All That Leads To You

Chapter 13 | Coincidence

"and if you wanna start the healing, then you'll have to let someone in."

***

Dylan's front porch is empty. It's different than mine, or any of us, now that I come to think of it. It intimidates me, for some reason. Not a single leaf out of place, not a single muddy footprint from a shoe on the light wood, not a single flower in sight. It's simple—way to simple for someone like Dylan living inside. His parents are pretty laid-back as well, the most fun people to be around. Yet, if you're meeting them for the first time here in their house, you'd expect them to behave the complete opposite as they really are.

     I stand in front of the doorway, waiting to knock. I want to. I need to. I just can't seem to gert my fist to collide with the wood. My eyes trace the corners of the welcome mat as if there's a hidden message there, or something particularly interesting. There isn't. I just don't want to face reality right now, needing something—anything—to distract me. But the girl standing next to me thinks otherwise. Ocean waits for nothing, and a part of me believes that the only reason she's so brave is because she doesn't know the whole story.

     Not yet, anyway.

     Knock. Knock. Knock.

     His parents are still at work, judging by their cars being nowhere in sight. The driveway is empty and so is the garage. Dylan, on the other hand, we know for sure is here—his skateboard parked just before the steps of the porch.

     Knock. Knock. Knock.

     The sunset behind us is slowly setting and that scares me. The darkness scares me now more than ever. It's haunting and it lingers, and I keep picturing the damn black car. What if it's somewhere close by? What if it's right around the corner? What if—

     There's the sound of keys shuffling, and the door opens slightly. Through the gap I see Dylan still in the same clothes he wore this morning.

     Ah, this morning. That feels like a lifetime ago.

     "Are you on their side now?" Dylan asks bitterly after an awkward silence. Ouch. He's looking at Ocean, and the words sting even more. I look down at my feet to prevent myself from showing the hurt.

     "No," Ocean answers. "But, we deserve an explanation."

     Dylan is still not looking at me and the gap at the door isn't opened any wider. Instead, he just stands there while I shift at my feet. It's funny, because even though his eyes are not on me, I feel his judgement on every inch of my body, every decision that I've made in the past, every decision that I will make in the future.

     "I'm not in the mood—" he starts, pushing the door to close it.

     I stop him, the palm of my hand on the wood to keep it open. "Dylan, please."

     He looks at me.

     "Please."

     Just then, Xander's car pull up on the driveway. Dylan sighs, finally opening the door all the way, as if to surrender. Ocean steps in, and I turn to look at Xander in the driver's seat before doing the same. I don't close the door on my way in.

     "Look," I begin, not really thinking much about making sure the words come out right. At this moment, I just need the words to come out. That's all. "It's not what you guys think, alright? Yes, Xander told me something, but we were going to tell you both. We just needed time. This was yesterday!"