Chapter fourteen
Dylan
Two months later…
Sixteen.
I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that. When I woke up this morning, it felt like any other day. Nobody at Aunt Wanda’s apartment mentioned it. Nobody said happy birthday. Nobody made me a special breakfast. They just went on like they always did… like nobody cared.
At least that was what it felt like.
By the time I got dressed and headed to school, I had already decided I wasn’t celebrating today at all. What was there to celebrate anyway? Devyn was still in Switzerland so she couldn’t make me feel special.
Yeah, we still talked and texted. We still called whenever our schedules lined up, but there was a six-hour time difference between us. Sometimes I was heading to bed while she was just getting out of class. Sometimes she was asleep when I wanted to talk.
We made it work, but it wasn’t easy. Shit, nothing about this situation was easy. I was halfway across the parking lot when somebody called my name.
“Dylan!”
I turned around and immediately froze. Tyla stood there holding a giant bouquet of birthday balloons. My face got hot instantly.
“What is this?” I asked.
She smiled and said, “Happy Birthday.”
Students walking by started looking then smiling and staring. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me because this wasn’t what I expected at all.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” she replied as she blushed. “I wanted to.”
The smile on her face somehow made me blush harder. Tyla handed me the balloons.
“Now everybody will know it’s your birthday,” she said.
I looked at the balloons then at her before looking back at the balloons.
“There are too many,” I said with a smile.
“You can never have too many balloons.” She laughed and I joined her.
“That’s not true.” I looked from the balloons to her with a smirk.
“Well, not today.”
For the first time all morning, I released a genuine smile, which apparently made her happy.
“See.”
“What?” I asked.
“That’s the first smile I’ve gotten from you all week,” she acknowledged.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
She laughed then headed towards class, leaving me standing there holding enough balloons to start a small parade. The second I walked inside the school, everybody noticed.
“Dylan!”
“Happy Birthday!”
“Sixteen!”
Students started speaking as I passed… some I knew, some I didn’t. By second period, a group of girls actually started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ when I walked into class. I immediately turned around and pretended to leave. The teacher laughed so hard she had to sit down.
By lunch, people were stopping me in the hallway… dudes gave me high-fives while females hugged me. One girl even gave me a cupcake. The whole thing felt ridiculous but if I was being honest, it felt good too… really good.
Because when I had left home that morning, I felt forgotten about. Now, I felt seen. Like people actually cared. Like maybe I mattered a little.
As the final bell rang, I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the parking lot. Tyla caught up with me before I reached the double doors.
“Hey there birthday boy.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Please stop calling me that.”
“No.”
She slipped her arm through mine. The move surprised me so much that I forgot to protest.
“I was thinking.”
“Oh Lord,” I sighed. “About what?”
She laughed. “Nothing bad,” she said as she giggled. “I was just thinking that maybe we could go to the movies this weekend.” I looked over at her. “If you’re not too busy.”
The hopeful expression on her face made me feel bad because she was a really nice girl.
“I’ll probably be working.”
“That’s okay.” Her smile never disappeared. “We can go after you get off.”
I thought about it. Not because I didn’t want to answer because I honestly didn’t know what to tell her. Most days I still went to the estate and worked. I still stayed busy because keeping busy was easier than sitting around thinking.
“I’ll let you know.”
Tyla grinned. “Well, at least you didn’t say no.”
I laughed. “No, I didn’t.”
“That’s progress,” Tyla joked.
Then she waved and headed towards her ride. The second she disappeared, somebody slapped me on the back… hard.
I didn’t even have to look to know it was Malik.
“Boy.”
I rolled my eyes. “What?”
“When you gonna give that girl a chance?”
“What girl?” I asked.
“Tyla!”
I laughed. “What are you talking about?”
Malik looked towards the parking lot and I shook my head.
“Man.
“What?” I asked.
“She’s been trying to get your attention forever,” he replied.
I shrugged. “So?”
“So?” Malik stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “You and Devyn haven’t seen each other in almost six months.”
The words hit harder than I expected because he wasn’t wrong about that. It had been almost six months since Devyn left.
Damn.
I hadn’t realized it had been that long until he said something. All I knew was that since she left there was an emptiness in my heart. Like she took a piece with her.
“Don’t you think it’s time for you to move on?”
I looked away towards the parking lot and nothing.
“I can move on whenever I feel like it.”
Malik folded his arms. “Then prove it.”
I laughed and asked, “And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Go to the movies with Tyla,” he said. “And don’t play dumb cuz I know she asked you.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Cuz she told me she was going to.”
I rolled my eyes. “And that’s your solution for everything,” I said.
“It’s a good solution.”
“No, it ain’t.”
“Yeah, it is,” he countered.
I shook my head then started walking as Malik followed while still running his mouth.
“One movie ain’t gonna hurt.”
“I told her I’d think about it.”
“Oooo.”
I laughed. “Boy shut up.”
“That’s not a no,” he remarked with a smile.
“Malik.”
He grinned. “I heard it.”
I couldn’t help laughing. Mostly because he was impossible.
A few seconds later my phone buzzed. I looked down and immediately smiled when I saw Devyn’s name.
Devyn ??: Happy Birthday, old man ??
The smile spread across my face before I could stop it and of course, Malik noticed instantly.
“There she go,” he said.
I rolled my eyes, but I was still smiling because no matter what anybody said or how many balloons Tyla bought or how much time passed, there was still only one person whose message meant more than anybody else’s.
And apparently Malik noticed that too because he just shook his head and laughed.
