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This chapter is dedicated to Magicalcupcake ♡
Enjoy!
Chapter 16
Tyler's POV
I squinted as the rays of light from outside filtered through the window, creating a pattern on the wooden floor. I gently rubbed my eyes before opening them completely and rose from my position until I was sat upright. I turned to find Arissa uncomfortably slouched beside me and memories of last night immediately flooded back. I remembered the things I said to her, she probably thought I was so pathetic and whiny.
'I fail at everything. I'm not a good son, brother, friend, student or.. whatever I am to you'.
Why the hell did I have to say shit like that? Now whenever we spoke it would be awkward for me, fucking great. Maybe I should just avoid her for a while. No... that would make things worse. I'd just be normal, at least try to.
It was so fucking cold, then again it was October. I stood up and glanced at Arissa again before noticing that her bathrobe had rode up her legs, threatening to expose more. I leaned forward and pulled the robe down in an attempt to cover as much skin as I could. She must be freezing, I thought, sweeping her up into my arms and stalking over to the bed. She wriggled slightly but settled down when I gently placed her on the mattress before covering her small body with the duvet.
She always looked beautiful, no matter where or when. Heck, she'd be more attractive than any other girl even if she hadn't slept in a week, had no make-up on, was dressed like a tramp and had bad breath. Her hair had dried and was in waves, adorning her perfectly round face. Her pink lips were slightly parted and she had one hand placed on her stomach whilst the other was by her side. I could watch her like this for hours but decided against it. That was slightly creepy.
I checked my phone and saw that it was 10am. I had only slept for five hours or so but wasn't feeling fatigued at all.
I began walking towards the bathroom door when a pile of clothes caught my eye, they were Arissa's. I then realised we would both have nothing to wear, we didn't exactly know we'd end up staying behind.
I used the bathroom but delayed my shower since I'd have no clothes to wear. I crept out of the room as quietly as possible, not wanting to awaken her, and turned around, running into Sam before I even had a chance to close the door. Of course that would happen, now she would ask one hundred questions.
"Tyler! Have you spoken to Arissa? Where is she?" she asked nosily, tip-toeing so she could peer past me and into the room. I cleared my throat over-dramatically and shut the door behind me, walking away and hauling her along.
"She's asleep," I answered only one of her questions, resulting in a frown from her. When she didn't reply I decided to change to topic since I had the opportunity. "I need some clothes, is there anywhere nearby?"
"There's a Mall half an hour way," she said. I guess I could take Arissa once she was awake. "I can lend Arissa something but I don't know if my clothes will fit you," she added on with a wink.
She would need something when she woke up...
I agreed and she headed to her room with me following closely behind. From what I saw, she kept her closet very tidy, just like I suspected Arissa would. After rummaging through and making a small mess, she handed me a pair of blue jeans and a white crop top.
"Thanks," I mumbled and headed for the door.
"Wait here a minute!" she hastily spoke and rushed out of the room, returning a couple of minutes later with a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt in her hands. "These should do," she said, tossing them at me. I raised my eyebrow at her, questioning where she got them from. "They were my Dad's, I knew my Mum would have kept them," she smiled sadly. Sam told me that she lost her father 2 years ago, he had a heart attack but it came as such a surprise to them because there had been no indication of such a thing occurring. He was a healthy man from what I was told.
I smiled back and gave her arm a light squeeze before returning to my room. Arissa was still asleep thankfully. I left our clothes at the end of the bed and got into the shower.
When I had finished she was awake, standing beside the bed. Droplets from my hair fell onto my body and her eyes automatically darted to my torso since I only had a towel wrapped around my lower half. "Hey," I said, nervously running a hand through my wet locks.
"Hi," she responded, blushing furiously as she made her way to the bathroom, tightly clutching her clothes and make-up bag. She came out twenty minutes later, completely ready. She had applied some light make up and her hair was tied into a high ponytail, the jeans defined the shape of her legs perfectly and her flat stomach was on display. "Where are these from?" she asked, obviously referring to the clothes.
"Sam gave them to me," I answered. "Let's go have breakfast. Well, brunch." I wanted to talk as less as possible so there was less chance of her bringing up the previous night. I held the door open for her and we went to eat.
-
Arissa's POV
Tyler was acting strange. He wasn't being mean but he seemed to be avoiding me. Was this because of what he said last night? That didn't make sense though, why would he avoid me because of that? I had actually admired his honesty. Perhaps I was just being paranoid and he was behaving totally normally.
"C'mon baby girl, we're going out."
A surge of happiness ran through me when I heard that. Maybe he actually would try to behave like a normal boyfriend. Maybe he wouldn't argue with me every five minutes.
