Crossed [COMPLETED]

Thirty-four.

EDITED.

"Hey, we need to talk," Tyler said out of nowhere, his face looking more serious than ever. 

"Up on a tree?" I asked, amusement laced my voice as I looked up to see Tyler sitting on the crook of the thick tree branches.

"Yeah. I like it up here. It helps me think better," he stated simply while I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay..." I drawled. But I grabbed the rough tree trunk and pulled myself up to sit next to him anyway.

"What do you wanna talk about?" I asked as I swung my legs freely, my eyes looking out into the hills and trees. 

"About yesterday."

"Yesterday?" I asked as I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion.

"Yeah," he paused to clear his throat before he continued speaking. "Don't you wanna know what yesterday? I think you deserve to know, since you are my girlfriend now," he said as he sneaked a kiss on my temple.

I nodded and gave him a small smile as a sign for him to continue speaking.

"Actually..." he started off, his eyes were downcasted as it was fixed on his wringing hands. "Those people who were chasing us all the time, they used to be my friends. Well, in a way at least."

My eyes widened a little in shock and confusion but I kept quiet and let him continue speaking.

"You see, I used to be in a gang. And things happened, you know. I kind of betrayed my own leader and now all of them hate me. But I had no choice. My life was on the line, I had to. That was why they are after me. They want my life."

Tyler paused for a while and took in a deep breath before he continued.

"I'm lucky I survived a gunshot. It hit me in my shoulder."

"They shot you?" I asked stupidly as that was too much information for me to process at that very instant.

"Yeah. Ever since my parents found out that people were following me around and chasing me all the time, I told them the truth. I told them everything. About me joining the gang and all. They even know about the gunshot. They were disappointed in me, yes, but they were more concerned. That's why we hired Kyle as a bodyguard. And then things got worst so they decided to hire another bodyguard. That's why you are here."

"Oh... Okay," I simply mumbled as I did not really know what to say even though a million thoughts were running through my mind at that very moment. Silence enveloped us as we sat on the tree, swinging our legs as I stared at the bandage on my knees. I was still trying to process everything I just heard from Tyler. "But why?" I asked all of a sudden, breaking the silence between us.

"What why?" Tyler repeated as he knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why did you join a gang?" My voice was a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"I was lost. And of course, I was young and misguided. Believe it or not, I used to be bullied when I was in high school because I was that skinny kid in school. People would laugh at me and picked on me all the time. And one day, I just thought that maybe if I join a gang, I would be protected and that I would be stronger and scarier so that people would be scared of me. Not the other way around. Joining the gang made me feel good about myself. It helped to boost my confidence. And also, my parents were not there to guide me through. They are always busy with work and they were never really present in my life. They were not there to tell me what is right and what is wrong. I was all by myself. And I truly regret what I did. I regretted joining the gang. It was a dumb mistake that is going to stick with me for life. I didn't want to tell you earlier because I'm afraid that you will leave me because of that..."

"Tyler..." I trailed off as I placed a hand on his shoulder gently and looked him in his eyes. "Don't let your past define who you are. You are who you are. And right now, I love the Tyler I'm looking at right now. Let the past be in the past. I don't care what you did in the past. I don't care if you were in a gang last time. Heck even if you murdered someone I wouldn't care. Just know that I still love you."

Did I just? Did I just say the L-word? Is it too soon? What if he-

Tyler's chocolate brown eyes bored into mine as he caught a lock of stray hair and tucked it behind my ear. I watched as his eyes twinkle under the sunlight and my lips twitched upwards into a smile.

"I love you even more," Tyler said as he cupped my cheeks with his hand and I gave him a smile. He leaned in to give me a small peck on my lips and I was trying not to freak out over our first 'I love you'. 

"Oh but I'm not encouraging to murder someone or something," I confirmed and we both started laughing. 

"So..." he trailed off. "I was wondering if you could meet my parents this Thursday? They said they wanted to have dinner with you," he said all of a sudden.

"Meet your parents?" My voice was filled with shocked and nervousness. Those were the last three words that tumbled out of my mouth before I lost my balance and fell off the tree.

My body plopped onto the floor, making me wince in pain.

"Shit... Not again" I cursed softly as I rubbed my sore arm and saw a little bruise forming on my elbow. I watched as Tyler quickly hopped down from the tree and cradled my elbow in his hand.

"Are you alright?" He asked as his voice was laced with concern and worry laced his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

It was then Tyler let out a small chuckle to which I responded with a raised eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Did you fall off the tree because I told you that my parents wanted to meet you?" He asked as his amusement danced in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Well... No?" I denied.

"Come on Al, I know you did. It's just meeting my parents."

"But they already know who I am."

"Yeah, but that's different. They haven't met you as my girlfriend yet. Besides, there is nothing to worry about. I bet they will love you as much as I do," he assured me with a smile.

"Really?" I asked.

"Wait.. maybe not."

"Maybe not?"

"I mean, their love can't beat mine. I love you the most. Their love won't be as much as mine," Tyler said with a lopsided grin.

"Tyler," I smacked him in his arm lightly. "Don't scare me like that."

"Alright, princess," he said, raising his arms up in mock surrender.

A/N:
Hey, amazing people! :) Here is chapter 34 of Crossed :D I hope you guys like it! This chap is definitely to give you an insight into Tyler's past.

If you like this chap, don't forget to give it a vote and leave a comment if possible :)

Teaser: Meeting Tyler's parents for dinner??? *gasps* How do you think it will go? ;)

Much love,
Rachel xx