Green Eyed Daydream #Wattys2016

Chapter 67

Tyler's POV

"What are you doing here?" I ask her, not really feeling in the mood for company.

Shelly hops off the desk, and adjusts her ridiculously short miniskirt, approaching me closely.

"Tyler, I have a favor to ask," she says, flipping her blonde braid over her shoulder.

I walk around her, and sit in my chair behind the desk.

"What can I do for you, Shelly?" I ask, opening my laptop, and checking my email.

"Well, um...I need to take a few days off work," she tells me, and sits down across from me.

"Oh, yeah? And why is that?" I ask, my eyes focusing on the screen, as I delete a bunch of spam in my inbox. "Nieman Marcus having a sale?" I chuckle at my own lame joke.

Suddenly, I hear a loud sob burst from her mouth, as she covers her face with her hands, and begins to cry.

I am so startled by this emotional outburst, that for a moment I feel at a loss for words.

I extend a box of tissues to her, and she eagerly takes some to wipe away at her face.

"What's happened?" I ask, in as gentle tone as I can.

"My boyfriend...and I...we...broke up," she manages between sobs.

Great. Nothing I like more than hearing other people's relationship troubles. Fucking hell.

"Yes, you can have time off," I quickly assure her, hoping that will make her stop wailing, and more importantly, prevent her from wanting to talk about it.

"I dumped him, you know...because he was just not appreciative of me at all...and..." she continues, still crying, but more calmly now, "I thought I did the right thing...you know...getting rid of him. But then I saw him today on the street...with another girl...and I've never felt more confused. I think I still love him..." she says, looking at me with red eyes, her eyeliner smeared.

"Yeah, that's rough," I say...not really knowing how to console her. "But if he really was, like you said, unappreciative, then you should feel good about that decision, right? I mean, I know it sucks seeing him be happy with someone else, but you just have to believe that you did the best thing for yourself."

I must be good at this advice shit, because Shelly has stopped crying, and is beaming at me with a hopeful kind of smile.

"I just keep second guessing myself," she continues, "like, maybe I was too harsh on him, you know? But then I remember all the times he made me feel like shit, and then I know I was right. I mean, if you love someone, you should want to make them happy, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, that's what I try to do," I say, and remember all the shit I've been doing for Carrie lately, only to get a tepid response in return.

"You're so lucky to have found someone you click with. Someone who appreciates the effort, you know? That Carrie is one lucky girl," Shelly says, wiping away the last of her sniffles.

I look down, and catch myself wondering if Carrie really does care about all the shit I do. I still can't shake how distant and strange our 'goodbye' was at the airport. When she gets back, we definitely need to have a conversation about all this shit. I need to know if she wants out, and just doesn't know how to end it. So much for thinking I finally found the love of my life.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Shelly asks, and leans closer over the desk. "You guys are doing all right, aren't you?"

Great. Now she's got her "relationship detective" hat on.

"Yeah, I mean, we're fine," I say dismissively.

"You know, Tyler, talking about stuff helps sometimes," she encourages me.

The only person I usually consult in the matters of the heart is my sister, and sometimes, on rare occasions, I'll get a male perspective from Mike at the gym. But something about seeing Shelly's tear streaked face, and her pleading eyes makes me lower my guard.

I exhale a deep sigh, and before I can even stop myself, I tell Shelly about the weird vibes I've been getting from Carrie, and how her work stress is starting to affect our relationship. She listens patiently, without interruption, or judgement, and I am surprised at how good it feels to vent about all this festering frustration.

"Anyway, thanks for listening," I finally end my rant.

Shelly looks at me with a kind of look I despise. Pity. I am fucking pitiful. Whining like a little bitch about not being loved enough...what a pathetic piece of---

"Hey-" she interrupts my internal self-chastisement. "Tyler, I'm going to say something, and I hope you don't think it's out of line."

"What?"

"There's a saying, 'sometimes you don't appreciate what you've got, until it's gone'. So maybe, for Carrie to truly appreciate everything you've been doing for her, and not take you for granted, she needs to feel what it's like to be without all those things. Without all that attention. Without you being so thoughtful. Then, she'll take notice, and thank her lucky stars she has such an amazing boyfriend. Cause, Tyler, you're so great. More than great. You're one in a fucking million."

"Thanks, Shelly. Really. I do appreciate the advice. But I'm not going to turn into an asshole just to make her notice how nice I used to be."

"I don't mean start acting like an asshole, I'm saying be less available. She'll realize what she's missing once she goes through withdrawls."

I consider Shelly's strategy, and concede that it has some merit. What I don't like about it, is that at its core, it's not honest. It's game-playing bullshit, and I am not stooping down to that level.

"I'll think about it," I tell her, and she smiles at me.

"Well, I better go get cleaned up," she says, and rises out of the chair. "Thanks, Tyler."

"Anytime. And you can take as much time as you want, I'll get someone to cover for you."

When Shelly leaves the office, I get a call from my sister.

"Hey Ty!" she chirps, in her usual upbeat voice. "Guess what!"

"What?"

"You're going to be an uncle!"

I nearly drop the phone. "What?! When?! How?"

"I mean, do you really need the details on 'how'?" she teases.

"I meant, how far along are you?"

"It's early...you're the first person, after Alex of course, that I've told. Eek! I'm so excited! Hope it's a girl! Hope she's just like mom."

I don't know why, but my stupid eyes are actually getting watery.

"I'm happy for you, Tiff. For both of you guys. That's really....that's really something. Man, wish you were here so I could hug you or something," I say awkwardly.

No sooner do the words leave my mouth, than Tiffany busts through the office door, and charges at me. I barely have enough time to get out of my chair to grab her, as she leaps on me and gives me the tightest hug. I pick her up and hold her close, as my baby sister laughs in my ear.

I hope it's a girl too.