That night, I stare at my phone and wonder if I should shoot a text to Dylan. I'm anxious to hear what he has to say about Xavier pushing him and Kay together. But I can't bring myself to text him. * People are buzzing on Monday morning. Student government is doing their usual candy cane grams and the Mean Girls references are never-ending. Hearing the chatter in the hallways is giving me a headache and I want nothing more than to go home, get under a cozy blanket and watch Christmas movies. It's crazy to think that we only have a couple more weeks of school before winter break. My senior year is nearly half over and I don't know how fulfilled it has been so far. "Hey, that sweater is cute," Casey says as she starts walking with me to the cafeteria. I found my colorful, striped sweater at the thrift store. It's super soft and it's cold enough to be comfortable in it. "Thanks. I see you're going for a Kurt Cobain-like look." She has on a dark gray striped shirt under a flannel. "Who?" she asks. I shake my head. "Never mind." We walk into the cafeteria and my eyes scan the room for Dylan and the guys, but they are nowhere in sight. Casey doesn't mention their whereabouts, so I don't ask. Instead, we get our lunch and sit at a table together. We haven't done this in a while and it feels good. "I would die for these cheese fries," I say, moaning as I shovel them into my mouth. "I wouldn't go that far," Casey laughs. "They're just cheese fries." Dylan would understand. He gets the cheese. I push the thoughts of him out of my mind. Her demeanor changes and I have a bad feeling in my stomach. "What?" "He's changed a lot, Lace," she looks down at her food. "Xavier, I mean. It's to the point where I don't know if the old Xavier is still in there. I talked to him on Sunday, but he literally threatened to hurt Carlos if Carlos and I go out again. He swears up and down that he doesn't care for me, yet he cares who's in my life." It sounds like things are going to get out of hand. Xavier is clearly a psycho, especially when it comes to Casey. I can't wrap my head around it, even as I part ways with Casey and walk to English. At first, I thought Xavier had a soft spot for Casey, but it seems possessive now. It's as if he thinks he's the only guy she is allowed to have in her life. A hand wraps around my arm, startling me. I whip around to find Dylan's green eyes staring at me. He motions for me to stay outside of class. "I need to talk to you," he says, running a hand through his hair. "You want to skip this period?" I chew on my lip nervously. Going with Dylan is a bad and good idea all at once. My heart leaps at the fact that he is talking to me, but it's probably something bad by the sound of his voice. He's changed somehow. His hair is a little longer and there is a bit of stubble on his face. He looks older somehow. "Um, sure," I find myself nodding. Soon enough, we are dodging security as we run to the parking lot to his car. The wind makes the air colder and Dylan cranks up the heat as soon as we are in his car. "Where are we going?" I ask, rubbing my hands together to warm them up. He turns his body so he's facing me and reaches out to cover my hands with his. "Just trust me, okay?" I want to be more nervous than I am, but his words are so reassuring. Not trusting my voice, I nod instead. His hands leave mine and they're cold again. As we drive off campus, he doesn't say anything else, seemingly lost in his own head. At first I don't recognize where we are heading. Not to Raven's and not to his house or mine. When we turn at a familiar light then down a specific road my breath catches in my throat. "Which one?" he asks me, gesturing to the houses around us. "That one, up there," I point to my old house on the left. It feels like it's been ages since I last saw it. I'm expecting to see a 'for sale' sign on the front lawn, but there is nothing but overgrown weeds taking over. The once beautiful, gleaming white three-bedroom house I called home is completely different. Aged is the right word. "How did you know where to find it?" I ask Dylan. He's staring at the house as he answers, "I asked Casey. I couldn't remember the whole address though." All at once the memories hit me. My mom standing by the front door with her hands on her hips, waiting for me to get off the bus. Our failed attempts at a family game night. The white Christmas lights my dad always hung on the house. My dad trying to decide on a tie to wear to work. Both of my parents worked for banks, but different branches. Dad always in his suits and mom in her dresses and skirts. I had a crippling fear at the funerals that I wouldn't be able to remember what they looked like, but the fresh memory of their faces has relief washing over me. "I wasn't sure if now is the right time to bring you here, but I wanted you to be comfortable either way," Dylan says, looking not at me, but at the house. "I have something to tell you." A million thoughts race in my mind. Is he going to tell me he's going back to Kay? Or join in on whatever Xavier had gotten mixed up in? Both make my stomach upset. "I've been trying to avoid Xavier as much as possible for a while now, but he keeps finding me. If I didn't know what he wanted, I would've thought he was obsessed with me or something," he tries to crack a smile. I know where the conversation is heading. "He wants you to get back together with Kay." He grabs my hands and holds them again. "I don't want her." Why does Xavier want Dylan to be with Kay? Most older brothers don't want their sisters dating. Maybe Kay has him wrapped around her ugly finger and he's willing to do anything for her. But why? Just because they're siblings? "I'm not good at explaining my feelings," he say. "As much as I respected your alone time, it's been brutal not talking to you."