by Rua Hasan
Seeing him cry was such a hard sight. We both were supposed to be happy on our first date.
I forced my legs to run towards him. My knees felt weak but I had to stay strong for him. I kneeled down to the ground and before I could say anything, Tyler's arms quickly wrapped themselves around me. He pulled me towards him as he hid his face in the crook of my neck. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my breathing down. His quiet sobs filled the room and were the only sounds other than me hushing him slowly.
He tightened his hold on my waist. His body began to shake violently, so I slowly moved my hands up his muscular body and to his hair. Running my hands through them seemed to calm him down. I felt his nails digging into my back but the pain wasn't anything compared to what he was feeling.
“M-my whole life is a lie,” he whispered.
“Shhh.” I whispered lifting his face up and wiping the tears off his cheek. He quickly closed his eyes and hugged me closer.
“It was all a lie!”
I didn't know what else to do but hold him. Words were nothing compared to actions. I pulled away slightly, sat down next to him and pulled him down and let his head lay on my lap.
“Close your eyes,” I whispered, running my hands through his hair.
I then grabbed his bleeding hands and wiped them off with a tissue. I placed lingering kisses on each knuckle, watching him close his eyes.
“I-it hurts,” he whispered opening his eyes once again.
“I know, but pain is proof that you are still living. Everything will be alright.”
He shook his head. “No it won't.”
“Yes it will. I'll be there with you to show you.”
“My d-dad, my mom! Everyone around me! It's all been a lie!” he shouted.
“Tyler,”
“He's not my father!”
“It's okay, it's okay.”
“No, it's not Crystal! I've grown up to think that Thomas was my father!”
“It’s Paul!”
He punched the floor, and made his hands bleed once again.
“I've lost everyone.”
I shook my head. “No you haven't,” I said as I held his head in my hand firmly. “You still have me.” I kissed his lips and held his hand.
“Don't leave me.” He lifted his head off my lap and hugged me. I closed my eyes, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
“I won't.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
I was brushing Tyler’s hair with my fingers while he was sleeping peacefully on my lap. I was careful not to wake him up. The door creaked open slowly.
“How is he?” Emma croaked out.
“Not good.” She averted her eyes for a second before having them softened while looking at me.
“Can we talk?” I bit my lip hesitantly and looked down at Tyler before looking back up at her.
“I'll make some tea. Leave him to rest for a while.”
I grabbed a pillow and put it on his head. I grabbed a blanket and covered his body to keep him warm. Quietly, I made my way out the door and gave Tyler one last glance before closing it.
Emma and I, entered the kitchen where Paul was. He was pacing around when he saw us and walked towards me for a handshake.
“Sorry for being rude earlier. I wasn't in my best mood. I'm Paul.”
“Nice to meet you.” He nodded his head and glanced at us before walking out of the kitchen
“Please have a seat,” she whispered as she pointed to the chair next to the table. I sat down and watched as Emma prepared the tea and placed the mugs and sugar in front of me. Emma sat down and took a sip. It was awkward.
“I'm so sorry I dragged you into this mess.” I shook my head and placed my glass in the table.
“It's okay. I don't mind at all. Tyler needs me by his side and I wouldn't leave him at a time like this.” She smiled at what I said.
“I'm thankful he has you in his life.”
“You have to cherish what you have before it is too late.”
“What do you mean?” Emma looked at the time on her wrist watch and cleared her throat.
“I guess we have some time for a story.”
“I was in my junior year when I met the two brothers. Paul and Thomas were twins but not identical.”
“Paul was the typical bad boy; a womanizer you'd have in every school. His brother was the nice dorky type who'd have everyone falling to his feet because of his jokes. We were all friends in the beginning until I started dating Paul in my last year of high school.” She paused, taking a deep breath. I watched as she took a sip of her tea.
“You don't have to tell me—”
“It’s okay. You're special to my son and I want you to know everything.”
“I didn’t know that Thomas was madly in love with me.” she chuckled, looking at her mug.
“He tried to warn me many times that his brother was only trying to get into my pants but I wouldn't listen. I thought that maybe I could truly change him. But I was wrong.” She looked up at me and wiped the tears falling down her cheek.
“He was in love with someone else. He only used me because he was too afraid of showing his feelings to another girl. And by the time I found out I was already pregnant with his child. It was too late.”
“Thomas and I dated a couple of months in my pregnancy. He was loyal and sincere. He knew what his brother did but he still wanted to take care of me and the baby. He offered to be the father when Paul refused. I just couldn't reject it. I didn't want to become a single mother I; I wanted Tyler to grow up with a father. I wanted him to experience a normal childhood like any other child deserves.”
“But why did Paul refuse?”
I noticed Emma’s face go white as she gulped down nervously. She averted her eyes away from me and looked at the floor.
“H-he moved in with his pregnant girlfriend.”
My jaw dropped on the floor; Not literally though.
