Mess of a Party

Friday, 11:50 PM

Skylar heard a strange, tapping sound coming from her window. It was three distinct tat-tat-tats. She sat up in her bed and wondered what it could be. Then she decided that she was probably just dreaming. It was close to midnight right now, so perhaps the sound wasn't real. She laid back down and willed herself to forget about it and go back to sleep.

Of course, that would be too easy. There were three more tats and Skylar sighed, sitting up again. She walked over to the window and took a deep breath.

It's nothing. She told herself. It's probably just the wind or something. Then she threw the blinds open and gasped.

"Ty?" She whisper-screamed in disbelief. Her friend sort of grinned outside the window and tapped it once more, indicating for Skylar to open it. She did quickly and quietly, listening to see if anyone had woken up.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ty crawled in the window and leaped onto her bed, grinning the whole time.

"I thought I'd stop by to say hi." He laid back and locked his hands together behind his head and rested it on them.

Skylar internally sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Ty only acts this laid back and indifferent when something is really bothering him. She was willing to bet, from years of experience, that it had something to do with his dad. Or his dad leaving. Or his dad upsetting his mother. Skylar was pretty sure who the prime suspect of his distress was.

"Listen, Ty." Skylar started. "My parents and my brother are asleep right now. I was asleep until you showed up. I, personally, wish you would've texted first, but you're fine to stay the night. We just need to be quiet and nobody can know that you're here, okay?" He nodded and Skylar continued.

"Why are you here right now? What could you possibly need that couldn't wait until tomorrow morning?" She sighed and sat down next to him on the bed and he sat up. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

The grin on Ty's face was long gone and he was looking at his feet. Ty might dress tough and act like it, but Skylar knew the real him. He was a troubled kid with a broken family. He's Skylar's best friend and she would spend all day with him if that would cheer him up.

"It's my dad," Ty said quietly. Skylar knew better than to interrupt him, because then he might not finish his story, but she put a hand on his shoulder. Judging from how much Ty had already told her yesterday and how he was acting before, this wasn't going to be good.

"He got into some fight with my mom and it lasted a while. Then he just up and left, like he always does when things get bad. My mom won't stop crying and I don't think he's coming back anytime soon. I finally got my mom to bed, but I couldn't stand being around there anymore, you know?"

Skylar nodded, but she didn't really know the feeling. Sure, he'd parents had fights every once in a while but it was never something they couldn't resolve. Neither of them had ever left before, and she didn't know what would happen if they did. This isn't the first time Ty had just shown up at her house. And she's afraid it won't be the last.

"Okay, well." She didn't really know what to say. Ty just sat there, grasping and ungrasping his hands while staring down. He's usually got all of his emotions locked up tight, but he knows that he can talk to Skylar. He opens up for her. "I've got to get back to sleep, but you can stay up for a while if you want to. My parents can't know that you're here, so you'll have to sleep here with me. That's fine?"

Ty nodded. This is what Skylar loved about being best friends with him. They can sleep in the same bed and it's not weird at all. Skylar gave him a quick hug and then climbed back into bed. Ty just pulled out his phone and scrolled through it for a while. He wasn't tired. But he laid down eventually and fell asleep.

***

Skylar woke up to her alarm going off at around 10:20 AM the next day. It was a Saturday and she didn't really have anywhere to go, but she had to wake up before everyone else to get Ty out of her room. She looked over at him and smiled. Considering how bad things were for him, he still managed to look peaceful while asleep. He must've crawled under the covers sometime last night as he was laying on his back under them.

Skylar got up and shut off the alarm on her phone. Then she noticed a couple of texts from her other best friend, Stephanie. They were pretty straight forward. Steph was trying to arrange a party tonight at some building that Skylar had never heard of in the woods. Sounds like it's going to be wild. The last text had it all figured out.

||So everyone's coming at 9:00 tonight. We'll all drive there together since I want the location to be a bit of a surprise :) Text me if you're in.||

Skylar thought about what she had planned today and came up empty. It's been a while since she went out to party with her friends, and she might even bring her brother. Stephanie never really minded him joining them, which was cool. Skylar and her brother, Payton, were close and she hated when people excluded him.

Ty started to stir and Skylar texted Stephanie back. He sat up and smiled, stretching. He got up and pulled on his jacket that he must've taken off last night. He went toward the window, but before he could leave Skylar had one question for him.

"Hey, you wanna go to a party?"