10 HOURS AWAY | A Novel

chapter 60 - closure

10 Hours Away

I had asked Mia to text me when they'd decide to go someplace else or back home, she assured me to keep me up-to-date. Then I followed Dylan and we hailed a cab together; there were plenty of them available.

I was used to being with Dylan inside his car, but since he had drunk alcohol we were going for the safer option. During the ride, I could've asked him what he wanted to show me but I knew he wouldn't tell me. That's why we talked about his upcoming book instead. He told with great passion about his latest work and how his characters would be loved by so many of his readers. Hearing and seeing him talk about something he loved so much, was truly wonderful. His face completely lit up.

When my eyes looked past his face and saw the beginning of the street they lived in, a weird feeling rushed through my body. I hadn't been at their residence in a long time, so it was quite strange to return after weeks of radio silence.

Dylan paid for the ride before we got out of the cab and wished the chauffeur a good night.

As we were taking the stairs, I kept asking myself what he could possibly want to show me. I had no clue because I had hardly spoken to Dylan and I parted ways with Noah weeks ago.

Dylan swiftly unlocked the door after we made it to their home. He turned on the lights in their living room and began to take off his jacket.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked nicely as he emptied his pockets on the kitchen counter.

"Water will do." I said.

"Water it is." he opened a cabinet and grabbed a whiskey-shaped glass out of it, filling it with water before handing it to me. Dylan grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and opened it with a cheap orange lighter.

"Follow me." he spoke and then walked past me straight to the hallway.

I obeyed his instruction and followed his steps immediately. Walking through the short hallway in their apartment, I looked to my left to see the door that would lead me to Noah's bedroom.

I swore, for a moment, it seemed like everything was happening in slow-motion. The times I had been here, alone, with strangers, or with friends, flashed right before my eyes. The nights Noah had held me in his arms, or the other way around, were delicate moments of the two of us together.

If I were to open his bedroom door, I knew I wouldn't find anyone. Noah wasn't in there. There was no light creeping from underneath his door neither could I heard people talking or someone snoring lightly. It was silent.

"Are you coming?" I heard Dylan ask from a different room. I blinked twice then moved on.

Stepping inside, it was clear to me I was inside Dylan's bedroom. It was much larger than Noah's, but maybe because there was an enormous desk covered in paperwork and two expensive laptops.

"You work here?" I questioned Dylan.

"I do, occasionally." he replied.

Dylan was picking up pieces of paper and putting them in the correct order before they all disappeared in his right drawer.

"What is it that you want to show me?" my curiosity needed an answer.

"A video." he said.

"A video?"

Dylan nodded and opened his laptop. "About two weeks ago, I was working on the epilogue of my brand new book." he spoke. "At that same time Noah's laptop needed to get fixed, so he borrowed mine for a week which he returned to me yesterday." Dylan then stood up from his chair and asked me to take a seat, so I did. "Since Noah has forgotten to delete some of his projects off my laptop, curiosity got the best of me. He doesn't often show his work."