Chapter 7. Belonging
Dylan throws the mug into the sink, letting it smash. How could he be so...stupid? Careless? Bitter? He calmed his mood down before heading up the stairs to apologise to Sam.
"Dylan, I'll leave. Let's just forget this ever happened."
Dylan stands at the top of the stairs, blocking the young woman's exit.
"No, I...I; love you."
He walks from the stairway into the bedroom. She turns around and whispers, "I love you too."
He only catches the word "too" but it's enough. He turns around and takes the rucksack from her hands. He throws it into the bedroom, waking Dervla. She plods over to the couple standing silently, staring into each other's eyes, totally motionless. Dervla places her nose into the palm of Dylan's hand and whines. He turns his head to look at her, breaking his hold on Sam's eyes.
"Let's take Dervla for a walk."
Dylan starts walking down the stairs, Dervla trotting along behind him. Sam sighs as she thinks back to when this was everyday life. She follows Dylan down the stairs and puts her feet into her army boots. She always wore them while walking Dervla. She sat on the stairs to lace up her boots. She was surprised to see that Dylan had kept everything that belonged to her, even her old, worn jacket that she had been wearing when they first met. She picked it up and slung it over her shoulders before walking out of the door behind Dylan.