sound of waves crashing and people shouting in the distance. He sat down on the rock, and sat next to him, and he said, start deciding what you want to eat later we're definitely going to win' I laughed, and we sat for a few minutes in silence, enjoying the sound of the water. Eventually, I asked him why he chose me. He said, "I think you're cool and I like you I sometimes find myself thinking about that kiss we had No one knew about it but ever since then I've felt this softness when I think of you" I smiled, and we talked for a while about normal things. We ended up winning the game and he let me choose the food place. From that day, we became closer and started hanging out alone. One day, we kissed and then we started dating. Our whole group loved us being together. Jackson told me he was happy there was finally a girl in Dylan's life, and he was thrilled it was me. Things were amazing between us. Although Jackson and Elise were the popular couple, we were the favorite couple. Dylan grew to know me so well and learned everything about him. He was reserved to others and wasn't much of a romantic but for me, he would do big romantic gestures and buy me presents. He became close with my family and would come over for dinner frequently. My whole family loved him. He was the most amazing person in my life, and everything was perfect. knew what the rest of my life was going to look like and couldn't wait to spend it with him.

We were 15 when he told me about his dad. We were sitting on my porch, talking about my
family. I had known Dylan was an only child, but I wanted him to tell me about his relationship with his parents. He had never taken me to his house or talked about his parents before. I wasn't going to ask him but wanted him to tell me more. We were talking about lone parent families and how it must be to have an absent parental figure. That's when he said, "sometimes I feel like I have an absent father figure". I didn't say anything, and he looked at me and continued" I know live with my dad, but I feel like I don't have one. He's never cared about me or my mom. He doesn't care about my friends, what subjects I'm studying, what want to do in the future, what want to be. He's lived through my whole life with me, but he's never been there for me. I don't know if it's because he wanted a daughter, but he has never treated me like his child. Everything remember about him from my childhood is bad. He's been hitting my mom since before can remember. I think was 5 when he first hit me. My mom was playing with me the whole evening, and so when he got home from work the dinner wasn't made. He beat my mom in front of my eyes and, as was the reason for not dinner being ready, he hit me, and I cried for hours. Nothing has changed today. My dad still gets mad and hits my mom all the time and when I try stop him, I get beaten too. I couldn't do anything to change it then and I can't do anything to change it now". I'm crying so much now that I don't realize that he is also crying. I hug him and hold onto him, and we cry holding onto each other. We spoke about his family later that day and I asked him why his mom didn't get the police involved and do something. He told me his dad was their only source of income and didn't allow Dylan's mom to work and if they got the police involved, she wouldn't get custody of Dylan and he wouldn't have anyone. Dylan explained to me how he thought of every solution and the only possible one is to get rich when he grows up and move his mom away from his dad. For the time being, there was nothing he could do to change his situation. "I've never told anyone this, not even Jackson. Life has felt like a never-ending cycle, until I knew you. You make me feel like life is worth living and I love you. You're the most special and important thing in my life.". I cry in tears and say, "I love you. You deserve the world and I'm so happy you're in my life.