The Treehouse

House of Gold

Just as a heads up, this chapter may be slightly triggering. Stay Alive, Frens! You guys are awesome! Read on!
  Rey

    •Jenna•
   
       I never realized how boring lying in bed all day could be until I've been forced to. There has been literally nothing to do since I was released from the hospital—six days ago—except watch videos on my phone, watch TV, and talk to Tyler where possible. He gave me his number in case I need him. He hasn't come over for two days. The weekend must have kept him busy.
I hate Monday's. They're like the gloomiest, drowsiest day of the week. I need a little sunshine in my life.
"Knock knock." My head whips around as I hear two gentle raps on my door. Looks like sunshine decided to pay a little visit.
"Tyler!" I beam. The brown-haired boy fails at hiding a grin and comes to sit at the foot of my bed. "I'm so glad you came. I'm soooooo bored!"
"I can fix that," he says as he sets a paper bag on his lap. I raise an eyebrow. He slides to the floor. He's in gray shorts and a blue tiger shirt. "Join me," he says, patting a spot beside him.
"I'm still in my pajamas," I reply shyly.
"That's okay."
"My hair is the victim of a weed whacking freak accident."
"I don't care what's in your hair." Tyler scoots forward and gets a more serious look on his face. "I just want to know what's on your mind. Now please"—he persists—"join me."
"Fine," I sigh, slowly peeling the covers off of me. I am offered Tyler's hand, and I use it to carefully stand up. My plaid pajama bottoms and Hogwarts shirt are studied by Tyler.
"I don't care if you're in a designer dress or hobo clothes. You look fine in anything."
I blush and sit beside him. "So, what's in the bag?"
He holds it up and opens it. "Taco Bell, what else?"
"Oh my gosh!" I facepalm. I should've known. It's Tyler.
"It's part of a delicious breakfast." He pulls out a breakfast quesadilla and apple empanada and hands them to me. I unwrap the quesadilla and take a bite of the warm, cheesy goodness.
He bites into a breakfast burrito, and we eat in silence.
Tyler balls up our wrappers and tosses them back in the bag when we finish. We sit across from each other on my rug.
"What did you do over the weekend?" I ask at a loss for words.
"I hung out at my friend, Josh's house."
"Cool! What did you do there?"
Tyler rubs the back of his neck nervously. "We looked over songs that we've written for our band."
"You're in a band!?" I say in astonishment. "I knew you had written songs, but I didn't know you were in a band!"
"Yeah...it's not that big yet, and it used to have more members. Now it's just Josh and me, and Mark is helping us out some."
"What's the name of it?"
"Twenty One Pilots," he says.
"Do you mind singing me one of your songs? I want to hear one." I blush.
"I've sung two to you already," Tyler chuckles.
"You have?"
He nods. "Oh Ms Believer and the new one I'm working on called Trees."
"Well, sing me another one. Please?" I make puppy dog eyes.
He laughs. "I don't have my ukulele."
"Kristen has one. Hang on." I stand up and walk into my sister's room. I take the ukulele off of its stand in the corner and return to my room.
"See, now you can't make excuses." I shove the ukulele into his hands. "Now play!"

•Tyler•

I never knew that Jenna would take an interest in my band. It fills me with excitement, yet anxiety.
She's only heard two of your songs. She probably won't even like the rest. She'll think they're too depressing.
"Tyler? Are you...are you going to play?" Jenna asks anxiously.
"Oh...yeah." I strum the first chord on the ukulele. "This one is called 'House of Gold.'" I start strumming a C chord.

"She asked me,'Son, when I grow old
"'Will you buy me a house of gold?
"'And when your father turns to stone
"'Will you
"'Take care
"'Of me?'"

I continue to sing and eventually come to the end of the song.

"I will
"Make you
"Queen of
"Everything you see.
"I'll put you on the map.
"I'll cure you of disease."

