The New Normal

Chapter Twenty

Homecoming was fast approaching and although Kimberly, Stella, and I all had our complete outfits planned out, stress was in the air. The girls mainly worried that there would be an outfit malfunction or another but I found my mind wandering to Tyler. We still hadn't seen or heard of him for nearly two weeks and even the boys were beginning to worry — with the exception of Brody, who did not seem at all interested in Tyler's whereabouts. Anytime I mentioned it, he brush it off and say, "Look, J, if he wanted to talk to his friends, he'd talk to his friends. He's a big boy, just let it be."

Even though he kept telling me to let it be, I couldn't stand the thought of brushing it off. The boys tried calling Tyler and visiting him, they wouldn't get an answer. I could tell that they were worried, or at least getting there, but something told me that if they dared to push Tyler out of hiding, it would not go well. So, rather than them pushing Tyler, I thought I may as well do it myself.

Brody and I were walking towards the parking lot when I made up my mind that I was going to see Tyler. I stopped walking and turned to face him with a hesitant smile. "I think I'm going to catch a ride Seth, he lives close to Tyler and I, so I was thinking of trying to see him myself."

Brody's jaw clenched slightly but quickly relaxed as he tried to cover up his negative reaction with a patient smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "What about my lacrosse game?"

"I'll still come," I said quickly. "I just thought it would be easier so you don't have to drive me home and then pick me up again in an hour, that way you can stay and practice with the rest of the team."

"I-" He began but was soon cut off by the sound of Seth hollering from his car that was now in front of Brody and I. "Hey, J, you coming?"

I looked back at Brody with pleading eyes and his features softened begrudgingly. "Fine. Just be here for four thirty, alright?"

"I swear," I replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek to make up for my inconvenience. Although a kiss on the cheek was nothing, at least, in my opinion it was, Brody took a step back and gave me a lopsided smirk as he turned towards the school and broke out into a jog to get to the change rooms.

I opened Seth's car door and slid into the passenger seat and he began to drive off to Tyler's house.

"TYLER," I yelled, pounding on his front door for the fifth time. My patience was deteriorating and I just wanted him to answer the damn door. I knew he was home because I could see the lights in the house on and I could hear his music faintly from outside. I pounded on the door once again and I was still met with silence. Sighing, I stomped to the side of his house and attempted to climb the gate. This time proved to be a lot harder because Ariel was not here to give me a boost. Instead, I was stuck hopping up to grab the top of the door and climb my way up awkwardly as there was nowhere to gain my footing. Finally, after a few minutes of me trying to get up an otherwise flat wooden surface, I got my left foot to get on the wooden plank that was about halfway up the door. From there, it was a lot more easy to finish the rest of the way as I swung on leg over the gate and then the next. I landed with a thud, but thank the Lord I was not wearing heels like last time, or else I'd have a harder time climbing the side of his house with a busted ankle.

I walked into the large backyard and inspected the farthest window where I could see Tyler's bedroom light on and hear the music more clearly. He was definitely in there. All I need to do was climb the decorative ladder to get on the lower sloped roof and hopefully, Tyler will let me in. As I started to climb the creaky old ladder, that definitely should not be climbed on, I thought about how Tristan used to do this when he was younger, especially when he was mad at Dad. He'd run away to Tyler's house, climbing this old ladder and Tyler would keep him in his room so neither of our parent knew where Tris was until Tyler's parents would burst into his room and there would be Tristan, sitting on Tyler's bed playing video games. 

Before I knew it, I made it up the ladder that I certainly thought I was going to break and I sat on the roof, collecting my breath before I attempt to talk to Tyler. After a couple of deep breaths, I knock on Tyler's window.

Tyler quickly came into view and I took a step back as I noticed he did not have a shirt on or pants for that matter. All he was wearing was plaid boxers that hung low on his waist and a chain around his neck that reached the beginning of his tattoo. It was the first time I ever saw the tattoo in full and I just now realized it was a set of wings that spanned across his chest, surrounding the wings was an intricate design or swirls and lines that reminded me of tribal symbols. Cutting the music and with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he stalked over to his window and pulled it up. "What the hell are you doing on my roof?"

"I-I-" I couldn't form a sentence because I was too flustered by his appearance. He stood in front of me on the other side of the window with his hands grasping the frame, waiting for an answer but I couldn't concentrate, not with his muscles obviously flexing and not with his tattoo sculpting his body. Without thinking, I took another step back, forgetting I was on a roof and nearly fell back, if hadn't been for firm grasp that aggressively pulled me through the window and landing on the carpeted floor.

"Fuck, Juliet. You could've fallen off the damn roof, what were you thinking?" Tyler demanded, offering me a hand.

I placed mine in his and pulled myself up. "Well, you weren't answering the door, so I thought I would climb the roof."

Tyler opened his mouth to argue but decided against it, placing his cigarette in his mouth and taking a long final drag before he placed it in his glass ashtray that rested on his nightstand beside his bed. We stayed in silence for a moment, not saying a single word. Part of me felt awkward, however, another made me feel triumphant that I was the only one who could get Tyler to talk, even if it was to yell at me for climbing his roof. Tyler towered over me with his arms crossed, waiting for me to speak. I pulled out his desk chair that was already pushed out, Tyler was probably sitting there before I had knocked, and sat on it. He followed suit and sat on his bed. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay," I mumbled. "You weren't talking to anyone and Brody told me not to worry and to forget about it but I couldn't."

"Brody?" Tyler arched a brow, looking utterly annoyed. "You seriously are still going to Homecoming with Brody?"

Anger raised from the pit of my stomach as I narrowed my eyes on Tyler. "It's not like anyone else was going to ask me to Homecoming. Besides, he's nice."

Tyler leaned back on his bed, an arm tucked behind his head. "Trust me, Sweetness, he is not nice. Who needs a date for Homecoming anyway? It's just a stupid dance."

"Says the guy who could get any girl he wants and has slept with half the girls at school," I snorted, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms.

His eyes flashed with a look I'd never seen before. "I haven't slept with half the girls at school," he said quietly, not meeting my gaze.

I instantly felt awful for saying what I did, not realizing how rude it must've sounded. "Look, the point is, I came her because I was worried about you and I wanted to see if you were okay."

Tyler looked up at me, his green eyes bright. "Well... Thank you. But I'm fine."

"Bullshit," I argued. "If you were fine, you would be at school or at the cafe but you aren't. You haven't been for two weeks. If you're fine, prove it."

"Fine." Tyler growled as he sat up and eventually stood from his bed. He started rummaging around in his closet behind me and I could hear he was actually putting on clothes. "What are you doing tonight?"

My throat tightened. I didn't want to tell him I was going to the lacrosse game because that would probably annoy him and seeing as he was actually leaving the house for once, I didn't want to shut him down when I finally got him back up. But I knew I couldn't lie to him. "I was going to go to the lacrosse game."

Tyler came into view, shrugging on his leather jacket. "Is Brody going to be there?"

"Um, yeah?" I responded with more attitude than I meant to.

He gave me a wicked grin, a grin that I knew meant he was up to no good. "Excellent."