The New Normal

Chapter Forty Four

I sat on Tyler's kitchen counter, my legs swinging as he cooked breakfast in nothing but his sweats. His eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to make the perfect crepe. Ever since we watched some culinary show of his last night, he had it in his head that he simply has to make us crepes for breakfast. As I watched him, I smiled. He looked so determined, his lips in a permanent scowl as he stared intently at the pan.

He made his first crepe and it fell completely apart as soon as it was transferred onto the plate. The second one, however, turned out much nicer as he started stuffing it with Nutella, bananas, and strawberries. He then rolled it up nicely and poured melted Nutella in a zigzag on top. Looking at his masterpiece, he let out a victorious whoop. "Fuck yes!"

I let out a laugh and nodded my head in approval. "It's a work of art, babe."

"Damn straight it is," Tyler replied, kissing me on the lips as he handed me a plate. He finished making his shortly after and we sat in the dining room, enjoying our delicious breakfast when someone entered the room.

He looked much like Tyler, build and bone structure wise, but aside from that, his hair was a light brown with brown eyes to match. His eyes darted between Tyler and me and he then arched a brow. "Did she stay the night?"

Tyler set down his fork as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, Juliet did stay the night. Very good observation, father."

My eyed widened but I quickly regained a more appropriate look. I've only ever seen Tyler's dad a handful of times in my life - the last time I saw him was when I was thirteen. Like my dad, he was always travelling for work, but unlike my dad, he preferred travel over family.

Tyler's dad chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "How long is it going to last with this one? A night? A week?"

Tyler clenched his jaw and I instantly felt the need to crawl in a hole and never return. I knew neither Tyler nor I knew how to respond because we didn't utter a response, instead, Tyler's dad sat down at the table and eyed me curiously. His eyes narrowed. "Do I know you? I've seen you before."

Barely. I wanted to respond, but instead I simply nodded my head. "Tyler was good friends with my brother."

His dad nodded his head, as if he got a grip on his memory. "He's the one who died, right? What was his name... Trevor? Travis?"

I jerked my head back. How could he be so blunt? How could he not know Tristan's name? They had been friends for years. Just because he travelled didn't mean he shouldn't know anything about Tyler's life. "His name was Tr-"

"Tristan." Tyler growled, glaring at his father.

"Right," his dad drawled. "Tristan, yes. How'd he die again? Drunk driving? Good riddance, he was always trouble, never took anything seriously. If Tyler stayed friends with him any longer he would have fallen further off the deep end more than he already did."

Tyler slammed his hands on the table. "Can you shut up?"

"What?" His dad asked, raising his hands in surrender. "I was just asking a question."

The two began to bicker and I stared at my plate numbly. No one had been that blunt to ask how he passed, no one. All I've ever gotten was stares of pity or sympathy or the occasional hug and an I'm sorry. I moved the fork in front of me a little to right and I cut in between the two arguing. "He wasn't drunk."

Tyler's dad turned to face me, a confused look on his face. "What?"

"I said he wasn't drunk," I repeated. "He wasn't driving either. He was walking home from the local pool and his shift ended late. He-"

"Juliet, you don't have to-" Tyler began, looking incredibly upset that his father upset me.

I held up my hand and continued. "While walking, he stopped by a convenience store, you know, the one on Cherrywood, to pick up some snacks for a movie marathon him and me were going to have that night. A man came in and attempted to rob the store. The person who was working was an older man, Tristan tried to defend him but the robber had a gun."

Tyler's dad looked solemn and regretful but I didn't care. I stood from the table and looked him in the eyes. "My brother was shot and killed trying to defend a man who couldn't defend himself. If that's trouble, than you are sorely mistaken. Tristan - not Trevor or Travis - Tristan was always kind and compassionate. All he wanted to do was to make people happy. He was a good guy with a heart of gold so don't you dare try to twist his memory to fit your narrative. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Without waiting for a response, I walked out of the room, got my shoes, and left the house.

▪▪▪

For the next couple of days, I didn't see Tyler. I knew what happened with his father was not his fault, but I needed time away so I didn't say something about him I would regret. Tyler's dad may not have any problem with being rude and insulting, but I wouldn't say a word against the parents of the person I was with. It just didn't seem right.

I scrubbed the cafe's counters hard, as I thought back to the conversation we had. God, what an asshole.

I must've looked very disgruntled because Crystal touched my shoulder. "Are you okay, dear? I heard about the incident..." she trailed off but then quickly continued. "I'm truly sorry for how insensitive he was."

I shook my head, feigning a smile. "You don't need to apologize on his behalf."

"I know," Crystal said, her green eyes on mine. "But it's still not right. Sometimes I think he doesn't have a single brain cell left."

I let out a laugh. "Yeah, men can be like that sometimes."

"Oh," Crystal groaned, throwing her rag over her shoulder as she rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started. But speaking about men, how's Tyler treating you? Do I have to kick his ass too?"

I shook my head with sheepish smile. "No, Tyler is treating me well. Really well actually, better than I'm used to."

Crystal smiled at my answer as she handed me the spray bottle so I could put it under the counter where I stood. "I'm glad. You have no idea how long that poor thing has been pining for you."

My mouth dropped open as I thought back to when Tyler and me first started dating, he had told me if he could wait for me for nearly thirteen years, he could wait another five minutes for me to get ready. I looked up at Crystal. "How long?"

Crystal waved me off. "Oh darling, he has loved you since the moment he offered you that ice cream sandwich. Gosh, I remember the day he baked his first sweets all on his own. They were a box of brownies for you because he found out through Tristan they were your favourite," Crystal chuckled to herself. "He even wrapped it up in a cafe box so he could pass it off that I had made them, but nope, he did every single thing himself that day."

I was speechless. For one of the few times in my life, I genuinely had no idea what to say. All these years, I thought he had hated me, despised me even, but from what Crystal was telling me, it was the complete and total opposite. Looking up at Crystal, I said, "I have to go."