Summer Ended with a Storm - 9. Chapter 9

“Uncle Jeff!”

“Hey, my boy Dylan. It’s so good to see you.”

My uncle Jeff wrapped his arms around me in a big bear hug.

“Let me get a look at you.”

Did I mention that my uncle Jeff was my mom’s brother? Yeah, my uncle Jess and my dad were best friends and they married each other’s sisters. It’s kind of weird, but…whatever.

“It’s been so long.” said Jeff.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“I think of your dad everyday, you know.”

“I do too.” I said.

“So what’s this mess about your mom?”

“Well, she has a problem with me being gay so, she’s pretty much given up on the mother thing.”

“Do you want me to talk to her?”

“No. It’s okay. If she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I don’t want anything to do with her.” I told Jeff, and I meant it. “Anyway, I have a better home now with my grampa. Oh, and thanks for letting me and my friends stay here for tonight.”

“It’s no problem. Any friends of yours are friends of mine. Amanda can have the guest room and you and Andy can sleep on the fold out couch.”

“Cool, thanks uncle Jeff.”

* * *

Andy and I sat on the couch. Everyone else was asleep. I lay across the couch with my feel on his lap.

“Your family here is so cool. I could see why, ah, why you would want to live here.” said Andy.

“I told you that I’m not going to leave Meek. You’re there. I would never leave.”

“But still, I would understand if you did.” said Andy, looking down, curling his hair.

I sat up, my feel still in his lap. I took his hand in mine.

“I told you I would never leave you and I mean it.”

He took his hand from mine, quickly.

“Would you stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Stop, holding my hand, stop…stop falling asleep on me, stop cuddling with me because it’s fucking my head, Dylan, okay.”

I took my feet off of his lap and I sat up on the couch.

“What are you saying, Andy?”

“I’m saying that I can’t take this anymore.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve been crazy about you for a long time, Dylan. I’ve been waiting for you to realize it, but I guess you’re not going to. I want you to leave. I can’t stand seeing you everyday and not being able to kiss you…Yeah we hug everyday, but it’s not enough. My feelings for you are strong and I can never get over them if you’re in Meek.”

Andy got up and left the house. I assumed he just wanted some time alone, so I left him alone. I pulled out the couch bed and I fell asleep. When I awoke, the space next to me hadn’t been touched. Did Andy not sleep at all last night or did he sleep someplace else?

I got up. I slept in my clothes so I just started to walk around. The house was silent accept for the chirping of birds outside and my footsteps. I looked around the house for Andy but I couldn’t find him.

“Good morning.”

I turned around and saw my aunt Kat.

“Hey, good morning. Have you seen Andy?” I asked.

“No, I’m sorry I haven’t. I just woke up myself.”

I started to look around more, this time walking faster. I walked back to the couch. There was a note on the pillow next to mine. I must’ve missed it. The paper was the same color as the pillow cover. The read:

Dylan,

I’m sorry for freaking out on you last night. I’ve just had enough. I called my mom. She bought me a ticket back to Meek. By the time you read this, I’ll probably be back home already. I’ll see you when you get back.

-Andy

“Crap, he left.”

“How?” asked Kat.

“The bus. He went back to Meek. We had…sort of a fight.”

“Are….you two?

“No, well, I don’t know. I keep telling everyone that we’re just friends. But it’s more than that. We’re not together, but…we’re not exactly just friends either. It’s complicated.”

“I see. Well, do you want to go back. We can take care of grampa.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I thought I loved Nick and I thought that he loved me too, but he’s engaged and he didn’t even tell me. I thought that Andy and I were just friends, but…even just thinking about being separated from him pains me. And those aren’t just words. I feel physical pain when I think about it.”

“It sounds like you’re in love, Dylan.”

The telephone rang and Kat went to answer it.

“We have to go to the hospital, they’ve got to talk with us. What do you think that means?”

I didn’t want to say, but I think I knew what it meant. I sat down on the sofa bed.

“Let’s go. We shouldn’t wake the others.” said Kat.

* * *

I felt so strange. As they were telling us it like I was in someone else’s body. Grampa died that morning, in his sleep. Kat cried on my shoulder, already mourning the loss of her father. I just stared. I stared into space, tears slowly moving down my cheek and dripping from my jaw.

They said that he was going to be okay. How could this happen? How could he be fine and speaking one minute and gone the next? I was so sure that he would be okay.

* * *

“Do you want me to drive you back to Meek to get your stuff?” asked Uncle Jeff.

“Amanda can take me.” I said. Amanda sat beside me.

“I called Andy, I told him about your grandfather.” said Amanda.

“Can we just go? I just want to get it over with.” I said.

“We can go in a few hours. You need to rest for a while.” said Amanda.

I walked outside to the back year. I sat on the porch swing. I brought up the first memory I have of my grampa. It was six. He and my dad took me to the zoo. It was only two years before my dad would have his accident. I heard footsteps. I looked and sat Kale. My thirteen year old cousin. He sat next to me.

“Hey, Kale.” I said.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’ll be okay. You don’t have to worry about me.” I said. “How about you?”

“I hardly knew him. We didn’t visit him very often.” said Kale. “Mom went all the time. She never took us with her though.”

“So, this probably isn’t the right time, but I’ve been wondering…what’s it like to be gay?”

I laughed, first time in a while. “I don’t know, Kale. What’s it like to like girls?”

“Oh, I get it.” said Kale. “So, is Andy your boyfriend?”

I sighed and tilted my head back.

“How about we talk about something else?” I asked. “What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Oh, sorry and no. I don’t have a girlfriend.” said Kale.

“Well, there’s no hurry I guess.” I said. “Thanks for this.”

“For what?”

“Getting my mind off of things. I’ve had a lot to think about lately.”

“Well, maybe it’s better for you if you could get that off your chest.” said Kale.

“You don’t want to hear my problems.” I said.

“Oh, come on. It’ll be good for you.”

“Well, besides the fact that my, well, our grampa just died, the guy that I thought that loved me is engaged to a girl and my best friend has confessed his love to me and I didn’t say anything and now I think he’s mad at me.”

“Whoa, that sounds intense.” said Kale. “So, when your best friend told you that he…loved you, why didn’t you say anything.”

“I don’t know. I was afraid that-I think I love him too, but I’m afraid.”

“Why?”

“He’s the best friend that I’ve ever had. If we, if we get together and…and it doesn’t work out.”

“You’re afraid that you won’t be friends anymore.”

“Exactly.” I answered.

“But, what if it does work out or you don’t do anything about your feelings and then you’ll spend the rest of your life never knowing if you passed up the chance of a lifetime.”

Wow, this kid had a point. But I’d rather never know what could’ve happened than never see Andy again or fight with him. But, I’ll have to move here to Portland anyway and he’ll be in Meek. Uncle Jeff came out to the back yard.

“We should get going, Dylan. We wanna beat the traffic.” said Jeff.

“Sure, let’s go.” I said.