Chapter twenty-four
Dylan
“I ain’t say all that.”
Ava laughed through the phone. “That’s exactly what you said.”
“Nah, it ain’t,” I denied.
“Boy stop lying.”
I shook my head and laughed. Talking to Ava was easy. She always had something to say. She always had an opinion. And she always had a smart-ass comeback ready. Plus, she always kept me laughing.
“What you doing tomorrow?” she asked.
I stretched out on the sofa. “Working.”
“Again?”
“Yep.”
“Dylan, you’re always working,” Ava said.
“I know,” I replied.
“Don’t you ever take a day off to have fun?” she asked. “You work too much.”
I laughed. “Somebody’s gotta pay the bills.”
“You’re sixteen.”
“And?”
She groaned dramatically. “And it shouldn’t be you,” she commented. I just smiled and didn’t respond. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“I’ll have plenty of time for that later. Right now, I’m working to build something,” I said.
“Build what?” Ava asked. “You’re sixteen.”
“Age doesn’t matter when it comes to your future.”
“You are impossible.”
A smile spread across my face. Before I could respond, my phone buzzed. I glanced down at the screen and immediately sat up. It was almost 11:30 in the evening here, so I knew it must be important for her to be texting me at this time.
For a second, I just stared at the screen. Ava was still talking, but I wasn’t listening anymore. Another text came through from Devyn.
Devyn ??: You awake?
My heart immediately started beating faster. Not because I hadn’t heard from Devyn in a while or anything. We had been chatting, but lately our conversations hadn’t been the same. They had gotten shorter, more awkward and less frequent.
I looked back at Ava’s name then Devyn’s.
“Hey Ava.”
“Yeah?”
“I gotta call you back,” I said.
The line immediately went quiet.
“You gotta what?” she asked.
“I’ll call you later.”
“Fa real Dylan.”
“Yeah,” I said as I laughed.
I could tell by the sound of her voice that she already knew why I was hanging up..
“It’s Devyn, ain’t it?” she asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck and replied, “Maybe.”
“Boy!”
I laughed again. “I’ll call you later.”
Then I hung up before she could say anything else. I opened Devyn’s text immediately after.
Me: Yeah
The typing bubble appeared, disappeared then appeared again. Something felt off about her text.
Devyn ??: You’ll never guess what happened to me today
Me: What happened?
Devyn ??: I met my mom today
I stared at the screen for a long time. Surely, I read that shit wrong.
Me: Are you serious?
The response came immediately.
Devyn ??: Unfortunately ??
I sat up straighter. Completely forgetting about Ava and everything else too.
Me: What happened between y’all?
The response took longer this time… a lot longer.
When it finally came through, it was a wall of text, but I lay there and read every single word.
She told me about the shopping trip she was on with her dad when his attention got distracted.
She told me how shocked she was when she found out who he was staring at.
I was in shock my damn self. She told me how upset she was when her mom stood in her face and tried to talk to her. She even mentioned that her mom’s husband was there and how the introduction and conversation was awkward.
By the time I finished reading, I honestly didn’t know what to say. That shit was just a lot to take in.
Me: Damn!
Devyn ??: That’s all you got?
I laughed out loud for the first time all night.
Me: Nah. It’s just a lot
A few seconds passed before she responded.
Devyn ??: It was so weird
Me: I’m sure it was. Seeing a woman who gave birth to you for the first time
Devyn ??: She was acting like we knew each other
Me: That had to be weird as hell
The response came almost immediately.
Devyn ??: And was!
I smiled because I could practically hear her saying it.
Me: How did your dad take it?
Devyn ??: He was quiet as hell. I almost forgot he was standing next to me because he wasn’t saying anything
Me: Well, I’m sure he was just as shocked as you were
Devyn ??: I know he was
Me: How do you feel now? You good?
Devyn ??: No, I’m not, but thank you for asking
Me: You’re welcome
I just sat there looking at my phone because for all the arguing we had done lately, that answer felt honest.
Devyn ??: You think I’m wrong for being mad?
The response came so fast I didn’t even think about it.
Me: Hell no! You are completely within your rights to be pissed!
