Partners? - Vancat (Book 1)

~Part 9~

"And that's about it." -Tyler said, taking a sip from the coffee his mother made for all of them.

His mother was silent throughout the entire time that Tyler was talking about what happened ever since she last saw him. And she stayed silent a few moments after he finished talking, taking in everything he just said.

He didn't go into too much detail with his story, and vaguely touched on the subject of his involvement with other widely wanted criminals.

Evan was also silent, observing Tyler's expressions as he went over his story and studying his emotions.

There was a part of his story that seemed to perk his interest, and it bothered him. No, not the criminals activities.

At one point of his story when he talked about coming back to LA again, he mentioned he visited the graveyard for 'Abbie'.

Who this Abbie was, and how much she meant to Tyler, Evan had no idea. But he was kinda curious about it.

And even if he mentioned her briefly, he had a, what Evan would describe with his years of experience as an officer, heartbroken expression on his face.

And when he glanced over at his mother, she shared a sad smile, seemingly knowing who he was talking about.

However, he decided he'd ask Tyler about her later. This did not seem like an appropriate question to ask at the moment.

His mother smiled warmly and took the last sip of her coffee, placing it back down on the table and turning to look back at Tyler again.

"I guess most of what has happened was the reason you ended up at this...LAAU agency you mentioned." -She said, to which Tyler nodded.

"That's good. I'd rather have you on the law's side than against it. But I guess it couldn't have been helped. You always were kind of a rebel." -His mother joked, letting out a chuckle.

She looked away from him but turned back with a nervous expression.

"So...you visited her grave."

Tyler nodded again. She nodded as well. She took a short pause before speaking again, careful of her wording.

"...Does this mean you're finally over what happened?"

Tyler's grip on the coffee mug tightened as a frown settled upon his face, casting his gaze downwards.

"I'm guessing that's a no then." -His mother spoke and let out a soft sigh.

"It's been eight years, Tyler. You have to move on. You can't change what happened."

She placed her hand atop Tyler's free one and he reluctant met her gaze.

"If all you keep in your heart is hate, what else will you have when it's all gone?" -She asked.

This time, Tyler sighed, and pulled his free hand away from his mother.

"We have to go." -He said as he stood up, turning to Evan.

As Evan stood to leave, Tyler placed the envelope with cash on the table. His mother stood and quickly followed them to the door.

"Tyler-"

"Don't worry, I'll visit again soon." -Tyler cut her off by hugging her one more time.

"I hope so." -She said as she hugged back with as much force as she could muster and fresh tears stained her cheeks for the umpteenth time this morning.

They pulled away, and before she closed the door, she tugged at Tyler's arm.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up." -She said, a guilty look on her face.

"It's fine. You meant well." -Tyler replied, offering her a smile.

"It was nice meeting you Evan."

"Likewise, Mrs. Wilde."

"Please, call me Hannah."

Evan smiled politely and nodded.

"Take care, both of you." -She said, before closing the door.

After Tyler heard her footsteps becoming more distant as she walked away from the door, he finally let his tears fall.

He sighed in defeat and sat down on the porch step of the house as old and painful memories began replaying in his head.

Evan, unsure what to do or say, simply sat down next to him and looked at nothing in particular.

After sitting in silence for some time, Evan decided to speak.

"Who was she to you?" -He asked, his tone a little quiet.

He was curious as to who this Abigail was, so he decided to start up a conversation. He was a little hesitant though, since it was none of his business.

Suprisingly, a few seconds later, he got a reply.

"She was...my sister."

Evan switched his gaze to Tyler and saw that he was quickly wiping off his tear-stained face with the palms of his hands.

"I'm sorry for your loss." -Evan said, and he genuinely meant it.

Tyler stopped wiping his tears and eyed Evan suspiciously, seemingly looking for a trace of mockery or sarcasm.

Yet he found none.

"Thanks." -He replied, turning his gaze in front of them.

Evan followed his example and they were enveloped by silence once again. Until someone else decided to break it.

"Didn't know you two were such early birds."

The pair jumped a little, startled by the unexpected voice of David and the sudden appearance of him and Brock.

"How did you find us?" -Tyler asked, slightly confused.

"We have backup cameras Tyler. We expected you to pull something like this." -David explained.

"Well, more specifically, we were expecting you to try to escape, not visit your mother." -Brock added with a shrug.

"Potato tomato, whatever." -David replied, rolling his eyes.

"Is that what you used my phone for? To shut down the cameras?" -Evan asked.

"Yeah." -Tyler admitted.

"Well, since you two are already up and about, let's just go straight to the LAAU building, shall we?" -David spoke.

===

Hey, Fibbi here.

And I'm coughing like a maniac in bed.

But hey, I get to stay at home and work on Partners instead of falling asleep in every class at school.

That said, part 10 will be posted sometime next week.

Abigail's profile has been added to Character Profiles.

That's all.

Fibbi Out!