Tyler's Gem: A Teen Romance

by Rua Hasan

  “Sh*t!” he uttered as he hopped on one leg, and I burst into laughter. Ethan flickered his eyes between me and Tyler.

  “Thanks for coming, Ethan. You really didn’t have to,” I said, ignoring Tyler glaring at me.

  “Come on, we are going to have so much fun tonight! Ma is making dinner. Do you know how rare that is?”

  “How rare?”

  “When was the last time you brushed your teeth with shaving cream?”

  I gave him an odd look.

  “Never!” I answered.

  Ethan dropped his arm on my shoulder.

  “Exactly.”

  I then turned to Tyler to see him glaring at Ethan.

  “We’ll be fine. Have fun checking up on your uncle.” I waved at him as I walked to Ethan’s truck and sat in the passenger’s seat.

  “Call me when you need a ride home.” Tyler yelled.

  Ethan started the engine while I was looking at the broken window.

  “So, rocks as baseballs, huh?” I teased.

  Ethan shook his head.

  “Sometimes I think Lucas raised his boys to become idiots. I mean look at what he did!” he said pointing at the window next to me.

  Unbelievable!

  “Wait, I thought his kids did this mess?” I asked referring to Jerry’s Twins. I knew his name was Lucas but Jerry fits his personality. The same goes with Mr. Fatty.

  “They did! But Lucas wasn’t paying attention when Andy and his brother decided to aim for something other than the freakin bat.”

  “How’s Ally?” I asked when Ethan stopped at a red light.

  “She’s annoying the hell out of me since she met you! Why do you have to give her that box of chocolates?”

  “Oh relax! She can’t be that annoying.”

  Ethan whipped his head to look at me.

  “Has your child ever barged into the bathroom to take her to a local store where her Idol works?”

  “But…I don’t have a child.”

  “That’s the point! You will never know once you have one.”

  Ethan reminded me of my dad. He wouldn’t like to be proven wrong. I suddenly felt emotional remembering my parents. But having Ethan by my side was a good thing.

  Chapter 33

  It wasn’t long before Ethan had his rusty old truck parked in front of the house. I could feel the excitement as I stepped out of the truck and closed the door. Ally came rushing towards me. I bent down to hug her as she laughed in joy. She was jumping in my arms as her hands wrapped around my neck. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her behavior. I twirled her around making her laugh even more.

  “I missed you so much! Why didn’t you come visit?”

  “I’m here now,” I said pinching her cheek.

  “Did you not want to see me?”

  “Of course, I’d love to see you. I was just so busy at school. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay! You’re here now!”

  She held my hand and started dragging me to the front door with Ethan following right behind us.

  “Come on. Granny is cooking for us!”

  I walked into the house hearing the loud noise. The twin boys were running across the hallway, holding to something that looked like a dead rat and stopped to look at me. They grinned and waved at me but averted their eyes to Ally.

  “No.” she said backing away.

  “Yes.” They said as they took a step closer showing the dead creature. I crunched my nose upwards in disgust and looked at Ethan. Where did they get that?

  “Daddy do something.” she whined and hid behind him.

  Ethan sighed as if holding the disgusting thing was normal.

  “Boys stand back. I don’t have time for this. Put that thing down—no, throw it out!

  The boys didn’t listen. Instead, they screamed and ran towards Ally, who cried rushing down the hallway. If I were in her place, I would run for the hills.

  “What the h—”

  Ethan raised his hand and counted with his fingers.

  “One.”

  “Wh—”

  “Two,” he said raising two fingers.

  I stood awkwardly not knowing what would happen.

  “And three.”

  I was about to ask him what the counting was all about when I heard something break, and I could just imagine how startled I was. The twins came back screaming while dashing our way. Granny Grace came out of nowhere holding a cane.

  “What…” I uttered.

  She ran after them with as the boys cried for help and disappeared down the hall.

  “The…”

  Mr. Fatty appeared holding a box of pills. His stomach was jumping up and down, looking frustrated and tired.

