Party Boy Love Story

by Grace Wilkinson

My heart dropped in my stomach but I stood up and helped Jas off the bench. We walked towards the door and inside up to the third floor.

  When we made it the dorm, she slipped inside.

  At first the surrounding surprised me, half the room looked occupied and half the room looked as if it nobody was using it.

  All of Emily's belongings were gone.

  Everything.

  "What the." Jas dropped her bag down by her feet.

  "Where did her stuff go?" I ask, slamming the door behind me.

  "Dylan." Jas's voice cracked,

  I stared back at her, my eyes wild.

  "What if she's gone? Not dead, but never coming back?"

  Chapter 48

  Dylan's Point of View

  The night Jas and I realized that Emily had left, we drove down to a bar in the city. The car ride was silent and the only sound that filled the car was the honking of the horns and the city life surrounding us.

  We had lost a friend.

  We had no idea if she was coming back or not, or even if she was alive.

  It hurt.

  I parked the car on the side of the road and we both slowly walked towards the door. Winter had finally hit New York and the streets were filling with snow while the trees lost their leaves.

  The hostess sat us down at a booth. A few minutes passed and Jas and I stared down at the menus. Not one of us spoke.

  I finally broke the silence, "What are we going to do after this?"

  She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. I think I might just leave after this year, attend college somewhere else. I can't even look at anything without thinking of her."

  I bit my lip. "At least you weren't the one that hurt her."

  Jas sighed. "You didn't mean to. This is all Natasha's fault."

  "Some of it is my fault." I said, playing with the napkin on the table.

  "Dylan," Jas began, "We need to put this behind us. It's over now, she left."

  I threw the napkin down and ran both my hands through my hair. "It just sucks, Bell." I began, "I'm losing everyone."

  She stayed silent as she leaned back in the booth.

  "I lost my mom this year, and now I’m losing Emily."

  The waitress came and took our order. When she walked away Jas began to speak again, "If she lives and wants to be with us, she'll come back."

  "You're right."

  She took a sip of her drink. "Where are you staying anyways?"

  I shrugged my shoulders as I turned the straw in my drink. "I don't know. I’ve just been sleeping at the hospital the past few days."

  "I would let you sleep in the dorm but I don't think you would want to sleep in Emily's old bed."

  Old. Such a weird word to use.

  I stayed silent as her phone vibrated against the wood table. She looked down at the screen and pushed her phone away.

  "Who is it?"

  "Ethan."

  I slowly nodded, awkwardly taking a sip of my drink.

  "If only I could go back and change all my decisions." She crossed her arms and leaned back in the booth.

  "Your decisions aren't as bad as mine." I pointed out.

  "God, Dylan." Jas sighed, "We're such a mess."

  I left money on the table after Jas and I finished our drinks, we walked out of the small pub and back to Emily's car. The smell of the interior reminded me of her vanilla scented lotion. Jas interrupted my thoughts, "Do you really want to go back to the frat house?"

  I shook my head. "I need to get my stuff, though."

  "What if there's a party?"

  "Then I go upstairs, grab my things and leave."

  She nodded.

  I drove down the block and towards campus. When we made it back to the house, cars were parked outside and people were standing on the lawn.

  I stepped out of the car and walked towards the front door. Anger boiled inside of me when I saw a slip of paper on the front door that read, ‘Get well soon, Emily Marshall!’

  I tore it down and stepped inside. I was done with everyone involved in all this fraternity stuff. I made my way towards the stairs in the foyer and walked up towards my room. I unlocked my bedroom door and shut it behind me. I lost Jasmine somewhere downstairs but I wasn't worried about that at the moment.

  I walked over to my closet and grabbed a duffel bag, stuffing all my clothes and belongings inside.

  I grabbed things from inside the bathroom then walked over to my desk and stopped when I saw the pictures of Emily and me sitting in the photo booth. I ran my finger across the smooth paper and stuffed it in my back pocket.

  I slung the bag over my shoulder and walked back down towards the car. I tried to find Jasmine inside the house but I had no luck.

  I walked outside and sat down on the curb of the street, setting my bag down on the ground as I leaned over and ran my hands through my hair in frustration.

  I grabbed a bottle off the grass and looked up to see what it was.

  Vodka.

  I unscrewed the cap and took a swig, coughing as it went down my throat.

  I heard high pitched laughing and for a split second, I thought the laugh was from Emily. I turned around in every direction, but only saw two young girls walking towards the door.