Devyn ??: You really think so?
Me: Yeah. Had it been me, I probably would’ve felt the same way
Me: You don’t owe nobody a relationship they ain’t earn
The typing bubble stayed on the screen for several seconds… longer than normal. When her response finally arrived, it surprised me.
Devyn ??: I missed talking to you
I stared at the message. For a second I didn’t know what to do or how to respond. The truth was I had missed talking to her too… the old her with the easy conversations. I missed the way things used to be before Switzerland and the distance… before life got complicated.
My thumbs hovered over the screen.
Me: I missed talking to you too
Her response came real quick.
Devyn ??: That’s good to hear
For some reason that made me smile real hard. It was the kind I hadn’t had all week and for the next hour, we texted… not about my earrings or tattoos, school, girls, or boys.
Just chatted the way we used to do. And for the first time in a long time, the distance between Atlanta and Switzerland didn’t feel quite so far.
︵?︵?????︵?︵
The next morning, I was grabbing books out of my locker when somebody bumped my shoulder. Without looking, I already knew it was Ava.
I looked over and sure enough, there she was.
“What’s up?” I greeted with a smile.
She folded her arms across her chest but didn’t respond. She just stared at me with a frown on her face.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.
“You tell me,” she replied.
“How am I supposed to know?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Really Dylan? You seriously gon act like you don’t know what you did?”
“I ain’t do nothing to you,” I denied with confusion written all over her face
“Wow! You forgot already?”
I honestly had no clue what she was talking about. Then it hit me. I was supposed to call her back last night before I went to sleep.
“Oh,” I said.
“Oh?” she asked. “That’s all you gonna say?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “My bad,” I responded as I shrugged my shoulders.
“Your bad?” she repeated.
I laughed. “Yeah. It ain’t that serious.”
Ava stared at me for another second then shook her head. “I waited for you to call me back.”
The guilt hit immediately because I meant to call her back. But me and Devyn texted until after one this morning. And I ended up falling asleep with my phone in my hand.
“I just forgot.”
Ava rolled her eyes. Clearly that wasn’t the right answer. “So, you forgot about me.” She frowned.
“It ain’t that I forgot about you. I just forgot to call back,” I said.
She turned like she was about to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist lightly.
“Aight, aight.”
A smile threatened to appear on her face, but I could tell she was fighting it hard.
“You forgot.”
“Okay, damn.”
“I’m just making sure we established that.”
I laughed. “Oh, trust me. We established that shit.”
“Good.” Then she finally smiled. “I should stop talking to you.”
“You ain’t gonna stop talking to me,” I challenged.
Her smile got bigger as she pointed at me.
“See.”
“See what?” I asked.
“This is exactly why.”
The bell rang and students immediately started moving through the hallway. Ava adjusted her backpack.
“You owe me,” she said with a slick smile.
“For what?” I asked.
“For not calling me back.”
I shook my head. “You acting like we had a date and I stood you up,” I teased.
“It sure felt like you did,” she countered as she rolled her eyes.
“But I didn’t.”
“You absolutely did.”
I laughed before I started walking backwards towards my class. “Aight,” I relented.
“Aight what?” Ava asked.
“I’ll call you tonight.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You promise?”
I pointed at her. “There you go.”
“What?” she asked with a smile.
“You don’t trust me,” I said.
She laughed and asked, “Should I?”
Damn.
She got me there. Maybe she shouldn’t trust me since I forgot to call her back last night. But it wasn’t like we were in a relationship.
“Tonight,” I said.
“We’ll see,” she said as she clicked her tongue. Then she turned and headed down the hallway.
I watched her go and couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head. Because for somebody claiming she was mad at me, she sure looked happy.
By lunchtime, Malik had already annoyed me at least six times. I dropped into my usual seat and immediately regretted it because the second I sat down he got that look on his face. The look that meant he was about to start some shit.
“What now bruh?” I asked.
Malik grinned. “Ava.”
I rolled my eyes. “What about her?”
His grin got wider. “You like her, don’t you?”
I laughed hard and said, “Boy shut up.”
