Sincerely, Tyler ▸ (Sequel to Dear, Rosemary)

17

"Good morning, you two," Vivian smirked from the kitchen island, her hands holding some pita bread that had been dipped in hummus. Vivian pushed up her glasses, her eyes meeting mine, "I see you stayed the night, that's always a good sign," she winked to Rose. I could feel my palms becoming sweaty as I blushed deeply at her slight statement.

"Tyler?" A distinct voice had entered into the conversation suddenly, a voice I had known all too well. As a rough hand grasped my shoulder I could feel myself losing balance after being engulfed into a tight side hug.

"Hey, Skylar," I murmured through his shirt, my hands pushing some space between us. Skylar was Mila's boyfriend of seven years, one that had always been incredibly intimidating to me. Although he seemed to be incredibly fond of my attention, I couldn't bring myself to relax in his presence. The man was an exercise freak who was addicted to protein shakes. He had more abs than I could count on my own fingers.

"I haven't seen you in ages, buddy. How've you been? What's with the random show-up?" He continued to throw question after question at me, my mind being jumbled with thoughts.

Rose stepped in, tugging Skylar away so that his hands couldn't be anywhere near me for at least a few minutes, "I invited him over last night, Sky. He and I just needed some time to talk about things."

His pearly white smile had almost blinded me in that moment as his bright blue eyes fell onto my brown ones, "Are things sorted out? Are the lovely couple back together?"

In that exact moment, Rose seemed to tense, and her hand loosened against mine. I turned around to face Mila, who's eyes shot harsh lasers at my entire body, "Good morning, Rose," She'd greeted, not taking her eyes off of me. Skylar grabbed her waist, allowing some of the tension between us to be diminished as he handed her a fruit smoothie.

"Do you need an Advil for your hangover?" Mila snarled, her lips curving in a scowl.

Skylar looked to her, almost amazed by her sudden outburst, "Why so harsh, babe?"

She crossed her small arms over her chest defensively, "He isn't welcome in our home, Sky. This shitty bastard fucked over my sister for no apparent reason whatsoever, perfectly capable of understanding her past which she struggled with severely, but apparently just not giving a shit altogether. And now," She paused to scoff, "He thinks he can just wander into Rose's life once more, completely out of the blue."

Skylar glanced over to me, his eyebrows arching in skepticism, "That's why you were all in a mood last night. Then again, I do think Rose is capable enough to make her own decisions. Who even said they were going to get together again in the first place? It seems like they've just tried to resolve what started their problems. I'm sorry, love, but you didn't live with them all of those years so I'm not really sure you can get to say what goes and what doesn't between their own relationship. I want to be on your side, trust me, I do, but at some point you do have to trust Rose, who again, is a perfectly intelligent twenty-eight year old that knows what she is doing."

Agape, my mouth hung low once Skylar's words reached into my ears. That had to have been the most bright, intellectual few statements to ever leave his lips.

Mila looked just as taken aback, her face showing some understanding for a few split moments, before returning to her previous grump. She strolled over to me slowly, "You're welcome to join us for breakfast. After that, however, I would ask you to please leave my home out of the respect for my wishes."

My mouth pursed, and I glanced at Rose, "That's okay, I don't want to be a bother any longer, that was far from my intentions. Thank you for letting me stay the night, Mila. I'll see you later, Rose."