Chapter six
Devyn
The stables had always been my favorite place on the entire property. Normally, being here made me feel better. Tonight it didn’t.
I sat beside Dylan on a hay bale staring at the floor while he quietly flipped through the pages of a book neither one of us had been paying attention to for the last ten minutes.
My mind was somewhere else. Three days was all I had left. Three days before I got on a plane and left everything behind… my room, my horses, my home and Dylan.
Fresh tears filled my eyes again. I was so tired of crying and feeling sad and helpless. Most of all, I was tired of everybody telling me this was for my own good.
“I don’t wanna go.”
My voice barely rose above a whisper.
Beside me, Dylan went still. “I know.”
I swallowed hard. “No, I really don’t wanna go,” I cried.
“I know Dev.”
“I don’t wanna leave you.”
“I don’t want you to leave,” he replied.
I wiped angrily at my face. “What if I hate it?” I asked as the tears flowed freely.
“You won’t.”
“What if I do?”
He didn’t answer right away because I think we both knew that was possible.
“What if I don’t make any friends?” I asked.
“You will. Do you know how special you are? Everyone is gonna wanna be your friend,” he said in a positive tone.
“What if they don’t?”
That finally made him look at me. “Dev...”
“What?”
“You are the coolest person I know.”
A small laugh escaped me for the first time all day. “You’re lying.”
“I’m dead ass,” Dylan said with a straight face.
I rolled my eyes and he smiled. The first one I saw all week. Then it disappeared just as quickly as it came. Because neither one of us could forget why we were here.
“I wish there was something I could do.”
The sadness in his voice caught me off guard. “What?” I asked.
He looked away. “I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better,” he said.
My heart hurt because I knew he meant it.
“I wish there was something I could do to change your dad’s mind.”
The honesty in his voice made me cry harder because I had spent days wishing the exact same thing. If I could’ve changed it, I would’ve. If I could stay, I would. But nobody seemed interested in what I wanted.
“Dylan?”
“Yeah?”
“Promise me that you won’t forget me.”
His head snapped towards me so fast it almost made me laugh. “Forget you?”
I nodded. “What if you make new friends?”
He laughed. “What if you do?” he countered.
“I’m serious,” I said.
“So am I.” His expression softened. “Dev, I could never forget you,” he said.
A tear slid down my cheek. “Promise you’ll keep in touch,” I said.
“Always.”
The answer came so quickly I knew he didn’t even have to think about it. “Always?” I clarified.
“Always,” he repeated.
Something inside me settled a little, but not much. Just enough for me to breathe and smile. Enough to believe maybe I wasn’t losing everything.
After a few moments, Dylan picked up the book sitting beside him.
“You wanna read?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Sure.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t really in the mood, but reading with Dylan had become our thing. One of the many things I was about to lose. We sat shoulder to shoulder while he read out loud. Every now and then I’d correct a word. Sometimes even teasing him.
Sometimes he’d nudge me with his shoulder while I laughed. For a little while, things almost felt normal. Like Switzerland didn’t exist. Like my flight wasn’t leaving in three days. Like my entire life wasn’t about to change.
Eventually the sun began to disappear behind the trees, and the stable lights clicked on automatically. Then reality came rushing back.
I sighed. “I should probably go inside.”
Neither one of us moved because once I stood up, the evening would be over. And suddenly, every goodbye felt harder than the last. Finally, after several minutes, Dylan stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and for a second, neither one of us let go.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
I looked at him questioningly. “You promise?”
His eyes met mine. “I promise.”
The knot in my throat tightened because promises felt important right now. They were like something I could hold onto. With our hands locked together, we walked towards the house. The closer we got, the slower we walked.
Neither one of us said much. There wasn’t anything left to say… at least not tonight. When we reached the back door, I turned towards him. The sadness was still there in both our eyes, but so was something else... hope.
Maybe because neither of us was ready to let go. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck. He immediately hugged me back… tight, comforting and safe.
For a moment, I closed my eyes with my ear pressed against his chest. Over the last few days, I had been trying to memorize everything… the way he smelled and laughed. The sound of his voice. The way he always made me feel better even when he couldn’t fix the problem.
Eventually I pulled away.
“You better text me when you get home.”
That earned a small smile. “I will. You better text me back.”
“I will. You better not forget about me.”
“Dev...” His voice softened. “I already told you.”
“I know.”
He pressed his forehead against mine. “I ain’t ever gonna forget you,” he said.
Fresh tears filled my eyes because I honestly believed every word he said to me. The scary part was that I believed my father too. That Switzerland was happening whether I wanted it to or not.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Til tomorrow.”
A few seconds later Dylan headed towards his scooter. I stood at the back door watching him like I always did, only tonight felt different. Because for the first time, I was counting how many tomorrows we had left.
And there weren’t nearly enough.
I waited until he disappeared down the long driveway before finally stepping inside.
The house immediately felt too big, too quiet and too damn empty. And I realized something I hadn’t all day... three days wasn’t far away at all. It was right around the corner, and I wasn’t ready.