New Step Brother, New Family, New Life? Thanks for Nothing, Dad

So we arrived at Guatelupe's Mexican Cuisine, the sun just beginning to set. It was about 7:00 PM. Wow, the day went by fast! Anyway, we went inside the rather large, culturally decorated building and were lead to a booth. It was a bit awkward, deciding where to sit. Smokey and I ended up on one side with Tyler and Ethan on the other.

"Well, since you girls are paying tonight, I think I will order the most expensive item on the menu!" Ethan announced, an egotistical but joking smirk on his face. I simply shrugged, not letting him get the reaction he wanted.

"Go right on ahead," Smokey replied, barely glance at him before returning to her menu. I saw Ethan frown from the corner of my eye and I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

The waiter soon returned with chips and salsa. We all ordered our food and drinks. I sorta just picked something random off the menu. I don't really eat Mexican food a lot. Dad likes to eat homegrown organic food. "Recycle that!," "Save the Earth," and "Ride that horse like ya mean it!" are some of his favorite phrases.

Yeah, I know, the last had nothing to do with the other two.

We got our food from one of those cool waiters who could balance like six dishes on one arm. I tried doing it once. Let's just say I epically failed.

Smokey, Ethan and I talked about a random assortment of things. School. Friends. Sports. Hobbies and Interests. I noticed Tyler look up from his meal every once in a while at us, but he stayed quiet. I ate my chicken fajitas (which were amazingly good, by the way!) and counted the times he looked up at us.

So far it had been about twelve. Damn his random moods that make no sense!

Finally, as we neared the end of our meal, I couldn't take it.

"Ok, Tyler. Are you like PMSing or something? 'Cause your moods are starting to bother me," I said, which caused Ethan and Smokey to suddenly go quiet and Tyler to look up at me in surprise. His surprise quickly flashed into anger, his eyes narrowing in a hard glare as he looked at me.

"Sorry," Tyler replied lowly with a such a menacing tone that I caught my breath. In just that one word he expressed so much anger that I immediately turned to look down at my almost-empty plate. Ethan and Smokey slowly began talking again, having their own small conversation. I didn't notice much else from dinner.

After we all finished eating, Smokey and I paid the bill and we left. Across the street was the Tasty Treats ice cream shop. We decided to go there since it was the closest (and BEST!) ice cream place around. As our little group went in and approached the counter, I saw my ex-boyfriend at the counter. His name was Kris and he was a HUGE stalker creeper guy. I quickly ducked down behind Smokey.

"It's him," I whispered, "Kris." Smokey immediately looked up, saw him and frowned.

"I'll distract him so you can leave, but you owe me," she replied quietly, approaching the counter with a fake smile. I turned to sprint from the store when Ethan caught my arm.

"Where are you running off to?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion. I shook my arm free and took a twenty dollar bill and my car keys from my pocket, handing them to him.

"Ex-boyfriend works here. I'll have to explain later. Meet you guys at home," I whispered back swiftly, my words nearly slurring. Without even explaining how I was going to get home, I darted out of that shop like a bullet, and took off down the street.

The mall wasn't in the normal location, tucked deep in the heart of a city. It was placed quite on the outside actually, with neighborhoods surrounding it. I didn't really know where I was heading, just let my feet take me along some of the familiar paths.

I ended up in a deserted skate park, one Smokey and I came to as kids. I walked and slid down into the bowl. I lay down at the bottom on my back. The stars had risen since I saw them before dinner.

I didn't notice anyone was in the park with me until slid into the bowl and walked up next to me. I sat up quickly and stared up, trying to find out who it was.

"Tyler?" I said questioningly, tilting my head to the side in confusion. Realizing it really was him, I spoke, "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to be so rude."

Without a word, he sat down next to me and lay on his back, looking at the stars like I had before he arrived. I lowered myself to the ground again and kept glancing from the stars to his dimly lit face.

Finally, after a long moment, he turned to face me and smiled lightly. "I came to say thank you for tonight," he paused as if thinking hard about something else. Then he added,

"And I'm sorry too."