Status: On hold for now, siffering from writers block.
Standing in the Rain
Changes
The rest of the day dragged on. Sixth period was the longest. It was mainly spent watching Ryan twitch every so often as Kayleigh tried to flirt with him the entire period, while Korey and I passed notes.
'So does this mean you two are dating?'
I rolled my eyes. He would win if something happened by prom. Amber had dibs on graduation, and Cole had summer.
'We’re just friends. He only roped me into this so he could legitimately get away from Kayleigh. Quit reading so much into nothing.'
I sighed and tossed it back to him and turned my attention to Ryan. He gave me a look begging me to intervene as Kayleigh continued to talk to him. The clock on the wall said we still had half an hour. I threw my hands up as if to say what do you want me to do? He smirked and tilted his head toward the door. He wanted out. He knew I would do it too.
While I was a great straight A student I was also known for my storming out of class. I only did it every once in a while and it was always something made up on the spot. It always worked though. I was such a good student my teachers always felt bad and let me go.
I nodded very slightly, ‘Flirt. With. Her.’ I mouthed. He frowned and quickly smiled leaning towards Kayleigh. I didn’t pay attention to what he was saying as I packed my stuff. He already had his in his bag, our teacher gave us a worksheet for the day which he had finished in 10 minutes.
‘I’M SICK OF ALL OF YOUR GAMES RYAN!’ I yelled standing up out of my chair. Everyone stared at me. Korey raised his brow and then realized what I was doing, unfortunately he was getting left behind today. ‘YOU CAN’T TELL ME YOU WANT TO BE WITH ME AND THEN START FLIRTING WITH HER.” I pointed at Kayleigh glaring at Ryan. Our teacher looked like she was going to say something but kept quiet. “I’M DONE.” I stormed out of the classroom Ryan quickly getting up telling me to wait behind him.
We kept the charade until we reached his car, he begged me to let him explain through the halls and I yelled at him in the quad. Once we were in his car and driving away we laughed.
“You’re welcome.” I said in a singsong voice.
“However should I thank you?” He smiled, “I’ve got it.”
“What is it?” I turned on the radio and changed stations until I found a song I like.
“It’s a surprise.” He winked at me and my stomach did a small flip. I remembered our conversation from earlier and asked why it was demanded I come to his house after school. He smile faltered. “Part of the surprise.” The rest of the ride back to his house was silent except for the radio.
His parents weren’t home, they were out working. His mom, a highly paid freelance photographer, was doing a shoot for a magazine. His dad, a very expensive architect, was currently working on the wing he was donating to the hospital. It was funny how I knew more about what his parents were doing every day than I did mine. I walked over to the mantle and looked at a picture of the three of them, they were so happy. I couldn’t remember the last time my parents and I took a picture together.
“Tallie?” Ryan said, he grabbed my hand and gently pulled me towards the stairs. “You’re surprise is up there.” He sounded…. nervous.
“That doesn’t seem weird at all.” I said slowly walking up the stairs and looked back at Ryan who just rolled his eyes. I made my way up the stairs and looked around when I got to the top. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Ryan placed his hands over mine and walked me to the left. He slowly turned me around to face him, telling me to keep my eyes closed he reached around me and opened a door. He covered my eyes again and walked me into the room sitting me down on something soft. A bed maybe?
“Ok” He said, I could hear the smile in his voice “open your eyes.” I did and blinked a few times not quite understanding what was going on. I was in the guest room, I knew that much but it had been redecorated. The walls that were once white were now a soft yellow. In front of me there was a large wooden dresser, photos of Ryan, me, and our friends were in them. I looked down and say that the wood flooring had been replaced with plush white carpet. To my right there was a collage of photos. In the center was my favorite photo. It was taken few years ago when I had gone to the beach with Ryan and his parents. Linda, his mom, was shooting black and white photos today and caught one just as I had jumped onto Ryans’ back.
Beneath the collage was a desk with a laptop a bookshelf beside it. I turned and looked at the queen sized bed in the center of the room, the comforter was beautiful. Black with a white dandelion puff, a few seeds ‘blown’ off. There was a nightstand next to the bed that had a vase on top full of my favorite flower, orange daisies. And on the left wall there were four mounted fishbowls each with a black beta fish.
