Musically in Love

Chapter 29

McKinley's POV

Tyler and I found ourselves at his place. He had explained what had happened earlier with his dad and I swear I was about ready to go track that guy down and give him a piece of my mind. It was probably a good thing Tyler stopped me from getting up and running out of here. I didn't even know where the guy lived so I would have ended up driving in circles looking for someone I've never seen before.

Eventually, he had laid down on his bed with one arm wrapped around my waist and his face pressed against my hip. I sat there, gently running my fingers through his hair, wishing I knew how to make everything better.

The doorbell rang downstairs and I knew it was probably the pizza I had ordered. Gently moving Tyler's arm, I stood up and he gave me a look like he wanted me to come back. I wanted to, but unfortunately, the guy at the door probably would appreciate me coming to collect my food and paying him for it.

I didn't know the sign for pizza, so I ended up spelling out the word to him then made the sign for 'knock'. I was pretty sure any signing I've ever done to him looked like the equivalent to a toddler talking, but he's never complained.

Hurrying downstairs, I got there just as Casey was pulling open the door. I walked up behind her to hand the guy the money and take both boxes from him.

"You having a party up there or something?" Casey asked as soon as the pizza guy had left.

"I wish. We're just hungry men. You can have some, if you want. I'm sure even we can't eat eight slices each."

She shook her head. "How's he doing? He didn't say anything to me earlier."

I sighed, setting the boxes down on the table. "Not great. If I ever get the chance to meet that son of a bitch that he calls a dad, I'll fuck him up."

"Stay away from that man," she retorted immediately. "If he knows you exist, he'll come after you too. That man is the biggest homophobe I've ever met. You're better off staying far away from him and keeping Tyler away."

My next words caught in my throat. The seriousness in her voice terrified me. Maybe she was right. If he was bad enough to leave Tyler a mess like he was, then maybe I didn't want to meet him, even if it was to tell him off.

"Enjoy your date night, I guess," Casey said, motioning towards the pizza boxes. "Don't get too crazy."

"Yeah, unfortunately we were supposed to actually go out tonight. This is the best we're going to do, under the current circumstances."

"Well, hopefully a night in can get his mind off everything."

I nodded, then realized that Tyler hadn't followed me downstairs. Guess that means we were eating upstairs. I looked back at Casey. "I'm going to steal some plates and stuff from your kitchen."

She laughed. "Alright. Just wash them later."

I scoffed, pretending to be offended. "What kind of person do you think I am? I'm not an animal!"

She shook her head with a smile. "If you say so..."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I exclaimed.

Casey headed for the hallway, looking over her shoulder at me as she said, "Let's just say Tyler likes to talk details when you're not around." With that, she left the room, leaving me an embarrassed mess.

It took me another minute to compose myself before gathering the things I needed for dinner. Then, piling everything onto of the boxes, I did my best to carefully carry everything up to Tyler's bedroom, which took me longer than it should have, considering it really wasn't that far from the kitchen.

He was still laying on his bed when I walked in. So I placed the boxes on the floor, since there was no other spot to put them down, and sat next to him.

As soon as he felt the bed shift, Tyler was sitting up, pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back, not minding his need for extra affection today.

The hug only lasted a minute before my stomach growled. I was starving, I already knew that long before the food was here, but now that I could smell it, my stomach was seriously getting antsy. I'm sure Tyler must be hungry too, so I pulled back from his hold, grabbing the plates and started getting us both slices.

We had just finished off the first pie when Casey burst into the room. She had a panicked look in her eyes as she quickly signed. I was only about to catch the word 'father' but judging by Tyler's suddenly pale face, I don't think she was talking about her own dad dropping by for a friendly visit.

"Wait," I said to Casey, who was trying to read whatever Tyler was signing super fast. "His dad's here? Is that what you're saying?"

She looked at me once Tyler stopped moving his hands. "He shouldn't have this address, that's what Tyler was just explaining. I don't know what he's doing here, but he's just sitting in his car, parked right out front. It's like he's waiting for Tyler to come outside and I don't know what to do."

I stood up. "I'm going out there."

Tyler, even though he had no idea what I had just said, seemed to know what I was planning anyway. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me back onto the bed, not letting me go.

I repeatedly signed the word 'no' to him. Usually it's my favorite sign, being like a little bird and all, but right now it was the only sign I knew to get my point across. He couldn't just keep me locked inside like this. I had a right to stand up for my boyfriend.

I looked up at Casey. "Tell him to let me go," I begged.

She shook her head, signing something to Tyler. "I told you earlier," she said to me, "to stay away from him. I'm serious. He's only going to bring more trouble if you provoke him. Don't do that to Tyler."

I sighed, leaning back against Tyler's chest, no longer struggling to get out of his hold. "Then what are we going to do?"

She started signing while she talked. "We can wait him out, I guess. He's got to get bored and crawl back to whatever hell hole his came from eventually."

I guess she was right, but that didn't mean I was going to let the subject drop that easily. I'd tell that man off eventually. Just, maybe not tonight.