"Dylan?" Someone called, their voice soft and silent. I could feel someone gently shake me and I slowly opened my eyes. I could see Victoria standing above me, concern plastered all over her face.

"Did I fall asleep on the couch?" I questioned, forcing myself to sit up. Had that dreaded phone call only been a sick nightmare?

"Are you alright?" She questioned, ignoring mine all together. I started at her, confused. Why did she ask that. Grady sped walked from the kitchen to the back of the couch when he saw I was awake.

"Are you okay?" He questioned frantically, repeating what Victoria had asked. I started at them for a moment, my mind completely foggy. I could remember picking up that phone, hearing him say his name, but that was all. It wasn't real though, it had been a nightmare.

"What happened?" I questioned, finding my heart beating a little faster with anticipation for the truth.

"You fainted." Victoria stated calmly. I couldn't stop myself from shaking as I buried my head into my heads.

"No no no!" I found the words falling from mouth while a horrible lump formed in my throat. Tears rushed to my eyes and threatened to fall.

"Dylan, calm down..." Grady whispered, as if it would help. If I fainted, then it could only mean one thing.

It hadn't been a nightmare.

"No!" I found myself screaming at the top of my lungs. I could feel my face getting red as I yelled it again: "No no!" Jumping up from the couch, I began to pace around the coffee table. "Why!? Why did he call!? What, he's back to remind me what I did to his daughter!?"

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to take in a deep breath. I had spent the last five years trying to bury the past, but now he was calling to bring up old wounds. What's he trying to remind me? What I did to her?

To her family?

To myself?

"Dylan! Calm down!" Victoria yelled as she moved to stand near Grady who remained behind the couch.

"God! I need a drink." Practically sprinting into the kitchen, I spotted it lying on the counter. A bottle of Jack Daniels. Grabbing a hold of it, I managed to pop off the top. Putting the bottle to my lips, I began to chug it down.

I hadn't been allowed to even touch a bottle over the past year or two. Grady had hidden it all from me.

"Dylan!" Grady yelled. "Stop before you kill yourself!" Grady angrily stomped into the kitchen, snatching the bottle from my hands. "Well you let us explain!" Spinning around to face Victoria, he whispered: "I told you not to bring this stuff into the apartment..."

"What? The man deserves a drink!" She shot back.

"You weren't there when he drank as much as he breathed... It took years to get him to what he is now and this..." Grady paused and shook the bottle "will send him back. Trust me, he might seem bad now, but you should have seen him at his lowest..." I glared at Grady.

"The whole world doesn't need to know about my past," I stated, trying to get the bottle back from him.

"Yeah? Well, Victoria doesn't count as the whole world." I watched in shock as Grady dumped the liquor down the sink.

"What's wrong with you!?" I yelled at Grady. I could feel the headache coming on as a strong urge to send my fist into the wall erupted inside of me. I managed to contain it. Sinking to the ground, I laid my head in my hands.

I took deep breath after deep breath, trying desperately to calm myself down. I would never admit it, but I was scared. My past scared me. The call from Adena's dad scared me.

"Dylan, you need to calm down before you black out again..." Victoria calmly said, keeping her voice low. Moving my face from my hands, I leaned my head against the cabinet. "Dylan.. Look at me." I couldn't force myself to look. "Dylan," Victoria sternly repeated.

Taking another deep breath, I forced myself to look at her. The first thing I noticed was the concern etched in her face. It was a little odd to see her like this. I hadn't seen Victoria so concerned over me... ever!

"Why don't we go to the couch and while I grab you a drink, Grady can explain what happened." I nodded, unable to do anything else. With Grady's help, I walked to the couch and sat, awaiting the news that I didn't want to hear.

I couldn’t function. It reminded me of the first year after Adena’s death when I couldn’t function either. I hadn’t been this screwed up since then. It felt liking everything was happening all over again.

"Are you ready?" Victoria questioned, handing me a glass of water. I nodded, taking a sip. The cold water rushed down my throat and I internally wished it was alcohol.

"Adena's dad didn't call for any bad reasons..." Grady began.

"Wait, did you talk to him?" I questioned and he replied with a simple nod.

"I took the phone from you when you fainted."

"How did he... sound?" I looked down at the cup in my hands. I couldn't help but wonder if this man was as broken as I was.

"That's not important Dylan." Grady spoke. I sighed, knowing he was right.

"What did he say?" I found myself asking. I hadn't wanted to know before. Now, it was all I could think of.

"That he had news." He whispered.

"News!?" I found myself shouting.  I could feel myself getting worked up again. “What news could he have? That I’m an awful human being! I already know that-”

“Dylan!” Grady shouted, silencing me.

“Sorry…” I whispered. Sometimes, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “What news could there possibly be?"

"All that he would tell me was that he found something of Adena's..." Grady paused. I'm sure even hearing her name affected him as greatly as it did me. "If you want it, he wants you to come next Saturday and get it."

"I can't go! I mean... I could never get off of work... Something of Adena's? Oh god..." I sighed, running a hand roughly over my face.

"Dylan." Victoria said, moving from behind the couch to the cushion next to me. "From the moment I met you, I realized that... you keep running from our problems."

"Victoria!" Grady almost immediately shouted. She glared at him and he became silent in an instant.

"As I got to know you, I saw that... you were broken! And you're allowing yourself to be broken! Dylan, it's time to face your past. If you keep running forever, you'll never be able to catch your breath."

The room fell silent. I'm sure we were all deep in thought. I knew Victoria was right, even if I didn't want to accept it. She waited for a moment, giving me time to ponder what she just said, before going on.

"Dylan." She grabbed a hold of my arm. The way she said my name almost made it sound like she was begging. "i've come to think of you as a brother, Dylan. I can't just... sit by and watch you destroy yourself anymore!" She paused, letting go of my arm and wiping a tear that had, somehow, jumped from her eye. "You have to go." I looked to Grady. He seemed torn. I know he agreed a hundred percent with Victoria. I'm sure this was painful for him.

I turned to Victoria, seeing a sad and distant look in her eyes I knew all too well. I had never seen her like this. I had always hated Victoria and Grady's relationship. I thought it was because Grady was moving too fast. Maybe it was because I was jealous. Had someone to love. I could feel my eyes tearing up. I hadn't been forced to go back there... I hadn't been there in five years.

That's a long time.

"I can't." I whispered, holding my head low.

'Dylan." I looked to Victoria. Her eyes were glassy. Why was she crying? "I'm scared for you... You can't bury everything you're burying... Please, at least go to see what Adena left you.."

I could feel tears coming on. I couldn't hold them back much longer. Standing up, I looked to both of them.

"I... I need to think about it." With that I left the living room and traveled down the small hallway and into my room. Closing the door, I took in a deep, yet shaking, breath. I could hear their hushed whispers from the living room, but I didn't care. All I could think about was the choice that I had to make.

A choice I didn't want to make, but knew I had too