  “MA, LEAVE THE BOYS ALONE AND TAKE YOUR DAMN PILLS!”

  “Hell?” I was finally able to finish my sentence.

  Ally came back smiling with her hands behind her back.

  “Happens all the time.” Ethan huffed.

  Yup! I knew this was going to be one hell of an exciting night. I looked down at Ally who seemed to be hiding a secret behind her smile. What a sneaky little devil! No wonder everyone called her the demon.

  “Come on, Lucas. Help me with the stove!” Ethan grumbled. We walked past the kitchen to see ‘Jerry’ taking the lasagna out of the stove. I licked my lips in delight. I just couldn’t wait to get my taste buds on it. Surprisingly, Jerry moved around the kitchen like a pro, though I wasn’t saying men wouldn’t be good at cooking.

  “Ethan, where is your wife?” I asked as we walked into the dining room and sat down on the couch. Ally sat down on my lap and played with my hair.

  “She lives in Philadelphia since our divorce.”

  I looked at Ally and shifted back to Ethan.

  “Ally, why don’t you show Crystal your doll collection?”

  Ally nodded her head, got off my lap and dashed towards her room.

  “Ally doesn’t know her mother since she was given birth and I think it’s best that way.”

  My heart ached for Ally. I knew how difficult it was without a mother.

  “What about Jerry and Mr. Fatty?”

  “Your mean Lucas and Sam?” Ethan asked, rolling his eyes. I gave him a cheeky grin at the choice of names.

  “Sam never got married but had a son with his girlfriend who left him too. Lucas’s wife died after giving birth to the twins.”

  What the hell? How cruel these women were? I felt sad for Jerry, of course. I knew giving birth to twins wasn’t easy and not having enough money for medical treatments must have been exhausting.

  I placed my hand on Ethan’s shoulder and smiled. Ally came running towards us with a bunch of dolls in her hands. Zayn and Andy were running after her with a toy dinosaur in their hands. Ally hid behind the couch and screamed.

  “Daddy! Daddy! They’re going to eat my toys!”

  I leaned in to whisper in Ethan’s ear.

  “Are they always bullying her?”

  “All the damn time,” he muttered taking the boys’ toys away.

  “Do you want me to hand these over to grandma?”

  The boys’ faces quickly turned into panic.

  “No, uncle Ethan! Please, don’t!”

  Ally walked over with a smile on her face. She sat next to me and gave me her dolls looking all innocent once again. This girl was adorable!

  “You two never learn, do you?” He asked then huffed.

  He threw their toys at them.

  “Return them to your room, now, before Granny throws them away for me.”

  Zayn and Andy disappeared behind the wooden doors. Before Ethan could sit down, Granny Grace, Mr. Fatty, and Jerry came into the room holding a bunch of plates and trays of glass. As Jerry laid the lasagna on the table, I noticed a slight bruise on Mr. Fatty’s cheek.

  “What happened to you Sam?” Ethan asked.

  He turned to glare at Ethan then at his mom.

  “Ma’s cane happened.” He grumbled to himself as he rubbed his cheek to
ease the pain. Granny Grace laughed as she placed the forks on each plate. Ethan walked over to Mr. Fatty when Granny wasn’t paying attention, and leaned in to whisper, loud enough for me to hear.

  “Did she take her medicine?”

  Mr. Fatty nodded his head.

  “Had to shove it down her throat.”

  “So damn stubborn.”

  I licked my lips and heard my stomach growling.

  “Well, someone’s hungry,” Jerry said.

  Zayn, Andy, and Ally, sat on a small table to the side as Jerry filled in their plates. I sat on the big table with Mr. Fatty, Ethan and Granny Grace. Once Jerry sat down next to his mother, we all began to dig in. The food was delicious! I thanked Granny Grace countless times, after every bite I took; not as a gratitude but because Ethan told me so, or else she would flip out saying that I didn’t like her food. I ate peacefully, listening to Jerry talking with Mr. Fatty about his son, Blake, in college.

