31
::Kylie's POV::
"Okay Ms. Santiago," the doctor stated. "You're good to go."
I closed my legs and hopped off the table while Dr. Peters took off her disposable gloves and threw them in the trash.
"We'll call you when your blood work comes back," she stated with a friendly smile.
I nodded with an uneasy look on my face. "So everything is okay with me?"
"Well physically, you're in perfect health. You're young, you're fit. Your BMI is just right," she stated.
"But.. I've been feeling weird lately," I said back.
"How?"
"Well for starters, my period hadn't been regular in a few weeks."
"Is there a chance you could be pregnant?" She asked me and my heart began to beat out of my chest. The mere thought of being a teen mom made me want to die. No, no, no. Definitely not that.
"No," I replied simply, trying so hard not to overreact about her even asking me that question. She was my doctor after all.
"That's okay then. You're not done developing yet so there's no need to be worried... Yet."
"Mhmm," I mumbled. "Okay."
"Look, if there's anything wrong with you, which I doubt, it'll pop up in the test results. Give your cycle another week or so and if you're still having problems, give me a call. For now, get dressed. I'll talk to you in a few days," and with that, she was gone.
I listened to what she said and just tried to relax as I made my way to the church. Today was the day of Mr. Alvaro's funeral and I kinda felt weird. I was definitely for attending his funeral initially, but that was before I knew everything that he'd put Tyler through.
Speaking of Tyler, I hadn't talked to him since I'd practically forced him to open up to me almost two days ago. I didn't even know if he was coming to the funeral and now that I knew everything, was I supposed to just let him skip it or encourage him to say his final goodbyes at the event?
I was completely lost and when I pulled into the parking lot with a swarm of people all dressed in black, I was now overwhelmed as well.
I parked in one of the empty spaces and quickly made my way inside. The funeral was supposed to be starting soon and how disrespectful would I look if I walked in late?
There weren't too many people there, but a decent amount. I skimmed the crowd and quickly picked out Levi and Ms. Tompkins. They both sat on the front row, closet to the casket. I continued to look around, hoping to see Tyler but I didn't and unfortunately there wasn't enough time to continue my search for him. The funeral was starting and I was forced to take my seat. I'd managed to pull out my phone really quickly before anyone saw what I was doing.
'Where r u?' I texted Tyler just before the music began to echo through the church.
*
I walked through the house as the repass continued. People from all over stood around talking about current events, upcoming holidays and even the weather. No one seemed to bring up Mr. Alvaro at all.
I carried a box of tissue to a lady I saw sitting in a corner alone. I held out the box and waited patiently but she didn't take any. She didn't seem sad at all.. No one did actually.
I sat next to her. "How did you know Mr. Alvaro?" I asked politely.
"I was his assistant," she stated bluntly.
"I'm guessing you won't be missing him?" I asked in more of a knowing tone.
She shook her head casually.
"Yeah me either," I stated.
I got up and made my way to the kitchen, putting the box of tissues onto the countertop. Let's be honest, no one was sad that Mr. Alvaro was gone. Everyone really just came to tell Ms. Tompkins how 'sorry' they were for her loss. They'd came more for her than the man that had actually died.
"Ugh," I heard Ms. Tompkins exasperate as a tray of aluminum dishes slipped from her hands.
I rushed over to help her. "Are you okay?" I asked as I put a bowl back onto the tray.
"Yeah," she said with a tired smile. "I just ended up leaving my purse at the church and I can't just leave all these guests to go and get it, and it's probably gone now anyway an--
"I'll go get it for you," I assured.
"No, it's fine. You've done so much today already," she said as I placed the tray onto the counter.
"No, I insist. It'll only take a few minutes."
"Thank you," she said. "Don't stay out too late though. It should be getting dark soon."
"Kk," I replied just before heading to my car outside.
The drive back to the church was surprisingly calming. It was the first time all day that I wasn't forced to hear sad music or aimless chit-chat, but now I didn't have a distraction. My mind traveled right back to Tyler and all these questions arose. Where was he?
Even though I knew it was wrong, I took my eyes off of the road for a quick second. I glanced at my phone, hoping for a new message or call that I'd missed, but once again, I was let down.
I looked back up and when I did, I gasped, slamming my breaks. Luckily, I'd stopped just in time. A deer stared directly at me.
"Geez," I let out and bonked the horn until it walked into the woods.
I hit the gas pedal and tried to relax again.
Before I knew it, I was pulling into the church's parking lot. I parked near the front, got out of the car quickly and rushed inside. Not to be totally superstitious or anything, but there was a cemetery right behind the church and I didn't want to be anywhere within a five mile radius of it when it got dark.
