Amber was eying me carefully.
She folded her arms and squinted her eyes at me. "What's up with you? Why do you look nervous?"
I was biting at my fingernails. "I'm not nervous. I'm just tired. I mean we did tour two universities today."
Amber slowly nodded. "Well, I'll be in the room sleeping if you need me."
I looked around the lobby. Classmates were lounging around, making their way to the dining hall, or going up to their rooms. We had just come back from one of the universities we visited today. I was pretty tired but Amber was right.
I was nervous.
Today was it. Catherine was going to stop by the hotel later and I was going to take her to Dylan's. Did I do the right thing? I didn't even know. He told me he wanted nothing to do with her so why did I agree to take her to him? I guess that I wanted Dylan to find closure. He clearly hasn't moved on.
A tap on my shoulder made me jump and I whirled around.
It was David.
"David!" I said, smiling. He beamed at me. "Hey! How are you?"
"I'm fine," he replied. "What about you? You look pretty spooked."
"Oh no," I said, batting a hand at him. "I'm just tired. So what are you doing here?"
"I came here to visit Dylan," David replied with a sigh. "The last time I saw him he called our father a screw."
"Yup, that's definitely Dylan," I said, shifting from one foot to the other. David nodded in agreement and sighed again, folding his arms across his chest. "Dylan didn't return with us. We just came back from visiting colleges. I think he left for a walk."
"He's not answering any of my calls or texts," David said. "Gosh, he could be stubborn. Anyway, you want to grab a coffee with me?"
"Sure," I said, smiling.
David and I left the hotel and walked to the nearest coffee shop. We got our orders and sat down near a huge window. Today was a sunny day but with a cool breeze. It was really nice and refreshing.
"So," I began, wrapping my fingers around the mug. "What's new? How's college?"
David took a sip from his coffee and swallowed. "Same old. College is pretty tough. I'm packed with assignments and projects. It's pretty hard when you're also trying to fix the relationship between your brother and his father."
"Dylan is not cooperating, is he?" I jumped in, giving him a sympathetic smile.
"He wants nothing to do with him," David continued, shaking his head. "He wants him completely out of his life but I know that Dylan still loves him. He just can't forgive our father for what he did." David pursed his lips. "Do you...do you know what he did?"
I nodded. "Dylan told me. I'm sorry about that."
"No need to apologize," David said, giving me a short smile. "It happened and it took me a while to accept it. I guess Dylan is still bitter. That boy is bitter about many things."
"I just want him to be happy."
"We all do. My mother constantly worries about him. She's afraid he'll do something that'll hurt him. He's prone to getting into fights and getting drunk – all that could hurt him. It's just that...he wasn't like that before everything went downhill." He stopped and smiled. "I assume you know about what happened with Catherine."
I nodded and sighed. "She cheated on him."
"So that's what happened," David muttered. "I figured. Dylan wouldn't tell me anything when he was sober. All I knew was that it involved some guy and her." David shook his head and looked down at his coffee. "It was the first I'd ever seen him like that. Dylan drank but he didn't drink until the alcohol consumed his entire body. That night he came back and he was badly drunk. He couldn't even walk straight. When he woke up the next morning, he had completely changed." David stopped and gave out a bitter laugh. "From then on he was this bitter and angry kid. Nobody could talk to him."
I wondered if seeing Catherine would help a little.
"But he can trust you."
"W-what?" Yeah, I know.
David grinned. "You know it, too. Dylan can trust you. He can talk to you. When you continued to pester him, he eventually caved in. He gave in to your advances. He has opened up to you and I know he would never admit it, but he does enjoy your company. I guess when you guys are together, he's at peace."
I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. Maybe." A thought struck me. "Dylan got expelled from his school...can you tell me about that?"
David nodded. "It happened after Catherine cheated on him and our dad cheated on our mom. I did tell you that he completely changed. Always angry. He got into several fights into school, many of which were with the guy Catherine cheated on Dylan with. That guy and Dylan didn't get along at all. It's obvious, though. It wasn't a surprise when Dylan would get suspended from school. He'd come back with bruises and wounds and he'd be bleeding. He wouldn't talk to anyone. He skipped classes and when he vandalized the principle's car, that was the final straw. He was expelled. My mother was always worried and given what my dad did to her, she had had enough of New York. Far too many bad things happened in one go. So she wanted to relocate."
I sighed and pushed my mug away. The coffee went cold.
"He'll be okay one day," David said. He gave me a smile. "I know it."
I nodded. "I know it, too."
"Thanks," David started. "for not giving up on him. I bet you guys have had your bad moments together."
I nodded again and smiled. "But we've also had good moments together."
