Just as I suspected, Dylan is quite happy to have a full five days home from school. Since the incident took place on Tuesday, he gets to stay home the rest of the week as well as next Monday and Tuesday. I'm a little jealous, but of course, I now have early release for the rest of the year which is amazing.
Not that I'm necessarily surprised, but it somewhat catches me off guard when I go back to school the day after the situation took place, and almost everyone is talking about it. Most of my acquaintances send me sympathetic looks, and a handful of people come ask me about it, and even wish Dylan a speedy recovery.
I kind of dislike all the attention, but by the same token I'm glad people know about what happened; hopefully nobody else goes through this.
Every day, once I get out of school, I go over to Dylan's house where I usually find him either playing video games, watching something on TV, or reading a book. Lately he's been referring to me as his nurse, since I'm apparently fussing over him too much. What can I say, he's injured and I really worry.
When I get there on Friday, however, I find that he is fast asleep in his comfy bed.
It takes all I have not to "aw" out loud, because he seriously looks so adorable I cannot stand it. I snap a photo of him just for my own personal collection before quietly setting all my belongings down and removing my shoes. I feel very tired myself, which I always seem to be these days, and watching him only serves to make me even more so.
As soundlessly as I can manage, I climb into his large bed beside him and instantly gain warmth as I pull the covers over me. While I situate myself, he stirs slightly with his eyes still closed, before he puts an arm around me and pulls me into him. An effortless grin automatically stretches across my face before I lean in to kiss his nose, then cheek.
He relaxes into me then, nudging his nose into the crook of my neck before apparently deciding it's a good idea to lick it.
I giggle, "Ew, babe... Why?"
He shrugs with his eyes still closed, "Why not?"
"I just wanna sleep."
"Same."
And then we do. For several hours.
I wake up to find it nearing dark outside, and I'm all alone in Dylan's bed. I reach blindly to fetch my phone from Dylan's bedside table which tells me that the time is 7:49 in the evening. My hair is pretty much a hot mess, so I throw it up in a quick ponytail before stretching and slowly making my way down the stairs.
When I reach the first floor, I see Dylan sitting on the couch in the living room as he plays some first-person shooter game that is making quite a bit of loud noises. I stand behind the couch (entirely unbeknownst to him) watching him play quite well until he dies, then becomes aware of my presence as I take a seat right next to him on the couch.
"Oh, hey," he says, smiling at me before pecking my cheek. His has now re-spawned and is back on the move. "This game is pretty loud, and I like playing with sound, as you know, but I didn't wanna wake you up so I brought it downstairs..."
"Makes sense," I nod with a small smile. "How thoughtful of you."
He makes a kill.
"If you thought that was thoughtful, just wait until you hear that I've been waiting to eat until you, Miss Sleepy Head, decided to wake up."
"Aw, sorry! You should have woken me up, baby."
Double kill.
"It's fine, I'm glad you got to get some good rest. Can we go get food now, though? I'm like, starving."
I nod, "Of course, let's go right away."
"Right... As soon as this match is over."
"Starving, huh?"
Another kill.
He chuckles as he speaks, "I have a kill to death ratio and victory score to uphold."
I laugh, "If you say so."
"Only five minutes left max, baby!"
Fifteen minutes later we are in Dylan's car, pulling away from his house in pursuit of this authentic and apparently really yummy Mexican cuisine place he enjoys on occasion.
It is raining pretty hard outside, as it seems to do relentlessly nowadays. My boyfriend produces the idea to get the food to go and eat in the car down at the waterfront, where we go sometimes to see the lovely view which is especially stunning at night.
During our journey there, he keeps glancing at me while he drives, as though he has something on his mind. I finally decide to call him out on it.
"Dyl."
"Hm?"
"Why are you looking like that?"
"Like what?"
"All sus," I grin slightly. "Is there something you'd like to say?"
"Well, yeah, actually I had an idea."
"Lay it on me, big daddy."
He laughs a little, "We're having a date tomorrow."
"Oh, we are?", I outbreak into a large grin. "What kind of date?"
"It's a surprise!"
"Why are they always surprises?!"
"Because surprises are amazing!"