  “So, when is Blake coming back?” Granny Grace asked as she tried to chew on the lasagna with her front teeth.

  “Probably next month. I still don’t know,” Mr. Fatty answered.

  I finished my second plate and shook my head at Grace with an apologetic smile on my lips as she gave me the stinky eye. The food was great but I tried convincing the crazy old lady that my appetite wasn’t that big and that I was full! I felt relieved when she nodded her head. at me approving and got up to pick all the empty plates.

  I offered to help took the empty glasses into the kitchen. Once we were all seated down at the table, Ally came and sat on my lap. I licked my lips in an excited manner when Jerry said that he made his favorite chocolate cake. Awesome!

  I’m pretty sure by the end of the day I’ll gain more than ten pounds, but I didn’t care. Once the plate was on my hands, there was no turning back.

  “You got to give me the recipe,” I said once I swallowed the cake down my throat. Ally was busy stuffing her face in cake too.

  “Sorry, girly. It’s top secret.” Jerry shook his head.

  “Stupid, old hag,” I muttered to myself with a full mouth.

  “I heard that.”

  “It was meant to be heard.”

  Ally raised her hand out and I gave her a high five. Mr. Fatty leaned over to Jerry’s ear.

  “She learned from the demon.”

  I finished my plate and was about to get up to put it away in the kitchen when I heard a chair scrape against the floor. I saw Granny Grace running around the table towards the twins who brought in the dead mouse.

  Ew!

  Grace held the cane and chased the boys around the table.

  “Oh, not again!” Ally whined.

  “You two put that thing down or I won’t stop grandma!”

  Mr. Fatty threatened the boys but they were too busy having fun running around the table.

  “HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO BRING DEAD THINGS INTO MY DAMN HOUSE!” Granny Grace yelled lifting the cane over her head.

  “Uh, shouldn’t somebody stop her before anyone gets hurt?” I asked.

  “Na, don’t bother. As soon as she takes her medicine, it won’t go that far,” Mr. Fatty said.

  “Yeah, no one gets hurt—”

  Jerry stopped when Granny Grace swung her cane and hit a flower pot. The pot fell to the ground and broke into pieces. She then laughed and tried to hit one of the boys.

  “Sam?” Jerry whispered with wide eyes.

  “Yeah?” Mr. Fatty replied.

  “Did you give ma her pills?”

  “Yeah, I did.”.

  “Then wh—”

  “Why is there a circle thingy in my cake?” Ally asked as she stared at her fork with a pill-like shape.

  “Sh*t,” they muttered.

  “She spit her pill out,” Ethan said.

  “In the damn cake batter!” Jerry said in disgust. I couldn’t help but shiver looking at the scene.

  “Don’t just stand there. Do something!” I said.

  Ethan, Jerry and Mr. Fatty dashed to help the twins. It took them time to hold Granny Grace down and got her to swallow her medicine. Once everything calmed down, Ethan threw away the disgusting thing Zayn was holding. Somebody needed to clean up all these mess.

  We sat down and turned on the old T. V. Ally sat next to me and fiddled with my hair as Jerry switched between channels. He stopped on a news channel talking about a car crash. I stared at the car for a moment that looked like Tyler’s car. Though it could be anyone’s car.

  Sh*t. Tyler was supposed to pick me up. I totally forgot to call him, though he knew the address.

  I looked at the time on my phone and realized that it was late. I had to be home early to finish all my homework. Besides, I was craving for a late-night run.

  I excused myself and walked towards the window as the others chatted away. I dialed Tyler’s number and waited anxiously. It took a while before he finally answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Um, who’s this?” I asked hearing a female voice.

  I bit my lips nervously. Why did a girl answer Tyler’s phone?

  “Hi. Um-sorry but…are you related to the person you’re calling?”

  “Um, no. But he’s my friend. Why?”

  What the heck was happening?

  “Your friend forgot his phone in his car. I’m an officer and I’m currently checking the damage when I heard his phone ring.”

  “Wait… How could he forget his phone? Why are you checking his car? What damage are you talking about?”

