Til Death Do Us Part || Tate Langdon

it's really you

NOVEMBER 2023

      The weekend after Delaney gave you your bright idea, you drove over to what you knew as Tate's childhood home. Earlier in the year you'd actually managed to save up for your own car. It was far from new, and visibly used, but it got you from point A to point B. Upon arrival, doubts arose that anybody still lived there due to the severe overgrowth. There was Ivy all up and down a good portion of the house, and you even spotted a broken window on the far left side. There were no cars in the driveway, but you chalked that up to Constance being at work: she had the same schedule as Aunt Thea, as they were both the night-shift receptionists.

      You looked skeptically up at the house once more as you walked up the few steps to the front double-doors, then knocked a few times. After a couple minutes, you called Tate's name. Nothing for another few minutes.

   "Knew this was stupid," you mumbled to yourself and turned to leave. Once you were halfway down the walk, a male voice called out to you from behind.

   "I'll be damned," Tate leaned against the doorway. "She remembers where I live."

   You whirled around and your eyes went wide: there he finally was. "Tate... it's really you," you gave a half smile and stepped toward him cautiously.

   He looked smug when he replied, "And it's really you."

   You looked him up and down then caught yourself, "Sorry for staring. I just... can't stop looking at you." He looked extremely satisfied with that comment. "You look exactly how I remember you."

   "I don't get out much," he shrugged it off. "And I haven't changed my hair."

   You nodded at the explanation, and you two held eye contact. "Can I just.. I'm like..." you stammered. "Where have you been?"

   Tate looked all around himself, then behind you to see if anyone was with you before asking, "You got a minute?" He stepped to the side and gestured inside the house with his head. You weighed your options, and he picked up on your hesitation.

   "Come on," he pleaded with a mischievous smirk. "For old times?"

You were still upset with him for the way things were when you two last saw each other, but you did have a lot of questions, and god did you miss him. You flashed a timid smile, and walked up the steps into Tate's house for the first time in years.

2020, sophomore year

      You sat in a bathroom stall longer than necessary so you could continue eavesdropping on a few girls' conversation once you heard them referring to Tate. You'd heard them just as they were coming in, so you pulled your knees to your chest to make sure they didn't see your shoes under the door.

   "Did you hear about Taint's parents?" Girl #1 asked, and you rolled your eyes at the insulting nickname. You assumed the other two shook their heads, and she continued gossiping. "So his dad left a long time ago, or at least that's what they told people, but, I just heard that apparently his dad used to hit him when he was younger." A few gasps could be heard from her friends.

   "Oh my god, that's probably why he does coke now," Girl #2 surmised, and it was met with eager agreement. You didn't know if the coke thing were true, but it definitely wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

   Girl #3 finally spoke, "And look at him, always dressed all emo like that... I wouldn't be surprised if he killed his father."

   They all scandalously giggled then, and you finally busted out of your stall. This silenced them instantly.

   "You guys are fucking pathetic," you spat. "I could stereotype you boring bitches all day. You don't know Tate or anything he's had to go through."

   For a crowd that was confidently shit talking just a few seconds ago, not one of them had a thing to say now. Their faces turned red even though they looked more annoyed than fearful.

   "Whatever," Girl #2 finally said. "Sorry we insulted your weird boyfriend."

   You wanted to correct them, to yell at them more and frankly knock them to the ground, but they left the bathroom right after that last comment in shameful giggles. You braced your arms on either side of one of the sinks and shook your head. You and Tate weren't even close anymore, so why did you still have this inordinate need to protect and defend him?

NOVEMBER 2023

      Walking through the old familiar house, you noticed that all the décor had changed or disappeared. Before, everything in the living room and some things in the kitchen all had either frills, lace, bows, hearts, or ribbon, which you'd assumed was his mother's doing. Now, everything looked modern, cold. It looked like a realtor had decorated the place this morning. You got an eery feeling, but wrote it off as a thing to be expected since you hadn't been here in nearly five years.

   "I have a lot of questions," you said as you followed him up the stairs.

   "I have a lot of time and answers," he smiled back at you, and your heart fluttered. You were suddenly hyper aware that we were two adults heading to his bedroom. "What's first?"

   "Well... not to be rude but why does the outside of the house look like that?" The two of you were outside his door.

   "We had a gardener for a while, but, after the money my dad left from the divorce ran out, we couldn't afford much upkeep anymore," he explained as he opened the door. "I kind of like it though."

   When you entered, you looked around in astonishment, and he kept his eyes on you. Unlike the rest of the house, his room hadn't changed a bit; it was comforting. You yanked yourself out of your nostalgic daydreaming and turned irritably to Tate, "I'm still mad at you."

   He straightened from where he leaned casually against his dresser and looked immediately distressed, "What? For what?"

You shook your head wistfully, "Why didn't you say goodbye?"