"Yeah, true, but by the same token I think they're a little scary."
He chuckles, "There is nothing to be afraid of, come on now. What do you think it could be?"
"I have no idea, that's exactly what makes it so scary!"
"Okay, okay, point taken," his gorgeous eyes glance back at me before he smiles. "Still not telling. Just come to my house at six."
I sigh, "Shall do, oh mysterious one."
Once we reach the busy spot, Dylan volunteers himself to go inside on his lonesome to fetch dinner. After he asks me what I want twice and I tell him both times that I feel no hunger, he finally disappears inside for a good twelve minutes.
I smile at him as he returns, a decent sized bag in his hands before he climbs back into the drivers seat and buckles up.
"Wow, that looks like a lot of food," I comment as I take the white paper bag from his cold hands.
"I told you I was starving."
"So what'd you get?"
"I got myself a chicken burrito and a couple tamales, plus chips and guac. I got you, my love, some steak tacos."
"What the hey, you got me food?"
He shrugs, "I hope you like steak tacos, you wouldn't tell me what you wanted to eat, so that's what I went with."
"Yeah, I told you I wanted nothing; I'm not hungry."
"Okay but that's like impossible considering you've been with me for the past seven hours and haven't eaten once that entire time."
I shrug now, "I don't want food."
Dylan turns in his seat to look at me, as we now face each other while speaking, "Well, even if you don't quite have an appetite, you should eat. It's been a--"
"Dylan, how many times do I have to say that I'm not hungry?"
"I heard you, but I'm just saying--"
"Stop talking about it already, it's not even that big of a deal."
"With all due respect, it is a big deal. You can't just not eat, Anita."
There have been speckles of frustration and irritation flowing through me this entire conversation, and now, for some reason, I instantly feel anger taking over me like an unstoppable force.
"With all due respect, Dylan, I'll eat when I want to."
At my change in tone, he seems to take a moment to himself. His voice seems calmer when he speaks this time.
"Look, I'm just trying to help."
"Really? Because all you're doing is angering me."
"I didn't mean to--"
"Leave it alone! Stop worrying about it! I don't need you to worry about me, okay?! Worry about your own damn self."
I cross my arms and turn to face forward again in my seat, focusing my gaze out my passenger window.
There is a painfully long set of minutes where neither of us say anything, and there is close to no movement. The only sound is that of the harsh rain patter on all the car windows. After what seems like a good thirty minutes, I hear and feel the car starting up.
The windshield wipers clear the raindrops, and the car heats up before we pull away from the Mexican place.
We drive in silence, utter silence, the whole time. Three minutes of driving later, I realize he is taking me home, and although I still feel slight anger, a great deal of it is directed at my own self. I don't blame him for wanting to rid of me... My emotions got the best of me, but I was just getting frustrated.
When we finally arrive to my home, I sit for a mere second before unbuckling and placing the bag of food on my now vacant seat. As I shut the car door without any words between us, I see my boyfriend's hazel eyes look at me. His expression is so lost and completely sad that it makes me feel instantly guilty.
Despite this, I continue quickly up my stairs and into my house. Once on the other side, I angrily kick off my shoes and throw my backpack and coat onto the entryway floor. A few silent tears manage to free themselves and fall down my burning cheeks.
I feel so stupid for what just happened. Why was I so stubborn, so short-tempered? Why am I so easily irritable lately?
Stupid question, Anita. I know exactly why. Not eating tends to make a person crabby.
Such a stupid girl.
I plop heavily onto the couch in the living room, staring blankly at the room before me while silent tears stream down my face. Dylan doesn't deserve any of what I just said to him... He's been nothing but good to me, and I throw it all in his face, all because I've caused myself to be so easily frustrated.
I want to call him, but I feel like I'll just start sobbing over the phone instead of apologizing. So instead, I start typing a message - which I'm sure will be one of the longest I've ever sent.
Then I hear a series of three, slow knocks on my front door.
