separation//[t.j.]

ice cream.

She missed him. She missed everything about him. His words, his touch; his presence completely. She felt as if she couldn't do it alone. She needed him.

i stopped typing as my phone began to rang. it was tyler. it had been three days since the concert, but he made an effort to text riley and i every day since.

"hey." i answered my phone.

"hey! what are you guys up to?" tyler asked me.

"i don't know what riley's doing at the moment, but i was just working on my book." i replied.

"book? you actually pursued writing like you wanted to?"

"well, i wasn't going to but riley convinced me to actually do it and try to live out my dream. when i became a teen mom it kind of held me back so i kinda gave up on writing."

"yeah.." tyler said, trailing off a bit towards the end. i could tell how bad he felt for missing the first 14 years of riley's life. it almost made me feel bad for never reaching out. "but i'm glad riley convinced you to get into it. they're a good kid, i can tell."

"yeah, they are. i'm glad they blossomed into an amazing person. even though your sass definitely carried on to them."

"my bad." tyler laughed. i laughed with him and riley entered my bedroom.

"mom you're supposed to be working on your book- wait who's on the phone?" they asked me.

"it's your dad." i mouthed. their face lit up.

"ooh, i wanna talk!" they told me.

"hey, ty, i'm gonna put you on speaker. riley's in here." my eyes widened slightly as i realized i called him by his nickname from when we were kids.

"hey, kid." tyler spoke.

"hi, dad." riley replied.

"i was calling because i was wondering if you guys wanted to go get ice cream and catch up?"

riley and i exchanged a glance and nodded, them smiling widely.

"yeah, sure." i agreed.

"i'll pick you guys up if you give me your address. i can come in like a half hour." tyler told us. i told him our address and then we hung up, deciding to get ready.

we were already mostly ready for the day, so we just waited in the living room for tyler to arrive.

"do you think he'll call?" riley asked, out of the blue.

"what?" i replied.

"dad starts tour in 10 days. do you think he'll call when he's far away?" they asked me. i didn't really have an answer.

"i think that he will, because ever since he found out about you a couple days ago, he's been calling a lot. but at the same time, he's a very busy man and he's famous. so just..don't count on him. okay?" i replied, trying to give them the best answer possible.

"i hope he sticks around."

"me too. even before we got together and made you, we were best friends. i want that back."

"i think you'll get it back, mom. you should have seen his concern when you fainted. he still cares about you."

i smiled and then i heard a honk outside. assuming it was tyler, riley and i grabbed our things and went outside.

surprisingly, tyler's vehicle was a white truck. i never thought that trucks would be his thing.

we got in and i got in the passenger side. we buckled up and then tyler finally greeted us.

"hey." he greeted us.

"hi, dad." riley greeted back.

"hey, tyler. i didn't expect you to own a truck." i said. tyler chuckled.

"what's wrong with my truck?" he got fake offended.

"it just doesn't seem like your vibe." riley agreed with me.

"jeez...justice for the truck i guess."

tyler pulled up to the nearest ice cream place. we got out and walked up, deciding what to get.

"if i know you, then you're gonna get y/f/i." tyler said to me. i shook my head as he stated my favorite ice cream. "am i wrong?"

"no, you're not." i admitted.

"damn, dad. you still remember mom's favorite ice cream?" riley asked.

"she's always loved it. for a while it was all she'd ever eat." tyler chuckled. i nudged him and riley gasped.

"and you used to yell at me for eating ice cream in the middle of the night!" they pouted.

"gee, thanks tyler." i said, sarcastically.

"what can i get you guys?" the server asked. we all ordered our favorite ice creams and then when we received them, we sat at a picnic table.

"so, riley, what grade are you in?" tyler asked riley.

"well, technically it would be 9th, but mom homeschools me." they replied. tyler just looked at me.

"like father like kid." he said. he then turned to riley. "i was homeschooled most of my life."

"i used to do public but i like at home better, honestly. mom doesn't stress me out like teachers used to."

"that's fair."

we chatted a little more but then tyler brought up the touchy subject. tour.

"so, you guys know i start tour in 10 days. i want to hang out with you guys as much as possible until then, and then we can facetime when i'm actually gone. it's only for a little over a month, if you don't count festivals and award ceremonies." tyler explained.

"yeah we can probably hang out this week. we don't have too many plans right?" riley asked me. i shook my head.

"nah. but if you want to take just them for a day you can, tyler. you don't have to make me tag along." i told my ex. he chuckled.

"i include you because i've missed you. i want us to catch up, not just me get to know riley." he told me. butterflies threatened to take over my stomach. he missed me?

not like that, y/n. don't be stupid.

"oh..i've missed you too." i replied. riley smiled from ear to ear. i knew they were just loving this.

we finished eating our ice creams and tyler drove us home. we thanked him for the ice cream and he promised to call the next day.

when we went inside, i went back to my room to work on my book again.

But did he need her?