Beautiful insanity (Dylan O'Brien) | ✓

12 | The boy he used to be

I sat in the coffee bar, waiting for Tyler to come. I warmed my hands against the hot mug of coffee, taking little sips now and then. I didn't really know what to expect from today. I had no clue what I was going to find out and honestly, I was a little scared. Who knew what dark secret Dylan held. If Tyler even had the answers to my questions. I waited and waited and time went by extremely slow. Half an hour passed when a boy suddenly burst into the bar, stumbling forward. His eyes scanned the room and when they landed on me he basically started running to my table. 

"Hi, Jessica right? Sorry I'm late. Traffic is hell." He rambled. The boy quickly took off his coat and beanie, revealing a mob of dark brown hair. He had the kindest smile and his eyes sparkled with excitement. He looked like a happy little puppy. 

"Hey. That's fine. Oh and please call me Jess." 

"Jess. Okay got it." He sat down on the chair in front of me and crossed his arms over the table. He ordered a coffee for himself and then turned to me. "I was so surprised to hear from you. You know Dylan? How is he? How did you two meet? I mean it's been so long I almost forgot what he looks like. So are you two--" 

"Tyler." I cut his rambling off. He abruptly stopped speaking and looked up at me. "I'll answer all your questions but before I do that I need to know a couple of things from you." Tyler nodded his head. I took a deep breath and then started asking my questions. "What was Dylan like? I mean, when he was your friend." Tyler raised an eyebrow with my question. He obviously found it odd. 

"He was my best friend and the funniest guy you'll ever meet. He was always happy. Why? Is he okay?" I sighed, rubbing my temple. Oh God. In some way I didn't want to hear that answer. I wanted Tyler to tell me that Dylan had been this miserable for as long as they'd known each other. Because now that I knew what kind of guy Dylan used to be I was certain something had changed him. 

"In that case..." I trailed off. "No. He's not okay." Tyler stared at me, not able to say a word so I continued talking. "I don't know what caused it but the Dylan that I know is not funny nor happy. He's mean, violent and abusive. That's what I need you for. I need you to tell me what could've caused that sudden change." 

"I don't understand..." Tyler breathed out. His happy eyes had changed into pure sadness and disbelief. I felt terrible to tell him that his former best friend had turned into a sociopath but someone had to do it. And if this was the only way that I was gonna find out what happened to Dylan, so be it. 

"My guess is that something happened around March 2014. Does that ring a bell?" And again it went silent. I waited patiently for him to answer. He was overthinking it. Like he was searching deep into his mind to find the answer I was dying to hear. And then he spoke.

"Holland..." He said and the name almost knocked the breath out of my lungs. She again? Every single thing I found out about Dylan was about her. I looked him up and down, resting my arms on the table. I wanted him to continue speaking, I needed him to tell me what was going on. "Of course. I mean, I never saw him again after that. I went to his house almost every day. I texted him and called him but I never heard from him again. That must be it. That must be the reason why he's acting strange." He was speaking more to himself than to me and I didn't understand a word of it.

"Tyler, what do you mean? What happend?" 

"Holland Roden. She was the love of his life. His best friend. She knew more about him than anyone ever did. Whilst everybody knew him as the boy that was always happy, she had been there in his weakest days. He never showed sadness to anyone, except to her. He loved her so much he'd die for her. And then that terrible day came. Dylan was supposed to pick her up after work. He always did but that day something came up and Holland had to drive herself. Then a driver, blinded by the sun, drove through the red light. He didn't see her and it was too late for Holland to dodge him. The car hit her and pushed her off the road. She was swung out of the car and her body landed several feet further. She was dead within seconds. The driver never got what he deserved. The judge pleaded him not guilty as it was an accident and all he had to do was pay for the damage. Dylan lost everything because of that guy." By the time Tyler had finished his story, I had my hand wrapped around my mouth. I could not believe what I had just heard. The love of his life was killed. That was the reason Dylan was like this. He became bitter. 

"I... Oh my god... That's terrible..." I could barely bring out a word. I was so shocked by the story. I'd known something was up with him but I never had thought something like this would've happened. I just guessed he had a history with drugs or alcohol. I never knew his heart had become so dark and cold because it was shattered years ago. "I need to talk to him." I breathed out. Tyler then placed his hand over mine. 

"Please be careful, Jess. He never spoke to me about it. He chose to erase me from his life instead of talking to me. You just told me he became violent and abusive. If Holland's death is the reason for his behaviour, I don't think you should just confront him with the facts." Tyler was right. Just throwing into Dylan's face that I knew his darkest secret was not the way to handle this situation. After all, I still didn't know what he was capable off. If he already lashed out at me for finding a picture of her, how would he react about me finding out the truth? 

"I will. Thanks for meeting with me Tyler." 

"No problem. I should thank you." 

"I'm gonna get going now. I need to put some puzzle pieces together. But here's my number." I said whilst writing down my phone number on a paper coaster. "If you have anything more to tell me, if something comes up. Please call me." I got up from my seat and put my coat on. "Thank you so much for sharing this all with me."

"No problem. See you." 

"Bye." 

Once home I let myself fall down on the couch. I couldn't stop thinking about Tyler's story. It worried me but gave me hope at the same time. Dylan hadn't always been like this so that meant he could be changed back to the boy he used to be. There was hope for him. He just needed someone to help him. 

It was a little after four in the afternoon when my phone rang. I got off the couch and took the the white iPhone from the coffee table, bringing it to my ear. 

"Hello, Jess speaking." I said. 

"Is this Jessica Whitmore?" A soft female voice on the other end of the phone asked. 

"This is she." 

"Hello dear. I'm calling from CA Hospital Medical. A friend of yours, Tyler Posey, was brought in an hour ago. He named you as his emergency contact."  

[I love leaving you guys with cliffhangers ;) sorry y'all! Tell me what you think about the story so far!]