Becoming Us || l.h

Chapter 20

I've been here for about three months now, and I'm doing a lot better. My brother's tour just ended so he should be back soon and he told me he'd bring Ashton with him. Lilly comes back in, giving me a smile. "I'm getting released next week." She tells me. "Stop, are you serious? I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!" "Thank you, what are they looking at for you?" "Not sure yet, I haven't really asked but originally it was four months for me so I don't know if they'll cut it short or have me for the full four months." I shrug, putting my book on my side table. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you're out?" "Go to the beach." She laughs, making me laugh. "Not a bad plan, I miss the beach. Which beach are you thinking?" "I don't care, I just want sand and surf." A knock interrupts us, a nurse peeking in with a smile. "Dylan, you have some visitors." I nod, standing. "I'll see you later! Congrats though, seriously." I tell her genuinely.

I walk out to the front room, seeing Blake and Ashton, making me smile. I hug Blake tightly, feeling him hug me back just as tightly. I let go, turning to Ashton. "Hey, Dyl." He says with a smile, holding his arms out. I give him a hug, missing him. "How are you doing? You're looking really good." Blake says, following me over to the chairs. "Good, Dr. Jaime is really good and my roommate is really nice. It was a rough start but I've been working really hard." He smiles, nodding. "I'm glad!" "Are you guys in town for a while now?" I ask, looking between them. "Yeah, I'll be working on music for the next few months and probably working on the next tour. I have a new producer and management team so I'll be working with them to figure out all my old music and stuff." Blake rolls his eyes, shrugging. I turn to Ashton. "Yeah, me and the guys will be working on our first album and then figuring out tours. I think we are trying to open one more tour then go from there." "Nice, any new songs?" "A few are in the works. I'm really excited for this next album. I think the fans will like it." 

Austin and Zach walk in, giving me a smile. "Hey, kiddo," Zach says, sitting next to me. "We all have a meeting with your therapist." On cue, Dr. Jaime walks out, giving me a smile. "Hey guys, thank you, Dylan, we will be right back." I nod, watching them all leave. Ashton looks over at me, smiling. "How are you doing?" "Really good, honestly. It's been a while since I've felt this good. I like it." I pause, thinking. "You want to know how he's doing." It wasn't a question. I nod, watching him. "Good, better. We found him a therapist that could work with our travel schedule and it's been good for him. Writing music has also helped and I think with your mom no longer in the picture, he seems better. We dropped her too and we are working to sign with Blake's new people too. He has his bad days, like anyone else but overall, doing better. The fans have gotten better too, not so much hate toward you, your final tweet really blew up. It caused a lot of people to speak out in the industry. You've made an impact, Dylan." I raise my eyebrows, surprised.

"Twitter also now suspends all accounts who tell people to kill themselves so social media is getting better too. A lot of people have questioned where you've gone but no one who knows has said anything about you." I nod, smiling, thankful. "How are Michael and Calum?" "Good, not so stressed about Luke since he's gotten better. Excited about the new album but definitely ready for a break from touring for a little bit." I laugh, nodding. "Good, I'm glad."

Dr. Jaime comes back out, ushering me over to her. I follow her to her office, the guys talking to one another. "Hi, Dylan. So I wanted to talk to you about your progress. You've been doing a great job and honestly, I think you'd be okay to leave. I work in my other office Tuesdays and Thursdays so we could start you on a weekly basis seeing me there then go to every other week and keep going down until you only need me every so often. How does that sound?" "Really? That sounds amazing." "I'll let you guys get her packed up and I'll file her release paperwork." I nod, standing. "Thank you." "You did this, Dylan. I'm proud of you." She tells me. I lead my brothers out to my room, grabbing Ashton on the way. 

I check to make sure Lilly is good with having them come in then let them in, telling her my news. "Girl! What? Oh my god, I'm so proud of you, you deserve this." She tells me. "So, what are you going to do now that you're free?" "Get Taco Bell." Everyone laughs, Blake shaking his head. "Guess I know what we're having for dinner guys." He announces, grabbing my suitcase and putting it on the bed. I put my clothes inside, putting my dirty laundry in the other. I give Lilly a hug, then follow Blake to the front desk where Austin was getting me all checked out. 

"Thank you," I call to the front desk people as I leave, following Blake to his car. "Text me what you guys want from Taco Bell and I'll pick it up." He says, putting my suitcases in the trunk. I get in the front passenger seat, Blake getting in the driver's seat. "To Taco Bell." He says dramatically, making me smile. He pulls out, going down the driveway. 

He glances over at me, smiling. "Did you do any writing?" He asks, glancing at me again. "Yeah, I have a few songs." "Any finished?" I nod, grabbing my notebook out of my backpack. "What's it called?" "Back in My Arms." "About Luke?" "Yeah." He's quiet for a little bit, not looking at me. "What?" I ask, watching him. "We didn't think you'd get out this early, so I let them stay with me until they find a place here." My heart drops, not quite ready to see Luke in person yet. "We can either have them stay somewhere else or we can put you in a hotel or even send you back to New York for a little bit, we can figure something out." "I don't want to kick them out. How long do you think it would be?" "A few days, they need to sign tomorrow then sort out a few more things then pack, two weeks tops." I nod, taking a deep breath.

"I guess I gotta face him one day." I sigh, pulling my knees up. "Seriously, if you're not ready, we can figure something out." He pulls into the Taco Bell drive-thru, pulling up and ordering for everyone, pulling around. "Think about it, we still have a little bit before we are home." He says, pulling out his card and paying. He gets the food and his card back, handing it to me. I put it on the floor and his card in his wallet, thinking. "I'll be okay," I promise. He nods, heading to his house. I watch cars as we drive past them, quiet. 

He pulls into the driveway and I take a deep breath, going around the car and taking a suitcase from Blake. I go up the few stairs to the front door, letting myself in. I go into the kitchen, everyone in there. Luke looks up, staring at me. I slowly put the food on the counter and Luke watches, his eyebrows furrowing. He looks at my suitcase, his shoulders slumping. I frown, looking from my suitcase back to my hand that held the food, my stomach dropping when I see the rehab center hospital bracelet on my wrist. "Hi." I get out, looking at everyone. I finally look away from Luke to everyone else. Calum runs over, giving me a hug. "We missed you! I took a lot of pictures for you, I can show you later." I smile, grateful for the subject change. "I'm excited to see them." "How are you? It's been so long." Michael says, giving me a hug. "I'm good." I nod. "How are you guys?" I ask, looking around, glancing at Luke.

"Good, ready for a break," Cal says, Michael nodding. "It's been a long few months." Luke finally speaks, looking over at me again. I nod, giving him a small smile. "So where were you? Take a vacation?" Michael asks, gesturing to my suitcase. "You could say that," I say weakly, glancing at Zach. "Let's eat before the food gets any colder." While they grab the food and go sit down, I quickly cut off the bracelet, stuffing it in my pocket. I sit down next to Austin, Ashton sitting on my other side. I grab my food, glancing over at Luke. He looks away when I look over, unwrapping his taco. I eat quickly, going up to my room. I unpack, looking around at everything. I avoid opening my bedside table drawer, not wanting to see that notebook. I lay back on my bed, wrapping my fuzzy blanket around me. 

A knock at the door startles me out of my daze. I get out of bed, walking over to the door, and see Luke standing there.