Shadows Will Scream That I'm Alone // Joshler

Family

He remembers it almost like it was yesterday. He remembers the fear he felt, he remembers the look on her face when he said it, and he remembered what his embrace felt like. Hell, he even remembers the smell of the room. That night had made his life a lot easier; the night he came out to his brother, Zack. It had gone a lot easier than Tyler would have expected. There was no yelling, no confusion, and no negativity whatsoever. In fact, Zack had predicted it. Of course, he had questions, like how long it had been going on. But unsurprisingly it hadn't been a very long time because he told his younger brother everything.

They went out on the town a lot whenever they needed a break, and that night was one of those. Except, it was less of an escape and more of a celebration. At that point, Tyler was 21, but Zack was only 16, so he got a virgin drink. The bar they went to every time was called Crocker's, and was definitely a place that they were beginning to love more and more each time they visited it. And that night, December 13th, is one of the ones Tyler remembers best. Now, every year, they go to Crocker's to celebrate, and call it "Brother's Night.".

He held back for a while from telling the rest of his family. He didn't feel as safe around his parents as he did with Zack, mostly because they were both gone a lot when they were younger, so it was a different babysitter every week of every year for 4 years, until Tyler was old enough to take care of Zack by himself. Tyler always protected Zack, and Zack always felt safe around Tyler.

It was when Zack was in his junior year of highschool that he met Tatum. Slowly, he was beginning to spend more and more time away from home, which meant more and more time away from Tyler. At first he didn't know what was going on, so soon he gathered enough courage to ask Zack about it. It looked like it was difficult her him to tell, but as soon as he was about to speak he smiled widely. "I have a girlfriend," he told him. A girlfriend. That meant that he would spend his days with his girlfriend and not his brother. This Tatum chick was going to ruin Tyler's life and he knew it. What authority did this girl have to take his brother away from him? Before he knew it, this "Tatum" was popping up more and more. She came to dinner at the house sometimes, she came with them to just hang out, and what set Tyler off the most was that she came to Brother's Night. There was no fucking reason that she should've been there, it's called "Brother's Night" for a reason. Tyler barely spoke at Crocker's. The only time he really said anything was when they returned home, away from Tatum. He yelled at Zack for letting her come, he yelled at him for not respecting the occasion, and he yelled at him for not respecting his brother. Apparently he didn't actually realize until then how much he had hurt his brother, and hugged him as Tyler cried into his shoulder.

"You said it was best brothers 'til the end," he sobbed.

"And I meant it. I'm sorry that I made you feel like I didn't. I love you, Tyler, don't you ever forget that," Zack said, and pulled away from the hug to look him in the eye. "Okay?"

Tyler nodded and wiped his eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

And after that, for some reason Tyler found himself actually enjoying Tatum's company. Apparently, she was some kind of music girl, and she gave lessons on various instruments at the local music store. She appeared kinda shy and awkward at first, but the more that he got to her Tatum was really funny and cool. She already felt like a sister to Tyler, and he kinda felt bad for freaking out over Brother's Night.

It was really easy to come out to Tatum, but he waited a while to do so. Only until he felt safe around Tatum did he tell her, and he felt even safer afterwards. Of course, shs asked how long, and if he had or wanted a boyfriend, because she knew a lot of gay guys Tyler's age. He kindly told her that he wasn't really looking for a relationship, and that was it. It was so easy. Certainly easier than he expected.

Trusting Tatum as a sister and a friend, Tyler tried out some music lessons at her store. First he tried guitar, but he wasn't very good at it. So then he turned to bass, and he really liked it. Third was piano, which he also enjoyed greatly but alike any other instrument it took some getting used to. Last was ukulele, which was easy on his fingers and somewhat simple to use, but he heavily relied on a pick instead of strumming with his hands. He really enjoyed the instrument and, for a few weeks, couldn't put it down. He learned some simple songs that Tatum had suggested, and in his opinion he was getting good at it. Of course, he still had some difficulty, like forming some chords and switching between them quickly. He was still an amateur, but Tatum said he was good and that was good enough for him. Sometimes she would play with him, to give him more confidence as she knew he had a problem with that. This was some great bonding for them, and he got his weekly lessons free since he was family. Tyler liked being called family.

Tatum and Zack had been in college for maybe two years or so before Zack proposed. It was really romantic, the way he did it, and Tyler found himself wanting a boyfriend after that. Zack had set it up as if he was just showing her another one of the songs he had written, but he brought in his friend of hers on the drums, which was a little odd. The last verse of the song was "will you marry me" and Tatum teared up, covering her mouth, too. He played the last chord and got down on one knee, letting the drummer hold out the beat until she responded with nodding and hugging him, and the drummer hit the cymbal really hard which made Tyler laugh. He was really happy for them.

They got married in a beautiful church. It was gigantic, and white, and just plain pretty. He could stay in that church all day if he wanted to, just looking at it. Tatum had some of her co-workers from the music store play Can't Help Falling In Love, and Tyler couldn't help but notice that the drummer from the proposal was there. It was odd seeing him in a suit, when at the proposal he wore skinny jeans and a muscle top. The reception was super fun, and Zack broke out his sick dance moves, which were hilarious. Some of his friends carried him on their shoulders and paraded him around, for what reason Tyler was unsure but it was still funny nonetheless. Zack may have gotten super hammered at the party, but he was only 21 so it was forgivable. The only thing he remembered after the dancing competition was waking up with the worst headache he could ever experience.

They've been married about a year now. Tatum still gives lessons at the store, Zack works as a bartender at Crocker's. They live in their own house, which they were kind enough to let Tyler live in (Zack knew how awful it would be to live with their parents as the only child there). It wasn't an extravagant house, but soon all three of them called it home.

It was Thanksgiving day today, which meant that Tyler had to visit his family again. He dreaded the holidays, not because he didn't love his family, but they just always asked too many questions. He had come out a year ago, and ever since then he's been having to hear the phrase "do you have a boyfriend yet" way too many times. It was never his household family, but more of the aunts and uncles. Why did it matter to them so much? Just because Tyler was gay didn't mean he required special treatment, it just meant he liked guys. Why couldn't they just see that?

Well, regardless, he had to live with it. Every holiday. And today was a holiday. Oh boy.