By the time Tyler gets to me, I'm shaking and scared. He parks across from me and turns off his lights and just looks at me from across the hoods of our cars. He gets out and climbs into my passenger seat.
My hands still on the wheel, staring straight ahead and still sniffling, he takes one of my hands and just holds it. He breathes deeply then finally talks.
"Why did it take you so long to call me Rosaline?"
I start crying yet again. I manage to get out "I'm so so so sorry Ty."
"Breathe. Don't talk right now. Its okay just...breathe."
I take a few seconds but I still can't talk.
"You need to go home. I can drive you or you can end up at my house but if my parents realize I'm gone, I'm dead."
I look over at him for the first time and see that he's wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt. His short black hair is a mess and he's got dark circles under his eyes, which he's barely managing to keep open.
"Please don't send me home. My mother is a mess." He looks at me for a little bit and then tells me to get out of the car.
When we get to his house, we have to sneak up to his room. He hands me a pair of old plaid pj pants and tells me to go change in the bathroom. When I get back into his room, he's setting up a bed on the floor out of pillows and blankets.
"You can sleep on the bed. Take as many pillows and blankets as you need. There are more in the closet in the hall." He settles down on the floor in his blue pants. "I don't like to sleep with a shirt on but I'll try to keep the sexiness to a minimum" he says with a wink and a smirk. I manage a little giggle and a glance at that six pack I used to be so fond of and I sit on the bed.
"Why did you answer? It was late and the last time we had an actual conversation..." I trail off thinking about how I screamed at him -and worse.
"Because. You could crush me into a thousand pieces Ros. You can never lose me. Like it or not, you're stuck with me for life." He smiles at me. I smile back.
"Thank you. Its been hard and I know thats no excuse but I lost everyone. And I mean everyone. Including my parents. Its all my fault. No one says it but they don't need to." I stare down at the bed and Tyler gets up and comes over to sit next to me.
"Rosaline, don't even start blaming yourself. Even if you had seen that truck coming, you couldn't have changed it." He takes my hand and subconsciously rubs his thumb in a circle out of old habit. I look at him and he's deep in thought.
"Tyler?" He looks at me then our hands then me again.
"I'm sorry. Goodnight." He starts to get up but I stop him.
"I'm just warning you, um...I cry in my sleep...and cry myself to sleep. Ever since the accident..."
He gives me that look that I hate. Pity. "If you cry, I'll be right next to you in a second, okay? I'll stay here until you fall asleep." He settles in a spot at the head of the bed and I curl up next to him.
There was no crying thankfully and I was out in a second.
-
I wake up 2 hours later to an empty bed and the sound of running water. Forgetting where I am for a second I sit straight up and my heart starts pounding until I see Tyler asleep on the floor. I look at his alarm clock next to the bed. 7:03 am.
"Tyler!" I throw my pillow at him and it nails him right in the face. He groans and rolls over but doesn't get up. I get out of bed and go over to him then pick up the pillow and hit him in the head with it. "Get your ass out of bed before I drag it down the hall! Its 7 and we are going to be late if you don't get up now!"
I slip out the door and quietly into the bathroom so his parents don't wake up. I slowly close the door behind me and jump when I see my reflection. My brown curls are flat and my green eyes are slightly bloodshot, surrounded by dark circles you can barely see under all the left over eye liner and mascara I cried off. I rinse my face as fast as I can and pad quietly back into Tyler's room.
He's just fitting his shirt over his head then he tosses me an old, small sweatshirt of his and says, "I expect you can figure out your own pants situation, yeah? Unless you're alright with wearing slightly baggy sweatpants..."
"I am actually."
He gives me a funny look before opening a drawer and tossing me a pair of black sweats. He turns around while I get changed. "What happened to you? A year ago you were all about jeans and tight band t-shirts and now you're into black everything. I know what happened was hard but..."
"Ty, can we not get into this right now? You can turn around by the way." He looks me in the eye. "I killed someone Tyler. Her life was put in my hands and I killed her. Hard doesn't begin to describe how this has been."
He nods and looks at the clock. "We better get going."
I follow him out to the car and we drive to school in silence.
