CEDAR CREEK SERIES

Authors Note: Dylan and Jax see each other for the first time in Chapter 7 posting tomorrow!

Dylan:

Fuck. I had become a punchline. I finally lost my cool. A photographer grabbed me and I snapped. My phone would not stop ringing. Carter put me in bed but he had to go to his game. I turned my main phone off because I couldn’t stand the notifications piling up even though it was on silent. I grabbed my phone that only family had the number to and saw about 20 missed calls from Cam, I knew he was freaking out especially after what happened the last time he was visiting me.

“Dylan what the fuck are you okay?” he answered the phone on the first ring.

“So you saw it?” I said trying to keep things light.

“Are you joking? The whole world has seen it. Dylan you had a mental breakdown live on TMZ’s TIKTOK! I’ve been trying to call you for hours. I was at Tommy’s when they played it after the game.”

“I know I think I was just exhausted, they kept following me and I wasn’t in the mood and one of them grabbed me and I-”

“He grabbed you, like he touched you? Oh fuck I’ll kill him.”

“Calm down. I was just tired, okay it wasn’t that big of a deal. Honestly it was probably just a PTSD flashback from last year.”

“You need to go talk to someone it’s only going to get worse if you don’t,” he warned. Cam had been trying to get me to go therapy for 6 months but that was the last thing I wanted to do. “What are you going to do?” 

“Whatever ‘they’ tell me to do. I’ve been ignoring my team who are probably strategizing some big statement for me to post and who’s talk show I should go on.”

“Well fuck Monique she was an intern when you met and she’s been trying to keep your image clean because when you make it big so will she. What do you want to do Dylan?”

“I want to come home,” I whispered, I was trying not to cry, “but it’s career suicide Cam.”

“Do you even like your career?”

“No.” That was the first time I’d said it out loud. Cam had known since last year that I wanted to quit acting but he never pushed me to do so before.

“Then what are you risking? Text your stupid people to leave you alone, and get on a plane. You’re Dylan Fucking Daniels and if you want to take a break then take a break. Your career will be there for you if you want to go back. Come home. Let’s hang this summer, I miss having you here.” I hadn’t spent any substantial time in Cedar Creek since we graduated except for when Zoie left I stayed with Cam for two weeks afraid he was going to do something drastic.

“I agree.” Carter had let himself in at some point and he flopped on my bed holding a bag of gummy bears for me. “You’re miserable here and you have been for a while, go home and relax.” 

“See?” Cam asked. “Your two favorite people agree. Get your ass on a plane and come home.”

“Okay, I have to go meet with Monique at least. I can be home tomorrow.” I would talk to whoever I needed to talk to, iron out my calendar and then book a flight home to South Carolina.

“No you don’t. Fuck her.” Carter said, rolling his eyes. He hated Monique almost as much as Cam did. “She deserves no more than a text. Her percentage of you is highway robbery but she works for you, you don’t answer to her.” 

“And Dylan?” Cam asked. 

“Ya?”

“When I get you from the airport tomorrow, don’t bring twenty fucking bags. You’re coming to South Carolina, not fashion week.” The last time I’d been home for 3 days I had 2 giant suitcases with me and Cam cursed me the whole time he had to carry them.

“Deal. Nineteen it is,” I grinned before hanging up the phone. I was going home for the summer, maybe permanently and I finally felt relaxed at the thought. I wouldn’t be watched the whole time I was there.

Watching the video of my meltdown on Tiktok for the 5,000 time did not make it any easier to watch my career blow up in my face. I was constantly reminded that cameras were always watching and yet the last few months I didn’t care anymore, I imploded and now I’m a punchline on every late-night television show in the country. I’d been hiding in my apartment with Carter helping me pack. I hadn’t returned anyone else’s phone calls yet but I knew I needed to tell them what my next move would be. Monique added a Zoom meeting to my calendar and I wasn’t brave enough to miss it. When I hopped on my agent, and publicist were staring back at me. I didn’t get the point of this because they weren’t going to listen to me anyways, that is if they ever paused long enough for me to get a word in.

“All we’re saying Dylan if you want to recover from this stunt then you need to get ahead of it. Do the talk show circuit, joke about it, book your next movie, and keep your head down. Say you were suffering from exhaustion. No more drama. You and Carter here need to be out there smiling and acting like nothing happened.” My agent Mike Willis was a loud, fat, bald man from Texas with a deep southern drawl. He smoked like a chimney but was very good at his job. His accent was okay in this business but the first thing he said when we met was that mine had to go. 

“Dylan. What do you want?” Carter asked, ignoring them.

“I want to leave. I don’t care anymore. I finished shooting my last episode. I’m going home, if my career is here when I get back then fine. If it’s not, then oh well I’m done.”  I closed my laptop and hung up on my ‘team’. Only to get an immediate text from Monique. 

I am dead serious. You’d better show up for all your photoshoots and press that I booked you for this summer

For four years, they told me what to wear, where to go, what to eat and who to hang out with. They did their jobs well but I had no idea who the hell I was anymore. 

“I’m proud of you! You may have done it in a roundabout way but it wouldn’t be you if you didn’t. You really going to South Carolina for the whole summer?” Carter asked, as we pulled up to LAX a few hours later. The way he said South Carolina was the same as if I said dog poop. 

“I think so. It’ll be nice to get out of L.A. for a while, have some down time in Cedar Creek.” I hadn’t spent a summer there since I was sixteen, I’d visit every now and then. Not many people cared about my celebrity status so it was a nice hideaway.

“You could come on the road with me, be my sexy cheerleader.” Carter’s dimples came out whenever he thought about me in a sexy way. Obviously he knew I was attractive but he was not into me so he thought it was funny when people would say how attractive I was because to him I was a bro. 