I looked at the Ryan as he closed the door and noticed the whiteboard on the back of it. ‘Welcome home Tallie!’ was written in Linda’s loopy script.
“What do you think?” Ryan asked. I didn’t know what to think.
“I’m confused.” I said after what seemed like forever. “Is this room for me?” He nodded, “But why?” I suddenly had this gut wrenching feeling I already knew why and sat on the bed.
“My parents,” He sighed leaning against the door, probably to ensure I didn’t run, “have been asking me for years now why you always seemed ‘banged up’, they weren’t believing you were just severely unbalanced anymore. I know I promised I would never tell, but I had to do something Tallie, I couldn’t stand seeing you constantly getting hurt. So I told them.” I stared at the floor trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill. “They knew you’re 18th birthday was coming up so they’ve spent the past week redoing this room for you. So you could live here and be safe.” My birthday was tomorrow, I had forgotten about it until now. He walked over and knelt in front of me taking my hands trying to look me in the eyes but I wouldn’t let him.
“Please don’t be mad, I had to do something.” He was silent for awhile. “Say something. Please?” I looked at him then.
“I’m not mad. I just feel horribly betrayed.” I said quietly. “You promised. I understand why you did it. I just… I just wish you didn’t do it. I was fine on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all of this I just wish you had said something to me.” I looked at him again my face void of emotion. “I just need time to process this.” He nodded and went to the door.
“I’ll be downstairs.” He said leaving me to my thoughts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think I fell asleep. I wasn’t entirely sure. The light coming from the window suggested the sun was beginning to set. There was a soft knock on the door causing me to jump. The door opened slowly and Linda popped her head in.
“Mind if I enter?” She asked, a small smile on her face. Ryan had her medium brown hair and big gray eyes.
“Come on in.” I said forcing myself to smile. She came and lay next to me on the bed pulling me into a hug.
“I’m so sorry.” She said stroking my hair. “You should have told us, we could have helped.” I began to cry again.
“I’m sorry I didn’t. I’m sorry I made Ryan lie to you. I just thought I could handle it all on my own.”
“Tallie.” She said sternly. I looked at her and wiped the tears from my eyes. “You have NOTHING to be sorry for. You hear me?” I nodded even though I didn’t believe her. “We’ll talk more about this later,” She said sitting up, “but for now, we have a birthday to start celebrating.” She stood up and held out her hand. “Come on.”
I followed her downstairs. Dave and Ryan were talking quietly but stopped when we came in. Dave got up and walked over to me pulling me into a hug.
“We are so happy to have you here kiddo,” He said kissing my forehead. He let go of me and he and Linda went into the kitchen leaving just Ryan and me. I stood there silently not sure of what to say. He made the first move and came over to me. I hugged him and began to cry. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head.
“Thank you.” I sobbed into his chest. “Thank you for doing something I couldn’t.” He squeezed me tighter and I let go.
“You don’t hate me?” He asked clearly worried.
“Never.” His parents walked back in the room and handed me a box about the size of my hand with a bow on it. “The room is more than enough.” I said trying to hand the box back.
“No it’s not.” Linda said sternly refusing the box. “You,” She placed her hands on my cheeks and kissed my forehead, “baby girl, are a part of this family, and as such you get spoiled on your birthday. End of story.”
I smiled lightly and opened the box. A cell phone. Most people found it weird that being nearly 18 years old I didn’t have one, but my parents never had gotten me one, and without a job I couldn’t afford one. I sure as hell was never going to ask them either.
“Thank you.” I gave them both a hug.
Ryan laughed, “Welcome to the 21st century.” Linda hit him in the back of the head and rolled her eyes.
“Quit being a smart-ass.”
“Tallie, seeing that it is the eve of your birthday,” Dave said and handed me the phone book. “You decide where we are eating dinner. So pick a place make a reservation and let us know.” I took it from him and went onto the back porch to begin flipping through the restaurant section. Ryan came out a few minutes later and sat with me.
“This is starting to get ridiculous,” I said. “The room, the phone, dinner.”
“Please, they’re happy to do it. You know we have the money,” this was true, his parents we’re loaded. They just didn’t really seem to care, with the exception of birthdays and holidays, they just wanted a normal middle class life. “Grandpa even wrote you into his will.” I stared at him wide eyed. His grandfather, the CEO of a company that had weapon contracts with the military, was the sweetest man on earth. I adored him. “If you think this is bad, just wait until tomorrow.” he laughed.