“He loved her so much that it wasn't that hard for him to choose. He wanted to start a family with her so, being the father of Tyler wasn't an option for him.”
“But what is he doing here? “
“He's sick.”
“The doctors say that he doesn't have much time left. I guess it must be the guilt that made him come back. He wanted to spend the last days of his life with his son and I had no right to prevent that for him even though he was an a**hole. But he's changed for the better.”
I took a sip from my mug. Who knew that Tyler's life was this dramatic?
“What about his other family? What about the woman he loved and their child?”
Emma took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“That my dear is a story for another time.”
I was still confused but decided to keep my mouth closed. I got up and placed empty mug on the table.
“Thanks for the tea but I'd like to check up on Tyler before I leave.”
I was about to turn around and walk out the kitchen but she held my holding my wrist.
“I'm not finished yet. I brought you here for another reason.”
She pointed to the chair next to me. I sat down and played with my fingers nervously.
“Paul being Tyler's father wasn't the only thing I told him. You see I've been wanting to tell you this ever since you came back. You were still a child mourning over your parents' death. I didn't have the guts to tell you back then.”
“Crystal. What I'm about to tell you is something very important.” She paused before taking a hold of my hands and looking at me with anxious eyes.
“But I swear on my dead mother that Tyler had no idea until today. Please, darling don't leave my son. You're his world and I'm afraid if you leave him, it would be more painful to him. If you leave him, his world will come crumbling to the ground.”
I felt the fear settle in my stomach because of her words. I didn't want to be the one breaking his heart.
“What is it that you're not telling me?”
&
nbsp; “Will you promise not to break my boy’s heart?”
I gulped down the lump in my throat and nodded my head.
“I promised.
“Crystal. I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say and please try not to freak out.”
“Okay, I'll try not to.”
“The day, when your parents died. I also lost my husband.”
“Your parents died in a car crash, right?”
I nodded my head. “Yeah, some truck hit them when they were on the road.”
“Darling. Did you know that Thomas was the driver?”
“No I had no idea. But where is this going?”
“Crystal. I'm so sorry to say this but that day I got into a fight with Thomas. It was always about his brother Paul. Thomas was so close to Tyler as if he was his own son that he was afraid Paul would one day knock on his door and ask for his son back.”
“That day, Thomas went to work drunk.”
I felt my face go white as if my heart stopped beating. There was sweat on my forehead forming as I stared into Emma’s eyes. I placed my hand on my chest, trying to calm myself.
“Please don't tell me what you're about to say.” My tears started to fall.
“Crystal. Thomas killed your parents.”
Chapter 42
I woke up in Tyler’s room. Why the hell was I on floor? That explained why my back was aching. Once I was on my feet, a gasp escaped my lips. Seeing Tyler stand in the corner of the room with his hands clenched into a fist made me remember everything that happened. I felt my heart burning because of the truth but I knew for sure that I mustn't leave Tyler alone in this hard situation.
I just learned something today which I did not expect but Tyler found out that his whole life was a whole lie. He must be hurting more than I am. I'll think about all what Thomas did when this was all over.
“Tyler,” I whispered. Taking a few steps towards him, I wanted to give him a hug and comfort him but the look he gave me stopped me.
“Hey, hey, what's wrong?”
I forced my legs to walk towards him. I placed my hand on his arms but he slapped it.
“Get out of my house.”
“W-what?” I took a step closer but Tyler extended his arms and pushed me away.
“I said, get out of my house you good for nothing b*tch!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I shouted.
“I know you're hurting but I'm just trying to help! I did nothing for you to treat me like this!” I cried. Tyler's jaw tightened and he stared at me coldly.
“Nothing?” His voice scared me. I took a step back when he took one forward.
“Y-yeah, n-nothing.” He laughed.
“You're lying!” He held my hair, making me scream. “Get out of my house before I rip you into pieces.”
This time I couldn't stop the tears which were escaping my eyelids and down my cheek. “Tyler-you're h-hurting me stop!”
“Get out!” He shouted as he dragged me out of his room and down the stairs.
“What did I d-ah stop! Gosh that hurts!” I sobbed when he yanked me forward to follow him. Once we were in front of his front door, he unlocked it and turned to me.
“My whole life's a lie.” He hissed looking into my watery eyes with so much anger.
“First, my dad, and now you! Why didn't you tell me huh? You were just using me, weren't you!” He shouted. yanked the door open and threw me out of his house. I fell to the ground with a sob as my hands made their way up to my hair. Once I brought my hands back down, I saw blood in my fingers. Looking up at Tyler, I couldn't stop the sob which escaped my lips.
“H-how could you?”
“Scramble before I make you regret,” he said but before he could close the door, I got up and placed my hand on it, preventing it from closing.
“What the h—”
“Shut up!” I yelled.
“I did nothing for you to treat me like this. I didn't lie!” I screamed as I hit his hard chest but that was completely useless.
“You're not the Tyler I know!” I cried.
