Silent Love (Published)

Chapter 5

I look up at him, signing 'thank you'. My eyes lock with Tyler as he stares at me, his eyes raking over my body. It really made me feel uncomfortable when he did that, but at least this time I wasn't wrapped in a towel.

I notice Gabe looking from me to his brother. There was a smile on his face and I wondered what he was thinking. He stands up from his seat. "Anyway, I'm going. I'm meeting up with Kaleen and Tammy to go paddle boarding." He grabs his bowl and puts it in the sink before walking out of the kitchen.

I walk over to the fridge to grab the milk, pouring it in my bowl before placing it back in the fridge. Grabbing my bowl, I sit down across from Tyler. As soon as I sat down, he turns his eyes away from me. I start eating my cereal.

"You look nice, Ruby," Tyler says without meeting my eyes. It was like he was afraid to look at me.

Just when I thought he wasn't going to look at me, he does. I smile at him. He doesn't return it and looks back down at his cereal. He sat there for a few minutes staring down at it before standing up and walks over to the sink with the bowl.

"Um, do you want to stop by the florist on the way to the cemetery so you can get some flowers to set down beside the graves?" he asks me.

I stare at him for a moment, surprise that he was actually being nice to me. Wow, Gabe did a good job at getting through to him.

I reach for the whiteboard. I don't have any money.

"I will pay for it."

I smile at him. Thanks, Tyler.

Tyler stares at me for a few seconds before returning the smile. It was the first time I have seen him smile since I arrived here. He had an amazing smile, which made my heart skip a beat. He turns to leave the kitchen so he could get ready.

I finish my breakfast and then sat down on the couch. I switch on the television to see what was on, but nothing interested me so I switched it off.

"Are you ready to go?" Tyler asks me.

I turn to him as he walks into the living room. I practically drooled over him when I saw him all dressed up. He was wearing a black suit, a white shirt with blue stripes and a black tie. He looks so different.

I didn't even notice that I was staring at him for a long time. Not until he clears his throat. I snap myself back to reality. He repeats his question and I nod. I get off the couch and follow him out to his pick-up truck. I wasn't expecting him to do it, but he opens the front passenger door for me. I sign 'thank you' to him and climb in.

Tyler climbs into the driver's seat and starts the truck. He drives to the nearest florist, coming into the store with me. I stare at all the different bouquets of flowers. I wasn't sure which one to get.

"What kind of flowers do you want to get?" Tyler asks me.

I shrug. What do you even get for a funeral?

Tyler picks the bouquet for me, choosing some white roses. I thank him for the help and we head back to the vehicle, driving to the cemetery. There were few people there, gathering around outside the church. Four black hearses were parked outside. I look around at the people and couldn't recognise any of them. I stand close to Tyler, feeling uncomfortable about being with these strangers.

I spot Kailani and Lex. I smile at them when I recognise someone I knew. They were both looking our way and I notice they were mostly staring at Tyler.

"Oh my gosh, it's Tyler Sharland," I hear Kailani say in a loud whisper.

"What is he doing here?" Lex whispers.