What Am I?

Chapter 11

There was complete silence in the room after Dylan finished talking. Nobody knew what to say, what to say that would make Dylan feel a little better. They looked here and there in the room, but couldn't meet the gawky expression in Dylan's eyes. Finally, Dylan himself broke the silence.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys. I just didn't know how to. I was so scared of losing you'all...this illness that I have...I know it's scary, I mean I was scared to death when I came to know that this hand has the capacity to go to the extent of killing someone without me knowing. I just didn't want to distance myself from you'all."

Andrea held his hand as tight as she could. He didn't know what his friends would say. He didn't know whether their friendship would ever remain how it was.

Before Dylan could think about more negative possibilities, Max sat on the floor next to him and hugged him. As of what Dylan could understand with Max's face stuffed in his shoulder, he said,

"No mahtter otever has happened to ou, you ill always remain my bet froend."

Realising that Dylan wasn't really understanding, Max got his face out of his shoulder.

"You will always remain the Dylan Wood I knew years back, the Dylan Wood I know now. Nothing has changed and nothing will change between us."

Dylan's eyes were red because of the tears he had held back. One by one, all his friends sat around him, till the entire group was huddled in one massive hug.

"So you guys are OK with me being like this?"

"Of course we are. Just don't kill me" joked Mia.

Everyone just looked at her, just looked.

"Ahmm...bad joke. Sorry" Mia said, embarrassed.

Dylan's heart felt light. He had finally poured out whatever he had to to his friends. He knew it was right, but maybe not safe for them. His head would hurt thinking about all this crap. He decided to just stop thinking, just switch off his mind for a while.

He wanted to feel the love from his friends, the laughter, the happiness they brought to his life.

On their way out, Dylan stopped Max.
He made him sit and spoke to him about his talk with Emma.

"I tried, but she didn't listen. She's got quite a valid point. You can't shatter someone's faith and trust and expect to glue it back with a sorry or a 'I won't do it again' phrase."

Max didn't say a word. He just sat there, silent. While talking Dylan wondered whether Max was actually listening to him.

When Dyaln finished, Max got up left, without saying a word. Dylan didn't stop him.

Max reached home to, surprisingly, silence. But he was so lost in thought that he didn't realise that the house was so quite after a long time.

He went straight into Andrew's room. Andrew was sitting at his desk doing his homework.

"You're back?" Andrew said as he shut his book and turned around.

Max didn't say anything.

Andrew came and sat beside Max on the bed.

"Max, you're unusually quite. You're like this either if somebody close to you has screwed up, or better, if you have screwed up. So who screwed up this ti-"