Home Soon (Bohner)

Prologue

     It was a rainy Friday afternoon. The sky was covered by heavy grey clouds, keeping the sunlight away. The raindrops were softly tapping on every window in the city in a calming rhythm. Everything felt peaceful, yet somewhat tense at the same time.

Tyler was sitting on the windowsill with a thick book in his hands, a steaming cup of his favorite tea by his side. The blonde boy spent most of days like this. Always sitting on the same spot, reading a book, drinking his beloved strawberry tea, or just staring out of the window, observing the busy streets, thinking about the people passing by, making up his own stories about them in his head. Well, he was a dreamer.

He lived alone in his apartment. At first he liked to be alone, he adored the quietness and cosiness, he felt free. The place was his, only his. But time passed, and he started to hate everything he loved in the beginning. He started to hate the bitter loneliness, the deafening silence, the emptiness of the apartment... It was making him crazy, but he never tried to make it better. Quite the opposite, actually. He decided to ignore the pain, the anxiety, and the desperate need for someone to fill the empty spaces in his life. Books and music became his sweet escape.

The silence was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. The blonde boy jumped up, not expecting the sudden noise, and spilled a little of his drink on his hoodie. He just sighed, put the book away along with the cup, and hurried to answer the call. He gave a quick glance to the display before accepting the call. "Um, hey Josh." He said casually, sitting down on his couch. He was prepared for a long conversation. Josh just really liked to talk a lot.

"Hi Tyler! How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!" his friend exclaimed, excitement clear in his voice. "Uh, I'm doing fine, I guess. What about you?" Tyler chuckled, awkwardly playing with the soft white pillow from the sofa. He didn't like talking over phone much, it made him anxious. "I'm doing okay! Amazing actually! Well, I will get straight to the point of this call, if you excuse me. So...me, my cousin, Ty, Sky, AJ and his stepbrother are going on a trip, you could say. You know about the cabins in the forest that AJ's parents bought, right? Well, we decided to go there and chill for a few days, maybe weeks. And the guys told me to call you and invite you, because they haven't talked to you in a long time and they miss you. So, do you want to go with us?" Josh asked, hoping for a positive answer. "I-I don't know, man... I-I have some work to do and I-" the blonde boy was interrupted by loud laughter. "We both know that's not true. You're just going to read books and watch TV all day every day. Come on man, that's so boring! Please, please come with us. It's gonna be worth it, I swear!" the ginger tried to convince him. Tyler just grimaced and sighed. He looked around with an empty expression.

Maybe I should go with them... I think I need some time away from this place, anyways. And I'd like to see my friends again, after a long time.

"When are you leaving?" he asked quietly after a few seconds of silence. "Tomorrow. We want to leave as soon as possible. I know that it's unexpected and all, but I'm almost packed, so I can help you with-" the blonde boy interrupted him in the middle of a sentence. "Okay, I'll go with you, just-just shut up." He mumbled and sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Amazing! I'll pick you up at like six a.m., okay?"

This is gonna be a weird trip.