Chapter 17 Dylan got sick . High fever , ended up in the hospital . ] I found out from my manager . ]] " The motel guy said that boy was burning up , totally out of it . " ] " Kept mumbling some name over and over . " [ ] " Avery , was he saying your name ? " [] I stayed quiet . " Maybe you should go see him ? " she suggested carefully . " I mean , you guys went to school together . " [ ] " No. " I kept wiping down coffee cups . But my hands were shaking a little . ] My manager sighed . " You kids and your drama . " [] " Don't wait until it's too late to fix things . " Too late ? I wasn't the one who should have regrets . ] But that night I couldn't sleep . I kept seeing Dylan running into that rain , just like I had . [ ] Except he brought it on himself . I didn't have a choice . ] ] The next day , Dylan's mom walked in . [ ] She looked like hell . The moment she saw me , she started crying . [ ] " Avery , honey , I finally found you . "[ ] She reached out to hug me . I backed away . [ ] " Mrs. Carter . " Polite but cold . ] Her arms dropped , face / crumbling . ] " Avery , where the hell have you been ? I've been going crazy looking for you . ' " Dylan too . Kid's been acting like a lunatic , " " He's falling apart over this . " [ ] I didn't say anything . She wiped her tears and kept going . " I know Dylan screwed up . He hurt you bad . " [] Chapter 17 " But honey , for my sake , can you forgive him just this once ? " ] " He really gets it now . " ] I shook my head . " Mrs. Carter , some things are just over . " [ ] " But you two grew up together ! " She got all worked up . " How can you throw away all those years ?! " ] ] " He threw them away first . " I reminded her . [ ] " When he called me a parasite . When he watched everyone destroy me and did nothing . When he ditched me with a fever to go be with Madison . " [] " We were done right then . " [ ] Mrs. Carter cried harder . " I know , honey . I know all about it . " ] J " Dylan was so wrong . " ] " But Avery , he knows how much you mean to him now . " ] " He can't live without you ! " [ ] " That's his problem . " My heart felt like stone . " Just like back then , when he decided Madison was more important . " [ ] " Everyone makes their own choices . " [ ] " And everyone deals with the consequences . " [ ] Mrs. Carter stared at me with this complicated look . Hurt, helpless , but also like she finally understood something . [ ] " Avery , you've changed . " " Yeah . " I didn't try to deny it . " I changed . I don't need anyone anymore . " ] ] " Including him . " After Mrs. Carter left , I thought things would finally go back to normal . ] But I was wrong . After Dylan got out of the hospital , he did something nobody expected . ] Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!