Member-only story
The Best Friend’s Betrayal
We hadn’t been friends for so long that I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Dylan came over to check on me on a Saturday morning when he normally would have been sleeping in. I hated that he felt the need to drag himself from bed that early just for me, but that was what true friends were for. I wish I had had him back when my mom was alive. She would have loved him, I think, everything from his tattoos to his mischievous little grin.
I think she would have given me a high-five for finding someone like him.
When I opened the door, I stood in one of my oversized hoodies and sweatpants, but Dylan didn’t even blink an eye. He raised a Dunkin Donuts bag and a plastic cup filled with amber liquid. “I brought sustenance,” he said. “How do we feel about a chocolate cake donut and an iced tea?”
I glanced away despite the fact that I hadn’t eaten much the last few days and my stomach rumbled with want. “I’m not hungry,” I said, “but come on in.”
Dylan’s smile dimmed a little. “Don’t mind if I do,” he murmured, sneaking past me and into the house. He kept glancing my way, though, as if he were afraid every moment that I was going to collapse. He set the bag and the iced tea on the kitchen counter before returning to me.
