Dylan’s POV

I flipped through the channels mindlessly, desperate for something to watch. There was a strange amount of cooking shows on at 5pm.

I finally settled on an episode of Supernatural. It was, after all, one of the best TV show’s on the planet. It was better than watching some chick make food that I’d never be able to eat. That’s just torture right there.

A small knock sounded at the door. I looked towards it, wondering who could be at the door. I assumed I had only imagined the knock. But when it sounded again, I saw it was time to investigate.

I rose from the couch, headed to the door, and slowly opened it. Standing there, drenched from the rain, was Adena.

“Adena?” I questioned.

“Hi,” she replied with a sniffle.

“Come in,” I said, stepping out of her way. She walked into the house, head down. I closed the door and looked towards her, now seeing her red eyes. “What’s wrong?” I questioned. She bit the bottom of her lip as her face began to scrunch up.

“I...My mom…” She began, choking on her own words. “Kicked me out of the house.”

“Adena,” I found myself whispering, thinking it would somehow comfort her. In that moment she did something completely unexpected. She walked towards me, slammed her face against my chest, and wrapped her arms around me.

She began to sob uncontrollably. At first I stood there, shocked. Adena had never shown me this kind of affection before. She has only ever given me a high five. But soon a strong feeling of desire filled my body. I wanted nothing more than to comfort her. 

 And that’s exactly what I did.

I wrapped my arms around her and began rocking from side to side slowly.

“Shhh,” I whispered, rubbing my arm up and down her back. “It’s okay,” I set my chin on top of her head. Hearing her cries broke me. I wanted to make them stop but every time I even thought of pulling away, something inside of me couldn’t let go. “It’s okay,” I whispered again.

“Stop saying that!” She responded, angrily.

“Just calm down, everything’s going to be okay.”

“Stop saying that!” She yelled, pulling away from me. Breaking away from that hug was more difficult than I had thought. “Stop saying everything's going to be okay! How do you know that? For you it’ll be! Because your Dylan Henderson! And life just… works out for you! But what about lonely little Adena Serre! Huh? You don’t know if it’s going to be okay! Stop saying it!”

Her outburst was so unexpected I stood there for a moment, startled. She ran a hand through her hair, fueled by anger. But soon it turned into pure sadness and she broke down a second time. Crying, she crashed onto her knees.

“She hates me,”

“No, she doesn't,” I said, attempting to comfort her.

“She does!” She yelled back. “She thinks I’m a failure! She doesn't even consider me her daughter! Do you know what that’s like?”

“Adena, you need to calm down,” I whispered, not enjoying seeing her this angry and upset. I sat down next to her as she cried out. I felt utterly helpless in this situation, I had no way to make her feel better.

“No, I can’t! I wish I could be the perfect little robot she’s always wanted. I want more than anything to….” She buried her face in her hands and began crying again. “I’m a failure,” she sobbed over and over. I felt like my own heart was breaking slightly. I  put my arms around her again, feeling warmth in her embrace. “I’m trying,” she cried out. “I’m trying so hard to make everyone happy! But I can’t do it. Because the more I try, the more miserable I become.”

I pulled away from the hug this time, cupping her face with my hand. I wiped my thumb across her cheeks and removed any tears from her face. Adena looked right into my eyes and the tears stopped flowing.

I thought quickly back to that time when I was drunk and with Adena. I had been fully aware of what I was doing when I had leaned in for that kiss. And that’s exactly what I wanted to do again. I wanted to, more than anything. I found myself leaning slightly forward to complete the action.

Think about Jackie

The thought slipped into  my mind so quickly. But it was true. I couldn’t cheat on Jackie, it would break her heart. I pulled my head away from Adena’s and set my hand to my side. She looked down at the ground, seeming upset again. I wonder if it was because I didn’t kiss her?

She doesn't like you like that, shut up.

I cursed in my head and focused on Adena. The tears were still coming, but not as much as before. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.

“Here, let me get you something to change into. You must be freezing,” she didn’t say a word. She only nodded, rising from the floor. Jogging upstairs, I grabbed onto my biggest hoodie and brought it back down. “Here,” I smiled, handing it to her. She sniffled, taking the hoodie and heading to the bathroom.

I walked into the kitchen, boiling some water on the stove. When I saw she had returned to the living room, I went out to meet her. She looked so beautiful in my sweater. Even though damp, her hair seemed long and alluring. Her prepossessing chocolate brown eyes bore into mine as I approached her.

