perfidiousness | a short story

3 | That One Night

3 years ago

Tyler stood outside on the wooden porch and let a thousand thoughts and worries run through his mind as he stood waiting for the door to open. He hoped that the perspiration that left him wouldn't leave a mark on his newly ironed white button-up shirt. He was squeezing the bouquet of carnations, her favorite, so hard he was afraid he might've ruined them. About to lift his hand to ring the doorbell again the door suddenly swung open. There she was, the most gorgeous girl he had ever laid his eyes on. Tyler still couldn't believe she had agreed to go out with him yet there she stood, red heels and skin-tight dress and all.

"Wow, you look amazing" Tyler muttered out completely starstruck. Valerie smiled at his compliment and thanked him. She took in the flowers and put them into a vase and locked the door. They then got into Richard McAllister's, Tyler's dad's car, and drove off.

The drive took around fifteen minutes. Fifteen excruciating minutes filled with awkward small talk. Tyler's dad tried to fill the silence a bit, but he too, was not much of a small talker either. Both of them were very nervous because this was their first date. Tyler had admired Valerie for quite some time now, but he was always more of a secret admirer. He finally mustered up the courage to ask her out and to his shock, she accepted.

When they arrived at the Wendy's, the two thirteen-year-olds ordered their food and sat down.

"Sorry that I couldn't take you anywhere fancy, I don't have that much money" Tyler shyly admitted as he lowered his head in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay I love Wendy's, this is the best date I've ever been on" Val answered to restore confidence in Tyler. She was really happy when Tyler asked her out during 4th-period math. He had given her a note that said "Date?" and then two boxes to check: Yes or Yes.

"This is the only date you've ever been on"

"Exactly" They both let out a laugh and after that conversing got easy. They enjoyed their double cheeseburgers and fries until their stomachs couldn't hold any more food. They made fun of teachers and students at their school, especially Jacob Miller. He had slipped on a piece of salad during lunch and spilled all of his chocolate milk on his fancy new Ralph Lauren shirt.

Wow, I'm so lucky they both thought whilst silently admiring each other throughout the burger date.

After finishing their meal the couple decided to take a stroll in the town center. Passing by the local corner shop Valerie found herself turning towards Tyler which caused him to stop and look at her. The moonlight perfectly hit her face giving it a gentle white glow.

This is it, this is the part where I get my first kiss! Tyler thought. However, to his surprise, Valerie opened her mouth to say something else

"You wanna go inside?" She asked as she nudged her head towards the corner shop indicating she wanted to go inside the store. Nodding his head Tyler followed the chestnut-haired girl inside. He continued following around her like a dog as she passed aisle after aisle until finally stopping at the alcohol section. Grabbing a bottle and swiftly placing it inside her bag the girl ignored her date's concerned look.

"What are you doing? You can't take that!" The boy whispered-yelled to not make the half-asleep cashier suspicious. The girl hushed him and continued walking towards the check-out grabbing a pack of gum on her way. Placing the gum on the table the cashier was suddenly awoken from his slumber to scan the item.

"Six-ninety-nine" the man behind the desk said as Valerie placed the required amount of money in front of him and left the store with Tyler right behind her. The boy was now even more nervous than he was waiting on her porch. This was wrong, he knew it, yet he didn't do anything about it because he didn't want Valerie to think that he wasn't cool. He had been wanting to go out with her for months now. Definitely not screwing up now.

Valerie led him to an abandoned dark alleyway and took a sip from the bottle she had just acquired. The boy nervously fidgeted around with his fingers, he had no idea what to do. Should he say he has an early curfew? Or that he's feeling sick? Or maybe just straight up tell her that he thinks this is very wrong. His train of thought got interrupted when he heard the girl speak up.

"You want some?" she asked, passing the bottle to his hands. The boy stared at the bottle for a few seconds contemplating what to do.

"This is your first time isn't it?" She asked him as she noticed his nervous manner.

"Nooo of course not I go out and drink at parties like every weekend" The boy very obviously lied. "I just have eaten so much it might, you know, upset my stomach"

"You don't have to drink if you don't want to, I'm sorry" She explained as she reached out her hand to retrieve the bottle. However, to her surprise. Tyler's response was to chug the bottle. He tried swallowing but he immediately spit it out which caught the attention of a passing police officer who was on night patrol looking out for rebels wandering the streets at nightfall.

Panicked, the couple immediately started running off. Valerie took hold of Tyler's hand and sprinted as fast as she could. However, the adrenaline coursing through her veins didn't help since her balance got affected by the alcohol she ingested and she fell causing the boy behind her to also come crashing down like a domino. The police officer got a hold of them shortly afterward.

—

"I am extremely disappointed in you, son" Richard's low voice rumbled through the police station causing chills to travel down the young boy's spine. He had lowered his head as he didn't dare to look at his father's face. His mother was silently sobbing behind her husband making Tyler feel even more ashamed and guilty.

"After everything, your mother and I have done for you how dare you go and turn your backs on us" His fathered continued scolding "You are no longer our son"

You are no longer our son. Tyler started violently sobbing as his parents left the station. He has been a failure of a son, and now he had no home. Nowhere to be. The noise around him faded away as he slowly sank into his seat and let the anger and sadness wash over him. Until eventually he felt nothing. Numbness. He didn't even notice Valerie coming back into the room with the same empty feeling as he had. She had also been kicked out of her house. Now all they had was each other. It was them against the world.