Before I Met You

Chapter 9

"So, you live here with your family?" Dylan began as we walked side by side along the sidewalk. "I'm not really much for chit chat." I said unwillingly to divulge anything personal about myself to him.

"Me neither." He smiled over at me. I hated the fact that the more he smiled the more I felt at ease around him.

Sighing heavily debating on how much of myself to share. My past is depressing and painful and my life in the present moment wasn't as thrilling or exciting as it probably should be. At least that's what my grandmother along with the rest of the town thought of me.

"Um, yeah. Kind of. I just visit my grandmother for the holidays." I answered loosely, making him hum. "Your parents? Do they live around here?"

A few years ago, the mere mention of my parents would've dropped me to my knees from overwhelming grief realizing I would never see either of them again.

"What about your family? Did you know that other guy that was following me around?" I asked him about that other stranger that's been on my mind. "Unfortunately. He's my brother." He answered, making me turn to him.

"Oh." I muttered not knowing what to say. I could tell from Dylan's stoic features that his family was a sore subject for him also. "I suppose I could see the resemblance." I muttered although they had some physical differences.

"And that other man? Is he related to you too?" I asked curious, remembering that morning a few days ago when I saw an older man standing in front of my grandmother's bookstore.

"Is that Juliette? What's she doing with that super hot guy?" Someone nearby thought to themselves. "Sure, just stand in everyone's way." A man thought sarcastically shoving past us making me turn to him.

"That other man who came into town. He was looking for you and your brother. I assumed he was traveling with you or something." We both stood in the middle of the sidewalk as busy people walked around us. I couldn't help but get distracted.

"This bagel is stale. That'll make me think twice about ordering from there again." An older man's voice spoke as he sat outside the cafe.

"I can't believe she just broke up with me like it was nothing. Like I was nothing to her. And now she's out laughing with her friends. She should be suffering like how I am suffering." A teenage boy glared at his ex-girlfriend chatting with a group of young girls walking by.

My head began to ache, and my mind began to race. Holding my forehead, feeling my head tingling with sharp pins and needles.

"I can't forget to buy laundry soap again. I've been wearing the same underwear for days."

Peoples overlapping thoughts overwhelmed me more and more the longer I spent outside with large groups. "Juliette." Dylan snapped my focus back onto him.

Everyone's thoughts seemingly vanished in an instant the moment he spoke. "Yeah?" I breathed turning to him. "What's wrong?" He asked, making my heart race. "Um," I stumbled with my words as thoughts began to merge and overlap one another.

"Nothing sorry. W-What were you saying?" I stuttered nervously forgetting what we were talking about. He looked down at me with a peculiar expression, trying to study me. "He's my father." Dylan answered.

"Who dressed her this morning? She looks like an adult toddler." One of the girls thought about her friend walking and laughing beside her.

"He's your father isn't he?" I questioned both realizing he already answered my question.

"Yes." He looked at me with a contorted expression as I decided to let it go. "Just let me know next time if he tries to talk to you again. My father isn't the... kindest guy." Dylan said, struggling to find the right word to describe his father. It was clear that he didn't think highly of him and I began to doubt if they had a good relationship.