My mind immediately starts to race, wondering who it could be. But honestly, who else would it be besides Dylan, especially at this hour? Parents are both allegedly out working, so no clients should even be stopping by. Just to be sure, I peek through the curtains in the living room window and see who it is.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself before doing my best to wipe the tears from my face. Walking back to the entryway, I open the large door to see my boyfriend standing there, wearing a hopeful but very nervous look on his face. The expression reminds me incredibly of how he was around me when we first met.
He looks up at me where our eyes meet for a few seconds before he looks down, his mouth opening as though he wants to say something, but is unable to.
Finally, he speaks noticeably quietly, "You, um... You left this in my car."
His hand outstretches and I do the same with mine, wondering what it is that I left behind. It feels like almost nothing drops into my palm when he releases it, and as I look down to find what it is, I have to fight from smiling or breaking into laughter.
I look up at him, seriously wondering, "A toothpick?"
"It was yours, wasn't it?"
"You came to return me my used toothpick?"
He sighs briefly then finally looks at me again, "Okay, it's stupid, I know. Whatever. I just... wanted a reason to come talk to you."
I want to say something, but am not entirely sure if I should. He saves me the trouble of debating it anymore by continuing his thought.
"You're still coming over, right? I mean, for our date night... Tomorrow.."
As Dylan trails off he scratches his neck and looks at the ground again. Instantaneously, and without a second to think a single rational thought, I grab his coat to pull him towards me and rise on my tiptoes to kiss him on his slightly cold lips. There is no response for a moment as I'm sure he is caught way off guard, but then I melt in happiness and relief when he kisses me back.
Pulling my lips from his, I take his hand and start to pull him inside, "Come inside, you're getting cold and wet."
"Our-- My food is in the car," he says, looking at me carefully. "I'm just really really hungry, I didn't mean--"
"No, look," I exhale slowly. "I am so sorry for the way I blew up on you in the car. It was totally uncalled for, and you didn't deserve it at all. And I didn't mean what I said... I've just been getting in this horrible mood sometimes.. Or, kind of all the time."
He gives me a half-smile, "It's okay, Anita. I understand. I was just concerned."
"Why don't you bring the food inside, and we can chow down, maybe watch our show?"
His whole, amazing, heart-stopping smile appears then, and he nods before running quickly to his car to retrieve the food.
The two of us spend the rest of the night consuming the very well-made Mexican cuisine. My order came with four, small tacos, though I only manage to eat one and a half before calling it quits. I sit on the couch facing the television while Dyl lays down with his head in my lap, and we watch numerous episodes of our new favorite show.
My father comes home halfway through our first episode and says hello, asks if mother is home (which she is not, of course), watches the rest of our episode while eating his own Japanese take-out before kissing me on the cheek goodnight and ruffling Dylan's hair.
When it nears midnight and I feel myself beginning to drift easily off to sleep, my boyfriend reaches up to caress my face.
"Anita," he breathes softly.
"Baby," I respond tiredly.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
~
Five fifty-three in the evening the next day, seven minutes early, I pause outside on the porch of the O'Brien household and contemplate my outfit choice for the seventeenth time this day.
I had decided on a new pair of lavender-colored jeans I just bought, a white strapped crop top with a black coat since it's cold as ice, and these black heels I love. Really, Anita, heels? What if we go bowling? I was just too focused on trying to slay the game, I totally forgot about versatility. Damn.
At least if I'm poorly dressed for our activity, I can blame it on him and his inability to inform me of what these dates will consist of. I also brought Ophelia with me because Dylan said I could, and when I asked if that meant we were doing a dog-friendly activity his answer was "maybe we are and maybe we aren't. If not, she can stay at my house."
She has been here only once before, but seems very excited as I knock on the door quickly just twice before opening the heavy front door. Once inside, little Ophelia practically leaps from my arms and up to Dylan, who is sitting on the couch watching a video of some man talking about one of Einstein's lesser-known theories. Nerd.
After receiving several greeting kisses from the little puppy, he sets her down gently and gets up where he gives me a big hug and three kisses.
"Hello, gorgeous," he greets before looking me over. "You're looking especially sexy this evening."
I giggle, "Thank you, babe. The same can be said of you."
I hand him a wrapped rectangle of a present I got for him, which causes him to frown at me in confusion.
"What's this?", he asks.
"A present," I respond easily.
