Innocence

Chapter Fifteen - First Date & Story Telling

“Now, let’s go see what you’ve packed to eat.” I grinned after pulling away and dragging him along with me to the picnic blanket. Once we both plopped onto the blanket and got comfortable, I opened the basket and started to unload the food.

I kept my face neutral as I looked at the unstable sandwiches and garden salad that only contained lettuce and cucumber.

“See! I even cooked for us.” I looked up to find Tyler grinning with joy and pride present all over his face and I instantly broke out into a smile. “Tyler, you didn’t have too.” I said as my grin grew wider.

He shrugged. “I wanted to cook for a change. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love watching you work with your little apron on,” He said with a smirk and I rolled my eyes before he continued, “But I thought that I could return the favour this time.”

I leaned over and pecked his lips. “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.” I smiled.

“Of course you do. Because I did it.” He smirked. “Now let’s eat.”

We both dug into the food after I put it in plates for us both, and even though it didn’t look very appetizing, Tyler had made really nice sandwiches. We spoke about nothing and everything once we were done, and then I brought up the question I had been dying to know since the day I had met Lucy at his house. “Tyler, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want too… But what happened with your dad when you were younger?” I asked softly.

I could physically see Tyler go tense and his jaw clenched. Crap. Nice going Emma, you’ve ruined the whole date. And possibly your whole relationship. I mentally scolded myself.

After what felt like forever, Tyler sighed and faced me. “I guess you have the right to know; my dad was a fucking dickhead that raped and abused my mum.” He said flatly.

I felt the muscles in my face transform into shock at his bluntness and he shrugged. “It’s nothing now. We took care of him – the gang, I mean. I would never get my mum or Katrina involved in anything like that.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” I said sympathetically. So that’s what Lucy had meant when she whispered into my ear that day… All this time, I had thought that Tyler’s dad had abandoned them and ran away.

“It’s okay. I mean, you were in kind of a similar situation, weren’t you? Your mum told me.”

I nodded and looked at him. “How – How did yours happen?” I asked curiously.

“Well, my mum used to work at a diner down in Pitts Street. It was old and people rarely went there. She was working late one day and he had found her walking home so he raped her. That’s when I was born. She hated me at first. I still remember my entire childhood. She would ignore me and never gave me anything to eat or an education. I did it all on my own. My dad had also come and visited and he had abused us both. All the time. I hated my life. I hated my mum for keeping me, and I hated my dad for even coming near me in the first place. When I was 7 years old, my mum had fallen pregnant by him raping her again. The fucking prick didn’t like the fact that he was going to be a father again, so he bashed my mum until she was lying in a pool of blood with a dead baby inside of her. I remember my mum going into depression then. I don’t actually know how it feels – you know, to lose a baby – but from what I had seen with my mum, it must be pretty difficult on the mother. My father had shown no remorse. He still used to come almost every day and rape my mum, then threatens her that if she ever got pregnant, he’d kill her and the baby, and then he’d come to me and abuse me calling me a pathetic excuse of a boy. I hated him. I hated him with every single thing that was inside my body.” Tyler was beginning to shake, and I moved closer to him and pulled him in for a hug.