Dedicated to Hope for always getting me PopTarts at school and keeping me alive so I can write more and not pass out right after soccer.
NOT EDITED but I'm just too excited to get it to you
The cute little building on the top of the small hill came into view. It came with a beautiful garden and free food, making feel like I really was disabled or in rehab. I turned to Ty, who had just stopped the car. "Do you wanna come in?"
He brushed off the sleeve of his leather jacket and scowled at me and my sudden surge of happiness. "No."
I slid out and turned, lowering myself so I was eye level with the window. "Of course you do."
Three emotions crossed his face. One being of annoyance, and the other being something I couldn't read which paired nicely with an eye roll, "I'll just stay here." His face dropped into the third emotion, sad, like he was remembering something.
I picked up on it immediately and a siren went off in my mind. "Oh Ty, what's wrong?"
Shit, shit, shit I said something. I triggered something.
See this is why you can't be close to people. Because you go and fuck it up.
"It's nothing," He grabbed his keys and turned to me as he got out of the car. I walked over to him and attempted to get answers.
We met in front of the car and I gently touched his arm, "I don't believe you,"
His fingers found mine and he held my hand like it was his only lifeline. My heart raced just at the touch making the cold air seem almost nonexistent.
"Olivia..." was all he could say.
The sharp intake of breath from me had me in his arms. "I'm sorry..."
I pulled back slightly, and looked up to his face which was looking at me but I could tell he wasn't really there.
"It's okay, I just miss her, she went to a place like this after Chemo because she was still really weak."
My eyes followed his to the building. They were sad and filled with pain but he blinked at it all vanished.
He might still be that broken boy from the bookstore and I would never know.
I might have changed my personality because of him for some strange reason, but he only opened up to me. I knew more about him than a lot of other people.
Yet I'm still trying to figure out why he trusts me so much. He shoved both of his hands in his pockets and walked in front of me.
I hobbled next to him, "You don't talk about her much do you?"
"Not as much as we should, Zoey's pretty much forgotten about her." He laughed away the sad tone in his voice and turned to me, "She found one her gauges on the floor the other day and asked what it was. She doesn't even remember ripping Liv's ear in the first place." he let out a laugh as we passed through the two sliding doors.
I signed myself in and walked over to the rehabilitation room. I'm still stuck here.
Ty trailed behind me checking his phone. He sat in the corner on the chairs once we walked in.
I almost felt a tinge of sorry for him before it disappeared completely. I smiled and helped myself to the purple yoga ball, sitting until I saw that familiar pink blonde hair.
Kadence, I learned was a bitch, but I put up with her. "Arabella!" she called my name as she walked in. Kadence tugged on the hem of her dark blue scrubs and motioned me over to the walkway.
Her eyes darted across the room and she looked like she was deciding on something. She turned and smiled hesitantly at me.
"Do you want to walk outside today?" she asked and pointed to the big glass door opening to the garden. I shrugged.
Of course, I don't want to. It's cold out!
But I told her I would because she had put up a lot with me and it was time to repay her. Waving to Ty I pointed to outside before following her.
Kadence opened the door for me as we walked out into the cool air of the zen garden. It was calming with rock statues and small waterfalls. I had to watch my footing to avoid the sand which was flowing with wavy patterns.
After only a few seconds of walking, Kadence turned to me a fake smile plastered onto her perfectly proportional face.
"Any new recoveries since last week?" she asked.
Smiling lightly to myself I remembered my fit of rage when Jen was gone. "Um- Yeah I practically ran up a set of stairs."
Kadence turned to me and laughed, "How in hell did that happen?" She blinked a few times, her clumpy lashes threatening to stick together.
I walked across to a gazeebo and leaned against the black frame of it.
"Ways." I wasn't ready to relive what happened and why I went into such panic and why Ty was the only thing keeping from going insane (while simultaneously making me go insane).
"Okay don't tell me," She crossed the wood to the table across from me and poured herself a cup of hot tea from the pot. "But tell me this, that boy who is he?"
What?
I blurted out just what I had thought and she cocked her head to the side. "Can't a girl wonder?"
I nodded quickly to cover myself. "He's Ty." I wondered how I would describe him. As the person who I think I'm falling hard for even though I don't think he likes me at all and just sees me as another girl.
Another girl who he wants to be friends with.
"And Ty is...?" She pried trying to get me to open up.
I turned to watch her sip the green tea, "A friend." I said matter-a-factly. That's all I could do. If Kadence wanted to get with Ty she probably could. She had her whole life set out and she was beautiful. What more could a teen boy ask for?
"I saw you outside, are you sure he's a freind?"
I nodded.
Kadence continued, "You know Ty and I go way back, I moved from here to Santa Cruz when I started high school and came back when I ended to work here."
I swear my mouth was agape for a few moments.
"D-did you guys.." I stuttered unable to form a sentence because for some reason my brain refused to work.
