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“That would be. So, have you ever thought about becoming a veterinary? They have animal sanctuaries and they help them. They keep them healthy.”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“You have to go to school for that and I gotta take care of my family, ya know.”
Dillon allowed a moment for Leo’s words to sink in before responding.
“I like your idea. And it’s a beautiful dream, Leo,” he said sincerely. “I know right now it’s hard to see past the struggles you face day after day. How could you even begin to think about the future when every day presents a new challenge?
“But, here’s the thing, ignoring the future won’t stop it from coming. And when it arrives, you can be in the same place you are now – full of struggle and anger – or things could be easier, brighter. You just have to make the choice.”
Dillon took a step closer, his voice growing more determined.
“Remy has given you the option to make your future better. To make your dream of helping animals a reality. Maybe someone like him can’t truly understand how tough your life is, but I can, just like I know you can achieve your dream.
“Believe me when I say that the last thing you want to do is look back on this moment and then have to look into your mother’s eyes knowing there was something you could have done to make her life easier, and you didn’t take it.”
As he finished speaking, Dillon’s expression took on a more direct quality. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Leo?”
The teen stared at him for a long moment, weighing Dillon’s words. Finally, after what felt like forever, he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I understand.”
The tension gradually dissipated as Leo walked off to process everything. I couldn’t help but smile about the way things had gone. I turned to Dillon unable to hide my excitement.
“That went well, huh? What do you say about heading back to my place for a Japanese crepe? I’ve learned how to make it and I’m dying to make one for you. You can tell me what you think.”
Dillon hesitated but eventually agreed, seemingly lost in thought as we made our way back to my townhouse. Once inside, I wasted no time, setting to work making the crepe mixture. My hands moved with an energetic precision I didn’t know I had.
Mixing the batter, I poured it onto a round hotplate I had bought for this purpose. Evening it out with my leveler, I allowed one side to cook before flipping it to the other.
With it done, I retrieved the ice cream, bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. Assembling them on the crepe and rolling it into a cone, I topped it with sugar and torched it to a caramelized brown. It looked exactly as I had hoped.
“Here you go,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
But as I beamed with pride over my culinary creation, Dillon simmered with anger. He stared at my great achievement with eyes as hard as granite and I wasn’t sure why.
“You can’t see me any other way than as the charity case you’ve rescued, can you?” Dillon spat, his voice laced with resentment.
“What? No! Of course I can. Why would you say that?” I replied, taken aback by his accusation.
“Because you exploited me,” he accused, his eyes pleading for understanding.
My mind raced through our recent interactions. “When? How?”
“Back there. You used what I told you to get what you wanted,” Dillon clarified, the pain evident in his voice.
“That’s not what happened.”
“Really? Did you ever consider that my history wasn’t yours to use as you see fit?” he pressed.
“I…” I stammered, taken aback by Dillon’s accusation.
“I didn’t think so,” he said, his emotions bubbling just below the surface. “You can’t see me. All you can see is the pathetic boy who no one loves.”
“That’s not true. I don’t understand where this is coming from,” I argued, my heart aching from the pain of his words.
“Remy, you can’t exploit my pain,” Dillon demanded, his voice wavering.
