I Need Your Love (Austin Carlile Fan Fiction)

Ch. 18

*Austin's POV*

"Do you want some wine?" I asked.

Dahlia crossed her legs, indian style and played with her hair. "Sure."

I poured her a glass and handed it to her, putting my arm around her and sitting back into the couch. She sipped her wine and watched the tv.

"What are we watching?" She asked.

I pulled her closer to me. "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

She smiled. "I love this movie." She looked up at me. "Thanks for tonight. Dinner was so yummy. And it's so nice to have just a calm quiet night."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged and put her wine glass down on the table. "Well, when I'm at home, I do all the cooking and help Mom eat and then usually end up having to deal with one of Mom's episodes." She looked at me.

"I don't want to sound inconsiderate, but what is wrong with her?" I asked.

Dahlia looked at her hands and played with the rings she wore on every finger. "Ya know, I'm not really sure. She's been this way for as long as I can remember." She looked up at me. "It's weird too. Because, she has her good days. But most days it's bad."

"Has she always been as bad as she is now?" I asked.

She shook her head. "She was bad up until I turned 16. And then she was good, for about 4 years. And after the accident, she started using really bad again. And she stopped taking her medication. Now, she's like a little kid, ya know?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"I think her brain is rotting." Dahlia said. "She gets worse everyday."

"Hey, Dahl?" I said.

She looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Who's Andrew and Anthony?"

Her eyes immediately filled with tears. She looked at me for what felt like hours until she finally looked away. "Andrew was my fiance. Anthony is my son." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "They passed away 5 years ago."

My heart sank for her. "Dahlia, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

She shook her head and looked at me. "It's okay." She reached over and held my hand.

I rubbed her hand. It was quiet for a few minutes. Dahlia squeezed my hand. "You can ask, I know you're curious."

"Ask what?"

She looked at me. "How they died."

I shifted my body towards her. "How did they die?"

"Car accident." She sighed. "We were all in the car. Andy and I were fighting about money. He spent our rent money on heroine." She let go of my hand. "I kept looking back at Anthony. I didn't want him to know we were fighting on his birthday."

My heart broke. Her son died on his birthday. That was terrible.

She continued. "Andy said he didn't wanna fight and I agreed with him. He told me I was beautiful and I told him to watch the road." Her breath caught in her throat. "When I looked up, we drove into the back of a semi."

I held her hand. "Dahlia. I am so sorry." I kissed her hand. "How old was Anthony?"

"He was four." She said. "It was his fourth birthday." She squeezed her eyes shut and her hair fell into her face. "He died on impact, thank God." Her eyes opened and she looked at me. "Andy was in a coma for a week before his mother decided to take him off life support."

"What about you?"

She shook her head. "I woke up 3 days after Andy passed. My heart was bad my whole life, we knew that. But when the accident happened, my heart got worse." She hand went to her heart. "Andy's was still strong, so they gave me his." She looked at me. "My brother held off Anthony's funeral until I could recover."

I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm so sorry."

She was tense for a second. Then I felt her relax in my arms. "I don't wanna cry anymore, but I miss them so much." She said. She started sobbing.

I rubbed her back and held her. She cried for two hours. I didn't want to let her go, but she pulled away. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Dahl." I said. "You can talk to me about anything."

She shook her head. "I shouldn't put my problems on you."

"I want you to." I said.

She looked at me, her eyes searching mine. Then she sat up and kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her body against mine. I grabbed her waist and kissed her hard.