“Aww Sweetie. I would only cheer for a winning team.” I said punching him in the arm. “Thanks for driving me to the aiport, check in on my apartment while I’m gone?”

“Anything for you princess Dylan.” It would be weird to be home for that long, but I needed a break, needed to find roots. I gave him the biggest hug as I headed for security. I would miss Carter but I was ready to be out of California.

“Cam!” I jumped into my brother’s arms and felt instant relief when I got out of the terminal a few hours later.  

“There she is! God I missed you!” He already grabbed my bags from the baggage claim and we headed towards his truck.

“Are you staying with me or at moms? She’s not going to be here this summer.” He asked heading down the highway to our hometown. I liked the way Cedar Creek was laid out. It almost formed a circle and a the top was the ocean and at the bottom was mostly woods but you could take the highway all the way around. When we got our licenses we spent a lot of time on the highway driving in circles around the town dreaming about getting out.

“Aw I don’t wanna crash with you, Blake and Tommy. No offense but that sounds like torture.” I tried to say it with as little disdain as possible. He shared an apartment with his childhood best friends and I didn’t know if I could do the roommates thing especially with the three of them when I never had roommates before. I planned on avoiding Tommy as mucha s humanly possible.

“I’d kick them out for you.” And I believed him but I knew he’d have more fun crashing with his friends this summer. 

“Not necessary I can stay at moms. Hell, even if she was here this summer she wouldn’t notice me. What boyfriend is she with?”

“Kent. He took her to Italy for the summer.” He said laughing with his pinky up.  

“Oooh Italy with Kent.” I said, rolling my eyes. My mother and I had a complicated relationship mostly because of her revolving door of boyfriends and husbands.

“And if she does come back and gets on your nerves I’ll give you the keys to Zoie’s house.” I knew he hadn’t been back to their house since the day she left. Maddie and I cleaned out as much as we could but now it was “Zoie’s House” because Cam would not be stepping foot in there again.

“Please. I’d rather sleep on the beach.” The disdain was not staying out of my voice at the mention of Zoie. I let the quiet creep over us and watched the ocean appear around the corner as we rounded the highway into city limits.

Cam turned down the road to our childhood home and punched the code to the gate. Our dad built this house for our mom and she’s added on to it with every husband. When my dad died and left us some money I added my own addition so that I could have privacy. It’s smaller than my apartment in L.A. but it had its own entrance so I could avoid the main house if I wanted to. I wanted a loft for the bed and a tiny living room on the lower level with a huge closet and bathroom. If we’re being honest, 18 year old me had no business designing a bedroom but it was home and it was mine. I unlocked the door and Cam threw my bags next to the couch. Nothing had changed since the last time I stayed here.

“We’re all going bar hopping tonight if you’re up for it.” He put my last bag down and plopped on my couch.

“Hopping between the whole two bars in town? Who’s we?” I asked suspiciously.

“Tommy’s playing The Cedar if that’s what you’re asking. It’s also dollar draft beer night at the Sea Shack. So we’ll probably hop around.  Otherwise Maddie and her roommate Caroline rented the apartment below ours so I’m assuming them and Blake took the week off so he’ll be there.” The whole gang was back in town, I was glad Cam had them but was nervous that I didn’t fit in with the group especially now. It was fine in high school but I didn’t really talk to anyone but Cam any more.

“Jax still running The Cedar,” I asked as casually as I could manage. As soon as I decided to come home he had been creeping into my mind. He would be a good palate cleanser and a distraction for a night. 

“Still have a crush after 3 years of hooking up with celebrities?” Cam rolled his eyes at me. 

“I’m just asking.” It was an obvious lie but I didn’t care. I wondered how hot he had gotten in the last few years.

“Ya. Sure. What about Tom?” Tom was still pining and I would be avoiding him like the plague. He came with Cam to visit in January and made an ass out of himself and I made it clear that we would never be a thing. Well, maybe Carter made it clear with his fist in Tommy’s face.

“Tommy is an idiot. We went out for like 6 months in the 9th grade.” I rolled my eyes at the thought of our sloppy dating history.

“Ya well he’s convinced you’ll fall in love with him this summer,” Cam shrugged.

“Yeah. Okay.” I said, rolling my eyes again. I tried to be nice because Tommy and Cam were so close but I was over it. “What time ya’ll going out?”

“Probably like 10 but you can come pregame first if you want? I gotta head to work but for real come out tonight it’ll do you good to just get back out there and not hide here all summer.” Cam owned his own construction company and I knew summer would be his busiest time, I was grateful that he dropped everything for me. Cam dropped everything for anyone who needed him.

“Okay I’ll text you. Thanks for the ride.” I gave him a hug and started to get settled in my room. 

For some reason hanging out at The Cedar had my nerves going more haywire than going to a club in L.A. These were Cam’s friends, even in high school I’d hang out with them, but they were all closer to Cam. Now they had been through college together which I didn’t go to.  Just being back in Cedar Creek was surreal. I spent 18 years wishing to run away and now it was like a warm blanket wrapped around me. It was like I could finally breathe. I started putting my clothes away and I looked around my room. ‘Now what?’ I thought to myself. I didn’t want to cling to Cam all summer but I didn’t have any other friends. I would feel pathetic if I just facetimed Carter when I just left him for the summer. I looked over at the pictures on my wall, Cam & I, a group shot from my 18th birthday party, and one of Greer Adams & I. Greer was my best friend all through high school, we were supposed to go to college together but I went to LA instead and we hadn’t spoken since. I started getting ready but Cam was right I would hide here all summer if he didn’t force me to be social.