  "You don't want to go in there." The words came out of my mouth before I could comprehend.

  They turned towards me and narrowed their eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

  "How old are you two?" I ask.

  They turn to each other before answering, "18."

  "Freshman?"

  "Next year."

  I shook my head.

  "What?" they asked, confused.

  "You go in there, you will make some bad decisions."

  They laughed before saying, "What are you? Our father?"

  I bit the inside of my cheek as they walked over to the front door and disappeared inside.

  For a few minutes, everything was silent. Until, Jasmine came walking towards me.

  "Sorry," she said, sitting down next to me, "I just had to take a little walk."

  "Where?"

  She stared straight ahead, not answering my question.

  "Bell?" I say.

  "I want to go somewhere."

  I stare at her.

  "Come on," She pulled me off the ground and I threw my bag in the back of the car as she started the engine.

  We drove down empty streets until we pulled into a familiar looking neighborhood. It took me a moment to realize where we were.

  Emily's house.

  "What are you doing?" I ask.

  "We have a key." She pointed to the key chain in the ignition and pulled them out.

  I shook my head. "This isn't a good idea."

  Jasmine and I walked towards the huge from door. "Relax, they're in Chicago."

  I looked back towards the driveway and remembered the first time Emily had taken me to meet her mother. It didn't go as planned but it was better than I thought.

  "Fine." I sighed, stepping inside into the huge foyer. Two staircases on either side of the walls surrounded us.

  "I just really wanted to get this picture of Emily and I, it's from a while ago but if I never see her again. I want to keep it for memories." Jas said as was walked up the staircase into the long hallway.

  I stayed far behind her as we walked towards Emily's old room at the end of the hallway. I walked slowly as I passed picture frames of Emily when she was younger with her parents.

  I ran my finger along the glass of the frame before continuing down towards her room.

  Emily's room was empty except for a bare bed and a few bookshelves.

  "I got it." Jas said, holding a frame of Emily and her when they were younger.

  We leaned against the wall as I held the frame in my hands.

  "This is so weird." Jas whispered.

  I looked down at her.

  "What?"

  "Emily. This whole situation. What if she makes it, Dylan? Are we ever going to see her again? Will we ever kno
w if she doesn't?"

  I bit my lip. "I don't know but I’m hoping it turns out like you're first scenario."

  She stared across the room towards the big window.

  "I won't let her move on, though. And I know I won't move on."

  Jas reached over and wrapped her arms across my chest, grabbing me into an embrace. I was taken aback by her action but I knew we were both hurting, so I hugged her back.

  "Let's go." Jasmine softly smiled, grabbing my hand. "We can both get a room at the motel across town."

  I nodded as we walked out of the room, Jas shut Emily's bedroom door behind her. I let her lead the way while I stayed far behind. When Jas made her way downstairs, I stood in front of a recent picture of Emily on the wall and smiled.

  "Goodbye, Emm. I hope I see you soon, babe."

  Epilogue

  TWO YEARS LATER

  "Well, Mr. Clarke. Your permanent record is very interesting." Lily Parker, the head CEO of a corporation in New York City spoke to me.

  I stayed silent while I lay back in my chair with my legs crossed as I bit the skin on the side of my pointer finger.

  "Underage drinking, been to jail multiple times, car crash." She kept going on and on and my chest felt as if someone was stepping on me.

  "It was my past." I explained, "College was very interesting for me."

  She kept a straight face as she went through the rest of my resumé. I leaned back in the chair across from her lush mahogany desk as I removed my finger from my mouth and brought my bottom lip between my teeth.

  "You are very impressive when it comes to schooling, though. Why are you interested in this job?" she asked.

  I straighten in my chair, "I'm interested in following in my father’s footsteps. He gave me a loan to help me start my own business just like him, ma'am."

  "Who is your father?" she asks.

  "He owns Clarke Enterprise Corporation?"

  I nodded, not surprised by her reaction. People reacted the same way all the time.

  "Wow, so you're Robin's son?"

  I nodded, again.

  She nodded back, "Thank you, Dylan," she smiled, reaching out and shaking my hand, "I'll get back to you if we find any open buildings in the New York area."

  I stepped out of her sleek office and down the long hall filled with meeting rooms and desks of workers and receptionists. I stepped into the elevator and descended down to the bottom floor.