“Tyler wouldn't lay his hands on me to hurt me! He wouldn't look at me as if I'm some kind of dying rat in the back of an ally.” I breathed trying to calm myself down.
“Tyler wouldn't have wanted to hu-AH!” I cried when I felt a sting on my left cheek. My head was whipped to the side. My tears were running down my cheek like a waterfall. I slowly moved my hands to touched my now bruised cheek but flinched at the pain. I looked up at Tyler and felt a lump in my throat.
“Y-you slapped me.”
“That's nothing compared to what I will do to you if you don't get the hell out of my house.”
He shoved me out of the door step and slammed the door right in my face. My mind was racing but when I was about to take a step back, I felt my body fall to the ground for the second time today.
I opened my eyes lying in a comfortable mattress. With Tyler’s arms wrapped around me. His hands were caressing my cheek and wiping the tears. I looked up at him in panic and tried to get up but he held me back and laid my head on his chest.
“Shhh,” he whispered, running his hands through my hair soothingly.
“You’re dreaming.”
Words couldn't describe how thankful I was. for that not being real. I rubbed my eyes and pulled away a little to look at him. He still was caressing my left cheek which he slapped in the dream.
“How are you feeling?”
I gave him a comforting small smile. “I should be asking you that,” I replied.
His eyes flashed a look of pain as he let out a shaky breath. “I've been better.” He shrugged. I brought my hand up and placed it on his cheek.
“I'm so sorry.” My voice cracking in the end. He shook his head furiously.
“I-it's not your fault, Gem. We both found out something today that hurt us.”
“I know, but you must be hurting much more.”
Tyler pulled me to his chest.
“As long as you're by my side, I'll be fine.”
“You know you can let it out. I won't judge.”
“Oh, trust me, I know. But I think I used all my tears for today.” He leaned closer and kissed my forehead but didn't pull away.
“So... About that date?” He smirked as his eyes roamed around my body and stared my blue dress.
“Is it too late to tell you that you looked beautiful?”
“No.”
“Well, you do.”
“Thank you.”
“No.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not running away when you knew the truth.” Tyler looked away but I held his face between my hands and made him look at me.
“None of this is your fault. What happened with you and me was all a surprise for all of us but we did not asked for it.”
“W-what Thomas did was not your fault.”
“I know you're hurting.”
“And I know you are, too.” He pulled my head under his chin and rubbed my hair We stood there for who knows how long but we didn't care at all. I was about to fall asleep when I heard something shuffling outside of Tyler's room and I bet he heard it too because his arm tightened around me. I looked at the door when I heard it open.
Paul's face popped into the room and I could see the grim look written on his face. “Can we talk son?”
Tyler took a deep breath before shoving his face into the crook of my neck to calm himself down.
“Get out.”
“But it won't take long I pro—”
“I said, get out!” he yelled, making me flinch.
Tyler lifted his head up and looked at me with a worried expression.
“I'm sorry for yelling.”
“Hey. it's okay. You know that I don't mind.” He shook his head.
“Everything's a mess.”
“Maybe you should go talk to him.”
“I know he doesn't deserve your forgiveness and I'm not sayi
ng that you should give it to him but let him explain and then you decide.”
“But he left me and my mom all alone.”
“I grew up thinking he was my uncle only to find out that he's my father?”
“I know, I know. What he did was horrible but what happens if something goes wrong and you never gave him the chance to explain? He is sick after all.”
“Yeah, you're right. It won’t take much time.” He leaned over and kissed my lips. After pulling away, he pushed a strand of hair behind my ears and held my hand tightly.
“Good luck.” He nodded his head and disappeared down the stairs. I then walked back to Tyler's room and sat on his bed waiting for him to come back. I stared at the door and took a deep breath.
Damn! This day was a mess. I never expected it. We were supposed to spend time together. Couldn't Tyler's parents wait after the date to tell him? I then got off the bed and started pacing around his room. Thomas was the driver who killed my parents. He was the one who took them away from me. I began to walk faster as I bit my lips in a harsh manner. Why did this have to happen? Why did my parents have to be my parents? I stopped pacing when a question came into my mind. If Paul is Tyler's father, does that make Dan his brother? Tyler stepped in with his hands stuffed into his pocket.
“How did it go?”
He shrugged. “As I expected. He just explained to me the story like before and told me how sorry he was and asked for my forgiveness.”
“And?”
“I said that I needed time. All this is still new to me.” He sat down in his bed and looked at the floor.
“Well, that's a good start.” He shook his head.
“Gem I don't know what to do. I don't know how I could look at him the same way.”
“I know, I know. Just give it some time.”
“I can't sleep here tonight. I need space.”
I felt really bad just staring at him, not doing anything. Tyler had helped me through a lot of things and it was my turn to help him. I had to come up with something. I bit my lip nervously and fiddled with my fingers.
“You know...”
Sh*t. This might be a bad idea.
