Tyler's Gem: A Teen Romance

by Rua Hasan

  “Wait a minute! I know you.” Tyler pointed out. “You’re that jerk from the party!”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

  “I was only offering you drinks.” Blake pointed out, causing Tyler to shake his head.

  “Yeah whatever,” he mumbled then looked at me

  “What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

  “I was just grabbing some wipes before saying hello,” I mumbled with a shrug.

  “Wait you know him?” he asked pointing at Blake.

  “Yeah we’ve met before,” I answered.

  “Where?”

  Before I could answer, Blake beat me to it.

  “At dinner.”

  Wrong answer.

  “What?” Tyler asked in disbelief before glaring at him.

  Here we go again.

  “You had dinner with this jerk?”

  “Dude, I did nothing,” Blake said in a bored tone.

  “It wasn’t with him. It was at Ethan’s.” I corrected.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

  “I didn’t think it was important,” I said honestly, causing Blake to roll his eyes.

  “Whatever,” Tyler muttered as he grabbed my basket in his hands. “Let’s get going. We have a whole day ahead of us.”

  Nodding my head, I turned to Blake and gave him a small smile.

  “Tell Ethan I said hi.” And with that we both walked to the register and had our things checked out. As we walked towards the car, I heard Tyler grumble.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I don’t like him,” Tyler grumbled.

  “You don’t like anyone.” I pointed out.

  “I like you,” he said looking at me.

  I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Of course you do. Who doesn’t?” I asked.

  “That’s the problem.” Tyler hissed as he got into the car while I chuckled at his behavior. “Too many people like you.”

  “Yeah, I don’t blame them.” I joked closing the door.

  Tyler shook his head slightly.

  “Gem, you will be the death of me,” he murmured as he started the car. I leaned over to kiss his cheek before whispering in his ear.

  I know.” And with that, Tyler drove down the road to our destination. The whole time I had a satisfied smirk on my face. I really did enjoy Tyler’s behavior. I couldn’t help but like his jealous side. I had to admit…it was hot.

  ***

  Four hours, three empty bags of chips, and an empty bag of Oreos later, we made it to our destination. It was around eight o’clock and I couldn’t wait to get into my hotel room and sleep. Tyler said we were going to have dinner first before hitting the hay, since we needed a proper meal before he head out tomorrow to sightsee and swim. I really was excited and couldn’t help but wish that tomorrow would come quickly.

  After Tyler parked his car into the parking lot, we both hopped out almost immediately. I was thankful I didn’t wear jeans because I slept for an hour on the way here. Tyler, on the other hand, didn’t seem tired or sleepy at all as he unloaded the trunk and took out our bags.

  “How did you find this place?” I asked looking up at the hotel which seemed really pricey.

  “I’ve been here a couple times with my friends and family. It’s been a while since I came back,” he answered, taking my hand as he held his bags with the other. I threw my backpack over my shoulders and I rolled my other bag in my hand.

  “And how did you get the money to afford all this?” I asked worriedly as we walked into the lobby. My eyes traveled around the place in amazement.

  “I’ve been saving up for a while.” He shrugged. “Also my mom insisted. She let me borrow some money, but I’ll pay her back.”

  Nodding my head, we walked towards the desk where a young man was standing.

  “I have a hotel room booked under my name,” Tyler spoke. The guy nodded and went back to typing after Tyler gave him his full name.

  “That’ll be on the third floor, room 301,” The guy said while handing Tyler the keys to our room. I stretched my arm as we headed to the elevator.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  I nodded while patting my stomach.

  “There’s always some room for food.”

  After looking around our room, we placed our bags onto the bed, before heading back out of the hotel. Tyler took my hand in his as we walked towards the parking lot where he parked his car.

  “Where exactly are we going?” I asked.

  “There’s a place nearby where my dad―uh I mean Thomas used to go to,” he said. We hopped into the car before he continued. “It’s close by and isn’t really the fancy type but the food there is delicious.” He smiled.