“Thanks,” she said, managing a small smile. Even when faking a smile, she was beautiful.

Adena’s your friend. Stop talking about her like this

“You go ahead and sit down. I’m making you some tea,” she nodded slightly and headed towards the couch. I disappeared into the kitchen and grabbed the box of tea packets.

Now, how in the world do you make tea?

I first put the tea bag into the kettle. Seeing the bag break off the string, I realized I was doing it wrong. Pouring out the burning water, I tried it again. This time I set the tea bag into the cup and waited for the water to be done.

I poured the water into the cup, seeing the water turn into a murky brown color. Picking up the tea bag, it broke yet again. Using a spoon I fished the bag from the water and chucked it into the sink. I looked at the clock on the microwave, it had taken me fifteen minutes to attempt to make tea.

I put my nose over it, smelling nothing good. Hopefully I had made it right. I slowly walked out into the living room with the cup, looking around for Adena.

She was lying down on the couch, snuggled into a ball. Her head laid on one of the pillows as she slept so peacefully. Setting the cup of tea down onto the coffee table, I moved a piece of hair from her face.

I then found a blanket and laid it over her, wanting to snuggle up next to her. I mentally smacked myself for thinking like that. What are you doing having all these weird thoughts about a girl who only considers you a friend?

I reached into my back pocket for my phone. Going through my contacts, I found Quinton’s name. I wasn’t sure if he knew Adena had been kicked out, but he deserved to know she was safe. Clicking on his name, the phone began to ring and I excused myself from the room to let her sleep.

I waited semi-patiently and on the last ring he picked up.

“Hello?” He questioned.

“Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“Are you at home?” I wondered.

“No…why?”

“Well…Adena’s at my house right now.”

“And?” He stated.

“She came over about a half an hour ago crying her eyes out. She says she was kicked out of the house and I guess she walked the three miles to mine.”

“What?” He shouted. I could hear Grady asking what was going on in the background. “I’m coming right now.”

“No,” I found myself arguing. “I mean…she’s already here and she fell asleep. She can just stay the night,” I desperately wanted Adena to stay here with me. I knew it was wrong to think like that, but Adena looked so peaceful and she is just… I didn’t want her to leave.

"No, I think it would be better if Adena was with me. Be there soon," Quinton hung up the phone and I found myself frowning. I, for some reason only god could explain, wanted Adena to stay here. Maybe because I knew she'd be safe?

But then again, how would I explain to my dad that she was there? How would I explain it to Jackie?

I sat down in my dad's chair and looked towards Adena. She seemed so peaceful right now. Even though I knew Quinton was right, I still wanted her here. When I got to know her, she became one of those people that I could go to and be real with. I didn’t have to pretend to like her or pretend everything was alright.

She saw right through that.

Realizing that I was going too far into the no-zone area, I got out of the chair and started pacing. I couldn’t think like that about her. I ran my hand through my hair; something I found myself doing a lot lately.

One part of me wished Quinton wouldn’t come and the other part of me thought he couldn’t get here soon enough. I froze when Adena stirred from her sleep. She started mumbling things that I couldn’t quite understand, but I thought I heard ‘mom’ and ‘hate’ in there.

When she became peaceful again, I continued my pacing. I placed closer to the door so that I can take Adena out there when Quinton and Grady pull up. As soon as I hear the car pull in, I ran to Adena and placed my hands under her, carrying her outside in my arms. Adena nuzzled her head into my shoulder. Quinton and Grady both sprinted from the car and met me on the porch.

“What happened?” Quinton whispered, looking to his sister with sad eyes.

“I don’t know. I was watching TV when the bell rang. I went to the door and saw Adena standing hunched over in the pouring rain. After I invited her in, I asked if everything was okay. She said something about her mom kicking her out. She broke down, and cried. I gave her the sweatshirt to change into so her things could dry somewhat. I don’t know what happened because while I attempted to make tea, she fell asleep.”

“Here, let me take her to the car,” Grady whispered, holding his arms out towards me.

At first, I hesitated. I liked holding her in my arms. But when I realized the odd looks I was getting I thought of Jackie’s rage and handed her over. Grady took her to the car, setting her down in the backseat.

“Something must have happened after I left earlier.” Quinton shook his head. “Thanks dude for watching her for me. I’m glad she came here. I’ll find out what happened.”

“Let me know when you do.” I said. He nodded and walked to Grady’s car. I didn’t go inside until the rear lights from Quinton’s car were out of sight.