I Don’t Miss You ☔ Dylena
eyes-a-wandering-elena :
I keep telling myself That I don’t miss you And that I don’t love you, Hoping one day I’ll believe it.
When Elena closed the door behind her, she took a moment to lean back against it and breathe. She could see Javier following Faye and part of her wanted to do the same– to follow her sister and make sure she was okay– but she was more drunk than she had ever been and she found herself walking in the opposite direction. She knew where she was going. She had known where she was going before Faye had even finished calling out their mother. She just had to know.
The thing is, Elena didn’t know where he lived anymore. Having been so dissociated from Dylan ever since she had broken up with him when they were eighteen, she had barely seen him, never mind caught up over coffee. Frankly, showing up at his front door might not be the wisest decision (not that any of this was a wise decision) considering he was living there with another girl, so perhaps it was good that she didn’t have his home address. So where were her feet carrying her? To the only place she knew.
McCreery’s Garage had been a no fly zone for her ever since the break up. Everything there, of course, reminded her of Dylan and the last thing she had needed back then was to be reminded that her feelings had been real. Elena had to hold on to the idea that she was only with him out of high school obligation– it was to be a power couple, to win prom king and queen– that she had always known they wouldn’t last and that she had been okay with that.
But nothing was okay.
Ever since she had woke up that morning, the dream hadn’t stopped swirling around her head. Should she still be with Dylan? Should she never have left him? Would she be happy? Because at the current moment, Elena wasn’t. She hadn’t been happy for a very long time. Sure, she had the perfect life, the perfect family, the perfect fiancé, but while she enjoyed the lifestyle, the distant husband was not something she had signed up for. Elena wanted romance; she wanted to be swept off her feet, and doted upon, and loved. Sometimes she wasn’t sure that Henry even cared, but Dylan had. Every moment with him had felt incredible and he never once made her feel alone.
She had to see him. She had to know if the feelings were still there. Did she miss him, or just the memory? Standing outside McCreery’s Garage, the rain pouring down– soaking the dress she wore and making it cling to her body– Elena’s hand hovered an inch from the door. She had considered knocking on the door to the family home that was attached around back, but it was more likely that he would still be working if he was here. God, she hoped he was here.
Her hand finally connected with the door a few times before her arm dropped to her side, trying not to think about how awful she looked with her hair drenched and make up running down her cheeks. Dylan wouldn’t care. All he had ever wanted was her.
Dylan had been working late in the garage that night. One car in particular was causing him a lot of problems; from squeaky belts and worn break pads to a damaged exhaust and a popping sound that he couldn’t locate-- let’s just say it’s been a long night and, since it was only around 8pm, it certainly wasn’t over. However, while he thought he would be playing catch up all night from all the work he had let slip due to his second job in the kitchen of il Piacere, it seemed a certain blonde had other plans for him.
It was... unexpected, but not entirely surprising when Elena Montgomery had broken his heart and turned her back on him. Dylan never could understand how a girl like that could ever want to be with a guy like him, and her family weren’t exactly subtle in their dislike of him, so part of him had always been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Most nights it drove him crazy-- his own made up paranoia and low self esteem constantly trying to ruin his relationship-- but he pushed it aside and let Elena reassure him that she did in fact love him.
He was young and naive, and he just wanted to believe her so bad. He wanted to be with her forever, you know? Dylan was all in and she insisted she was too, but graduation rolled past and suddenly she was distant, pushing him away as if that would make it easier. He had cried right there in front of her, begging this perfect angel not to leave him. He said he would change, he would be someone her parents would approve of. He could get into university on a football scholarship no problem and he would become a doctor, or a banker, or a lawyer. Something. Anything. He would be anything for her. But she barely bat an eye. Dylan had stood there in front of her, an absolute mess, and swore he would be better for her, and Elena... walked away.
Leaving Havensdale had been a difficult decision, but Dylan had needed the distance. Besides, he had always wanted to travel, to see new places and meet new people. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he was going to find someone as amazing as Alice. The circumstances in which he found her were always questionable, but for the most part, he lets that slide. Dylan loved Elena-- there’s no denying that-- but what he feels for Alice? He can honestly say he has never felt like this about anyone.
But then had that dream.
It felt so real and Elena had married him; they had a daughter! Dylan barely thought about Elena anymore-- just in passing with a fond smile at a memory or a hope that she was happy-- but after that dream some old feelings seemed to have stirred up. So you could say that he was working late to catch up on the jobs he was behind on, or perhaps he wasn’t in any fit state to go back home to the woman he loved.
The knock on the door barely reached his ears over the sound of the rain and the clanging of metal on metal, but he somehow picked it up. Shirtless and filthy, hair damp with sweat, Dylan opened the door and his heart almost stopped. She was drenched in rain water, possibly crying, and he was pretty sure those shoes should not be out stomping in puddles. His immediate instinct was to pull her inside and wrap her in a blanket for fear that she would contract pneumonia, but he was frozen in the doorway.
“What are you doing here?”
