My One Night: An On My Own Novel by Carrie Ryan (life books to read .txt) 📕

dryly. “I went through my version of hell, but my three brothers? They went through so much more. In the end, though, I always had Cameron. Even when I thought I didn’t, I did. And it took me a long time to realize that. But today, things got a little extra complicated.”

“What happened?” I asked, nervous now.

He sighed. “I need to tell my brothers this. I should have done so before, but I don’t know… I thought maybe if I just ignored it, it would go away.”

“What? Dillon, you’re scaring me.”

“My dad, Dave. He’s been texting me.”

My eyes widened. “Are you serious? Just out of the blue?”

Dillon cringed. “He somehow figured out where I was, and he’s been texting me—hounding me for money and crap. I don’t have anything to give him. My brothers do, but I don’t. I’m in school, for fuck’s sake. But he found me and has been hassling me. Today, he showed up at the house. Where all the guys were. And they got to see my dad in his deadbeat glory. Threatening them—mostly Miles and me. And wanting money.” He paused. “I think he’s on drugs. And not the kind that keep you laidback. The kind that makes you tweak and get fucking dangerous if you aren’t careful.”

Dillon was practically growling at this point, and I just looked at him and then leaned forward on my knees to kiss him softly. “Dillon,” I breathed against his lips.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his shoulders relaxing. “I needed that.”

“Anything. What happened at the house?”

Dillon shrugged, and I remained kneeling in front of him, keeping my hands on him. “Dear old dad—or Dave…whatever the fuck I should call him since calling him a sperm donor feels crass—”

“We can call him fuck face if you want. Would that help?”

I was trying to lighten the mood, and when Dillon’s eyes brightened, some of the darkness leaching away, I counted it as a win.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “I’m going to call him that from now on. Maybe just in my head so I don’t get in trouble with my sisters.”

I smiled, though I knew it wasn’t full. Not when Dillon was hurting.

“Anyway, he threatened. Wanted money. Growled a bit. But the guys helped me get him out. They all stood behind me and were on my side. It was kind of nice.”

“They seem like good guys.”

“Yeah. They are. You know, fuck face—as you called him—thought they could have been my brothers. He doesn’t even know what the fuck they look like.”

“Really?” I didn’t know what else to say about that. Dillon was hurting so much, and there was nothing I could do but sit and listen and try to be there for him.

“Maybe. I don’t know. He said he found me and the house on Instagram—and that’s not scary at all.”

“They hashtag each of the houses on college row,” I said. “There’s no privacy anywhere. Anyone can find us. It’s creepy.”

“Tell me about it. I’m careful about what I put on social media, but since nobody else is, it makes it kind of difficult.”

“It’s why you’re not on my socials,” I said, wincing. “And mostly…well, it’s because of that, and because as soon as I put you on social media, my parents will never let me hear the end of it. And then they’ll growl and take me away from school or some shit.”

I hadn’t meant to say that, but Dillon just blinked at me. “Excuse me?”

“First, we were really good about lying about what label we were using,” I said softly, trying to laugh, but Dillon didn’t. “And my parents are strict about what they expect from me. I’m paying my own way with my scholarship, but it’s all a bit confusing. They’re really pushy about what I’m supposed to be focusing on. And boys are not it.”

“And yet, here you are, with a boy in your room,” Dillon said softly, teasing. He was smiling then, though it didn’t completely reach his eyes.

“Yes. The audacity.” I let out a breath. “I’m sorry you had a rough day.”

“I’m sorry you had a tough test. We can still talk about that if you’d like.”

“I’m pretty sure your day kind of puts mine into perspective. And I think I did okay on the test. I was just being overdramatic.”

Dillon leaned forward, kissed me on the lips, and I sighed. “Good job, then. Now, let’s drink some of our coffee before it gets cold. We can talk about silly things. Like the fact that I’m pretty sure I saw Sanders’ girlfriend’s car in your driveway.”

“Oh, yes, she’s studying with Natalie.”

“Are they all sitting at the door? Just wondering.”

“I don’t think so.” We both froze, trying to listen, but I didn’t hear anything. I relaxed. “Now, tell me something good.”

“What do you mean?” Dillon asked.

“Tell me something good. Something that makes you smile. I think we need that.”

Dillon looked at me then, and I swallowed hard, my chest tightening.

“You. You make me smile. That might be cheesy to say, though I could always say that cheese makes me smile. But I’m going with you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for not making me feel like a freak. Just thank you.”

“You’re not a freak, Dillon. I mean, if you are, then I totally am. But thank you for talking to me about it. I feel like you trusted me with something big, and I want to make sure I earn that. You know?”

He leaned forward, kissed me again. “I know. And I’m happy that I came here tonight.”

I leaned into him. We talked about the rest of our respective days, and I knew if I wasn’t careful, the tightening in my chest would become something more. Because I was one step away from falling.

And I didn’t know where I would land if I did.

Chapter 11

Dillon

After the second set of exams for any class on a three-exam schedule, Sanders decided it would probably be best if we had another house party. And