My final chord is met with silence, causing me to nervously look up. Jenna's face is lit up with an enormous smile.
"D-Did you like it?"
"Like it? Like it!!!?? Tyler, I loved it! That was beautiful!"
I blush. "T-thank you."
She grins. "That made my day."
I grin back. "I'm glad it did."
We're both quiet for a moment. Jenna looks like she's thinking deeply about something. I walk over to her bed and place the ukulele on it, trying not to rush her.
"You know, Tyler," she says finally. I turn to face her where she's standing with one leg bent, her toe scuffing the floor and her left hand grabbing her straightened right arm. She looks really awkward, but in a shy kind of way. It's cute. "Um....I'm terrified of saying this....but...," she trails off.
I gently grasp her shoulders. "Jenna, you can tell me anything. You know that."
She takes a deep breath and nods. "Well....here it goes. Um..I'm surprised...I'm surprised you haven't asked me out yet."
My brow furrows. "Why would I ask you out?" I immediately regret my words. I didn't mean did them to come out like that. "No, I'm sorry, I say hurriedly. "I didn't mean—"
Jenna's face falls. "And all this time I thought you liked me."
"I do like you!" I finally exclaim, turning red. "I just don't think your boyfriend would like me that much."
"Boyfriend!? What are you talking about!?" Now it's her turn to be confused. Actually, we're both on the wrong page.
"The boy in your lock—that's not your boyfriend?"
"Tyler, I've been single since the ninth grade!"
"What about your locket?"
Jenna's face falls and her lip starts to tremble. "Tyler," she whispers. "He wasn't my boyfriend."
Wasn't.
She starts to cry, and I know I've immediately made a mistake. I walk over to her and nervously hug her. A girl can be a ticking time bomb according to the experience I've had with sisters. "Jenna....I didn't mean—"
"No," she says, wiping her eyes. "You deserve to know."
Deserve to know? Am I missing something?
I guide her over to her bed and we sit. She leans her head on my shoulder and I put an arm around her.
"I have a cousin," she begins, sniffing. I brush a stray hair out of her face. "His name is Brett. We're extremely close. We can tell each other anything. He seems to be the only person in this world who understands me." She unclasps her locket and opens it to reveal the picture. "This is the only picture that I have with him." She pushes the locket into my hands, and I gaze at the strongly-built boy with dark hair.
He shoulders shake and she starts to cry again, this time harder. "Sh...," I say. "Take your time."
She gasps a few times, trying to catch her breath. "On March...e-eighteenth of this year....B-Brett...my cousin...c-c....,"
"It's okay," I say. "Breathe."
"He......committed suicide." Now she completely breaks down, looking so frail and vulnerable, which tears my heart. I stroke her back. "That's why I was so terrified of losing my locket. He's so important to me. That's why I was so scared when I saw the rubber band on your wrist."
"I'm sorry," I say. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Jenna turns to look at me. "Just don't take your life away from me. Promise me that."
"I promise," I say.
We sit like that, my arm around her and her head on my shoulder for a good time before I head a ping of a text message on my phone. I slide it out of my pocket.

Mom: Where are you? You said you'd only be gone an hour! It's been three!
Crap.
"Uh...Jenna," I say quietly.
"Huh?"
"My mom needs me home. She's getting worried."
"That's fine," she says, shifting to let me get up.
"You good? Will you be okay? I'll check in on you tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll be okay. I needed a good cry." She gives me a sad smile.
I stand up and walk to the doorway. "Text me if you need anything, okay?" She nods. "Look," I sigh. "I'm really sorry. I know emotional pain is the last thing you need with your concussion at the moment. It's my fault. Blame me."
"No," Jenna says. "It's okay. I was the one who brought it up. I guess I'll just see you later."
"Okay," I say quietly. I walk out her door and downstairs. Mrs. Black is sitting at the kitchen table.
"Is everything okay?" she asks me. "I thought I heard crying. Are you treating my daughter well?"
I freeze, my anxiety kicking in. "She...told me about Brett."
Her face immediately softens. "Oh. You have to understand that Brett's...departure...is a very sensitive subject. It's not to be taken lightly. She hasn't told anyone outside of the family about this since it happened. She must trust you greatly. If she trusts you that much, then I do, too."
I nod. "Thank you, ma'am."
"We'll see you another day, Tyler."
I nod again and turn to walk out her back door. Stopping, I turn back around. "Will she...will she be okay?"
Her mom thinks for a moment. "Yeah," she finally says. "She'll be okay. It's just something she has to push through to make her stronger."
"Okay," I say. Sliding open the back door, I start my walk through the woods back towards home before my mom can worry any further.