Light as a Feather

Chapter Twenty-One

        Annabelle's message to her uncle's girlfriend was answered later in the hotel room. Tyler didn't have much; just a small bag he had packed very quickly before they left with clothes and hygiene products. The room wasn't big, but it was big enough for both of them. Annabelle had walked in the room and set her stuff down, and then immediately plugged her phone in. 

        She smiled when she found that Grace had messaged her back. Grace had said, "Ah, you're Leo's niece! He talks about you all the time! Of course I can give you the address..." Her next message consisted of the address that Annabelle would plug into her phone the next day to try and find him. 

        In Tyler's car the next morning, Annabelle watched the screen of her phone to see where they should turn. Tyler said, "Wait, so he doesn't even live in St. George?"

        Annabelle said, "He lives in the St. George area. There are other towns connected to St. George, and the one he lives in is one of them."

        "What's it called?" he asked. 

        "Um... Ivins."

        Tyler scrunched his nose. "Ivins? I've never heard of it." 

        "Yeah, me neither. But apparently it's really pretty," Annabelle said, shrugging. 

        Tyler turned on the street where the GPS told him to. He stared out the windshield, and Annabelle noticed his eyes. They were really bright with the way that the sunlight was hitting them. She shook off the feeling and turned away from his face. Tyler said, "So, I still don't get why you came all this way for your uncle." 

        "Because he's family. And that's what families do." Tyler scoffed at that. Annabelle turned her face towards him again, her eyes fiery. "Why is that funny to you? Family and friends come first for me."

        Tyler didn't smile or show emotion. His mouth was set in a straight line as he paused and there was a tense silence. Finally, he said, "My family isn't like that. Not everyone's is, Anna. Sometimes... sometimes your family doesn't really care about you." 

        Annabelle realized that there was something deep inside him that was wounded. It would probably take anybody else decades to remove the flesh and blood that covered that wound, but Annabelle also knew something. Tyler cared about her. So maybe she could use that to her advantage. She said, "Tyler, did your family... do something to you?" She didn't mean it to sound so... well, weird, but her voice was sticky sweet, which was how she wanted it. 

        He glanced at her, a crooked smile on his lips. "As if I'd tell you," he said teasingly. 

        "Why not?" Annabelle asked seriously. 

        Tyler sighed. "It's not like my parents abuse me or anything, because they don't... they're not like that. They just, well, my dad doesn't really get it. He never has. My mom died when I was little, which I know is nothing special. Little five-year-olds everywhere have their moms die. But to me... I was the only one in the world who knew what was up, if you know what I mean. Nobody understood, and nobody would ever understand, except her, my mom. But, obviously, if she were there, the problem wouldn't have been there. 

        "Anyway, she died. And when that happened, my dad went a little crazy. He'd always been sort of odd, yeah, but when she died... something snapped. He didn't pay attention to me. Not to the important stuff, like when I'd get an A in spelling, which, by the way, was my worst subject. Then he got a new girlfriend, and I was left in the dust. She's great, yeah, but it was kind of like my dad forgot that I existed, not that that's hard to do."