"Oh, you don't say!", his signature sarcasm dripping out. "I mean, why did you get me anything?"
"Because I love you and you make me happy and you deserve it? Can't a girl get her boyfriend a present if she wants? Just open it."
Dylan shakes his head while smiling as he tears the paper off in just two swift motions. I grin immediately at his reaction. His eyes widen as he observes the content in his hands.
"You got me the new COD? Seriously? It just came out yesterday, and..."
"And, I know how much you've been looking forward to it. You've been talking about it for like two months, Dyl Pickle. Obviously I pre-ordered."
He laughs then, a glorious sound, "Thank you so much, baby. You really... You are the very best girlfriend, no, person, in the entire world. I love you so much right now." He kisses me before examining the game case again.
Now I laugh, "You're welcome, I love you too. So when do we have to leave for this date? And where is it again?"
"OH, right," he says with a mischievous smile, setting his new game down. "Come with me so I can show you where it is."
I watch as he approaches me then walks behind me, forcing me to face forward as he presses himself against my back. His large, warm hands come in front of me before covering my eyes, and I laugh a little as I place my hands over his. Even in these high heels, he is still a couple inches taller than me. Ugh, the struggle of being a short girl.
"Where are we goooing?", I ask as we slowly but surely venture forwards.
"Don't worry about it," he chuckles, causing his lips to tickle my ear.
The two of us walk somewhat awkwardly until I am instructed to take a seat in a familiar feeling seat. He then removes his hands from my eyes, and I open them where I see that we have simply gone to the kitchen. I am sat at the island in the middle of the room, and I tilt my head in confusion at him while he walks around to the other side of it.
"I don't get it," I confess.
"Duh, silly me! I forgot something!", he tells me to close my eyes once more, and I do as he says.
Upon his request, I reopen my eyes to find him standing before me wearing a deep, maroon-colored apron, and a large, goofy grin. And then suddenly it clicks. My own mouth falls open in a smile, almost disbelieving the occasion.
"Does this mean what I think it means, sir?"
"I believe it does," he smiles. "Unless you think it means we're doing some waiter and customer role play, then you're wrong."
I laugh outrageously, "No! I mean, are you really gonna cook for me?!"
He opens his arms wide in a grand gesture, "Madam, I am your personal chef for the night."
Squealing in excitement, I clap my hands together, "I'm so excited! I never thought this day would come!"
"Well now it has," Dylan responds while grabbing a large mixing bowl from a lower cupboard.
"So what's on the menu, chef?"
"Seeing as it is your first time eating my cooking, I have to make you my signature dishes, no doubt. For dinner we are having my signature pad thai and some spring rolls. Dessert shall be my signature dessert of course, mini chocolate lava cakes served with vanilla ice cream... and a side of Dylan."
For the next hour, I watch in pure delight and awe as my amazing boyfriend seems to work absolute magic in the kitchen. It smells heavenly the entire time, and I can't shake the amazed feeling as I watch his many skills that are so difficult for me, but seem to come to him as second nature.
This boy is truly talented. I talk to him often while he works, asking a million questions and making dozens of comments. I can't help myself.
Finally it is time to eat, and to say I am excited is a severe understatement. A playlist of soft jazz music plays in the background as we eat, and the food is downright heavenly. I wish I could eat a pound of it, but sadly I can barely even put a dent into the large portion he gave me. We talk and kiss a lot for the next twenty minutes while the cakes bake to perfection.
These taste even better than the dinner, and the combo of the cake with the ice cream tastes so good it makes me want to do a backflip or two. Luckily, since the mini lava cake is in fact miniature, I can eat the whole thing, though Dylan takes the liberty of eating my left over vanilla ice cream.
As a team, the two of us clean the dishes and store away the extra food in Tupperware containers. Afterward we journey upstairs to his bedroom where we lay on his bed and talk while cuddling and kissing.
Soon enough, my boyfriend informs me of how he is experiencing the ironic feeling of how he loves so much how my outfit looks on me that he wants to take it off.
After laughing, I inform him that I oddly know precisely how he is feeling, and subsequently allow him to act upon his feelings. He spends a good twenty minutes down on me before I finish. I spend about seven minutes on him before he does.
