Supernatural Boarding School #3 - A Brush of Death ✅

Chapter 17 - Dylan

Dylan's point of view

"I'm sorry," I heard myself saying into the phone for what felt like the millionth time. "I'm so sorry, but I swear-"

"I know you have a reason for forgetting our date!" Carl yelled at me. He never yelled. I must have screwed up pretty badly this time. "That's what's so maddening, Dylan. I am never allowed to get mad at you, because you're helping your friends. I know that, but honestly, I don't care what happened this time."

"I just-"

"No!" I could hear the tears in his voice and it tore me apart. "I don't want you to explain. I don't want you to give me yet another reason to hate myself. I'm a horrible, selfish person. Of course you should spend all your time at Demona's bedside and taking care of Eros. I get it, Dylan, I really do. But right now, I'm in bed, all alone, crying. Crying because my boyfriend stood me up. Left me waiting for him at a restaurant for over an hour."

"I know, Carl, I am so-"

"If you tell me you're sorry one more time, I'm gonna strangle you. I know you are. I just don't really care right now. I haven't been your priority for a long time now and I'm sick of it."

There wasn't a way to react to this. Not really. Nothing I could say to make this better. I had totally spaced about having a date with him and I hadn't even picked up the phone when he'd called me the first two times. I had been too busy talking to Ellen, calling Eros and Simon, talking to doctors at this hospital, getting coffee for Simon while he pulled an all-nighter to figure out what the spell that had been placed on Demona and Eros was exactly. Not once had I thought about calling Carl.

"I know it doesn't change anything, but I love you," I said eventually, when it became apparent that Carl was done telling at me. "You're absolutely right and you are definitely not a horrible person. You are the least selfish person I know. I love you with everything I have, Carl, but..."

He sighed. "But right now, there is yet another emergency that is more important than me. I get it."

"Carl, that's not-" I stopped talking when I realized he was gone. He had hung up the phone. I had known he was angry and sad, but not that it was so bad that he didn't even want to say I love you back to me.

"Dylan?" Simon called out from Demona's room. "Eros is gonna be here in ten minutes. Maybe we should go over everything one last time?"

I put my phone in my back pocket and tried to put Carl out of my mind. Right now, all I wanted to do was get in my car, race to the school and run through the hallways until I found his dorm. Take him in my arms. Kiss him. Make sure he knew just how awful I felt about standing how up. Show him that he was the most important person in the world to me, that he was my priority. Always.

The problem was that it wasn't the truth. He hadn't been my true priority from the moment Demona fell into her coma. This hospital had been my world for weeks now, months even. I couldn't promise Carl that things would change, not when I knew they couldn't. All I could do was hope that the leads we had right now were enough. That tonight or at least somewhere this week, we could wake Dem up and put this whole nightmare behind us.

"Dylan?" I looked up to see Simon poke his head around the door. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged. "Are any of us?"

He eyed me with a worried look on his face. "That phone call sounded... I mean, I didn't try to overhear your conversation, but Carl was yelling so hard..."

I grunted. "Simon, I know you want to get all touchy feely on me right now, but we just don't have the time. I can't afford to evaluate the dreadful state of my relationship right now. Not when Eros is only moments away from finding out that you were the one meant for Demona after all. Not when we finally have a chance to wake Demona up. Nothing is more important than that."