The Unexpected

Chapter 7

My favorite thing about this place is the bay window seat. I sit there, looking out the windows as Tyler looks around the place. When he returns, I move my feet so he can sit down. "I have a list of everything we need. Did you want anything done that I don't have down?"

He hands me the list and I quickly read over it. "I want the entire master bathroom gutted and redone. I want a shower and a bathtub. I want his and her sinks with a huge mirror in front of it with lights above it."

He nods, writing it down. "Good thing it's a big bathroom." He chuckles. "Anything else?"

I glance around the room. "I want to paint the entire place. Would you want to help?"

He nods. "Sure."

"I love the woooden floors so we can keep those. The kitchen is perfect so we can leave that..." I glance at the list once more. "I think that's it."

"What about downstairs?" He asks.

I wave my hand. "Matt is taking care of that."

He doesn't say anything. We sit in silence for a long time before he stands. "We can start with buying the paint. Then we can go and order all of the other stuff and have it delivered."

"Okay. Did you want to take my car?"

He shakes his head. "We can take my truck."

He drives us to a hardware store not too far away and we go to the back where the paint is. "What colors do you want?" He asks.

I point to a baby blue for Alex's room. "That one for the second bedroom." Next I point to more of a torquoise color. "And that one for my bedroom. I want the bathrooms to be a light green and the living room and kitchen to be yellow."

He smiles. "You have it all planned out, don't you?"

I shrug. "I guess. I want to move in as soon as possible."

"Okay." He nods. "I'll take you to go pick out the stuff for your new bathroom and then take you back over and we can get to work. When I'm done with the bathroom, I'll help you paint." He says.

"Sounds great. Let me get the rest of the stuff for painting then we can go get the rest."

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Music plays loudly through my headphones as I paint Alex's room. Every once in a while, I dance and sing along with the music. When I feel a hand on my shoulder, I panic. I quickly move away from the person, bumping into the paint in the process. My eyes are wide with fear as Tyler holds up his hands. "It's just me." He says.

I tug my headphones out and quickly wipe away a tear before it can fall. Leaning against the dry wall, I sink to the floor. Hugging my legs to my chest, I lean my forehead against my knees. I try to control my breathing and thoughts but my heart pounds in my chest. "Should I call someone?" He asks.

"I just need a minute." I say softly.

I listen as his footsteps get closer. "Can I sit with you?"

I shrug. "Sure."

He sits beside me and sighs. "I didn't mean to scare you. I knocked and said your name but you couldn't hear me over your music. Are you okay?"

Straightening my legs, I look up at the ceiling. "I was just afraid you were someone else. I'm fine." I glance at him to see him looking at me doubtfully. "Really. I'm fine."

"Okay. I'm gonna get to work then. Let me know if you need anything."

I nod and he stands up. He holds out his hand and helps me up. "Thanks."

I leave my music off and return to painting. When I finish the room, I go to the bathroom where Tyler is working. The new toilet is in, the sink is in, the bathtub is in and he's working on the shower. "Are you hungry?" I ask.

He glances back then continues working. "I'm good. I need to finish this."

"Tyler, you can take a break and eat with me."

"I'm not hungry." He says.

"Ty..." I say softly. "If you don't eat dinner with me, I might have to take Steven up on his offer."

He stops working and his body tenses. "Fine. But just something quick." He cleans up a few things then follows me downstairs. "I like it when you call me Ty."

"Why?" I ask as we leave the building.

We begin walking down the street towards a diner and I look at him. He shrugs. "It's cute coming from you. I used to hate when my mom called me that but you started calling me it and I didn't mind as much."

I smile. "I started calling you that when we were like eight."

"I know."

We go into the diner and sit down in the corner by the front windows. After ordering, he smiles at me. "What?"

"I can't believe you're back." His smile fades away. "I can't believe you're talking to me."

"It was four years ago." I shrug. "I think we've both moved on."

He looks out the window as a couple passes by with their kid. The little girl looks through the window and smiles at us. She waves and Tyler waves back. When she is out of sight, I look at him. "Do you want kids one day?" I ask curiously.

"Yeah. I've always wanted two kids. First a boy and then a girl. So the boy can beat up all the boys who hurt my little girl." He explains with a smile. "How about you?"

I look down at the table and shrug. How can I tell him I have a kid? He'll ask questions I won't be able to answer. Thankfully the waiter brings our food at that moment. We eat in silence until we're both finished. "Should we get back to work?" I ask.

He nods. "We still have a lot of work to do."

As we walk back to my place, our hands brush against each other. When I try to pull my hand away, he grabs it and laces his fingers with mine. I glance at him but he continues staring forward. I bite my lip to keep my smile from appearing on my lips.

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