“Nah, just admit it. I mean, it’s written all over your face every time she’s around you,” he said.
“Lies.”
“Uh uh,” Malik said. “You know I ain’t lying.”
“Bruh.”
“I’m dead ass.”
I opened my drink and shook my head. “Well, nobody asked you.”
He ignored me and said, “As a matter of fact, I know you like her.”
I looked at him and scoffed. “And how exactly do you know that?”
“Because you don’t act the same around her.”
I stared and he stared back. Then I busted out laughing. “You sound stupid,” I joked.
“I think the word you meant to use is observant. Yeah, I definitely am that,” he said with a smile.
I shook my head again and said, “Whatever.”
Malik pointed at me. “See.”
“See what bruh?” I asked.
“You getting defensive.”
“I’m not getting defensive.”
“Yeah, you are,” he said.
I laughed then threw a French fry at him. He caught it and ate it.
“Boy!” I gawked.
“What?” he asked as he continued to chew.
“That’s disgusting.”
“Whaaaat?! It’s free food.”
We started laughing as I shook my head then went back to eating. For about five seconds, Malik was quiet, then he started again.
“Besides...”
“Aw shit!” I groaned. “What now?”
I laughed in spite of myself as he leaned forward. “Real talk, Ava fine as hell.”
I nearly choked on my damn food. “Bruh!”
“I’m serious.” He nodded. “Especially in that little cheerleader uniform.”
I stared at him then started laughing hard.
“Boy.”
“What?”
“You have no shame.”
“None,” he agreed.
I laughed even harder. At least he was honest. Then an idea hit me.
“Oh.”
Malik immediately frowned. “What?”
I pointed at him. “Nah. Never mind.”
“What?” he asked again.
“I see you.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?” He wore a confused expression on his face.
“Shari.”
This fool immediately sat up straighter. I started laughing again because I knew there was something there.
“There it is,” I said.
“There what is?” he asked.
“The reaction.”
He rolled his eyes. “Man shut up.”
I laughed. “Nah. It was cool for you to get all up in my business, so I’ma do the same.”
“Leave me alone Dreco.” He laughed.
“Why?”
“Because.”
I pointed at him again. “Y’all been hanging out more lately.”
Malik shrugged. “So?”
“So, what’s up with that?”
“Nothing.” I couldn’t stop smiling then he finally cracked a smile. “Aight.”
“Aight what?” I asked.
“We’ve been talking,” he admitted.
The confession made me laugh. “Just talking?”
“Yeah boy.”
“Whatever.”
Malik shook his head and grinned.
“Well, you know once she realized she couldn’t have your ass, she made herself available for me to get to know her better,” he said.
I nearly spit out my drink. “Get the fuck outta here boy.” I laughed.
“I’m dead ass.”
“No, you ain’t.”
“Fa real though.”
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. “You sound stupid again,” I teased.
“Oh, do I?” he asked.
“Fuck yeah!”
Malik sat back looking proud of himself, which only made me laugh harder. A few seconds later he nodded towards something behind me.
“Oh look,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“The girls are coming now.”
I turned and immediately wished I hadn’t because Ava and Shari were walking towards our table. Malik’s grin returned instantly. He was such a traitor. The girls sat down... Shari next to Malik and of course, Ava sat next to me.
“What y’all laughing at?” Ava asked.
My answer came way too fast. “Nothing.”
Malik started choking on his drink, causing Shari and Ava to look at us suspiciously.
“Nothing?” she repeated with a raised brow.
“Yep.”
The corner of Ava’s mouth lifted. “Then what’s so funny?” she asked.
“What?” I asked.
“Because y’all looked guilty as hell when we walked up,” Shari added.
I glanced at Malik and he glanced at me. Neither of us said a word as we began to laugh again. Now Shari and Ava were laughing, and nobody knew why.
“Oh yeah.” Ava nodded. “Y’all were definitely talking about something.”
“Or someone,” Shari added.
I pointed at Malik and said, “His fault.”
“Snitch.”
We all started laughing again. And just like that, lunch turned into complete chaos, exactly the way Malik liked it. And unfortunately, I was starting to enjoy it too.