I opened the large doors and when I did, I began walking down the aisle to where Ms. Tompkins was sitting. Before I could make it though, I saw someone sitting towards the front. Curiosity struck me, considering we'd reserved the church for the funeral. Maybe he was someone Ms. Tompkins knew who preferred saying his goodbyes alone.
The stranger hadn't even turned around when I'd walked in and as I stepped closer and closer, they looked more and more familiar.
"Tyler?" I asked as I stopped at the person's aisle.
He continued to look forward and I sat next to him. He had on a suit with the first three buttons of his shirt undone and his tie loosely around his neck.
I could tell he'd been crying though he avoided the contact with me. He just looked forward.
I would sit with him as long as I needed to. Even if it got dark, and the dead rose from the cemetery and tried to eat us.
"Are you okay?" I asked and automatically cursed myself for asking such a stupid question. Of course he wasn't okay. His father had just died!
"I saw your text," he said. "And I was gonna come. I had every intention to. He was my dad."
"And what happened?"
"I got outside and I just.. couldn't, because you know what? He wasn't my dad. Your dad loves you, and takes care of you and spends time with you. They nurture you and do whatever they need to in order to make sure you're okay. And as much as people like to look over all the bad things a person has done when they're dead, I won't. He didn't do any of those things for me. He was a monster, and I'm glad he's gone."
"So why are you here now?" I asked.
"I don't know," he stated and finally looked over at me.
Seconds passed as we stared into each other's eyes and he reached into this jacket pocket.
He pulled out the same little black box from the car the other day.
"I meant to give this to you," he said as he rolled it around in his hand. "I don't know why I didn't when I was supposed to, it was all so stupid, but better late than never right," he stated just before opening the box.
My breathing hitched for a moment as I took in it's beauty. The bracelet was gold with a single flower in the middle. The flower itself looked like a peony and though I wasn't some type of floraphile, in love with flowers, I couldn't deny it's prettiness. It looked just like the makeshift one he'd made for me.
"Tyler..," I muttered softly.
"I know you're not ready to say the L-word yet, but I wanted to give you something to show you how much I care. Something for you to ke--
"I love you," I cut him off. My eyes slightly bulged after the words poured out of my mouth. I didn't mean to say it, but I did mean it. It was obvious. How much I worried about him.. How often I wanted him to make the right decisions. It was clear.
He looked at me speechlessly. So, I held out my arm and waited patiently as he clamped the bracelet around my wrist. After doing so, he slid his hand into mine.
"How'd you know I was here anyway?" He asked, getting up and I followed.
"Actually I didn't," I stated. "Your mom left her purse here, so I offered to come back and get it since she's so busy with the repass."
I walked to the front row, grabbed her purse and then walked back to Tyler as we headed out.
Wrapping his arm around my neck, Tyler walked me to my car.
"Do you want me to drive you?" He asked sweetly.
"I'm perfectly capable of driving myself you know," I said back.
"I know. It's just really dark and I want you to be safe," he replied before traveling his thumb down the side of my cheek and to my jaw.
"I'll be fine, I promise."
We paused for a second, enjoying each other's company.
"I should probably get back before you though.. So they won't expect anything," I spoke reluctantly.
He nodded simply, letting me go. Before I had a chance to open the driver's side door to my car, he pulled me back, holding me closer this time-tighter.
I smiled lightly just before he placed his lips on mine. Chills coursed through my body and instinctively, my arms wrapped around his neck.
He ended the kiss, then said, "I love you Kylie," in that husky voice that drove me wild.
I looked at him with adoration. "I love you, too, Tyler."
And with that, he finally let me go, opening my car door for me.
Stepping inside, I stuck the keys in the ignition and crank up the car. Next, I blew Tyler a quick kiss before pulling out of the lot.
The ride back was pretty lonely and I began to regret not taking Tyler's offer but I would be okay.
I turned on the radio to hear 'Don't Tell Em,' by Jeremih.
"Rhythm is a dancer. I need a companion, girl I guess that must be you," I sang along.
I struggled seeing on the series of winding roads that failed to have any streetlights as the song continued.
"Shit," I mumbled as I clicked on my high beams. It was immensely foggy and I was barely able to see anything at this point.
Maybe I should just pull over and call Tyl--
I slammed on the brakes as fast as I could as I saw a family of deer crossing the road. I knew I wouldn't have enough time and that I'd probably end up hitting them, and not knowingly, I jerked the steering wheel to the left. Before I even had time to react, I felt the car raise from the ground.
Oh god.
My heart swelled with panic and just as my eyes bulged out of fear, I felt myself flipping into a nearby ditch, blacking out completely.