Colors // Joshler

// 79. A Simple Instinct //

After giving his brief speech, Tyler shut the door to his parents' room and stood just outside, breathing slow blue breaths as the maroon rush gradually disappeared from his lungs. He fully expected his parents to come after him, but they didn't.

Although he knew he should go to his room, Tyler--orange and green rooting into his stomach--found that he really just didn't want to be in this house anymore.

So he just left.

He was about halfway down the street when he realized that he had left his backpack in the house, but he really didn't want to see his parents for the rest of the night. Briefly, he stopped to assess what he had: his cell phone, his wallet, and the clothes on his back. Well, it wasn't much.

As he walked, he contemplated where he could go. His first thought was Josh's grandparents' house, but it was late, and they were probably in bed. He'd bothered them enough for one day, anyway.

He wished he had Brendon's phone number. His friendship with the boy was still slightly awkward, what with Brendon having flirted with him from the moment they had met up until he'd learned about Josh, but he was probably trustworthy. Unfortunately, Tyler had no means of contacting him.

Tyler soon made it to the home of Josh's grandparents, just to check, and as he expected, the lights were all out. He paused on the sidewalk for a moment. It was dark, and while this was a decent neighborhood, there's no amount of safety that can remove a simple instinct. Glancing around first to make sure he was alone, he pulled his wallet from his pocket and found that he had twenty dollars.

How much did hotels cost? Tyler hadn't been to one since he was very little, with his family, and he hadn't been concerned about the price at the time. He was pretty sure they charged more than twenty dollars.

The porch light suddenly turned on, and Tyler froze as its yellowed gaze drifted across the sidewalk, just enough for his form to be visible. A woman--it must have been Josh's grandmother--stepped out the front door slightly. "Tyler, is that you?"

"Yeah," the boy said, warily. He felt almost embarrassed to be seen out here. No, ashamed.

"Are you alright?'

Tyler shook his head. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

Mrs. Dun shrugged. "I could see the determination in you when you left earlier, and I knew something big was about to happen." She opened the door a bit wider, stepping back. "Do you want to come in?"

The small boy considered his options. He could go back home, and pretend the talk with his parents had never happened. He could try to call Josh, although he was probably asleep at home. He could go downtown, and just hang around until morning.

None of these seemed like good options, so Tyler carefully approached Mrs. Dun, and followed her inside.