Sincerely, Tyler ▸ (Sequel to Dear, Rosemary)

26

"You promised me you would take care of her, Tyler!" Mila shrieked, her tears falling rapidly from her face as she slapped my chest harshly. She came up close to me once more, hitting my arms with her fist as she sobbed out, Skylar reaching foreword to grab her from hurting me again.

"We just want an explanation," Vivian spoke up sternly, her arms crossing over the other as she tried to keep her composure. Mila cried out into Skylar's chest as he held her close to him. Instantly my heart broke into further pieces in absolute guilt.

I rubbed my arms of their pain, nodding my head understandingly, "Of course, come in," I gestured for everyone to enter inside the apartment. They obliged, Josh being somewhat hesitant at first but continuing in.

I sat opposite of everyone else, my sweatpants rising up as I got myself as comfortable as I possibly could on the couch. My fingers were so jittery the rest of my body shook with nervousness.

When the room fell silent, everyone had their eyes on me, waiting for me to speak up, "Um," I coughed awkwardly, the pace of my breathing increasing, "The court meeting was today, and the Judge determined I spend no time in jail, but eight months in the Indiana mental health institute — "

" — Wow," Ryan scoffed, "No jail time for killing my best friend. Oh but forgive me, you get off free at some prissy mental institution that you have to stay at for less than a fucking year. Am I missing something? This is fucked."

Cool bulbs of perspiration dripped from the sides of my forehead. I needed to keep myself together for the sake of Rosemary and her family. I agreed with everything Ryan said, and if anyone had done what I did to Rose, I'd take matters into my own hands to make sure they never saw the light of day again. Still, they deserved an explanation. They deserved some sort of closure. Closure that I would never be able to experience for myself.

"My lawyer, Martin, was able to prove that I was clinically and legally deemed insane during the time the offence was committed, resulting in the administration of the hospital rather than prison," I reexplained to Josh and Ryan as they hadn't been at the trial.

"Were you insane during the time you killed Rose?" Ryan's eyes squinted in skepticism as she stared me down so harshly I would believe she could see right through me.

I scratched the back of my neck, experiencing a feeling I could not explain. It was a mixture of guilt and anxiousness that made it feel as though my heart was in my throat, "I would say so, yes," My head hung low as I could feel my eyes welling up, remembering Rose's dismembered body laying completely lifeless before me. I wiped my tears before continuing, clearing my throat, "I saw Blurryface that night."

Josh tensed in his seat, "Can you tell us everything you remember?"

My head bobbled up and down rapidly as I tried to find my words, "Rose was sleeping beside me. It was about three in the morning but I was restless. Every time I would fall asleep the beginning of a nightmare would start up. So, I stayed awake, and then Blurry showed up, telling me that he wanted to talk about something, and those were words he'd never said to me before. At the time, he seemed sincere and honest, so I followed him out of the bedroom," I continued on with the story, everyone seeming to be highly intrigued with what I was saying.

Mila couldn't even look at me as I spoke. Vivian and Ryan still held in their anger and Skylar and Josh seemed to be somewhat...understanding.

"A few days before, I had a nightmare where Blurry appeared to be just like me. He looked like me, talked like me, so when Rose came out of her bedroom to check in on the commotion, she'd gone to Blurry instead of me without realization. He ended up killing her in front of me, and I'd never experienced such a morbid, frightening dream in my life. The night of Rose's passing, he'd done the exact same thing to me. Rose came out to see what was happening after the treehouse collapsed, and she'd gone to Blurry rather than me. She had tried to hold onto him, and calm him down, but he ripped away from her and she fell onto the broken wood," I rubbed my forehead hyperventilating as I recounted the memory of the ends of the wood digging into her fragile skin, piercing her to the point of blood.