'So does this mean you two are dating?'
I rolled my eyes. He would win if something happened by prom. Amber had dibs on graduation, and Cole had summer.
'We’re just friends. He only roped me into this so he could legitimately get away from Kayleigh. Quit reading so much into nothing.'
I sighed and tossed it back to him and turned my attention to Ryan. He gave me a look begging me to intervene as Kayleigh continued to talk to him. The clock on the wall said we still had half an hour. I threw my hands up as if to say what do you want me to do? He smirked and tilted his head toward the door. He wanted out. He knew I would do it too.
While I was a great straight A student I was also known for my storming out of class. I only did it every once in a while and it was always something made up on the spot. It always worked though. I was such a good student my teachers always felt bad and let me go.
I nodded very slightly, ‘Flirt. With. Her.’ I mouthed. He frowned and quickly smiled leaning towards Kayleigh. I didn’t pay attention to what he was saying as I packed my stuff. He already had his in his bag, our teacher gave us a worksheet for the day which he had finished in 10 minutes.
‘I’M SICK OF ALL OF YOUR GAMES RYAN!’ I yelled standing up out of my chair. Everyone stared at me. Korey raised his brow and then realized what I was doing, unfortunately he was getting left behind today. ‘YOU CAN’T TELL ME YOU WANT TO BE WITH ME AND THEN START FLIRTING WITH HER.” I pointed at Kayleigh glaring at Ryan. Our teacher looked like she was going to say something but kept quiet. “I’M DONE.” I stormed out of the classroom Ryan quickly getting up telling me to wait behind him.
We kept the charade until we reached his car, he begged me to let him explain through the halls and I yelled at him in the quad. Once we were in his car and driving away we laughed.
“You’re welcome.” I said in a singsong voice.
“However should I thank you?” He smiled, “I’ve got it.”
“What is it?” I turned on the radio and changed stations until I found a song I like.
“It’s a surprise.” He winked at me and my stomach did a small flip. I remembered our conversation from earlier and asked why it was demanded I come to his house after school. He smile faltered. “Part of the surprise.” The rest of the ride back to his house was silent except for the radio.
His parents weren’t home, they were out working. His mom, a highly paid freelance photographer, was doing a shoot for a magazine. His dad, a very expensive architect, was currently working on the wing he was donating to the hospital. It was funny how I knew more about what his parents were doing every day than I did mine. I walked over to the mantle and looked at a picture of the three of them, they were so happy. I couldn’t remember the last time my parents and I took a picture together.
“Tallie?” Ryan said, he grabbed my hand and gently pulled me towards the stairs. “You’re surprise is up there.” He sounded…. nervous.
“That doesn’t seem weird at all.” I said slowly walking up the stairs and looked back at Ryan who just rolled his eyes. I made my way up the stairs and looked around when I got to the top. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Ryan placed his hands over mine and walked me to the left. He slowly turned me around to face him, telling me to keep my eyes closed he reached around me and opened a door. He covered my eyes again and walked me into the room sitting me down on something soft. A bed maybe?
“Ok” He said, I could hear the smile in his voice “open your eyes.” I did and blinked a few times not quite understanding what was going on. I was in the guest room, I knew that much but it had been redecorated. The walls that were once white were now a soft yellow. In front of me there was a large wooden dresser, photos of Ryan, me, and our friends were in them. I looked down and say that the wood flooring had been replaced with plush white carpet. To my right there was a collage of photos. In the center was my favorite photo. It was taken few years ago when I had gone to the beach with Ryan and his parents. Linda, his mom, was shooting black and white photos today and caught one just as I had jumped onto Ryans’ back.
Beneath the collage was a desk with a laptop a bookshelf beside it. I turned and looked at the queen sized bed in the center of the room, the comforter was beautiful. Black with a white dandelion puff, a few seeds ‘blown’ off. There was a nightstand next to the bed that had a vase on top full of my favorite flower, orange daisies. And on the left wall there were four mounted fishbowls each with a black beta fish.
I looked at the Ryan as he closed the door and noticed the whiteboard on the back of it. ‘Welcome home Tallie!’ was written in Linda’s loopy script.
