The Future Diary 2: Blood Of The Past

The Morning After

Dawson saw Dalton sitting on the back of the ambulance bed. He walked over nervously, hands in his pockets as the wind lapped at him.

"They got him," he whispered when he got there, but Dalton just stared at the ground. "The guy was named Andy Gustin. They found him curled up in an alleyway with a stab wound in his stomach. He cut himself up. It's over." He paused. "I'm sorry.

"No you're not," she said.

Dawson frowned. "I'll tell you why I left now. I didn't want it to come to this.

Dalton looked directly at him. "It's too late for that now."

    She stood up, wrapped in a blanket, and walked away. No place in particular, just walking. Dawson sighed as he made his way over to his car.

    "Is she alright?" asked Jeff, who was standing next to Chris.

    "Not with me, she's not. I don't know what set her off."

    "She'll have to come to terms with it eventually," Chris said. "It'll be better at some point."

    "I know her," Jeff said. "She will. Don't worry."

    Dawson sat down, his back facing the door. "I just don't know what to do."

    Jeff looked down at him. "Maybe you should apologize."

    "I tried that, she shot me down."

    "You have to give it time. Things don't fix themselves in an instant."

    "I don't have any fucking time! There's no time left for this. I can't bear it."

    "Why do you not have time?" asked Chris.

    "You don't wanna know," came the reply.

    "Time is frugal," Chris said. "You need to get a grasp on it and manage it. But you can never control it."

    "You'll always have time, no matter what you think," Jeff chimed in.

    "I don't think either of you understand the direness of my situation," said Dawson.

    "Maybe we do," said Chris. "You'd be surprised at how other people are able to understand."

    "Some things are hard to understand."

    "But people still get them," said Jeff. "Difficulty should not hinder anybody. But it wants to."

    "God, we're so fucking intelligent," Chris mocked.

    "I know, we can use big boy words and everything," came Jeff.

    Dawson looked at them, standing up. "Jeff, do you remember when I asked you for your blessing to marry Dalton?"

    "Of course I remember that. I didn't hesitate to say yes."

    Dawson nodded. "Do you ever regret that? I know I haven't been the best. Fuck, I mean, I've been literally the worst. I couldn't imagine how you could not regret that."

    Jeff sheepishly smiled. "Forgive and forget, I guess," he said, quoting Dalton.

    The three stood together for a long time in silence, watching the moon slowly inch across the sky. An hour later, Dawson would be approached by three police officers and Strat Becker. Then he would try to find Dalton because she needed to know what had happened.