  Ever since Emily had left, I had left the fraternity and began to focus more on school. My grades went up and I was able to graduate. Jas and I became closer after we both realized we made terrible mistakes and we figured we could use each other's company after being sad for a while. We actually have a lot more in common than we thought. Neither of us associate with Natasha or Max or anyone involved in the old crowd and we no longer get involved in any of their crazy parties. The last time I saw Natasha was a year ago, I was walking down the street in the city and she was standing in an alley getting some type of drug from a dealer. It was late and let's hope neither of them saw me. Let's just say she isn't going anywhere in life.

  I still take night classes online but once I finished college at NYU, I bought myself an apartment.

  I still haven't received any news about Emily. I didn't know if she ended up living or not. It killed me everyday. I tried calling Brandon the first few months after the night Jas and I had sneaked into her house, but he didn't answer his phone.

  I had lost hope but I never lost my feelings for her.

  Once I made my way out of the building, I hailed a taxi and stepped inside. I gave him my address and he drove towards my apartment.

  Once we arrived at the destination, I handed him the money I owed him and walked inside. I buzzed in and opened the glass door.

  I removed my coat as I stepped into the elevator, cupping my hands over my mouth as I blew hot breath into my hands.

  Today marks two years since Emily and I have gotten in the car accident. I have tried not to think about it since I’ve woken up but it's all that's been running through my mind. Not just today, but ever since it happened. I haven't been able to live with myself.

  As I walked into my apartment, I heard the house phone ringing. I dropped my leather bag onto the ground along with my coat as I ran into the kitchen.

  I answered on the last ring, "Hello?"

  "Hey, Dylan." Jasmine said through the phone, "I got this coupon in the mail today for that new coffee shop in Manhattan. I was wondering if you wanted to meet me there."

  I swallowed, "Yeah, give me ten minutes."

  We said goodbye and I scrambled a sweater out from my bedroom dresser and slipped it over my black T-shirt. I pulled my long coat on before running out of my apartment.

  I hailed another taxi, telling him to drop me off at the small coffee shop in downtown Manhattan.

  The car ride was silent. I stared out the window and watched the sun setting over the sky scrapers and the busy workers and commuters heading home for the day. It was rush hour which caused the ride to be longer then it should have been.

  When I finally arrived, I paid the taxi driver and headed for the door.

  A small bell sounded when I walked into the busy coffee shop. I spotted Jasmine sitting at a table by the window with the name of the small coffee joint printed on the glass. She was staring down at her coffee that had a beautiful leaf pattern in the cream on top.

  "Hey," I said, sitting down across from her.

  "Hey, how did the interview go for your new business?" She smiled, looking up from her book and pushing it to the side.

  "It went good, I feel confident." I put on a small smile and she smiled back. "I feel like this could be the start of my own business."

  The smile remained on her face as she spoke, "That's wonderful."

  We sat silently for a few seconds after that. I watched her play with cream on top of her coffee but she never drank any of it.

  We both wanted to say what happened two years ago today but neither of us wanted to bring it up. I think we were both thinking maybe one of us forgot. I know I wish I could forget.

  "Jas, I’m going to order. Is that okay?"

  She nodded, "Here," She pulled out a coupon from her purse and handed it to me, "It's a free cappuccino."

  I smiled as I gently grabbed the slip of paper from her grip and stood in line.

  I looked around the small coffee shop as I waited for the person in front of me to order.

  I noticed a girl sitting with her back to me. She was wearing a navy green jacket and a crimson beanie over her long brown hair. From the back it almost looked like someone familiar.

  "Sir," the cashier called. I turned around and apologized.

  "I have this coupon." I handed the man the slip of paper and he put in my order, "But can I also get a blueberry muffin?"

  "Wait just a few minutes." he said.

  I nodded, stepping to the side. I caught myself looking back towards where the girl sat but when I turned, I no longer saw her. Her laptop remained on the table along with her books.

  I turned back around as the man handed me my coffee and bag carrying my huge muffin. I walked over to the small table to grab a spoon. When I spun back around towards the table, I bumped into a small, petite figure.

  "I'm sor-" I began, completely taken back.

  I stared down at her. The person I thought was a completely stranger but, really, I had known forever.

  "E- Emily?" I almost dropped my coffee and collapsed but I leaned against the small table.

  She stared up at me with those huge hazel eyes I fell in love with a long time ago and was just as surprised as I was.

  "Dylan?" She softly said.

  * * *

  The End

 

 

 
nds