What About Now

Chapter 15 - You Scream Like a Girl

"Hey Dylan!" I smiled. I hadn't even a second to react, before Dylan tackled me with a hug, almost sucking the breath out of me!

"Oh my god, Taylor! What are you doing here?" He exclaimed, letting go of me and looking over my face, "I thought you were in New York?"

"Well change of plans," I smirked, "Apparently George needed me back here for a while, so I'm going to be working here for a year."

"Oh, Taylor that's fantastic!" He grinned, wrapping me in another hug. I laughed, and hugged him back.

"Bloody hell, I can't believe it's you!" He smiled as we pulled apart, "You haven't changed one bit!"

"Neither have you," I replied, "So how's things been?"

"Good good," He nodded, "I'd love to tell you more, but some idiot made me jump a foot in the air and drop all my papers."

"And made you scream like a girl!" I added, letting out a laugh.

"Yeah, that too," He chuckled, bending down and picking up numerous pieces of paper.

"Here, let me help," I crouched down next to Dylan and began helping him collect up his work.

"So how have you been?" Dylan asked me as we tidied up, "Got a new boyfriend on the scene?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I do," I giggled, "His name's Ben, and we've been going out for two years."

"Oh wow! That's great news!" Dylan said as he lay on his front and looked under the cabinet for any sheets of paper.

"What about you? Got a girlfriend yet?" I teased.

"Nope, still all by my lonesome self," He laughed, reaching his arm out under the cabinet.

"Aw, there's a girl out there for you Dyl, I know it," I smiled as he sat up, clutching four pieces of paper.

"Mm, hopefully," He sighed, placing the sheets into the folder beside him.

"Sure, she'll have to be as crazy as you," I went on, trying to avoid eye contact with him, "Oh, and she'll have to scream like a girl more than you do!"

"Hey!" He cried, hitting me lightly on the arm.

"What? It's true!" I laughed. Without really thinking, I turned my head in the direction of the window in George's office. It faced the office, and I could see people running all over the place with reports, messages and photographs. But just as I was about to look back at Dylan, Thomas walked past the window. He was talking and laughing with some guy whom I didn't recognise. His laughter rang through my ears, and it filled me with happy memories. As he was in mid conversation, he just happened to look up and back at me through the window. I instantly averted my gaze and continued clearing the papers from the floor.

"Not talked to Thomas yet, huh?" Dylan asked me gently, causing me to look over at him.

"No, I have actually," I sighed, scooping some files into my hand, "Yeah, had a great conversation with him last night actually! Cause ironically, I'm now living in the apartment beneath the one we used to share together. Anyway, he helped me move my furniture from the car park up to my flat, after the removal men left me with it all, and then back up in my kitchen, he found a picture of my boyfriend and said he thought he was cheating on me."

"Whoa whoa, slow down, Taylor," Dylan said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "So what happened?" I told him what had happened between Thomas and I last night. I told him how I'd first bumped into him at the airport, with his girlfriend Bella. Dylan nodded when I mentioned her name.

"Yeah, I know who you mean," He replied.

"But what happened to Molly?" I asked, desperate to know, "And their kid?"

"I don't know," Dylan sighed, "After you left, Thomas was an absolute wreck, Taylor. He wasn't eating, sleeping and he was always late for work. But he never mentioned Molly to me, even when I went round his house the night you left, and demanded to know why the hell he'd done what he'd done."

"What happened?" I sniffled, unaware of a stray tear on my cheek.

"When he saw it was me, he just closed the door in my face," Dylan went on. "But the next day, when I saw him at work, I asked him why he'd done it, and he didn't talk to me. When I told him you'd left for New York, he just broke, Taylor. He literally broke down. For weeks he didn't speak to anybody. But then after a few months, he finally pulled himself together, and started talking to me again. I never ever forgave him for what he'd done to you, but I was glad to have my friend back."

"Yeah," I said distantly. I had never thought about how Thomas would have reacted when he found out I'd left. It had never occurred to me to think that he might have been as much of a wreck as I was.
However, my thoughts were quickly interrupted by the door to the office opening and George entering the room.

"What the hell happened here?"