Finding Me

Back Home

I lay in bed, my mom's words playing over and over in my head. I'm not as sad as I use to be when she would say stuff that like. I think I'm just moving on from it. For once I actually stood Of for myself. I wasn't scared or anxious I was angry and motivated. I feel Dylan shift on the bed, he sits up and I quickly shut my eyes. I feel the blanket being lifted over me, his finger moving some hair from my face. I'm sure I blushed. I then feel him get out of bed. I crack open my eye and watch as he slowly opens the door. The house echos so you can hear every footstep.
"Dylan" I hear my mom's voice, this shocks me cause she's always in bed before 11, she needs her beauty rest.
"Mrs Vance" I hear his muffled response. He heard everything from earlier and I could tell her was agitated by it. I assured him it was fine, that my mom's just incapable of love, but he was still annoyed.
"Mrs Vance, call me Cheryl" she responds, I roll my eyes.
"I'll stick with Mrs Vance" he says, I'm shocked at the bluntness in his voice.
"Did you enjoy your stay in Palm Springs?" She asks oblivious to his harsh tone.
"No actually I didn't" he says, my heart thumps loudly.
"Why's that?"
"You have a fucking amazing daughter! She's smart, talented, caring and gorgeous. Anyone would be lucky to be loved by her. You're her mother and all you do is belittle her and make her feel small. How you treat her is just ridiculous. What I do know is that you do it because you're threatened by how strong she is. You're jealous that she's such a beautiful human being inside and out. She deserves better thank you" He lets out a harsh laugh. My jaw literally drops. I hear his footsteps getting closer, and I quickly shut my eyes.
"You really love her don't you" I hear mom say, her voice smaller more gentle.
"I do, who couldn't" he states. He gets back into
Bed, and I'm scared he can hear how loud my heart is beating. He settles his breathing evening out and I can tell he fell asleep. After twenty minutes I turn over facing him. He's snoring softly, his hair covering his eyes. I move slowly pushing it out of the way. I lift the blanket and snuggle closer to him, resting my head on his chest. I fall asleep quickly.
...
We're now sitting on the plane home, and I can't stop staring at Dylan. Last night keeps playing in my head. His words were so final, he stated it so simply.
"What?" He asks catching my roaming gaze. His hair if extra fluffy today, and I have to really restrain from touching it.
"Nothing" I mutter nervously, he grins. He grips my hand as we lift off, I look at him from the corner of my eye. What the hell was I doing. Why was I wasting time, when I could be with him?! The realization hit me hard, and an excitement bubbled inside of me.
"What?" He asks again, I know I'm blushing.
"Nothing" I assure looking away.
"Okay weirdo" he laughs. I look out the window, and watch as we float past the blanket of clouds. The part that gets me is that he did that just because. I didn't needs help standing up to her, I did it on my own that morning. No one was around to hear him. He just told her off because he wanted to. Because he loves me.  The thought makes me smile brightly. I probably seem crazy today. First staring now smiling widely at him.
"Are you that happy we're going back?" He laughs
"I'm excited!" I state making him chuckle. He pulls out his phone and quickly snaps a photo.
"What the hell?" I ask
"You look cute" he says, I shove him
"No photos, how many time do I have to tell you" I laugh, he shrugs shoving his phone into the pocket on the seat.
...
Dylan drops me off at my aunts, the warm breeze wrapping around me.
"See you tomorrow, we're house hunting" he says, I nod. I wave as he drives away. I walk into the house, it's super quiet.
"In the kitchen" aunt V calls, I drop my suitcase off in the hall before heading to the kitchen.
"Hey" I smile, she's sitting at the counter with her computer and a cup of tea.
"Hey, how was it?" She smiles kindly. I give her a small hug before moving to the fridge.
"It was as expected" I say grabbing some leftovers.
"Not good?" She remarks.
"No, but honestly I'm glad I went cause I figured some things out" I say leaning against the countertop, she looks intrigued. She takes a sip of her tea.
"First off I'm moving here permanently" I say, she claps her hands excitedly.
"Honey that's amazing!!" She cheers making me smile.
"Yes and secondly, my mom will never change but I can choose not to reciprocate to her for my own good. I told her off once and that's it" I say, my aunt nods a proud smile on her face.
"Is there a third reason?" She asks
"Yes, I realized that I need to stop wasting time, I want to be with Dylan" I say. She doesn't look surprised at all.
"You're not surprised?" I ask
"Not at all, honestly it makes sense" she states
"You think?" I ask
"Well, Dylan's been a great friend to you, and obviously he's helped you with things I couldn't help with, which I'm grateful for." She smiles
"I love you" I smile hugging her again
"I know, so how do you plan on telling him?" She asks
"Well I'm just gonna say it, and see where it goes" I say, she nods.
"Simple, I like it" she nods in approval. Aunt V and I sit there eating leftovers and talking about how absolutely adorable Dylan is. I also tell her about our plan to move in to place together and about the Sunshine charity. It's feels great to be able to spill everything to her. I'm extremely grateful that I have her in my life.