Promises

Chapter Six

Warnings: Some swearing

Word Count: 1532

July 2nd, 2017

"Y/F/N, I am not going to allow you to sit in this car all night," your mom said sternly, finally getting fed up with your antics.

"I can't do it, Mom," you mumbled. "I can't see him."

"You are a grown ass adult and so help me if you do not get out of this car..."

You reached for the car door handle only to pull it back into your lap a second later. The anxiety swirling in your stomach was swelling up, and your mom practically yelling in your ear was no help.

"They are inside waiting for us, now let's go."

You took a deep breath, bit down on your lip, and opened the car door. As soon as you were out of the car, you knew you would be able to get in the front door. It was the just the first step of it all that you needed a little shove with.

"Thank goodness," your mom huffed, getting out of the driver's seat. "Now let's get you inside before you decide to get back in the car."

You nodded and followed your mom up the little stone path that led to the front door of the house. It had been a few weeks since you had stepped foot inside the house. Your mom had dinner with the Josephs once a week, but you rarely joined them anymore, being inside the house still brought back too many painful memories.

Your heart skipped a beat when your mom knocked on the door. She reached over and gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. As frustrated as she had been with you in the car, she still knew how hard this was for you and wanted to make sure that you didn't get too overwhelmed. Much to your relief, it was Tyler's mom that opened the door.

"Y/M/N! Y/N!" she smiled cheerily. "I'm so glad you could make it." You gave her a quick smile before glancing behind her, looking for any sign of Tyler. There weren't any, but that didn't stop your hands from getting clammy. "Why don't you two come inside?"

You followed your mom into the entryway of the house. In the kitchen, you could hear Tyler's dad talking with who could only be Tyler. You kicked off your shoes by the door and followed your mom into the kitchen, stomach twisting.

Your stomach dropped when you finally caught sight of him. He was leaning against the counter, holding a glass of water and talking casually with his dad. His appearance was much different than the last time you had seen him: tattoos covered most of his arms, his hair was more well kempt than it was in high school, and he looked more confident. The sound of footsteps must have drawn his attention, because soon he was turning to look at you, his eyes landing on you almost immediately. You watched as his smile faltered for a second, there was no doubt he was thinking the same thing about you.

"Y/N!" he smiled, setting his cup down on the counter and walking towards you with arms open wide. "I haven't seen you in ages."

You hesitantly held out your arms and returned his hug. It felt weird to be this close to him again, last time you had seen him you had both just graduated high school and still looked like kids. A lot had changed since then.

"Yeah, tell me about it," you said, half laughing.

He stepped back and took a second to look over you, more obviously now, "You've barely changed."

"I wish I could say the same about you," you said, just quiet enough that your parents wouldn't hear. His smile faltered again and he nodded curtly.

"It's so nice to see you two together again," his mom smiled. "How long has it been? Nine years?"

"Ten," you answered her.