•sand• |RH|

{48}

Towers 1-8 started to put stuff into the storage area as the other towers left since they didn't have any other things to do. "Callie!" I heard behind me as I put some stuff away. I turned around to see Eric. "What's up?" I asked as I continued to put things away. "Lizzie's sick! She's throwing up all over the tower." Eric says. I look over at Roger, who nods. I thank him before running with Eric back to our tower. The two of us climb onto the deck to see the bathroom door open and Lizzie crouched down beside the toilet. Tyler was getting her water from the cooler we put in here, so he joined me in the bathroom.

Lizzie wasn't throwing up, so I attempted to talk to her. "What happened?" I asked as Tyler handed her the water. "I don't know. I felt perfectly fine and then the next minute I was throwing up." She sighed before taking a large gulp of water. "I'll go call your mom." Gina said from the doorway before stepping away.

Eric crouched down and hugged her.

•••

That night, after everything happened and everyone was home safe, my parents sat all the kids down. "We have to talk." They said. All three of us looked at each other with confusion written all over our faces.

We focused our attention on our parents sitting in front of us.

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce." My dad sighed. Tears flooded my eyes. I leaned back in my chair as I processed everything in my brain. "We want you guys to know, it's not your fault." They both said. I shook my head before standing up and walking outside. "I'm sorry, I can't do this." I sighed before shutting the door behind me. I ran down the street to Tyler's house to see no one was home, except Tyler's room light was on. One of my hands wiped at my tears while the other knocked. The door opened to reveal a shirtless Tyler. Usually, I would be drooling. But my mind is solely on my parents.

"Buttercup, What's wrong?" He asked as he pulled me into a hug and carried me into the house. He sat the two of us on the couch as I continued to cry. Tyler sat me on his lap and ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting way while he held me close to him. I cried into his warm chest. Tyler doesn't pressure me into telling him, instead he holds me close and comforts me until I calmed down.

"Please don't let me go." I cried into his chest. "Hey, I promise you, you're not leaving my arms until you smile or laugh." Tyler promises as he pushed hair out of my face. He holds my face to his chest while caressing my cheek with his thumb. My sobs got quieter as time went on until the stopped.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" He softly asked. I slowly nodded before pulling my head away from his chest.

"My parents are divorcing." I softly sighed. Tears clouded my vision again as I looked into Tyler's gorgeous green eyes. He frowned and let me cry into his chest again. "I'm sorry, you probably had plans tonight." I cried. "You're more important." He says before kissing my forehead and laying us down on the couch. He laid me on top of him before turning the TV on. Tyler's long fingers ran through my curly hair as he comforted me. He reached over us and grabbed a blanket before throwing it over the top of us.

Tyler kisses my head every so often as he comforts me and watches TV. His other hand comes up and rests on my cheek before caressing it, which also gets rid of the tears that fall from my eyes.

"It hurts." I softly cried into his chest. "I know, baby." Tyler softly says before kissing the top of my head.

•••

My eyes fluttered open to hear Diane and Roger sitting at the table talking to Tyler. I moved my head so I was looking at the table to see what I thought was true. I moved my head back down and tried not to listen.

"Mom, I don't know what happened. She came over crying saying that her parents are getting a divorce. I couldn't let her cry alone. I know how that feels, I hated every single part of it, I don't want Callie to be as hurt as I was. I had no one to turn to during it. All my friends parents were still together, and mine weren't. I'm not letting Callie go through the same thing." Tyler tells her.

"I'm worried about her. I love her, and she's basically another daughter to me. Just please, take care of her." Roger says, Diane nods her head in agreement. I didn't want to interrupt their family discussion, so I stayed on the couch and watched the TV.

I never knew Tyler felt that way about his parents divorce. He puts such a strong face on when he's talking about it, I never realized how much it actually affected him. Diane appears in front of me. I looked up at her as she attempted to wake me up. "Hi." I softly said. "Hi, honey. How are you holding up?" She asked. "Better than earlier." I said. She nodded as she brushes some hair out of my face. "Well, you're welcome to stay here tonight. You're always welcome here." She smiled. "Thank you." I weakly smiled. She kissed my head before walking away. Tyler appeared in front of me after she left with his car keys.

"I was going to get you some food. Want to tag along?" He asked as he twirled the keys around his fingers. I nodded before getting up. Tyler gently grabbed my hand before leading me out of the house.

The two of us got in the car before driving away from both of our houses. As we passed my house, I looked over Tyler to see both of my brother's lights on. Tyler's free hand gently engulfs mine as he drives to one of our favorite fast food places, Chic-Fil-A.