One Too Many Thoughts

Chapter Fourteen: Her Real Name

The sun shone through Tyler's window on Thursday morning. He glared at the light rays, wishing they'd just disappear. Slowly, he pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes. A sun ray hit one of Tyler's walls, highlighting a cracked picture. He stared at it, confused on what that was. Hesitantly, he stood up, grabbing the broken picture. It was of him and Madison. A smile spread across his lips, the fields behind them greener than ever. Flowers bloomed, the sun hitting Tyler's face, his eyes squinted. Madison was beaming, holding a tulip. Tyler gripped the photo, wondering how it got cracked when his door flashed open.

"Hey, Tyler." Elijah lazily rasped. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

Tyler shrugged, pushing the picture back down. He looked at his once abusive cousin, now his hair clean and his housecoat shining white.

"G-good." Tyler stuttered, though he didn't know why. "You?"

"It was nice. I like your room." Elijah nodded at the clean space.

"Thanks," Tyler awkwardly said.

They stared at each other, the aura around them steaming with heat.

"So..." Elijah pushed back his hair, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Who were you with last night?"

Tyler bit his lip. "My friends." When Elijah didn't seem impressed, he continued. "Christopher, Erika, Natalie, and Kirk."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Elijah asked, inviting himself in by placing himself on Tyler's bed.

Tyler's cheeks flushed red. Julie crossed his mind, though he couldn't trust that girl. Josh did too, his heart stoning.

"N-no..." Tyler mumbled, adjusting the figurines on his desk.

"Do you...have a boyfriend?" Elijah coughed, clearly wanting a conversation.

"No." Tyler strictly said, tears tingling his eyes. "I don't."

His voice cracked, his throat caving in. Elijah couldn't see him cry, he couldn't talk to Elijah.

"Tyler?" Elijah called, nervous. "Hello?"

Tyler rubbed his eyes, his eyelashes gluing to his face.

"What?" He mumbled, feeling lost again. He had friends, so why did he need Josh?

"Are you okay?" The creaks from his mattress told Tyler that Elijah was now behind him.

Tyler took a deep breath and swiftly turned around, trying to look fine.

"Yeah, I'm great." He cooed.

Elijah believed him, for some reason. Tyler did look sad. Elijah could look past that, though.

"Okay, I'm gonna go make breakfast." Elijah squeezed his shoulder, then skipped away, happy.

Tyler wiped his cheek, a tear staining his arm. He glanced outside, the wind blowing against the window. Tyler tip-toed over to the window, his forehead pressed against the glass. Cold winds struck his skin. He took in a deep breath, then let it out. A drop of rain hit the clear metal. Tyler suddenly had a thought. He threw on a sweater and checked the time. It was nine AM. Rapidly, he ran downstairs, slipping out the door before anyone could hear him.

Tyler ran towards the treehouse, leaves crunching under his sneakers. Trees stained the walls beside him, grass dead. A brown, murky treehouse came into view. Tyler hadn't been here for a long time. Slowly, he stepped inside, the cold wood dropped wet. Strong, wet smells crossed his nose, the wood peeling.

Tyler smoothed his hand across the wall, damp wood under his palm. He remembered how he met with Josh a lot, their special place. Quickly, he hurried up the wall, sitting down on the roof, exactly where Josh kissed him. He sat there, staring at wet trees until his eyes were wet too. A single tear faded into his skin, his eyebrows knitted together. He wiped his eyes, the wind blowing his skin cold as his heart.