You just happened to be there and facing my way.
It could’ve been any of the other men there with you.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” Matt
tells him, sarcastically. “My life was ruined because I happened to
be shooting the wrong way.”
“Your life was not ruined. You are a
successful CEO and you have a beautiful wife,” my father says, and
I jump to my feet.
“Don’t you dare try and
downplay what this did to Matt. He lost so much time with Reina
because he thought he’d killed an innocent man. You didn’t see
him…know him…all those years. You also didn’t see us . Your family. Mom and
Sully and me. Her life has been over since the day Matt came to our
door. Sully has hidden himself away from caring about anyone or
making real friends, and I almost couldn’t do what I needed to do
in order to have a job that makes me happy.”
“I sent you Dylan to help you, my beautiful
girl. I could only choose one of you, and I knew I had chosen
wisely when he told me you were overcoming your fears.”
“Sent him to me? Chose me? What the hell are
you talking about?”
“The vow. He’s talking about the vow Dylan
made to him when he was just a boy,” Ellie says, looking like she’s
going to be sick.
“What vow?” I ask her.
“That’s my story to tell,” Dylan says,
speaking for the first time. “Please sit down, and I’ll tell you
everything.”
* * *
Dylan
Nev sits down, and I run my hand over the
top of my head, trying to give myself some extra courage before I
bare most of my secrets to her, and everyone else in the room.
“I was a scrawny kid, and when I hit
puberty, I became a chubby kid. I always loved basketball, but no
one wanted to give me the chance to play because I didn’t look like
what they thought a good player should look like. When my older
brothers were at school with me, kids left me alone because they
were good-looking and popular. Once they moved up to high school,
and it was just Ellie and me, things started getting hard.”
“Those little bastards are probably crying
in their pillows now,” Ellie tells me.
“Actually, they’re calling me like we were
friends and asking me for autographs and tickets, but that’s not
important.” I look at Sadiq before continuing. “One day when I was
alone, some of them didn’t stop calling me names. Instead, they
followed me home and attacked me. They threw things at me and
started punching and kicking me. Sadiq had moved in a couple of
months before, but no one had talked to him, or really seen him.
That day, he made himself known. He came out waving a giant sword
and scared them off.
“After they ran, he took me inside, cleaned
me up, and said he would help me learn to fight if I wanted him to.
I definitely wanted that, so I started going to his house every
day. He got me into shape with weights, boxing, and martial arts.
He never went easy on me, but his training made me stronger, both
physically and mentally. I made the basketball team, and the
bullies left me alone. When I was older, he taught me about swords,
knives, and guns. But the most important things I got from him were
reinforcements of what my parents had always taught me and my
siblings—that loyalty, integrity, and compassion are more important
than popularity or money.”
“Yet you had no problem lying to me,” Nev
says with tears shimmering in her eyes.
“That’s not true. As Ellie said, I made a
vow. One I didn’t think I’d ever break.”
“But you were prepared to,” Sadiq reminds
me.
“Yes. I was.”
“You were going to break the vow?” Ellie
asks, her eyes wide. “You’ve always been adamant that you’d never
break it.”
“Yes. I know what I said, but
things…changed.”
“You really do love her.”
“Yes.”
“I’m right here,” Nev says. “What is this
damn vow about?”
“It’s about you. I vowed to one day help him
re-connect with one of his family members. He knew reaching out to
all of you
It could’ve been any of the other men there with you.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” Matt
tells him, sarcastically. “My life was ruined because I happened to
be shooting the wrong way.”
“Your life was not ruined. You are a
successful CEO and you have a beautiful wife,” my father says, and
I jump to my feet.
“Don’t you dare try and
downplay what this did to Matt. He lost so much time with Reina
because he thought he’d killed an innocent man. You didn’t see
him…know him…all those years. You also didn’t see us . Your family. Mom and
Sully and me. Her life has been over since the day Matt came to our
door. Sully has hidden himself away from caring about anyone or
making real friends, and I almost couldn’t do what I needed to do
in order to have a job that makes me happy.”
“I sent you Dylan to help you, my beautiful
girl. I could only choose one of you, and I knew I had chosen
wisely when he told me you were overcoming your fears.”
“Sent him to me? Chose me? What the hell are
you talking about?”
“The vow. He’s talking about the vow Dylan
made to him when he was just a boy,” Ellie says, looking like she’s
going to be sick.
“What vow?” I ask her.
“That’s my story to tell,” Dylan says,
speaking for the first time. “Please sit down, and I’ll tell you
everything.”
* * *
Dylan
Nev sits down, and I run my hand over the
top of my head, trying to give myself some extra courage before I
bare most of my secrets to her, and everyone else in the room.
“I was a scrawny kid, and when I hit
puberty, I became a chubby kid. I always loved basketball, but no
one wanted to give me the chance to play because I didn’t look like
what they thought a good player should look like. When my older
brothers were at school with me, kids left me alone because they
were good-looking and popular. Once they moved up to high school,
and it was just Ellie and me, things started getting hard.”
“Those little bastards are probably crying
in their pillows now,” Ellie tells me.
“Actually, they’re calling me like we were
friends and asking me for autographs and tickets, but that’s not
important.” I look at Sadiq before continuing. “One day when I was
alone, some of them didn’t stop calling me names. Instead, they
followed me home and attacked me. They threw things at me and
started punching and kicking me. Sadiq had moved in a couple of
months before, but no one had talked to him, or really seen him.
That day, he made himself known. He came out waving a giant sword
and scared them off.
“After they ran, he took me inside, cleaned
me up, and said he would help me learn to fight if I wanted him to.
I definitely wanted that, so I started going to his house every
day. He got me into shape with weights, boxing, and martial arts.
He never went easy on me, but his training made me stronger, both
physically and mentally. I made the basketball team, and the
bullies left me alone. When I was older, he taught me about swords,
knives, and guns. But the most important things I got from him were
reinforcements of what my parents had always taught me and my
siblings—that loyalty, integrity, and compassion are more important
than popularity or money.”
“Yet you had no problem lying to me,” Nev
says with tears shimmering in her eyes.
“That’s not true. As Ellie said, I made a
vow. One I didn’t think I’d ever break.”
“But you were prepared to,” Sadiq reminds
me.
“Yes. I was.”
“You were going to break the vow?” Ellie
asks, her eyes wide. “You’ve always been adamant that you’d never
break it.”
“Yes. I know what I said, but
things…changed.”
“You really do love her.”
“Yes.”
“I’m right here,” Nev says. “What is this
damn vow about?”
“It’s about you. I vowed to one day help him
re-connect with one of his family members. He knew reaching out to
all of you
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