AN: I am overwhelmed by the amazing reviews! Thank you!
1st Guest: You'll find out more about Dylan's feelings as it goes on :D
2nd Guest: Ah! This review really put a smile on my face, thank you! What a compliment when you can relate it to something canon! I'm so happy you love the story. And YES you described Dylan's love for both women perfectly! :))
3rd Guest: So glad you are enjoying this story! Thank you so much for this review! I so appreciate it! This one also put a huge smile on my face. Such a huge compliment that you find it realistic. Thank you for the beautiful words! :))))
Jonna: Ya lots to unpack here :DD Yes Kelly did deserve some sibling love too! I love that part too! :D
Uncharted Love
No words, my tears won't make any room for more
And it don't hurt like anything I've ever felt before
This is no broken heart, no familiar scars
.
Head underwater, and they tell me to breathe easy for a while
Made room for me but it's too soon to see if I'm happy in your hands
I'm unusually hard to hold onto
.
Just me, in a room sunk down, in a house, in a town and I
Don't breathe, no I never meant to let it get away from me
.
Blank stares at blank pages
No easy way to say this
You mean well but you make this hard on me
"You're out of bed today." Pamela eyed her mother on the couch.
"Hmm?" Kelly looked over, seemingly barely present.
"You spent all day in bed yesterday, are you sick?" Pamela came over and sat down beside her.
"Just don't have much energy." Kelly did her best to sound convincing.
"Does it have something to do with the fight you and dad had the other night?" Pamela asked
"We weren't fighting." Kelly grew tired of repeating herself.
"Okay." Pamela huffed. She couldn't be bothered to get into it right now. She got up and grabbed her schoolbag.
"Pam," Kelly called after her
"What?" She swung her bag over her shoulder
"Can you pick up food on the way home from school? I'll order from Nat."
"Sure." Pamela nodded.
"Where's the 6th?" Lindsey immediately asked as soon as Dylan picked up the phone and said 'Hello.'
"Lindsey, it's only been two days..." Dylan rolled his eyes
"Time is money, Dylan. Work has a deadline."
"I can't deal with this now." Dylan was adamant
"Why not?" She asked, unimpressed
"I've got some stuff going on."
"Nothing is more important than my commission."
"Very funny." Dylan's sarcasm was obvious
"That wasn't a joke."
"I'm hanging up now." He warned
"Dylan, seriously." She defied
"What?!" He groaned
"Deadline!" She reminded
"I'm going through a family separation here." He insisted
"Wait let me get this straight." Lindsey questioned "You're writing love poems while your wife is leaving you?"
"They're... actually about someone else." Dylan said with hesitation as he crinkled his forehead
"Wow, you are a writer." Lindsey rolled her eyes.
"Did you get it?" Pamela ran over to James when she finally caught him by the lockers.
"What?" James continued walking on, not even looking at her.
"An affair to remember. You said I could borrow it, remember?" She reminded
"Oh. I forgot." He mumbled, barely paying attention. She noticed his cold demeanor.
"You okay?" She asked. He brushed it off and walked off.
"James?" She called back, watching him leave.
The words of his parents last night were swirling around in his head.
"You don't have to go to school tomorrow if you don't want to."
"We love you, and we love each other. None of that will ever change."
"James."
"Jim."
"Jimmy?"
"Jimmy, say something."
"Hey, you're home." Dylan greeted once James arrived. "Come here!"
"Not right now." He mumbled, trying to head over to his room.
"We got you something." Dylan insisted
"What?" James unwillingly turned around to face his parents.
"Just come." Brenda said softly.
He followed them into the kitchen and followed their cues as they pointed to the box on the kitchen table. He picked it up and opened it.
"Seriously?" He scoffed after picking up car keys. "What is this? The go-to child of divorce present?"
"No." Dylan answered. "Your mum and I always said when you turned 18 you could get your own car. Well, you're almost 18 and you'll be in college next year... It's not my 356 speedster, but this 964 is a beaut." Well, being dumped by Kelly in one in college, aside, he thought.
"You really think buying me a car is gonna make up for the fact that you guys are splitting up?"
"We wanted to cheer you up." Dylan shrugged
"No this is a bribe. And it's so Beverly Hills I can't even believe you'd agree to it, mum." He turned to his mother.
"Hey! Don't have a go at your mother." Dylan warned
"You're right, I shouldn't. This was definitely all your idea." James retorted
"Well... If you don't want it, I'll take it back." Dylan eyed his son.
James dropped the key on the table and walked off, slamming his bedroom door shut behind him.
"I told you." Brenda sighed, "It wouldn't work. Better off buying him the '63 comet like Val got Thomas."
That evening Dylan went to the Peach Pit to have a coffee with Nat.
He enjoyed catching up with what Nat had been up to.
"Look who's here! It's the prettiest girl at West Beverly!" Nat beamed as the door opened.
Dylan turned to the door to see Pamela rushing in, forgetting to pick up dinner after school. She was wearing a white shirt and, for a split-second, he saw a high school-aged Kelly in her white blouse that she wore for the senior poll. The memories of him, Chinese food, and the prettiest girl in Beverly Hills came rushing back to him.