  I prayed to the lords that nothing was serious. If something happened to Tyler, I wouldn’t know what I would do.

  “I’m so sorry, dear, but your friend has been involved in a car accident and was admitted to the hospital.”

  I held my breath as tears started to fall.

  “What?”

  I couldn’t believe what I heard. Tyler could have been driving to pick me up while I was sitting here and having fun. I didn’t even hear what the officer had to say. My hands felt weak that I could no longer hold a grip on my phone and it fell on the ground.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  It was Tyler in the news.

  Chapter 34

  There was nothing more painful than parents’ death and I promised myself not to cry after that. But things had changed when Tyler came.

  We became closer. I discovered sides of him I never knew existed. We even kissed and I knew there was something between us that we both couldn’t deny. I knew I liked Tyler ever since his lips touched mine. This pain was unbelievable I could feel my heart slowly breaking. Why on earth was I feeling like this?

  What if I never see Tyler ever again? Memories just kept rushing and I could still remember how much I despised him when we first met.

  I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I turned around to see Ethan looking at me as he held my phone. I sniffed as I stared back at him.

  “Crystal, are you okay?”

  I would normally smile when something went wrong. But I couldn’t help it this time. I just didn’t have the ability to pretend as if nothing happened.

  “Crystal? What’s wrong?”

  This time, everyone gathered around us. It was amazing to be with people who cared about you. Ally wrapped her hands around my legs.

  “Why do you look so sad?”

  “I’m ok, Ally. But my heart is not.”

  I wiped my tears and bent down to kiss her on the forehead. I then looked at Ethan.

  “I just found out my friend is in the hospital. Can you take me to him, please?”

  He immediately nodded his head and grabbed his coat. I smiled to everyone as he grabbed his key.

  “Where are you going?” Ally asked.

  “To the hospital sweetie.” I said bending down to give her a hug.

  “Why? Are you going to fix your heart?”“You can put it that way.”

  Ethan and I walked to truck and hopped in. “Which hospital is it?” he asked making my eyes
widened.

  “Sh*t! I had no idea.”

  I took my phone from Ethan’s grip and called Tyler’s mother. I listened nervously as it rang. Come on come on! Why is she taking forever to answer?

  “Crystal?”

  Emma finally answered. I could hear her voice trembling.

  “Emma, do you know…”

  “Yes, I just got a call from the hospital,” she said. “Crystal, I don’t know what to do. I am in a business trip and got a call that my son’s in the hospital. I’m packing my things right now but I won’t be able to make it until tomorrow morning.”

  I took a deep breath to calm myself once again.

  “It’s okay, Emma. Hopefully, he’ll be okay. I’m going to check up on him and let you know. Take a deep breath and don’t let yourself worry too much okay? It will all be fine.”

  “Thank you so much dear! Are you on your way to the hospital?”

  “Actually, that’s the reason why I called. Which hospital is it?”

  I averted my eyes to Ethan who placed his hand on my knee to calm me down. I gave him a grateful smile as I ran my hands through my hair. I listened to Emma as she gave me the address.

  “Thank you so much Emma. I’ll let you know when I get there.”

  It felt like forever as we drove down the empty road. I was cursing in my mind for it to go faster. I knew Ethan was doing what he could and was driving the fastest his old truck could handle but I was getting impatient. What if it was too late? I shook my head furiously. I couldn’t be putting these negative thoughts into my head.

  Oh, Tyler. If I see you alive, then I promise never to judge you ever again!

  I bit my nails as I looked out the window remembering how I used to think Tyler was one cruel bully who only thought about himself. But all those thoughts began to change the night I saw him walk out of the pharmacy store. It all changed when I saw Tyler hand over the medicine to a poor fellow, who I assumed was his uncle. I still have no clue who he was. Maybe I was wrong but I would no longer dare to snoop around again.

  Ethan must have noticed me in deep thoughts.

  “Hey. I’m sure he’s fine. Have a little faith in your boyfriend.”