Sincerely, Tyler ▸ (Sequel to Dear, Rosemary)

19

"Rose! Wake up!" Josh and Ryan had cheered from the bedroom door, awakening both she and I in a midst of confusion, "You too, Ty!"

Ryan suddenly began jumping on the bed, sending Rose's body flying up and down, the room being filled with her lovely laughter. I giggled along as well, helping Rose out of bed before she flew out of it.

"Follow us," They ordered, and we obliged.

Josh and Ryan had led us into the living room, an aroma hitting my nose that had been so delicious smelling, my mouth began to water.

Soon, we both entered into the kitchen, a surprise breakfast awaiting us, involving heaps of fluffy pancakes, french waffles, omelettes, vegan wraps, and fruit salads. They seemed to know Rose so well, as all of these foods were her absolute favourites.

"We wanted to throw a little welcoming breakfast feast for you, and to celebrate the rekindling of you and Tyler's relationship," Ryan explained, her hands clasping together excitedly before enveloping Rose into a tight embrace. We both thanked them sincerely. This was something neither of us could even begin to expect.

"C'mon, grab a plate."

As we sat around the dinner table, trays of food being passed around to one another, the memories of the old days where we would experience moments like this frequently began to fill my mind. I'd realized I had gotten so off of track when the normal events that would take place in our home, became things I longed for the most. Surely, though, I was happy that the days seemed to be getting better for myself.

My hand found its way onto Rose's thigh, innocently, her mouth being so incredibly full that she hadn't even noticed, "Rose, you're making a mess on yourself," I chuckled, grabbing a napkin and wiping the syrup that managed to drip from the sides of her mouth.

"Thank you," She smiled a chubby smile, her words coming out stuffy. Her eyes widened as she glanced down at her sweater, syrup stains in every spot you'd look, "Oh no, Ryan I'm so sorry," Rose held in a laugh, biting down on her lips to keep the serious tone she tried so hard to have.

Ryan shrugged, barely paying attention to the situation, "Rose, there's a thing called a washing machine," She said as if Rose hadn't known that already, "And who even gives a shit about it? I got that thing from Forever 21 when I was in, like, the eleventh grade."

Everyone chuckled at Ryan's refreshing kind of carelessness. The mood felt so uplifting and soft. There was no tension, no sadness. It was a time where we could all be together again, as friends would.

"Hey," Rose whispered to me, grabbing my attention, "Hi," I smiled, pulling my face close to hers.

"I have a present for you, I'll show you after breakfast," She grinned widely, obviously content with herself.

I whined out, "Rose, I hate gifts when they're for me."

Her hand hit my arm playfully, "Hush, you'll like it, I promise," and I had grabbed her arm, kissing her palm before hearing a groan come from the end of the table. Ryan.

"Ew, can you not do that while I'm eating?" She pleaded, a disgusted look on her face as Josh chuckled to himself in the corner. Suddenly, Josh cupped Ryan's cheeks, her mouth still full of waffles, and kissed her all over, "It's okay, we'll just show them some PDA back, babe."

I rolled my eyes, defensively and jokingly, "Okay, you guys are acting like my tongue was down her throat."

Ryan replied, a tone to her sarcasm, "Well it might as well be at this point," She smirked, playfully.

"Hey, hey," Josh joined in, breaking the conversation up, "Let me grab your plate, Ry," He'd offered, taking Ryan's empty plate to the sink.

"I'll help you clean up," I said, making myself available to the offer. Josh shook his head, scoffing, "Don't worry, buddy. I got this, you two go run off into the sunset somewhere with one another."

A chuckle escaped my lips as Rose's cheeks turned a light pink, my breath hitching in my throat promptly as she'd grabbed my hand and dragged me out of my seat, "Come, come."

As I was led into our bedroom, I was instructed to cover my eyes with my hands because there was "no peaking allowed."

Shuffling on the bed caused my ears to perk, and a sudden plop had intrigued me, "Rose I'm getting antsy, what is this?" I whined, much like a toddler would. The excitement was eating away at me.

After a few more quick moments, Rose spoke up, "Okay, open."

I looked around to try and notice what had been done in the time I had been sightless. My eyes drifted onto the bed where a box, engulfed in grey wrapping paper, with a silver ribbon placed neatly on top, had sat perched, awaiting me.

"Go open it, Ty," She urged, pushing me slightly towards the present.

I'd gone to hug her, pulling her small body into me and thanking her numerous times, "You haven't even opened it yet," She laughed, but I didn't care, "It's not the actual present I mind for, it's the fact that you went out of your way to do this for me, Rose."

She grinned, kissing my cheek quickly before going to place the box directly into my hands. As I tore gently at the wrapping, a well-known red shoe box had caught my eye.

The lid was lifted off, and the all too familiar pair of floral Vans were revealed.

"Josh told me you'd thrown out your last pair. Something about a hole in your shoe," She paused to laugh, "I know how much you adored those, so I wanted to get you another pair."

I wouldn't be surprised if the smile on my face went from ear-to-ear. Those shoes had gone through a lot with me, having to depart from them that one night didn't sit nicely with me. Now, though, I had them again, and they were given to me by someone I cared for.

"Thank you, Rose. I love you," I smiled, kissing her lips softly before being interrupted by her phone ringing once again.

"Hello?" She answered, her face seeming to lose all colour as she had heard who'd been on the other end.

I sat in front of her, pulling her waist in between my legs on the bed, "Everything okay?" I mouthed, getting a shake of her head as a response.

Rose hadn't said anything the entire time on her end, and yet, she had hung up also without another word, "It was Mila."

"Oh?" I said, sitting up to hold her arms tightly, "What did she say?"

Her face had crinkled in distress, the tears already beginning to fall from her eyes, "She gave me an ultimatum," Rose stuttered out shakily, her fingers sliding under her eyes to wipe away the tears.

"Whoa, Rose, about what?" I began to panic, holding her hand in mine to try and sooth her. The amount of fear displayed from her was scaring me. What was so wrong?

"S-She said, that I would either live my life with you in it, or her. She told me that if I chose you, I could just pretend that she was dead to me, and to never speak to her ever again. But, if I chose her, I would have to say goodbye to you forever."