In Love with a Lunatic (joshler)

6. One of the Girls

(*Midwest Indigo -twenty one pilots)

Thursday
November 28
Thanksgiving Day

"Tyler, your cousins are here! Come say hi!"

He remains silent, his eyes fixated on the dresser in the spare bedroom. There are framed photos of his family members and himself resting on top. At the end, there is a picture of his grandparents together. It was taken on Christmas Day. Tyler had just turned five at the start of the month. He misses them both, but he doesn't remember much of his grandpa as he passed away that following year.

Tyler hates Thanksgiving. Every single year it's the same thing: get up in the morning to help mom cook, starve the entire day as you talk to family members while trying to hide the fact that you're crabby from lack of food, listen to your dad and uncle argue about politics and/or something sports related, get kindly ridiculed about how much weight you put on or how much alcohol you're drinking, go to bed. It's tradition. The only thing missing this year will be his grandmother's famous "I yam what I yam" as she scoops the sweet potatoes.

"Tyler, honey, come on. Get up."

The brunette sighs as his mom walks into the room and yanks the curtains open. He rolls over and looks at the older woman by the doorway, his eyes squinting from the late morning sun, "Do I have to? Can't I just be a slug?"

"Maybe after dinner. Eli wants to see you."

Eli is Tyler's four year old baby cousin. He's the light of Tyler's eyes and Tyler, his. Tyler babysits him whenever he can and they always have so much fun. Especially during the winter when the ponds freeze over with a thick sheet of ice and Tyler can skate around with him. He doesn't exactly have the best balance yet, being so young, but, being the same age as Tyler was when he started skating, Tyler is just as thrilled to watch his progress as Eli is to simply be there.

"And spray yourself down or something before you come out," Kelly sighs. "I told you about your drinking, Tyler. You're gonna fall back into the habit, and we both know how that ended last time, sweetheart. Come on. Hurry up."

With another deep sigh, the brunette stands up out of bed and adjusts his clothes as his mother walks out of the bedroom. Walking into the connected bathroom, he looks around for something smelly. Finding one of his dad's cologne bottles, he sprays it on his skin with a disgusted scrunch of his nose. He rinses his mouth with mouthwash before looking at himself in the mirror. He looks exhausted. Slight bags under his bloodshot eyes, as if he hadn't been sleeping all day every day this week. His hair is unkempt; he can't remember the last time he ran anything through it besides his fingers. With another sigh, he forces a smile and walks out of the room and down the hall.

"Hey, Ler," Austin, one of Tyler's cousins that he used to be best friends with, but grew apart after Austin started using in high school. Tyler never liked being around the heavy stuff, and Austin chose them over his own cousin. He's been clean for nearing two years and Tyler couldn't be more proud of him. Unfortunately, their relationship never returned to normal, but Tyler is just elated to be on speaking terms again.

"Ler!"

Ler. A nickname the brunette acquired in fifth grade after people learned there was already a "Ty" in the sixth grade class. Tyler smiles at the younger cousin and scoops him up in his arms. Eli hugs his neck with a wide grin.

"Skating?"

"Want me to ask Auntie Kelly if I can take you to the pond?" Tyler chuckles.

Eli nods and looks over to Tyler's mom as Tyler calls her name, "Can we go to the pond?"

"Not right now, honey, I need your help."

"Uh oh," Tyler whispers to the toddler. "We'll go in a little bit, okay? Let me go say hi to your mommy."