summer

twenty six

"Hey, can I come in?" Sawyer looks up from his book, a bit surprised to hear Dylan's mom's voice instead of Dylan.

"Yeah, sure." She opens the door and sits at the end of his bed.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I know this summer has been tough on you after what your piece of shit parents did but I want you to know I'm here for you." Sawyer laughs slightly at her swearing but he nods.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay."

"I also couldn't help but notice the bandages on your wrists. Dylan's bandaging work for sure," she laughs slightly, sadly. "But I understand how tough cutting can be. I know there's nothing I can do to make you stop but I want you to know I'm here for you."

"Thank you so much Mrs. Sanders. It means a lot." She smiles and hugs him.

      "Of course. I'm literally your mom now." She gets up and goes to the door. "You and Dylan would be an adorable couple," she says with a wink, leaving his room. Immediately after, Dylan is at the door.

"Can I come in?" Sawyer laughs and nods. He enters, basically tip-toeing. "Was my mom annoying? I'm sorry, she can be annoying."

"No, she was fine. Actually, she was super nice." Dylan smiles warily, sitting next to Sawyer.

"Good. I don't want her to, like, attack you or something. I don't know." Sawyer snorts.

"Attack? Dude, your mom couldn't hurt a fly."

"Fair. Lily texted me earlier." Dylan pulls out his phone, showing Sawyer the text.

lily: hey! it's lily from school :)

"That's cool! She wants to be friends, why haven't you responded?"

"I don't know what to say. I've never actually had friends before," Dylan confesses awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh, say hi!" He nods and texts back quickly.

me: hey

YOU HAVE RECEIVED A NEW TEXT FROM: lily

lily: hi!! can i send u emmy lauren and kathy's numbers?

      "Do I say yes?" Dylan seriously has no idea what he's doing.

       "Do you want their numbers?" Sawyer feels like he's coaching a kid on how to do math homework. He nods slightly, looking nervous. "Then say yes!"

me: sure that sounds cool

       "Is that okay? Is that it?" Sawyer laughs, hugging Dylan.

      "You're adorable. Just chill! She texted you so that means she wants to be friends, right? Relax." Dylan nods, exhaling.

lily: here's emmy's- (CONTACT ATTACHED) and lauren (CONTACT ATTACHED) plus kathy (CONTACT ATTACHED)

Dylan quickly adds the contacts onto his phone. He seems relieved.

      "I don't even know why I got so stressed," he laughs.

       "It's okay, just remember that she texted you first." Dylan nods and leans against Sawyer, relaxing on the bed. He scrolls through Instagram lazily.

       "Do I even have your number?" Sawyer thinks about it for a second then shakes his head. He snatches Dylan's phone from his hands and puts in his number, also following his insta and adding him on Snapchat.

       "Can't have that," he says with a grin, giving back the phone. Dylan blushes and scratches his head.

        "Thanks," he says, red as a beet. Sawyer laughs, surprisingly happy.

       "It's no problem, I like talking to you, remember?" Dylan hides his face in his hands and leans against Sawyer.

     "Stop, you're embarrassing me!" Sawyer laughs, again, then hugs Dylan.

       "You're adorable when you're embarrassed." Dylan blushes and hides his face in Sawyer's shirt.

       "Shut up," he groans, giggling. Sawyer ruffles his hair with a laugh. Dylan looks up at him, resting his chin on his chest.

      "You're a dork." Dylan grins and moves so their heads touch. They stare at the ceiling peacefully, not needing to speak to make themselves comfortable. Sawyer stares sadly at his wrists, feeling guilty again. Dylan grabs his arms, lightly touching the bandages on his wrists.

       "It's okay, I'm here." Sawyer rolls onto his side, warmed by the blanket over his shoulders.  He feels tears leak silently from his eyes. Dylan sighs and pulls the blanket to his shoulders, quickly rubbing the tears off of Sawyer's face. He presses his nose to his sadly.

       "You're too nice to me." Dylan laughs quietly, hugging Sawyer.

       "That's because I love you, stupid."