Chasing Dylan

Chapter Fifty Five

I blinked the tears away that had been building up.

"Should I... should I not go tonight?"

"Go Dylan, get to know your family. They can probably tell you more about your mom than I can. I only had seven years with her, they had more than two decades. I have a feeling that if Ava was still with us she would've reconciled with her family by now. She loved them, even through her anger and resentment, it was obvious that she still loved and missed her family."

I patted my cheeks to remove my tears. "God, now my make up is ruined."

"It's not." He laughed. "You look beautiful, you look like your mom."

I leaned over and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for telling me Dad."

"I'm only sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want you to think of your mother differently."

I pulled away from him and shook my head. "Never. She was human after all, and you two loved one another. Even as a child I could see that."

"We did, but she loved you above everything. I just hope you know that."

"I do." I whispered, hugging him again.

"C'mon." He said, patting my back. "You should get going." He gestured to my vibrating cellphone.

"She's here." I said, reading a text from Nessa.

"Let me know how everything goes." He said to me, standing and holding out my purse.

"I will." I said, grabbing it. "See you later, Dad."

"See you then." He waved as I walked out the front door.

-

"Everyone's gonna love you Dylan, obviously." Nessa said, as we sat in the car in front of our grandma's house.

"L O L, sure they will." I rolled my eyes.

"Well you're never gonna find out if you sit in the car all night. Let's go." She said, unlocking the car.

I grunted and hesitantly opened the car door, stepping out.

"Geez, how many people were invited to this thing." I said, looking around at the plethora of cars surrounding the house.

"We have a large family." Nessa said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door.

She opened the front door with ease, not knocking, nor ringing the doorbell. As we walked into the house, different scents of delicious food overtook my senses. The house was small, but the amount of people in it made it feel gigantic. There were older people sitting on the couches talking lively, while some were dancing to the music playing from the television. They all looked up at Nessa and I when we walked in.

"Hey everybody. This is Dylan." Nessa said as she went around the living room hugging everyone individually.

"Hi." I waved at them, a polite smile on my face.

A swarm of people came to hug me, gushing over me and how much I looked like my mother. More people started to pour out of the kitchen and into the living room to greet me. I felt incredibly awkward, but I didn't let it show.

"Let her breathe people, geez. Besides, I would like to hug my granddaughter." Candace said, pushing her way through everyone to get to me.

"Happy birthday." I smiled at her, holding out a giftbag.

"Thank you." She smiled back, taking the gift and embracing me.

"Come you two, come and eat." She said to Nessa and I.

We both trailed behind her into the dining room, where I found Nessa's mom Tanya, my cousin Marcus, an older woman, and two older men eating at the table.

"Hey Mommy." Nessa said, hugging her mom.

"Hello." I waved at everyone that sat at the table.

Marcus got up and hugged me tightly. "What's up little cousin?"

"Nothing much." I laughed. "You?"

"Same, just chillin." He smirked, looking at me knowingly.

I smirked back, positive that he was giving me a look about my best friend Amy and their budding romance.

He introduced me to my aunt and uncles, most of which were tearing up, mainly about my mother and the fact that I was no longer a missing person.

As I sat down at the table to eat with them, my mother remained on my mind. These people, her family, they were treating me with goodness and kindness, yet that same grace was not granted to my late mother. Her cheating on her fiancé with my father and getting pregnant with me was enough for her whole family to give up on her. Being here with her own mother, her brothers and sisters, the same people that would have had me aborted, it all felt wrong.

My father may have thought that my mother would have forgiven her family, but in this moment I realize that I hadn't. Maybe I could one day, but not now.

"Dylan, are you listening? Auntie Jane wants to show you pictures of your mom from high school." Nessa said.

I looked up, realizing that I had been staring into space. I softly smiled at my Aunt Jane and said, "That sounds nice, but I think I should go."

Everyone at the table looked at me in confusion.

"I'm not feeling well." I turned to Nessa. "Could you take me home?"

She frowned and nodded. "Okay, are you alright though?"

"Yea, just a really bad migraine." I lied, standing up. "It was nice meeting you all. And happy birthday Candace."

I could see her body tense as I said her name, but she smiled nonetheless.

"Thank you sweetie, you are welcome back here anytime."

I nodded at her, before looking to Nessa.

"Okay, I'll be back in an hour." She said to her family, getting up from her chair.

Her and I walked out of the house in silence. I was unsure if I'd ever return here again.