Who's the One?

Chapter 11

Mom's dinner had me stuffed. I ate way too much. It was a bit awkward, given today's events. Steve didn't say much, and he tried not to look my way. Definitely a Christmas dinner to remember.

I'm currently in my room doing some ankle rotations to release some of the stiffness in my ankle. My phone vibrates signalling a call. I pick it up and see Dylan's name across my screen. I answer, "Hello?"

"Hey Lil. I just wanted to say Merry Christmas. I hope you had a good day."

"Thanks Dylan. You too. Merry Christmas."

"You okay? You don't sound like your usual cheery self."

I look at Rudolph sitting on my pillow and sigh. "Yeah, it's just been a long day."

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears."

I smile. Dylan is always willing to listen. "Not really. I'd rather hear about your day." I lay back on my bed.

"No, you don't." He chuckles.

The sound warms me. "Oh, it couldn't have been so bad."

"Not so bad, but not so good either. I did spend all day with my parents."

"Ooo yeah, that doesn't sound too great." I laugh.

"No kidding. We went to my grandma's in the morning", he scoffs. "I know you haven't met her but let me just say, my dad looks sweet next to Grandma McGregor."

"Yikes. That bad?"

"Oh yeah. That's probably why Dad's such an-"

"Hey", I cut him off. "He's still your dad. He does a lot for you. You've got a home, food, clothes. What more could you want?"

"Love." His voice cracks.

"Dylan I'm so sorry. I know he loves you, but look at the mom he grew up with. He probably grew up feeling the way you do. Maybe he just doesn't know how to show you, since he wasn't shown." I sigh. "It's probably not what you want to hear, huh?"

"Not really, but it makes sense. But Grandpa was awesome." He sniffles.

My heart twists at the mention of his grandad. "Hey, are you okay? I know it's a tough holiday for you."

"Yeah, mostly. I really needed to talk to someone though."

"I'm glad you called me. You can always call me."

"Thanks Lil." He lets out a shaky breath. "I miss him, he tried so hard to hold on. It was Christmas, our favorite holiday." I hear him let out a soft sob.

My eyes tear up. "I know Dylan. I should've called you today, I'm sorry."

"It's okay", he clears his throat. "The pain doesn't seem to go away. He was my best friend growing up. He made me happier than my father ever did. It's not fair!" I can hear him break down.

All I want to do is hug him. "Do you need me to come over?"

He tries to collect himself. "No, I'm sorry. I'm fine."

"It's only been three years, Dylan. I don't think any amount of time is going to stop the hurt you feel. Soon it'll hurt less, and you'll be able to remember the good times, not just the fact that he's not physically here." I wipe the tear that spilled out of my eye. "Tell me a memory of him you haven't shared with me yet."

He sniffles. "Um, there's so many."

"One from when you were little."

"Hm, when I was little." There's a pause, then he laughs lightly. "When I was four or five, my grandparents came to the house. We weren't expecting them. Grandma wasn't too happy, but Grandpa came straight for me and picked me up. 'How's my boy?', that's the first thing he'd always ask me. He pulled a small stone snail out of his pocket." Dylan makes his voice deeper, "'Member when we found Mr. Snail out in the yard, but your momma didn't allow you to keep him? Well now you have a Mr. Snail to keep forever.'" Dylan laughs. "I still have him." I hear him shuffle around. "Yup. He's right here, Mr. Snail. I remember Grandma being annoyed." Dylan makes a high angry voice, "'He saw the damn thing and just had to bring it now.'"

I laugh loudly.

"Grandad and I just laughed. I still don't know how they ended up together. He'd always look at her like she was the moon in a black sky."

"That's so sweet." I smile. "I wish I could've met him. He sounds special."

"He was.. Is."

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah. You're amazing Lily. Thank you."

"Stop it", I blush. "I'm just glad I could help."

"You did. It was a hard day. I wasn't sure if I'd-", he pauses. "Cope. In another way, you know the-"

"I know." My heart beats faster. "But you won't."

"No. It's been a year and 4 months", he sighs.

"I'm proud of you. If you ever have another... moment, you can call me. Please call me."

"I will. I promise."

I smile widely.

We talk for a while longer. He talks about his parents and their night at his dad's friend's house, where there were "lots of boring adults", Dylan describes it. Once I was confident that he was okay, I say goodnight.

What a day. I need a nice hot shower. I grab my towel and robe, and head to the bathroom.

If the boys gotta go, they better hold it.

I let the water warm up as I get undressed. I put the stool in then step in myself.

The hotness eases my tense neck and shoulders. The smell of my shampoo helps me relax further.

Once I'm satisfied I turn off the water, dry off and wrap myself up.

As I'm opening my door I see Steve sitting on my bed. I'm completely aware that I'm only wrapped by a towel and robe, which makes my face burn red. "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I just came in. I didn't know you showered, I thought you were-", he blushes. "I'll let you get dressed. I'll come back in a few." He bolts out of my room.

I quickly, well as quickly as I could, get dressed and run a brush through my hair. I decide to throw a sweater over my tank top, I'm feeling overly exposed.

There's a knock at my door. "It's me."

"Come in Steve." I sit on my bed.

"Sorry about that. I didn't know-"

"It's alright." My cheeks heat up, and I avoid eye contact. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah." He sits at the end of my bed. "Just to apologize. I shouldn't have reacted so badly. I'm just so sure about my feelings, but I'll respect that you need to figure yours out."

"Thank you. Seriously, that's great of you. It means a lot."

He smiles. "I'll go now." He stands. "Goodnight, Lily."

"Goodnight, Steve."

He closes the door and I lay in bed. Boy, what a frickin' day.

I grab my phone and text both Dani and Anne: "Hey guys. Hope you had a great Christmas. We need to talk tomorrow. Goodnight."

Today's events replay in my head, over and over until I fall asleep.

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Hey guys!

I get so many feels with this chapter, you got to see a different side of Dylan. Hopefully you loved this as much as I did.

Thanks for reading :)

-Emili