  “I don’t care where we go. So long as you’re there with delicious food.” I sat on the edge of my seat, clearly excited. Tyler chuckled and drove for about five minutes before stopping in front of a cozy looking restaurant.

  “What do you feel like eating?” he asked.

  I shrugged.

  “I’m not sure. I’ll decide once I see the menu,” I answered. Tyler placed his hands on my back as he lead me into the warm place.

  “Do you think my outfit is suitable?” I asked, only now noticing that I was still in my sweatpants and sweatshirt. I didn’t really care what I wore or what strangers say but I also didn’t want to embarrass Tyler. He then stopped and looked at me with a nod.

  “Of course Gem. You look beautiful.” He kissed my nose before walking to the woman behind the desk. Once we were seated in our table, my stomach grumbled. Tyler grinned and handed me the menu.

  “So I was thinking pizza but after your mother’s, I don’t think I’ll eat anywhere else but hers.” I chuckled as I examined the menu.

  “Told you so.” He grinned.

  I placed the menu down and rested my back against the seat.

  “I think I’ll just have steak,” I said.

  Tyler nodded then looked back at the menu.

  “Same here.”

  ***

  After what seemed to be forever, Tyler and I finally finished our food. We paid, well Tyler paid most of it since he said he wanted to but I made him split it for the both of us. After the five-minute drive, we made it back to the hotel room.

  “I’m exhausted,” I mumbled, walking over to my bag to take out my pajamas. Tyler hummed in response and laid on the bed, suddenly grabbing me from behind and pulling me on top of him. I let out a yelp of surprise as I punched his chest.

  “Tyler, I’m tired and I want to sleep.” I whined. He only shoved his face into my neck in response and inhaled my scent. I let out a groan as I tried to get up but he shoved me back onto the bed.

  “Stop moving well you? I’m trying to cuddle with my girl,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around me.

  “We’ll cuddle once I get changed,” I answered as I huffed.

  Tyler shook his head.

  “Babe, you’re already wearing comfortable clothes.” He pointed out.

  I rolled my eyes and turned to look at him. I sent him a glare as I noticed the smile on his lips.

  “Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?” He grinned.

  “Like that.” I pointed at his face. He only dipped his head without responding and kissed my lips. At first I thought it was going to be just a peck but once Tyler started to move his lips against mine, I got lost in the moment.

  Tyler crawled on top of me as my hands made their way around his neck and found his soft and smooth hair. I pulled away for a bit to take a deep breath before Tyler started trailing kisses down my jaw and towards my neck. I groaned, knowing I was going to fall asleep soon but Tyler wanted a makeout session.

  “Damn it!” I cursed under my breath as he pulled away.

  Tyler smirked then dipped his head back down to capture my lips. I opened my mouth when I felt his tongue make its way into my mouth. I kissed him back but apparently wasn’t able to satisfy my needs when h
e pulled away.

  “I thought you wanted to sleep?” he asked.

  “Shut up.” I grumbled before pulling his lips back to mine. Tyler leaned over and rested his weight on both his shoulders so I could feel his chest against mine. I felt it hum as he let out a groan of satisfaction. I felt my lips twitch up against his, forming into a smirk.

  I don’t know where all this braveness came from but I did something I never thought I’d do. I took Tyler’s shirt off and ran my hands over his chest. Tyler grinned before kissing me back once again, leaving me out of breath. I felt his hands run down my body and under my wrinkled hoodie. I couldn’t help but shiver as I felt his cool hands touch my skin. Sparks erupted every where, every time his hands brushed against my skin.

  I have to admit, I loved this feeling.

  “This isn’t cuddling.” I pointed out under my breath in amusement as Tyler pulled away, tugging on my hoodie. He smirked at me and looked down as if asking for permission to take it off. I gave him a stern look.

