My Blood: joshler

Chapter Twenty-Two: Tyler // so you forgot about me

Chapter Twenty-Two: Third Person POV

Tyler:

It was finally finished.

The painting Tyler talked about at Colours was finally finished and he couldn't be more proud. At first, it was just swirls of paint and he didn't know where it was going but upon closer inspection, he realised it a a painting of his mom, when she still lived with them.

She was smiling and holding a spatula in the kitchen, the background being a blurred white as her head was thrown back and her eyes crinkled by the side. There were pancakes in the pan and a hand was resting on the counter.

Tyler realised that was him and that the painting was of a particular time when he and his mother were just cooking and having fun and he told her the funniest joke she'd ever heard, apparently, and she couldn't help but laugh, snorting and trying to catch her breath.

But Tyler thought she was beautiful.

Of course she was always beautiful but at that moment, Tyler thought she was the most beautiful person in the world. And finally, Tyler let it all out.

He fit in too much at the Dun's, too fast, too easy and he never really gave himself time to grieve about his past life, what he left behind, how much he'd lost and how much he missed his mother. He just wanted his father happy because the man had been alone for much too long, giving Tyler time to recover and maybe Tyler was selfish wanting his mother back but he couldn't help it.

She was his idol. Someone he looked up to and when she left, he just didn't know what to do with himself. She left with a piece of him and he didn't know if ever Laura or even Josh would be able to fill that space.

Tyler needed closure. He needed to hear his mother's voice one last time. She was his first love. The person he told everything and who he could always count on.

To put it simply, she was his mother, the person who birthed him, nurtured him, taught him morals, gave him life, encouraged him to be be himself. She was one of a kind and could never be replaced.

And maybe Tyler should have felt guilt as he pressed the call button on her contact, he should have felt bad because he had everything he wanted now. A happy father, a loving mother figure, a loving boyfriend, great friends, a rich home - and maybe Tyler did feel guilty, but just a little bit because he realised he needed to be happy and if this one phone call could make him genuinely happy, then he would proceed.

He was scared though.

Scared that she changed her number, or hated him or that he was going to destroy the peaceful little life she had going on wherever she was but he didn't back down. He needed this.

“Mom?” his voice was quivering partly because he was crying and partly because he was shocked she picked up.

“Ty-Ty?” it was her. Her voice still as soft and delicate as ever and Tyler could barely feel the thud-thud-thud of his heart in his throat.

“Mom” he repeated, seemingly having nothing to say but everything he wanted to say was at the tip of his tongue just begging to stumble out.

“Baby, are you okay?” he couldn't see her but he could tell her brows were furrowed in worry and he couldn't help but smile knowing that she still cared about him, as little as that may have been.

“Yeah.” he breathed, “Yeah, just wanted to hear your voice” he let out a watery laugh, “So glad you're okay”

“Of course, honey. I'm glad to hear from you too. I lost your number a while back and when I retrieved my contacts, your number still wasn't there” she sounded guilty.

So you forgot about me, Tyler thought, shaking his head and smiling a bit even when he knew she couldn't see him.

“How's your father?” she asked.

“Oh, he's good. He's getting married in a few months and Laura's great. She even has a son, Josh and he's been perfect” Tyler informed.

“That's great, Ty-Ty. I'm happy for him. And how are you? How are you holding up? You okay?” she asked.

And that was a question no one had asked in a while so Tyler couldn't help it. He couldn't help the waterworks, breathing in and out through his mouth to calm down. He was crying silently but somehow, his mother knew.

“Ty? Hey, honey, it's okay. I know that you're not really good with changes but I think this is what's good for you, honey. This is perfect. You're okay, Ty-Ty.” her voice was soothing, like silk, like Violet's when she was comforting Tyler and suddenly, Tyler knew why he loved his best friend so much: because she was becoming the mother he'd lost.

“I'm okay. I'm good.” Tyler said after a while when he'd calmed down, “How are you, mom?” he asked.

She laughed softly, “I'm good. I've found a guy, his name's Asher and I'm actually expecting in a few months. I'm so excited. I love him so muc-oh, Max is here. Max, honey, come say hi to your brother!” she called out on the other end of the phone. Tyler heard soft footsteps before his brothers voice came through the phone.

“Tyler? Is that you?” Max, the boy Tyler had loved and taken care of sounded so grown, so mature and Tyler missed him so much.

“Yeah” he breathed, “Hey, buddy. How you doing?”

He could practically hear Max shrug, “Okay, I guess. I miss you a lot, though. Would you come visit sometime? I miss my big brother”

“I miss you too, kid. I can't make any promises but I'll ask dad. Maybe we can visit for New Year. How's your side, though? Any special someone's?”
Tyler asked, making a mental note to beg his dad to let him visit his mom.

“Well, there's this girl...”

“Tell me”

And for the next hour, Tyler, Max and his mother talked over the phone about everything, laughing as they recalled their shared memories and crying as they spoke about all the changes that had happened.

And maybe, 2015's Christmas was the best.

|| - //

Decided to put in extra effort because the last chapter was shit. I didn't know how to end it though, aha x