"Date? Yeah, for a bit, I broke it off though, he obviously didn't like me." she smiled sadly.
"Really?"
"He was in love with someone else. I could just see it." She sighed and stirred the tea with her finger almost like an evil villain would do.
But she wasn't acting like an evil villain at all.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked as my hands clasped each other cutting off the blood circulation to my fingers.
Kadence cocked her head to the side slightly and stared me down. "I saw the way he looks at you. He never looked at me like that."
My heart might have missed a beat.
"No- no he doesn't. Trust me." My breathing was picking up slightly and my hands started getting hot and clammy.
"No trust me. I tried talking to him when he was working and he completely ignored me. Said he had a date or something."
I was thoroughly confused. What did she mean and why was she telling me?
The wind picked up slightly and blow a gust of cold air into my face. My hair went crazy and I made an attempt to fix it instead of replying to her.
Kadence made an unattractive face if that was even possible and groaned. "He's in love with you!" she screamed at me.
I took a step back shocked. "W-we're friends," I told her standing my ground. My hands were shaking at my sides but I knew I was overreacting.
He doesn't like you and you'll just have to get over him.
You don't want a small high school fling.
I told myself these things over and over again and I thought of all the things that I did to try to convince myself that I didn't like him.
The contract.
The being just friends.
Fake dating Mark.
Every. Other. Thing.
All an attempt to run away from Ty when he was always there.
"But do you like him?" Kadence persisted in her practically one-way conversation.
I looked up to her and shook my head and nodded right after, "No! Yes? Maybe, I don't know!" I was never really asked the question and now my anxiety was kicking in.
She noticed and working as a nurse and therapist even if it was only physical, she still jumped up to confront me.
I'm such a coward.
"He doesn't like me." I made eye contact with her as I said this. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head.
"You are so oblivious it's funny."
I laughed but in an attempt to cover up the fucking world war III in my head. "It's not funny!"
She sat me down and handed me her cup of tea which I took hastily and warmed my hands with. It sent the smallest bit of warmth in my body.
"Look you don't have to do anything about it." She smiled. Hey maybe she wasn't a bitch. "Let's just go back when you are ready and forget we ever had this conversation. How does that sound?"
I smiled at her. "It sounds great."
Buuuuutttt... You can't just forget anything that just happened.
I stood up from the small chair. Yes, I can. At least for now.
Ty's eyes darted up to mine as we entered back into the room. I smiled gently towards him and made my way over to the mats. Kadence took the rest of the time throwing secret glances at Ty and making sure I was okay both mentally and physically.
At the end of the session, I fetched a hand towel and walked over to Kadence slowly.
"Hey, thanks for everything," I smiled. I really like this side of her. The smart and caring one.
"Of course."
I gasped and thought of something, "Do you want to come over sometimes and hang out, or we can go get coffee or something?"
She smiled brightly like she was really genuinely happy. "Oh I'd love to El!"
I nodded still smiling, "Okay call me then?" She mirrored my nodding and waved goodbye to me.
Ty came up behind me, "Hey, you know Kadence?"
I nodded, "Yeah, I guess."
Kadence waved to Ty, "Hi Tyler. We didn't really end on a good note last time." She frowned, "At the coffee shop I mean... Well, I guess I'll be going." She frowned and turned away, like she realized she wasn't going to do anything to help.
Ty reached and arm out from next to me and caught hers. She turned, her hazel eyes wide. "I'm sorry." He blinked and looked at her and then to me. "I was a dick."
She nodded, "It's okay Ty."
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I leaned towards the sound of the music pounding into my own walls from the house next to ours. Then I pounded on the window so he could hear me. After what seemed like minutes of pounding while The Offspring played and he couldn't hear me.
"Tyler Fucking Reese open the window!" I screamed after my fist connected with the glass for the countless time.
Only seconds later the music was turned down slightly and he pulled open the window.
"What?"
How nice...
I fake smiled, "I love your music but can you turn it off?"
"Why?"
Rude much?
"I need my beauty sleep, and in case you didn't notice, it's one am." I attempted to peer around his body, "How are you not in trouble?"
He shrugged. "Both of them are at some Mommy and Me sleepover. Something like that."
"Can you just turn it down then? I'm tired."
"Tired of what?" he winked at me, reminding us of the first time we met at this window.
"Of living, of you... Actually, I'm not tired at all." I smirked as my heart fluttered.
He leaned closer to me, his lips nearing my ear, "To be honest, I don't remember what you said to that."
I smiled, "Yeah me neither."
I looked up to his face. The perfect honey eyes, the smattering of freckles. The lips. Oh god.
I might go into a cardiac arrest. Maybe.
I took a sharp intake of breath, as he leaned over and whispered his goodbyes to me before giving me the lightest peck of a kiss on the cheek.
Oh just kiss me already.
I smiled lightly up at him before telling him to turn down his music again for the final time.
To be honest I didn't mind the light pounding from the bass. A pop punk lullaby.