  “What? You took off my shirt? It’s fair enough to take yours off. We’ll be even.” He grinned. I rolled my eyes but smiled as he pulled it over my head. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding when I noticed that I was wearing an undershirt under my hoodie. Tyler didn’t look satisfied when he saw it and furrowed his eyebrows. His hands made their way to tug it off but I pulled his hands away.

  “Nah ah ah!” I said, shaking my finger at him. “You only said that I had to take off my hoodie to be fair. Nothing else,” I said sternly, causing him to pout.

  “Damn it!” He whined but then suddenly his face lit up.

  “So what you’re telling me is if I take off my pants, you’ll take that off?” he asked, clearly excited.

  I gave him a pointed look.

  “No one is taking off anything.” I laughed.

  I watched as the smile on his face quickly disappeared in disappointment. He then wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head on my chest like it was a pillow.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I want to cuddle,” he whispered closing his eyes. I smiled as I ran my hands through his hair, feeling his arms tighten around me.

  “Hmm, I should sleep like this every night,” he murmured to himself. We just stayed there, resting in each other’s arms as we enjoyed the comforting silence. Tyler stayed rested on top of me, his head lying on my chest like it was a cloud. I stared at his beautiful face, noticing how peaceful he looked with his eyes closed. Everything was amazing.

  I felt at peace. I wish this moment wouldn’t end. I wished that we could stay like this forever but everything has to come to an end. And so it did, when Tyler’s phone started to ring a couple of seconds later.

  At first we both ignored it, not wanting it to interrupt us but after it went off, it started to ring once again. I knew Tyler needed to answer it. What if it was important?

  “Tyler,” I murmured.

  “Hmm,” he mumbled, his eyes were still closed.

  “Tyler get up. You need to answer your phone.”

  He turned around and hid his face away from me.

  “Tyler!” I groaned, shaking his shoulders.

  “What?” he asked, opening one eye to look at me.

  “Answer your phone. It’s ringing.”

  “I don’t want to,” he mumbled, closing his eyes once again.

  “What if it’s important?” I asked.

  He just groaned in response. Letting out a sigh of defeat, I grabbed Tyler’s phone from the counter next to the bed and saw the caller, who was surprisingly Dan. I accepted the call and placed the phone against my ear.

  “Tyler! Where the f*ck are you?” Dan hissed.

  “Hey it’s me Crystal.” I corrected him.

  “C-Crystal? Uh-where’s Tyler? I need to talk to him!”

  “Uh, he’s a bit busy at the moment,” I murmured while looking down to see him open his eyes curiously.

  “I don’t give a damn! Hand him over. It’s important.” He demanded. I murmured a quick ‘okay’ before handing Tyler the phone.

  “Who is it?” he asked.

  “Dan. He says it’s important,” I whispered.

  It seemed as if Tyler got the hint because he finally got off me and sat on the edge of the bed to grab his phone.

  “Hello?”

  I watched silently as his bare muscles became tensed.

  “W-what?” He stuttered. “Dude please tell me this is some kind of joke,” he growled, getting up from the bed. He paced around the room as he listened intensely to what Dan was saying, his hands running all over his hair and face.

  “Sh*t!” he cursed, suddenly stopping.

  I got up and walked towards him anxiously, wondering what the hell was happening.

  That’s when I saw the look on Tyler’s face which made me stop in my tracks. All the color on his face was long gone, like he just saw a ghost. His hands were clenched into a fists as he continued to listen what Dan was telling him. I immediately walked up to him and placed my hand on his arm to calm him down but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Damn it!” he yelled, surprising me.

  “How are they?” he asked, his voice cracking in the end. I felt a lump in my throat as I watched the look of pain flash before his eyes.

  “Okay okay! I’ll come back as soon as possible,” he whispered urgently before hanging up. Once he turned to look at me, I felt my heart break at the very sight. A single tear slipped out of his eyes, he looked so broken.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?” I asked worriedly.

  “We have to head back home,” he said, rushing passed me to grab his shirt. He pulled it down his head and walked over to his bags immediately.