The activity leaves both of us tired beyond our own measure, and we fall asleep happily with smiles on our faces in less than ten minutes.
It is one of those perfect nights that I don't ever want to forget.
~
When Dylan comes back to school, a lot of people give him a significantly larger amount of attention than they did before the whole big incident.
Most people just stare at him, though thankfully a majority of them seem to be looks of pity, but there are a couple people who straight up ask him questions, and some even offer their sympathy.
He confides in me that he dislikes all the attention, and wants desperately for everyone to leave him alone like they used to. Apparently to him, Naomi, Adrian, and I are the only people he really wishes to be bothered by.
I have no issues with this.
Thankfully for him, people seem to leave him alone by Wednesday. Apparently Hannah Davis and Conner Wescom, one of the most popular couples in the school, has just broken up.
I wish I cared as much as almost everyone else does. Honestly, Hannah Davis was a conceited bitch and Conner was a brainless twat who pretended to care about everything and everyone, but really only cared about getting drunk and Hannah's boobs.
Sorry, I'm just someone who calls it like it is and doesn't pretend to care about irrelevant things just to fit in.
In good news, my Nonna comes to visit for dinner. During this time, my father announces to the two of us that our newest wine is finally being sold in several local stores, and even in some chain stores across the country.
To mine and my father's evident and incredible astonishment, my mother comes home in time for dinner that night. The four of us celebrate this news in proper fashion, which basically means a lot of wine and delicious, home made spaghetti and meatballs.
For some odd reason, I allowed my naive self to get my hopes up and think that maybe this event would be the start of my mother coming home at a regular time, or just being at home, again. Wrong. Of course. I don't know what I was thinking, even allowing a sliver of hope to make its way into my being.
Two weeks later on Saturday, the squad gets together. We meet up with Michelle and her girlfriend Nola, and basically go on a triple date which is incredibly fun.
The night starts off where we go to see Naomi and Adrian's dance performance at the Convention and Trade Center, where there's some fundraising event for Saint Mary's hospital. It is heavily attended and my friends do amazingly.
Afterward, we all go to this burger place that Nola recommends which turns out to be amazing. Their shakes are anyways, that's all I had. Our third stop is the bowling alley where we play two games. Michelle wins the first game by only two points, and I win the second by about twelve. I guess my skills just came through, the second time around.
Once bowling is done, we bid adieu to Nola and Michelle, who head back to Nola's house on the other side of town. The remaining four of us, all in Adrian's car, are suddenly invited to stay the night at Adrian's house, as his parents have apparently left to Mexico until Tuesday. Obviously we all agree, though we have to stop by my house first so Dylan and I can have change of clothes.
Yeah, we kind of meshed closets. I have clothes his and vice versa. It kind of just happened.
Naomi the DJ plays all our favorite songs on the way to my home to which we all sing along, sometimes obnoxiously. Needless to say, there is lots of chatter and even more laughter the entire car ride to there. As we pull up to the property of my house, I see not just both of my parent's cars, but a third car that looks eerily familiar to me for an unknown reason.
I assume that it is a client of either one of my parents', but after glancing at the clock and seeing that it is eleven eighteen at night, I start to doubt that possibility. It's probably some relative of mine, which is why the car seems so oddly familiar. I shrug it off and go inside to get our clothes while the other three wait in the car.
I don't have a single thought in my mind except not to take too long in getting our things together while humming a song we'd just been listening to. But as I walk through the entryway, I hear noises, not normal noises. I slowly follow the noises down the long hallway to the office on the main floor, where the door is slightly more than halfway open.
When I see what the room holds, it takes me a minute to process what I'm seeing. And once I'm just beginning to just maybe make sense of what is before me, I absolutely lose it.
~
A/N:
It's been so long, and I sincerely apologize for the delay. I suppose I lowkey don't want this story to end, and seeing as there are few chapters remaining, I am refraining from writing them.
No matter, I promise the last few won't take nearly this long to come through. Also, I left y'all with another cliffhanger (:
Please tell me what your predictions are, I'd love to hear them.
Until next time, my loves, & I promise that isn't far off♥