twisted // tyler seguin

sixty six

"Sav, I'm about to head out." Tyler had a soft grip on my shoulder. "I'll see you later on tonight." He kissed my temple and rubbed the top of my head before gliding out of the room.

I turned lazily onto my side and read the clock- 8:45. Class was in an about two hours. It was a Friday morning, and the thought of staying home seemed comforting, but I already missed enough school last semester.

I rolled out of the bed with a yawn, and started getting ready for the day. It was just me and the dogs in the house since Tyler had a game against the Ducks later on tonight. He wouldn't be home until around 10:30-ish, and I'd probably be sleep by then. It was normal to me now, barely seeing my boyfriend even though we lived in the same house.

I was ready to head out at about 9:45, which was later than I usually left. Tyler had my bottle of Ativan sitting on the counter waiting for me like the typical dad-like figure he was. I opened the bottle and saw that there was one pill left. Shit, I thought. I'll just tell him I ran out when he gets home. I chucked the bottle in the trash and headed out to the garage.

Walking into UNT gave me a weird feeling since I've been away for so long. Before the anxiety attacks and the prescription, I was stressed out of my mind. Now? It felt like I was simply here for school; not to the pressure to please other people.

Starbucks sounded fitting for breakfast, so I decided to get me some food before class. I was eating a lot better now, and I was no longer going up to 2 days without having an actual meal. Fortunately, the line was short since class started in about 10 minutes.

"Savannah, is that you?"

I turned around and a familiar, bright face greeted mine. Steve was standing before me with a silly grin on his face, covered by his massive beard. His typical ripped black jeans were on with a large crewneck that flashed the logo of the Florida Gators.

"Didn't you get the memo that November was over? You can shave now." I said laughing. He narrowed his eyes which made me laugh even harder.

"I guess I didn't get the memo that dropouts were so comical." Steve shrugged with a sarcastic look on his face.

"Who said I was a dropout?"

"Your attendance record."

I rolled my eyes while smiling. He didn't change; he still had his wit and NYC attitude that showed through everything he did. I was about to pay for my order when Steve dropped a twenty on the counter.

"Consider it a welcome back gift." He gave me a sly smile.

-

Steve and I met up after our classes to catch up. We couldn't get through our conversation however, without him lighting up a couple of cigarettes.

"So you have an anxiety disorder? One that you actually need prescription for?" He asked, smoke leaving his mouth. I nodded as I ran a hand through my knotty hair. "So how does Tyler feel about that? Are you guys even together still?"

I laughed as I nodded again. "Yes, we're still together. He's just happy I guess that he found that there was something wrong with me, and that I wasn't just off my rockers." A warm feeling surged through my body as I thought about him. "I fall in love with him more and more everyday." I said quietly.

Steve took a drag off of his cigarette and smiled at me. "Well that's an entirely different story from what you were telling me before you dropped out."

"Yeah, because I didn't know what I was talking about." My head dropped into my palms. "The intensity of everything Tyler went through to make sure that I was okay really didn't hit me until recently. It was really shitty of me, and I feel bad. I would've left me. But he didn't, and I'm glad he didn't, because I learned so much about from him." I was twisting a piece of hair before I realized it.

"Sounds nice." Steve ashed his cigarette with a sigh. "I don't think I'm ready for something like that. Too much responsibility."

"Well, yeah. That's a major key in a relationship." Suddenly, my phone started vibrating. I picked it up and saw that Tyler was calling. "Give me a second," I said to Steve.

"Hey," I chimed out with a large smile on my face.

"Hey babygirl, I wanted to ask you something." The background was loud, which must've meant he was out eating with his team. "Are you doing something tomorrow?"

"Uh... shit." I completely forgot I was supposed to help Julia try on dresses tomorrow. She told me earlier in the week, so I had no clue how I forgot.

"What's wrong?" Tyler asked.

"I forgot I have to help Julia try on dresses tomorrow." I leaned back in my chair to stretch and caught a glimpse of Steve flashing me a worried glance. "Sorry Tyler."

"How'd you forget that?" Tyler laughed.

"I don't know, I'm sorry."

"It's okay Sav, I'm kidding. Well listen," Tyler's voice continued to give me flashes of warmth and longing all throughout my body. "There's a huge football game coming on tomorrow, and the boys kinda asked if I could throw a little watch party. What do you think?"

"I don't care." I said chuckling. "It's your house. I'm not gonna be there anyway."

"Yeah, that's true. Alright, cool. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

"That's fine, it doesn't matter to me."

There was a pause. "'Kay, I'll see you later on then. Love you princess."

"Love you too." I hung up. My face was burning out of control, and I couldn't help it. "He's so cute Steve, I hate him."

"You're such a little kid, you're blushing out of control." Steve laughed out loud as he pulled at his beard. "I'm happy for you though, you finally seem to be at peace."

"Yeah," I said still smiling. "I guess you could say something like that."