  “Wait why? We just got here.”

  Tyler turned to look at me with painful eyes.

  “We have to get back immediately,” he repeated in a low tone.

  “Why? What happened?” I asked.

  Tyler took a deep breath as if he was trying to calm himself down. He closed his eyes and covered his face with both hands before pulling them away.

  “It’s my parents. They’re in the hospital.”

  Chapter 52

  It’s been one of the worst four hours of my entire life. You could say that it felt like forever driving back home, especially with Tyler who looked like he was going to break down at any minute. Throughout the entire ride, I held his hand, trying to comfort him but it was as if he was in a trance. Like his eyes were only there to focus on the road, as he hoped to get back to the arms of the people he loved.

  Of course, I offered to drive. At first he didn’t listen. For some reason, he wanted to be the one to drive us back home as soon as possible. He was the fast driver, after all. I don’t blame him. Maybe he was afraid that I’d be too late to make it back home only to find his parents already gone.

  I tried to reassure him countless times, telling him that his parents were my parents too, and that I cared for them deeply but he was too stubborn. Not that I blame him of course because the only trip we wanted to go to was canceled because his parents were in the hospital.

  After an hour of trying to sleep, I just couldn’t. The guilt would have eaten me alive if I closed my eyes and relaxed while Tyler was suffering right beside me. After putting in more effort, I pleaded and threatened for what seemed to be hours, promising Tyler that I’d drive as fast as I can if he just crawled into the back and slept for a bit. Maybe then he’d relax.

  So here I was, an hour away from home, driving as if my life depended on it, while Tyler laid in the back seat of the car but I knew a hundred percent that he was not asleep. I could hear the clear whimpers of pain coming from him which broke my heart. I tried to keep myself from crying, knowing I should concentrate on the road but it was almost impossible not to cry when the love of my life was broken and I could do nothing to save him. It was torture and what broke me the most was that I knew Tyler was suffering more.

  Tyler was my man, but unfo
rtunately he had been broken way too many times for him to stare at me and call himself that. He first lost the man he once called his father, then found out the truth which would scar him for life. And now things have taken a drastic turn and he might, God forbid, lose his parents.

  Shaking my head, I tried to get rid of the horrible thoughts. I couldn’t do this to myself or to him. I had to be the strong one to keep him standing. If one of us was going to be the one who was falling then the other hand to stand up and stay strong. I promised myself that I’d try to help him no matter what. I couldn’t lose Tyler, and I wouldn’t allow it.

  After calling Dan and speaking with him through the phone, he gave me the address to the hospital. I finally felt myself relax a bit and let out a sigh of relief when I drove into our town after four hours. Nevertheless, I was still tense because the hospital was located near Tyler’s house which could be bad. There was no other way to get to the hospital without passing Tyler’s house. I knew that if Tyler saw just one glance of his home, he’d break down. Not because of the memories he was afraid to lose, but because of what he might see. The cause of what brought his parents to the hospital in the very first place.

  I feared that he’d see it long gone. Burned to the ground, which was what Dan told me over the phone. After the big fire, nothing as left. The hungry flames ate his house as if it hadn’t eaten in years, leaving nothing behind. Not even his parents moving. The only good news was that they were able to take Emma and Paul out before they could burn into ashes but that was it. Nothing was out yet. Whether they’d live and walk as if nothing ever happened or if Tyler had to say goodbye was a question that still lingered in the air.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat as I drove down the road which would soon lead me passed Tyler’s house. I prayed to myself silently, as I’d flicker my eyes to the mirror every so often, hoping that Tyler would be asleep or at the very least not look outside the window and see his house long gone. I prayed that maybe he wouldn’t notice that I was driving down the road which led us to our school. I hoped and held with all my might that maybe Tyler didn’t snore in his sleep but I knew deep down that I was wrong. He did, after the countless times of sleeping in the same bed with him, Tyler did snore quietly in his sleep and he wasn’t snoring now.