his dad turns on the television and puts in a blu ray without tyler's knowledge as to what the movie is.
he sits on the couch a moment later, and suddenly the title "it" pops up on the screen.
"one of your favorites, i know," his dad grins at him. "it is a pretty dang good horror movie for these days."
"definitely." tyler agrees and gets comfortable.
the movie began and he was watching it, but was also thinking. he felt really bad about all of the trauma he possibly just put his dad through, even though he didn't mean it. he loves his dad even though life has been incredibly hard ever since the accident.
about thirty minutes into the movie, he is snuggled up in a blanket and noticed his dad's snoring in the background. tyler sits up and peeks at his father, who is fast asleep on the opposite end of the couch.
"he is probably exhausted from staying up all day and night looking for me," tyler says quietly to himself, and instead shuts the movie off and wraps the blanket over his dad's body. "night, dad." he whispered.
suddenly, right when things quieted down, the girl walked in the living room and motioned for him to follow her with an eager expression. she waved her arms frantically and spoke, "come on!! i just found the coolest thing."
"shh! you'll wake him up!" tyler shushed her as best he could, but she just shrugged and walked outside. tyler rolled his eyes and stepped outside with her, shutting the back door lightly.
he gripped onto his black jacket as the winds sent chills down his body. "what could you possibly need right now?"
"i found another thing- in the treehouse. i promise it's awesome, if you'll just follow me!"
"last time i went to the treehouse we ended up being there all night and caused my dad to almost have a heart attack." tyler groaned.
"hey, actually, you were the one who fell asleep." she remarked. "i, on the other hand, explored and discovered a secret room inside."
"whatever, just show me so i can go to sleep in my bed soon." he sighed and followed her towards the middle of the forest.
as he stepped over bunches of branches and twigs, he thought about how long this forest had been abandoned in their backyard. he was now beginning to wish he had the chance to introduce the treehouse to his sister.
"come on, hurry up!" the girl squealed with excitement as she pulled herself up the ladder, interrupting his thoughts. he climbed up the ladder after her and pulled himself to the treehouse floor, standing up carefully.
"okay, it's not really where you'd expect it, so close your eyes." she spoke. he didn't really feel like arguing so he just rolled his eyes again and closed them.
the girl quickly grabbed his hand which made him jolt for a sudden, but he calmed down as she gently pulled him a couple of steps forward. he heard a door open and wanted to peek, but didn't.
"okay, you can open your eyes now!"
tyler opened his eyes and saw an empty room that was completely dark. "what's so special about this?"
she rolled her eyes this time and dragged him inside and slammed the door shut, causing the air to close in between them. the room was tiny and they were extremely close, their breaths almost in sync by the small space.
"this room is special because..." she said, and a moment later a small click sounded and suddenly a bunch of white christmas lights turned on and lit up the small room.
it was very pretty, and tyler gazed in awe at the sight. "did you make this?"
"the room, no, but i did want to add decor." she giggled. "who knew such cheap lights could make a room completely glow with beauty?"
he noticed a few papers hanging up that were filled with random drawings of scenes and landscapes, adding a creative effect to the wall.
both of them looked for a moment, and it remained quiet until tyler quit gazing at every inch.
"you know, i'm glad i brought you to this treehouse." the girl nodded and looked at tyler. he looked back at her and noticed the brown tint in her green eyes. "it is nice to have someplace to escape to." he replied.
she stared a little longer and suddenly pulled him in for a hug, her arms wrapped around his shoulders tightly. "i know you've been through a lot, but that's why i'm here." she reassured him, causing him to blush.
"thank you." he answered, hugging her back.
~~~~
