Falling for a Star (Complete)

Chapter 15 - A Serious Talk

**** Brenley's Point of View *****

"Now how about you tell me the truth?" Dylan asked, stopping my door with his hand and looking at me like he could see right through my lie.

I broke eye contact and looked down at the floor as I stepped back and opened the door again.

"What do you mean?" I asked with an exhale.

Dylan walked past me and went into the living room, plopping down on the couch and stretching his arms across the back of it.

"You've been acting weird today. If you didn't like the movie or thought my acting sucked or something, you can just tell me. You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings you know? I can handle it."

I hesitated before walking over and sitting down on the couch too, leaving a big space between us. I finally looked over and I could tell how important the movie was to him, because he looked worried. That made me feel bad.

"It's not that I didn't like it. Your acting was really good. As far as movies go, I'd say it was a really good one, you know, for people that like movies."

"You don't like movies?" he asked with scrunched eyebrows.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I'm more of a book person. I probably get that from my Dad forcing me to go to work with him during the summers growing up. He worked at the library and I'd get really bored, so I'd read on the couch there for hours to pass the time."

"Why didn't you just stay home with your Mom while your Dad worked?" he asked, lowering his arms and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

""She ummmm," I said quietly, clearing my throat and looking down at my hands. "She died when I was five of a heart attack."

"Oh," he said, raising his eyebrows. He paused for a few seconds before saying, "I'm really sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay," I told him, before slowly lifting my eyes and looking into his. "It was a long time ago. I was so young I hardly remember her. I get flashes of memories here and there, but I don't really know if I dreamed them up or if they're actually real. Like I think I remember her wearing a perfume that smelled like flowers and that she used to run her fingers through my hair when I sat on her lap. I can vaguely remember her reading a story and singing to me at night before bed, but maybe that was all a dream. I don't know," I said, letting out an exhale and looking down at my hands again.

"I really am sorry about your Mom," he said quietly and I nodded my head and we sat there in awkward silence for a bit.

He looked at me for a minute, thinking before finally asking, "You don't seem to be sick, so why did you really leave the movie premiere earlier?"

I took a deep breath in and let it out before saying, "I just, ummmm, started feeling uncomfortable and felt like I needed to leave."

"What made you feel uncomfortable?" he asked.

I could tell he wasn't going to let this go, so I had no choice but to tell him.

"I kind of felt like a third wheel. I didn't know anybody there besides you and it was obvious you and Rose wanted to be alone, so I left," I said, looking down at the floor.

"Oh, well I'm sorry we made you feel like that, but you're wrong. Trust me, being alone with Rose was the LAST thing I wanted," he said with a laugh.

"You could have fooled me," I said quietly, crossing my arms, still looking down. "You two looked pretty cozy."

"No," he scoffed, shaking his head. "She was hitting on me, but I shot her down. Call me crazy, but I don't find a woman that's engaged to another man attractive."