Then
On March 10th, I was counting down the days. I wasn't planning on bringing much to New York.
I didn't have much to bring in the first place.
I packed a few pairs of jeans, a few sweaters, and I threw them into the read metallic suitcase in Tyler's trunk. I also packed every single note Tyler wrote to me in an old Nike shoe box.
I was having dinner with my mom that night while Tyler was out with Kris.
"You know, I got a phone call from your school this morning," my mom said.
"You failed 2 of your courses, you have to re-take them in the summer," she continued. I dropped my fork. I wasn't going to be here in the summer.
"What's the point, I'm not going to Stanford," I mumbled, staring at the grey table. She dropped her fork and lightly tapped a napkin against her mouth.
"Excuse me?" she asked, her tone from calm gone to erratic. I grunted, not wanting to repeat what I had just said.
"I didn't get into Stanford," I say louder. My mom gaped at me.
"When did you find out?" if fireworks weren't going off before, there were definitely going to be after I answered her question.
"December," I say quietly. She puts her hand to her head and gets up, pacing back and forth along the dining table.
"What school did you get into?" she asked. I bit my tongue.
"I didn't apply anywhere else," I mumble. I looked up at her, thinking she might honestly have a stroke.
"Why didn't you apply anywhere else?" she practically screamed.
"Because I thought I would get in," I shouted. My mom shook her head and took a seat back at her side of the table.
"Well you have to take the 2 courses in summer school," my mom says, picking up her fork again.
"Why? I'm not going to college," I said sternly.
"Yeah, but you still have to graduate," she said, I avoided eye contact.
I wasn't graduating, I'd be gone in 4 days. I didn't say anything.
"This is all because of that boyfriend of yours, isn't it?" she said. I glared up at her and squinted my eyes.
"What's wrong with Tyler?" I asked, folding my arms.
"He's the reason you failed 2 of your courses." I scoffed.
"I failed those courses because I didn't get into Stanford, Tyler has nothing to do with me failing," I said. My mom was about to open her mouth to object, but my phone started ringing. I got up from my chair and left the table. It was an unknown number, but I picked it up anyways.
"You're grounded!" she yelled from the kitchen. I rolled my eyes; she couldn't ground me.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Corrin?" it was Tyler on the other end.
"Yeah, what's up?" I asked. I folded one arm over my chest.
"You're 18, right?" his voice was low.
"Yeah, why?" I asked cautiously. I didn't see where the conversation was going.
"I need you to come pick me up," he said, his voice picking up the pace a bit.
"Okay, where are you?" I asked cautiously.
"Um, I'm at the police department," he said. My jaw dropped. The puzzle pieces slowly starting to fit.
"What the hell?" I mumbled. I could hear people talking in the background.
"I know, I know, can you make it?" he asked. I looked at my mom at the kitchen table. I could see steam coming out of her ears.
"Yeah, yeah, of course, I'll be there." I hung up the phone and left without saying another word.
I got to the police department at around 9, I walked in and asked for Tyler. The officer told me to wait in one of the chairs leaning against the wall. I scrolled through my phone, waiting for Tyler. When he finally walked out of the silver door, I sighed in relief to see that he hadn't got beaten up. I laughed a little, giving him a fake round of applause. He smiled.
"Hey, what did you do?" I asked. I had to sign some papers, and show them my ID, confirming that I was in fact authorized to take him with me. He then told me that Tyler's court date was on the 27th.
"Kris and I got caught shop lifting," he said. I sighed.
"Why'd you shoplift?" I asked as I unlocked the doors to my car.
"Just wanted that adrenaline rush, you know? It's the last time I'll ever get to be stupid with him again," Tyler said quietly.
"What did you shoplift?" I asked, curious. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect, I was picturing him and Kris taking bags of chips or maybe sneaking booze into their bags.
"Can you take me to the school?" he asked, completely ignoring my question. I nodded my head and signaled left instead of right.
Once I pulled into the empty lot, Tyler told me to get out of the car.
"You want me to trust a shoplifter?" I asked sarcastically. He smiled.
"Well, I hope you still trust me."
He led me through the doors of the now closed school. He put his fingers to his lips, it was dark and we weren't supposed to be there. I wasn't worried or anything, the chances of us getting caught were slim, all we had to do was avoid one cranky custodian. Once we were inside, he shut the front door quietly and led me to his locker.
"Who picked Kris up?" I whispered. Tyler looked back at me.
"He didn't get caught, he came back here and dropped some of the things we stole." I smacked his arm.
"What could you have taken that was so important?" I hissed. He didn't answer me, instead he entered the combination to his locker. I instantly noticed the black box again, sitting on the top shelf. Tyler dug through a plastic bag and pulled something out. I didn't know what it was, but he gripped it tight in his hand.
"So, Kris wanted to steal a necklace for his girlfriend, it was pretty expensive, and he didn't have the money. While we were in there, I thought I'd pick up a little something for you too." I couldn't see too well in the dark, but I saw him fumble with something in his hand, and he held it between his thumb and his index finger. He grabbed my left hand with his right and pulled me close, resting his forehead on mine while he stared at me, his lips pressed up into a smile.
"Corrin Brier?" he stopped and took a deep breath, "I don't know how to live my life anymore without you, so, I'm asking you..." he stops again and part of me wished he'd just hurry up with his question, "when we get to New York, will you marry me?" he asked under his breath. I looked closer and saw that he was holding a ring. It had a small rock in the center that glinted in the dark, and the band was white gold. Everything around me was still, I was frozen in time. I felt like the hallway around us was suddenly ablaze with fire, with embers flying everywhere. I stared at him, speechless.
I never thought I would get married at all, let alone at 18.
"Are you serious? this wasn't part of the plan," I asked, I could hear my heart thumping out of my chest.
"There's no other person in the entire world that I'd want to spend the rest of my life with, and plans change, so what do you say?" he asked. He swallowed hard, I could tell her was nervous, he gripped my hand harder. He didn't need to be nervous.
I didn't have to think twice about my answer.
I nodded my head.
"Yes Tyler, I will," I said. He laughed and slid the ring onto my finger. I winded my arms around his neck and kissed him.
4 more days.