amnesia | tyler joseph

26.

just one more chapter and an epilogue left!!!! :-)

"I hate this." Tyler ignored her. "Seriously, Tyler. I hate this." She caught the faint sound of him quietly laughing. She impatiently huffed and fell more deeply into her seat. This was the last thing she'd expected to be doing today — sitting in Tyler's car blindfolded, confused and a little hungry.

Of course, her first reaction was to ask, "Are you into this sort of thing?" — in which Tyler simply laughed and explained that he had a surprise waiting and that she had to wear the cloth in order to receive it.

She was half sure that Tyler had circled the block twice. They'd taken four left turns and then four right turns, one after the other. Either he was trying to throw her off or he had no idea where he was going. She hoped that the latter wasn't the truth. If the prior was, in fact, what he was trying to do, it wasn't working. She'd taken the drive to Tyler's apartment dozens of times. She could find her way there in her sleep.

Fortunately, Tyler eventually flipped the ignition off and stepped out. She felt the cool air at her right, signaling he'd opened her door. His soft hands led her from the vehicle, nothing but patient and understanding as she continued tripping over herself.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Yes," he said simply.

Alright then.

A few doors and a short elevator ride later, the familiar smell of Tyler's apartment filled her nose. She said nothing as he led her inside, most likely into his living room as she felt cushions beneath her a few moments later.

"Whatever you do, don't freak out."

As much as she wanted to bark back a sarcastic response, she held her tongue. It was obvious he was nervous about this and she didn't want to make it more difficult for him. It was easy to hear the slight tremor in his voice and the dampness of his palms when he touched her. "Okay."

She heard his footsteps disappear out of the room for a moment and then heard a strange sound she couldn't place. It wasn't long before he returned and bent down in front of her. "Okay," he said, his breathing more labored than it had been before. "You can take your blindfold off."

With little patience, she ripped the flimsy thing from her eyes and squinted through the brightness of the room to focus on her boyfriend. In his hands, a wriggling pup sat in his arms. It was obvious the puppy wanted down, but Tyler's fingers brushed soothing rubs between her ears.

Thoroughly confused, Charlie met Tyler's gaze. "Cody?"

He nodded, his adam's apple bobbing nervously as he swallowed. "I bought her."

Charlie gasped, not only because she knew how ecstatic Dakota was going to be, but the fact that Tyler, who hadn't been a big animal person since they first met, actually brought one into his own home. She leaned forward to pet the pup she hadn't seen in weeks, smiling as Cody eagerly licked at her fingers. She had grown quite a bit since she'd last seen her. Her paws were now the size of her palms and she was now tall enough to reach her knees.

"And.." He began, tongue sweeping out to wet his dry lips. "I was hoping that you'd take care of her when I was away with the band thing."

"Of course! You know I'd—" She began, fingers now fondling her soft ears as Cody stared up at her with big, blue eyes.

Tyler stopped her before she could finish. "But also help me take care of her."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Of course, Ty. You know you can call me at anytime and I'll be here."

Tyler laughed, but the frustration and worry was clear in his eyes. There was something she was clearly missing. "No, babe." He sighed and finally set the poor pup onto the ground. She bounded away, clearly already well-accustomed to her new home. "I want you to live here. I want to wake up in the middle of the night and look over and see you next to me. I want to wake up every morning with your hair all messed up and that sleepy look in your eyes." He released a breath, gaze never wavering from her eyes. "I want it all."

Her breath caught — literally. "Really?"

He laughed then and brushed his hand through Cody's fur as she bumped against his side. "I know how early this is and whatever, but I've thought about this a lot and I can't help but think that it'll work out. It's not like it's far from campus and Dakota can come and visit whenever he wants."

She was sure he had broken her. She could not stop smiling.

While, yes, she normally wouldn't ever move in with someone this early in the relationship, she wanted nothing more than to experience everything he had just said. "Okay."

His dark eyes brightened and a smile that closely matched hers stretched out his lips. "Okay?"

She nodded and laughed as his arms wrapped around her waist and spun her around. Sensing the excitement, Cody bounded about at their feet with happy yips.

She didn't think life could get better than this.

i stg if someone says something about fault in our stars im going to combust