"You forgot your order, kid." Nat began
"I know, I know. My mum told me." Pamela ran over and pulled out her wallet. She clearly was consumed with her own thoughts.
"I threw in a couple of soups as well. Hope she feels better." Nat announced, handing her the takeout bag.
"Is she okay? I mean, is she sick?" Dylan chimed in.
"No... " Pamela sighed, not really looking at Dylan. "Uh. Just a little tired I guess." She was in no mood for small talk, and not with him. She had enough to deal with. 2 days ago her parents were arguing about this guy. His son barely talked to her today, and Thomas had brushed off their encounter the other day like it didn't mean anything.
"Thanks, uncle Nat!" She smiled faintly before turning on her heel.
Dylan watched her leave, and Nat noticed
"She looks like her, doesn't she?" Nat began
"Huh?" Dylan was forced out of his thoughts.
"Nothing." Nat smiled to himself.
"Sorry I'm late." Pamela arrived home with the goods.
"It's alright." Kelly sat upright after laying on the sofa.
"Uncle Nat sent soup." Pamela said as she distributed the food on the coffee table.
"That's sweet of him." Kelly said before digging in.
"You ready to talk about it?" Pamela asked once she sat down beside her mother on the couch.
"About what?" Kelly asked with a mouthful
"What's going on with you... I can see that you're not okay, mum."
Kelly was quiet.
"What is it? Is it the break up with Mark? The fight with dad?" Pamela probed. "Or does it have something to do with Dylan being here that day?"
Kelly let out an exasperated sigh. "...It's just me. I'm just coming to terms with some stuff."
"Fine." Pamela huffed. "Maybe you don't want to talk but I do. I need someone to talk to."
"I'm always here..." Kelly assured
"How can I confide in you, mum, when I can see you're sad?" Pamela sighed
"I'm never too sad to help you out."
"Come on. Try me!" Kelly insisted after Pamela remained silent.
"...I don't know where to begin." Pamela threw her plastic fork down for a moment. "The other day, things got sidetracked with you and dad going at it with James here. But before that, Tommy showed up."
"Tommy? What did he want?" Kelly asked
"The gist... he's sorry. Misses our summer." Pamela picked up the fork again to grab a bite of her salad.
"Oh. And what did you say?"
"Nothing. James came back from the bathroom and Thomas excused himself. I was shocked. I dismissed it when James asked about it... Yesterday at school, I tried to talk to Tommy but... he had already brushed it off."
"Why don't you try talking again?" Kelly encouraged
"I don't know if it's worth it. James and I just became friends again, although it didn't seem like it today... Anyway, I don't think that'll stick if Tommy's in the picture."
"It sounds like... you still like him." Kelly shrugged
"Of course I do. He's my ex boyfriend!" Pamela rolled her eyes.
"...I didn't mean him."
Kelly crawled back into bed that night, hiding her struggles. She didn't know how she was going to attend After Dark this weekend. It was like walking back into the lion's den. The sex, the unrequited 'I love you,' and the assault. The latter, making it difficult for her to even consider being in a crowded place.
She knew hiding away in her house is no long-term solution for trauma. But she just needed an escape to clear her head. She just wanted to wait it out until she felt normal again but she knew it wouldn't be that simple. And Dylan... She was grateful that he took care of her the next day but it didn't change the fact that his help sometimes made her feel worse. As much as she knew she couldn't blame him for her own actions, she couldn't help but feel that he convinced her to give him what he wanted, and she hated settling for it like it was enough.
Dylan arrived home that night to what seemed like a different house. No one was home and he could see that Brenda had already started moving some of her stuff over to Brandon's. You could visibly see her presence fading away. The house was already losing the warmth of a woman's touch. He was alone. That could either do wonders for his thoughts and writing or make it worse. A lot of time alone could also mean too much time to think - which could be the bane of a writer's existence.
He headed into his bedroom to change his clothes but when he opened the closet, only a handful of Brenda's clothes were still there. A half-empty closet now displayed a lot of hidden objects. One being Kelly's old bathrobe - he had forgotten that this was still in here all these years later. He brushed his fingers along the material as it hung off the hanger. It no long smelled like Kelly after 18 years. To be fair, that wasn't the reason it no longer smelled like her - but it didn't smell like Eberly either. It just smelled stuffy like the closet itself.
In that moment, those memories came rushing back. He pictured the bed sheets they had slid in between, the ring, the bar, the hooker.
He let out a deep exhale and closed the closet door shut as quickly as he could.
I can't stay in the middle of it all, it's nobody's fault but I'm so low
Never knew how much I didn't know
I'm already out of foolproof ideas so don't ask me how to get started
Love to watch the colors fade, they may not make sense, but they sure as hell made me
Though I may be going down, I'm taking flame over burning out
.
My heavy heart sinks deep down under you and your twisted words
Your help just hurts, you are not what I thought you were
Convinced me to please you
Made me think that I need this too
.
If you're on your way, I'm not gonna write you to stay
If your heart is nowhere in it, I don't want it for a minute
Mashup of Sara Bareilles - Uncharted & Love Song