“What do you think?” Ryan asked. I didn’t know what to think.
“I’m confused.” I said after what seemed like forever. “Is this room for me?” He nodded, “But why?” I suddenly had this gut wrenching feeling I already knew why and sat on the bed.
“My parents,” He sighed leaning against the door, probably to ensure I didn’t run, “have been asking me for years now why you always seemed ‘banged up’, they weren’t believing you were just severely unbalanced anymore. I know I promised I would never tell, but I had to do something Tallie, I couldn’t stand seeing you constantly getting hurt. So I told them.” I stared at the floor trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill. “They knew you’re 18th birthday was coming up so they’ve spent the past week redoing this room for you. So you could live here and be safe.” My birthday was tomorrow, I had forgotten about it until now. He walked over and knelt in front of me taking my hands trying to look me in the eyes but I wouldn’t let him.
“Please don’t be mad, I had to do something.” He was silent for awhile. “Say something. Please?” I looked at him then.
“I’m not mad. I just feel horribly betrayed.” I said quietly. “You promised. I understand why you did it. I just… I just wish you didn’t do it. I was fine on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all of this I just wish you had said something to me.” I looked at him again my face void of emotion. “I just need time to process this.” He nodded and went to the door.
“I’ll be downstairs.” He said leaving me to my thoughts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think I fell asleep. I wasn’t entirely sure. The light coming from the window suggested the sun was beginning to set. There was a soft knock on the door causing me to jump. The door opened slowly and Linda popped her head in.
“Mind if I enter?” She asked, a small smile on her face. Ryan had her medium brown hair and big gray eyes.
“Come on in.” I said forcing myself to smile. She came and lay next to me on the bed pulling me into a hug.
“I’m so sorry.” She said stroking my hair. “You should have told us, we could have helped.” I began to cry again.
“I’m sorry I didn’t. I’m sorry I made Ryan lie to you. I just thought I could handle it all on my own.”
“Tallie.” She said sternly. I looked at her and wiped the tears from my eyes. “You have NOTHING to be sorry for. You hear me?” I nodded even though I didn’t believe her. “We’ll talk more about this later,” She said sitting up, “but for now, we have a birthday to start celebrating.” She stood up and held out her hand. “Come on.”
I followed her downstairs. Dave and Ryan were talking quietly but stopped when we came in. Dave got up and walked over to me pulling me into a hug.
“We are so happy to have you here kiddo,” He said kissing my forehead. He let go of me and he and Linda went into the kitchen leaving just Ryan and me. I stood there silently not sure of what to say. He made the first move and came over to me. I hugged him and began to cry. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head.
“Thank you.” I sobbed into his chest. “Thank you for doing something I couldn’t.” He squeezed me tighter and I let go.
“You don’t hate me?” He asked clearly worried.
“Never.” His parents walked back in the room and handed me a box about the size of my hand with a bow on it. “The room is more than enough.” I said trying to hand the box back.
“No it’s not.” Linda said sternly refusing the box. “You,” She placed her hands on my cheeks and kissed my forehead, “baby girl, are a part of this family, and as such you get spoiled on your birthday. End of story.”
I smiled lightly and opened the box. A cell phone. Most people found it weird that being nearly 18 years old I didn’t have one, but my parents never had gotten me one, and without a job I couldn’t afford one. I sure as hell was never going to ask them either.
“Thank you.” I gave them both a hug.
Ryan laughed, “Welcome to the 21st century.” Linda hit him in the back of the head and rolled her eyes.
“Quit being a smart-ass.”
“Tallie, seeing that it is the eve of your birthday,” Dave said and handed me the phone book. “You decide where we are eating dinner. So pick a place make a reservation and let us know.” I took it from him and went onto the back porch to begin flipping through the restaurant section. Ryan came out a few minutes later and sat with me.
“This is starting to get ridiculous,” I said. “The room, the phone, dinner.”
“Please, they’re happy to do it. You know we have the money,” this was true, his parents we’re loaded. They just didn’t really seem to care, with the exception of birthdays and holidays, they just wanted a normal middle class life. “Grandpa even wrote you into his will.” I stared at him wide eyed. His grandfather, the CEO of a company that had weapon contracts with the military, was the sweetest man on earth. I adored him. “If you think this is bad, just wait until tomorrow.” he laughed.