Nothing in This World Can Compare to You

The next morning wasn’t a fun one for me. Dan and Dylan woke me up at 8am so we could unpack my belongings into my mom’s house, I can’t believe that at 23 I’m going to be living with my mom. It just seems so unreal. It probably doesn’t help that I just feel so numb, like a zombie, and like there’s a huge weight sitting on my chest. I have no energy left whatsoever from the ridiculous amount of crying I did yesterday, and I doubt I’m going to have any soon. Without my friends around me, I don’t know what I would’ve done.

It didn’t take long to get to my mom’s house. I cringed slightly at how much bigger it is than our old family home, but I didn’t say anything. My mom’s new lifestyle deserves better accommodation. I’m just grateful she’s willing to share it with me.

“Alright, we’ve already put your bags and boxes in the room you’ll be using, but there’s another surprise too,” Dylan announced.

“Okay,” I nodded, speaking quietly.

Dylan smiled as cheerfully as possible, linking arms with me as Dan went ahead to open the front door. I wonder which bedroom is mine. I have been here before, after all. But when Dan and Dylan lead me down to the basement, I was confused.

“Where are we going?” I frowned.

“To your bachelor pad!” Dylan said excitedly.

My jaw dropped as Dan opened the door to an amazing basement room. There were leather sofas lining the walls, thick carpet, framed classic rock band posters, a pinball machine, a massive plasma TV on the wall, an Xbox…and a mini-fridge!

“Oh my fucking God,” was all I could say.

“I know right?” Dan laughed.

“Your mom had fun designing this. She said something about wanting you to have your own space to chill out in that was separate from your bedroom. That's upstairs, by the way,” Dylan explained.

“My mom is officially the most awesome mom ever!” I said simply.

“The most my mom ever got me were a pair of new socks for every birthday. And I was lucky,” Dan said seriously.

The three of us looked at each other, before bursting out in laughter.

*

It took us pretty much all day to unpack my belongings. I didn’t realize I had so many clothes! It was quite absurd! Dan left around 6pm because he had a date with a girl he met in Starbucks (bless him), but Dylan stayed behind. My mom would be home soon, but we were just going to chill in my ‘bachelor pad’. Fuck, I really hate the word bachelor. It reminds me of everything that’s…happened recently. But I refuse to spend any more time crying. I’ve wasted enough tears on Nate Stone. He can go back to wherever the fuck he came from in England for I care!

“Oh fuck,” Dylan whispered, his eyes suddenly going wide.

“What?” I frowned.

“We forgot your dumb dog,” Dylan groaned.

I whimpered. Nate used to call Chocolate that.

“My baby!” I whined.

“I’ll go back and get him for you. I’m sure Chocolate wouldn’t mind living in your bachelor pad, not stinking out your bedroom. Besides it’s not like he ever cared about the dog,” Dylan scoffed.

“No, he didn’t,” I mumbled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go back for him. I wouldn’t make you do that,” Dylan said softly.

“Thanks Dylan. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder.

Dylan threw his arm around me in a friendly hug.

“Well you don’t have to worry about that, because I’m not going anywhere. This is what best friends are for,” Dylan said firmly.

I chuckled, making him smile. I suppose that is the first time I’ve laughed since…the bar incident. I sat up after a minute or so, crossing my legs yoga-style to face Dylan.

“So what are you going to do with yourself now?” Dylan asked curiously.

“I might just bum around for a bit. I don’t want to work for a while, that’s for sure. I don’t know. We’ll just have to see what happens,” I shrugged.

I’m being honest – I don’t know what I’m going to do. I need to stay away from work until I’m strong enough to face the halls that Ricardo walked in, and without work I have nothing else to do.

“You know that everyone’s on your side, right?” Dylan said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Everyone is taking your side over Nate. He has no-one left in San Marino, at all. Especially not now Geoff isn’t talking to him,” Dylan explained

“I don’t want to completely alienate him,” I mumbled.

“Don’t crack, Ash. You’ve got to be strong about this. He brought all this on himself, remember?” Dylan said firmly.

“I…I guess you’re right,” I sighed, feeling a bit bad.

All Nate’s known since he moved to San Marino 6 years ago has been me and my friends, and anyone that knows us. He hasn’t made friends of his own, and even his parents have moved to another part of the USA. He’ll be completely alone, and for some reason that makes me sick to my stomach.

“I know I’m right. Now, let’s test out your new Xbox,” Dylan said with a grin.

“I bet I can still kick your ass on Mario Kart,” I mused.

“Bring it on!” Dylan laughed.