Rugged Lace

Chapter Five

*Sometimes I can't see, all the lights surrounding me*

"Tyler, could you pass the salt?" Her mother asks, looking up at her with a smile and a slight jerk of the hand. Tyler does so, her own face holding a small smile as she takes another bite out of her mashed potatoes. Most of them are spread out across her plate, and even though she's hungry she can't bring herself to actually eat anything. Don's words from earlier won't leave her alone. Maybe you should start working out more.

Her Dad clears his throat, looking over at her, "Tyler, could you pass the potatoes?"

She passes the mashed potatoes easily, looking up at her father and giving him a soft smile. It's clear that something's on her mind, but she doesn't want to say anything about it. It's not like she could even if she wanted to, Don's made it clear that talking to their parents about it is just something that can't happen. It'd ruin everything. So I have no one I can really talk to right now. Maybe I'll text Alise in a bit. She's pretty cool.

"Tyler, are you okay? You look sick. Did you get sick the other day?" Her mother asks in-between bites of food, looking at Tyler with a worried expression. Tyler shakes her head, trying to get the passive look off her face. They're noticing. Look natural, Tyler. Gosh, what's wrong with you? Can't you do anything right?

"I'm good." She tells her parents, smiling a bit wider and taking a big bite out of her food. The mashed potatoes feel cold in her mouth, but she doesn't say anything about it. Her parents are both nearly done eating, yet there she is, a full plate still in front of her, only bits and pieces eaten.

"Alright, well how was school? Did something happen?" Her father asks, looking over at her while chewing his food. Tyler looks down at her plate, pretending to eat some of her pork steak.

She shrugs, "I broke up with my boyfriend." The flat tone of her voice makes it seem common, everyday, the same as asking 'pass the salt'. It's no big deal. If I make it one, it'll be one. But it's not a big deal. It's not. I don't mind.

"Good, he was a no good boy anyways. I never did like him." Her father tells her, shrugging and eating the last bits of meat off of his plate.

"Honey! Oh, Tyler, I'm so sorry. Well, as long as your happier without him you've done the right thing. You're happier without him, right?" Her mother asks, looking over at Tyler with another worried expression. Her mouth can't seem to decide if it's a smile or a frown, and Tyler just shrugs at her, not really sure how she's supposed to respond. What am I supposed to say? I'll just wing it.

"Yeah, I'm good. He's dating Chel now. They like each other, and I figured it'd be awful for me to keep pretending." She takes another bite of her mashed potatoes before she laughs quickly, playing everything off as humorous, "Besides, I didn't really like him that much."

"Didn't you spend three weeks making him a Valentines gift though?" Her mother counters, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Once again Tyler shrugs, trying to down play it and wishing that her mother would just drop the subject. "I dunno. I just...I thought I liked him, but it was just a crush. It happens, you know?" Leave it be, Mom, please. I really can't talk about this to you. You wouldn't understand and I can't explain how teenagers work to you.

"Oh, well, okay. As long as you're happy sweetie." Her mother tells her, going back to eating the rest of the food on her plate. She pushes back a strand of her thin blonde hair, and everyone tries to ignore the fact that she's still looking sick. Mom's always wondering if I'm okay, but why can't she just think of herself? God, she's sick as hell, and she never...she never tries to think of herself. I wish she would just be selfish like the rest of the world. It'd make everything so much easier.