Never Too Late = Chapter Thirteen & Epilogue

Chapter 13 1

Sundhi sat on the edge of my desk, swinging her legs as she listened to me tell her about everything that had happened. When I finished, she bit her lip and wrinkled her nose. 2

“First of all - you’re not alone. You should know that you always have me. And secondly - this is not quite the crisis you think it is. You said yourself that when you went over to talk to Andrew and you came across him with the tonsil-hockey champion, that you had gone over there to tell him it wouldn’t work between the two of you. Why should that have changed now?” 3

“I just… I can’t… I don’t know.” I sank down onto the floor from my perch by the window, sitting in the same place I had sat the night before when my world had come crashing down. 4

“Well… the way you feel about Dylan is different from everything you’ve ever felt before, right?” 5

“Absolutely. Everything happened so fast and I everything I feel when I with him is just so strong. It’s incredible. It’s everything I’ve ever imagined. I can’t say I’m in love with him because I hardly know him, but I’m definitely on my way there.” 6

“And with Andrew, the thought of more has never cross your mind, right?” 7

“Well, yeah. I mean… he’s always been Andrew. My next door neighbor, my best friend, my protector, my savior, my brother, my cousin, my better half… he’s everything. Everything except what he’ wants to be. And don’t think I didn’t consider it. Of course, I did. But when I thought about kissing him and when I thought calling him my boyfriend and when I thought about doing all of those things that relationships entail with me… I started to laugh. And I just… no. I can’t jeopardize our friendship on something so major when I can’t even take it seriously. It’s not a laughing matter, and if I can’t react accordingly, then how can I honestly say that I want Andrew that way? And it wouldn’t be fair to either of us to enter the relationship in hopes that someday I’ll take it seriously.” 8

Sundhi nodded, still chewing on her lip. When she spoke again it was softly, “But aren’t you risking your friendship with him as it is? When he looks at you he sees something very different than what you see when you look at him. Don’t you think that will cause problems in your relationship?” 9

“I know it will. But I have a better chance of saving our friendship this way than any other.” I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. 10

“And what is ‘this way’?” Sundhi watched me thoughtfully. 11

“It’s pretending I didn’t overhear Andrew and Jenna’s conversation.” 12

“Are you sure?” 13

I nodded slowly, staring at the hands in my lap, then I lifted my head and smiled faintly, “Absolutely.” 14

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Sundhi left shortly after our discussion, intent on checking on Mallory. I had her word that she wouldn’t tell Jenna or Andrew that I knew, and I knew I could trust her. When everyone else was busy, Sundhi was always there. We may not have been best friends, but we didn’t have to be to depend on each other. After spending an hour staring at my ceiling I finally got up and decided to go surprise Dylan. We didn’t have plans for that night, but I doubted he’d mind. 16

I got to the apartment he shared with his mom and I could see that the lights were on in his bedroom, so I knocked on the door and slid against the wall so that when Dylan opened the door he wouldn’t immediately see me. 17

The door opened and there was a moment of silence before I heard Dylan ask, completely confused, “Hello?” 18

The breath I had been holding came out on a muffled giggle and Dylan’s head turned towards me. His lips instantly turned up in the sweetest smile and he whispered, “Hey, you.” 19

“Hi,” I couldn’t hold back my laugh as I took in the obvious pleasure lighting up his eyes as he took me in. 20

Dylan held his hand out to me and I took it, letting him draw me inside the apartment. He took my coat and snuck in a hug before leading me over to the couch. Once we were sitting together on the living room couch, Dylan‘s arm around my shoulder and his other hand laced with mine, Dylan asked me how I was. 21

“I’m…” I trailed off as I searched for the right word. 22

“You’re…” Dylan’s eyes were clear and bright as he watched mine for an explanation. 23

“I don’t know. But I have something to tell you.” Dylan pulled back from me, a frown marring that perfect mouth. I smiled reassuringly and his eyes softened, “It’s not something to worry over. But… last night, after I got home, I was in my room and I started to hear these voices outside. So I walked over to the window and Jenna and Andrew were sitting on his back porch talking. They were talking about me.” 24

“Okay...” 25

I took a deep breath, “I guess Andrew lied when he said he didn’t have feelings for me.” 26

There was pause, then Dylan spoke, his voice gruff, “I thought you said it was nothing for me to worry about.” Dylan was still holding my hand, but he’d gone stiff. 27

“Oh, Dylan, it’s not. I promise. After I overheard all this, I talked to Sundhi this morning and she pointed out that when everything first happened, I still didn’t want Andrew. I only wanted you. I just thought that you should know that Andrew doesn’t see me as just a friend.” 28

“But you don’t see him that way, right?” 29

“Not in any way whatsoever. Andrew is like my brother. You, Dylan, are like… more.” I lost every ounce of my intelligence as Dylan leaned in and kissed me, cutting me off. 30

“What do you say to the two of us going out to eat and maybe catching one of the local bands playing tonight?” He asked before I could get my thoughts back on track. 31

I smiled, all worries and all conversation forgotten, “That sounds great.” 32

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We arrived at the diner a short time later and were seated in a booth near the back. We ate and we talked and we laughed. It was wonderful. And as we were finishing up our dessert, who should walk into the diner, but Andrew. And who was Andrew with? The tonsil-hockey champion herself, Ivy Copur. Andrew and I exchanged smiles and his eyes were haunted, but he was holding hands with Ivy as she chattered away. It was a step in the right direction. 34

Dylan pushed his dessert plate away, wiped his mouth and smiled, “You ready to hit concert?” 35

I pushed my own plate away and glanced at my watch, “We’re not too late, are we?” 36

“Babe, we’re never too late. I promise.” And the look in his eyes and the smile on his lips and the gentleness in his hands had me captivated.37


38


Epilogue 39

I knew that no matter what happened, everything would be okay. I had made the right decision. Things would be rocky between Andrew and I for awhile, but eventually we’d be okay. You might win some, you might lose some, things might not go as planned, but in the end everything would be okay, because you know what? We’re young and we have all the time in the world and there’s no such thing as ‘too late.’ 40

Now my story didn’t go as planned, but what ever does? At least I did learn one ever-important thing: procrastination is bearable when there is no such thing as ‘too late.’ 41

And now that I’ve tied the epilogue to the prologue and I’ve done all those obnoxious little things your grammar teachers tell you to do to write a successful story, I’ll let you go. Someday, maybe, you’ll hear from me again. Anything’s possible and I won’t be too late. I promise.42