“Yeah,” he said. “You ain’t moving on no time soon.”
I left school with my balloons still floating behind me like I was six instead of sixteen. The crazy part was I didn’t even care anymore. By the time I pulled up to the estate, the sun was starting to drop lower in the sky.
The gates opened automatically and a familiar feeling settled over me… home. Not really home, but close enough.
Ever since Devyn left, I haven’t been spending as much time around the estate. I still showed up for work. Still handled business. Still did whatever Rico needed me to do, but hanging around afterwards wasn’t the same anymore. There were too many memories and way too many reminders.
I rolled farther onto the property and immediately spotted Rico and a few of the guys standing near one of the garages. The second they saw me, they started yelling.
“There go the birthday boy!”
“Dreco!” Rico yelled loudly as he clapped just as loud for me.
He had given me that name a couple of weeks ago because he said it sounded more streetwise than Dylan. I was cool with it though.
“Happy birthday!”
I laughed as I climbed off my scooter. The balloons immediately gave me away and the guys started clowning.
“Man, what the hell is this?” Smokey asked.
“Not you getting balloons for your birthday!” James hollered.
“You sure you sixteen?” Rico asked with a smirk on his face.
I rolled my eyes. “Y’all done?” I asked.
“Nope,” Rico responded, which made everybody laugh.
One by one they started handing me birthday money… twenties, fifties and hundreds. By the time they finished, I had a pretty decent stack in my pocket.
“Damn.”
James laughed and said, “Boy made more money on his birthday than I made all week.”
“That’s because nobody likes you,” Rico replied as the group exploded with laughter. A few more jokes later, Rico clapped his hands. “Aight. That’s enough.”
Immediately everybody knew he was done playing around. Rico tossed me a set of keys, and I caught them and stared at him.
“Dodge Charger.”
My eyes widened. “Not the Charger?”
“Yeah.”
I looked at him. “Where we going?”
Rico grinned. “You need to get better at driving so we can go get your license in a week or two.”
I blinked. “Now?” I asked.
“Ain’t no better time.” His grin widened. “We gotta make a run across town anyway.”
A few minutes later I was sitting behind the wheel of his prized car. Still getting used to it and trying not to look nervous. Rico climbed into the passenger seat then pointed towards the exit.
“Let’s roll.”
I started the car and the engine growled to life. Immediately my nerves kicked in.
“Relax,” Rico coached.
“I am relaxed.”
“You lying.” He laughed and so did I.
Then I slowly pulled away. The first few minutes were quiet. Mostly because I was focused on not wrecking Rico’s car. Eventually he started asking questions.
“How was school?”
“It was cool.”
“You get any gifts?” he inquired.
“Just the money from y’all and those silly ass balloons,” I replied.
Rico frowned. “That’s it?”
“Pretty much.” I shrugged.
“What about your people?”
I stared at the road. “Maaaan, they ain’t even tell me happy birthday.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them. Rico didn’t say anything right away. Finally, he nodded his understanding.
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”
A few moments passed then he changed the subject. “You hear from Devyn?”
That immediately made me smile. “Yeah.”
“There he go,” Rico teased.
I laughed. “What?”
“That look,” he replied.
“What look?” I asked.
“The one you get every time somebody mention’s that girl.”
I shook my head, but I was still smiling. “Anyway, yeah, I heard from her,” I said.
“Good.” Then Rico glanced at the balloons floating in the backseat. “What about those?”
I groaned immediately. “Oh Lord.”
“What?” he asked.
“A girl at school gave them to me.”
Rico turned so fast I thought he hurt his neck. “A girl?” he questioned.
I laughed. “Man, chill.”
“Uh huh… a girl?” Rico repeated.
“Yeah.”
“What girl?” he pressed.
“A chick named Tyla.”
The grin on Rico’s face got bigger. “Oh shit! This is getting good.”
“It ain’t nothing.”
“It never be nothing to you.”
I laughed. “Seriously.”
“What she want from you?” Rico asked.
I already knew where this was going.
“She asked me to go to the movies.”
Rico slapped the dashboard. “WHAT?!”
“Man.” I couldn’t stop laughing now. “Why you acting like that?”
“Because you finally getting some attention.”
I rolled my eyes. “I been getting attention.”
“Not from girls,” he said.
“Whatever.”
Rico pointed at me with a smile. “You gonna go?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
The answer seemed to surprise him. “What you mean you don’t know?” Rico asked.
I kept my eyes on the road and shrugged again. “I just don’t know.”
“Do you like her?”
“I guess.”
“I she cute?” he pressed.
“Yeah.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
I already knew the answer… Devyn, Switzerland, six-hour time difference, phone calls, text messages, the promises we made, all of it. But saying that out loud felt stupid.
So, I shrugged again and lied, “I don’t know.”
Rico studied me for a second then laughed. “Oh, okay,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“You still stuck.”
I rolled my eyes. “What? Ain’t nobody stuck!” I said a little louder than I meant to.
“Dylan.” The use of my real name immediately told me that he was serious. “You can miss somebody and still live your life.”
I didn’t respond because honestly, I wasn’t sure how to.
Rico nodded towards the road. “Take the next left,” he directed. Then he leaned back in his seat. “And for the record…”
“What?” I asked.
“If a pretty girl bought me balloons and asked me to the movies…” I already knew what was coming. “I was going.”
I laughed so hard I nearly missed the turn. And for the first time all day, I found myself wondering if maybe Malik and Rico weren’t completely wrong.