I whizzed around on my stool and gazed up at him with a sheepish grin etched on my face. "Like a date?" I cautiously asked. He seemed taken aback by my question and I could easily identify that he was juggling with his thoughts.
"I guess?" he answered in a questioning tone as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. That answer would do for now.
I followed him out to his car and was careful not to slip on the snow which was slowly forming into dangerous ice. Once we were inside he tapped the location into his phone, using it as a Sat Nav, and followed the directions given.
"Who's Jake?" I finally asked the question that had been bugging me since I first heard the name. Tyler tensed up when I asked this and he dismissed the question.
"Nobody important."
"I find that hard to believe, Tyler."
"Just stay out of it, it's nothing concerning you okay?" he snapped.
"Fine," I bluntly answered even though I was desperate to know. He sighed but still remained silent and didn't answer my question.
I'd have to find out myself.
-
"A Mall?" I said when we got there about 35 minutes later, taking longer than we usually would have because of the snow.
"Yeah, God knows how long we're staying and unless you want to ask Sam for clothes again, I reckon you should choose some here." I nodded my head and got out of the car.
The Mall was quite large, masses of people dotted the area, many of them sipping on their hot drinks to try and relieve the chill they were feeling. The more steps I took, the more alert my senses became to the noise around me and the aroma of the delicious food that was calling my name. Maybe later, I had some shopping to get on with. "You go on ahead, I'm having a look in here," I told Tyler when we stepped before New Look.
"I'll come with," he answered, entering the shop before I had a chance to respond.
My smile grew wide as I spotted a pair of high-waisted black jeans. I held them up in front of Tyler but he shook his head disapprovingly and picked out a pair of blue short shorts instead. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Well I'd prefer neither in reality, " he said before he could stop himself. Or maybe he didn't even have the intention of stopping.
My mouth formed an O shape and I placed the shorts back. "Pervert," I muttered and saw him smirk. I was wrong in the morning, he definitely wasn't avoiding me or acting any different. I was glad.
1 hour and 15 minutes after choosing, trying and purchasing clothes I had filled three bags. I ended up getting the black jeans along with some more items. I insisted on paying for my things but Tyler wouldn't have it and said he'd return to the inn without me. He won... this time.
Whereas I took my time finding the right clothes, Tyler was done in 10 minutes. It was honestly so much easier for guys. I was sure he wouldn't accompany me to the Mall ever again.
"Ooh, I wanna have a look in here!" I said excitedly as I looked up at the big sign that said Zara. We didn't have one in my hometown so I wasn't going to leave without having a good look.
He groaned, making me giggle. "Do we have to?"
"No, we don't... you can go somewhere else whilst I look."
I knew he didn't want to leave me alone, especially since this wasn't our usual Mall, but he couldn't bear another moment surrounded by girls being so enthusiastic over clothes and accessories.
"Fine, but don't go anywhere else. I don't want you getting lost," he ordered and I impatiently nodded.
I came across many pretty items as I wandered around but there was one thing that caught my eye in particular; a black sequined mesh dress. I walked to the closest mirror and held the dress infront of me, admiring every aspect of it.
"That will look great on you," someone commented. I rotated my head and saw a blue-haired guy stood there. His hair actually looked pretty good.
"You think?"
"Yeah, you should get it." I looked back at the dress and contemplated buying it. It was a bit too bold for my liking and I didn't have an occasion to wear it to but maybe I'd invest in it. "I'm Doug by the way," he held his hand out. "Pretty sure I've seen you somewhere."
I shook his hand and replied. "I'm pretty sure you haven't, I'm not even from here."
"You got me there, I just wanted to make conversation," he answered. I laughed nervously and thought about running off. I didn't even know this guy. I slowly backed away, not acting suspicious, and began to look at more clothes.
He followed me wherever I went. "So that guy you were with before, your boyfriend?" he asked.
"Yeah he is, and he's probably coming back any minute," I lied. I just really wanted him to go.
"I wouldn't count on it," he muttered quietly, still loud enough for me to hear clearly.
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing, I just think he'll be longer than a minute."
"And why is that?" I enquired. This guy was worrying me.
"You'll see." He took two long strides in the direction of the exit but pivoted on his heel to face me again. "I'll give you some advice, stay away from the lad. Don't want a good girl like you getting into anymore trouble than already," he smirked and swiftly walked away from me.
I gulped. Who was this guy and how did he know Tyler? How did he know me? And what was he saying about Tyler? I did the only thing I could think of and ran after him, unaware of what could happen or what I might uncover.
I'm going to try and make the chapters longer but I don't like making y'all wait too long so I just upload short ones! And I also like leaving the chapters at cliffhangers as you may have noticed ;)
Any suggestions on what might be going on? Comment and vote, thank you ♡