Bad Enough for You

Tyanne hadn’t heard from him. It was after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and she hadn’t heard from him. She’d heard from everyone else. Every single social networking site she belonged to was filled with messages, mostly from her obnoxious best friend. She’d gotten calls and text messages from family and friends, even some of his had managed to call. But she lacked communication from the one person she wanted it from the most. After checking her phone for the millionth time, hoping to find it lighting up and displaying his picture, she decided that today was not a day to wallow in self-pity, but instead, it was up to her to find entertainment for herself. She never was one for wallowing, not when there was fun to be had and boyfriends to be mad at.

She took a shower, dressed in a light blue, flowered sun dress and secured the belt around the bottom of her ribcage and twirled her bright, recently redyed fire engine red hair up into a clip. She put on a light layer of make-up but she didn’t have anyone to impress so light was all she was bothering with. She put her feet into a pair of flip flops and grabbed her purse from the table beside their front door. He had bought it for her for Christmas, while he was out on tour. It was big and square, made of white cloth and emblazoned with the British flag. She picked the keys to her car up out of the bowl and turned back towards her home. She let out a sigh and then headed out, locking the door behind her. She climbed into her car, also a present from him, and started it up.

She didn’t have a plan in mind. She just had to get out of their house before she called him and started yelling. She didn’t want to be that kind of girlfriend. She’d met some of his ex-girlfriends and they were exactly that kind of girlfriend. She’d vowed to herself that she’d be different, for him. He deserved it, on most days.

She pulled into the parking lot of the local, family-owned indie bookstore. This was, by far, her favorite spot in town. The family was nice, and knew her by name. She parked her car behind the store in the parking lot for all of the strip mall’s stores, and headed towards the back entrance. She waved at Cheyenne, the family’s youngest daughter, who was on break, before she entered the familiar setting. She walked up to the counter and grinned at Mark, a man just a few years older than herself, who was working the counter that day.

“Hi Mark!” she said, leaning on the wood.

“Ah, Tyanne! I kept meaning to call you,” he said, smiling back at her. He turned away and faced the shelf behind him that held all of the reserved books. He found her personal section and pulled out the newest book she’d reserved, the latest and last book in the Maximum Ride series, Nevermore. She squealed and reached for it. He scanned it first and then placed it delicately in Tyanne’s hands.

“That’s 11 dollars and 56 cents,” he said. She searched through her bag and pulled out her credit card, yet another gift from that stupid face boyfriend of hers. He had joked that it was just for emergencies but he himself had used it to buy a replica of a Dalek for her, it wasn’t exactly an emergency kind of credit card. And even if it was, books were enough of an emergency, at least for her.

“I’m just going to hide in the corner and read this for a little bit,” she said sadly, thinking of him. She hadn’t seen him in a few months, even though they were done with tour. They’d been done for a few weeks, and she’d expected him to come home. The rest of the band did, but not him.

She didn’t understand, and it hurt strangely, in the worst way. She missed him and just wanted him to come home from wherever he was now. To be honest, she didn’t know where her own boyfriend was. He hadn’t even texted her in the past 5 days. The last she’d heard from him was when he was in Los Angeles for SOMETHING for the new album. He wasn’t exactly a fountain of knowledge with her.

She gave Mark a sad smile before heading towards her corner. There was a comfortable chair set up in the fiction section with a small side table complete with lamp and stack of the latest suggested books. She settled down, set her phone on the table, flicked off her flip flops and tucked herself into the chair and began to read.

She lost herself in the plot, in Max’s special feisty quirks, in her love triangle, in Angel and in Dylan, in Nudge and the Gasman. She let herself sink into this world heading straight for the apocalypse. She didn’t think about Alex, about how he was being an asshole. She didn’t think about her birthday or how she’d probably spend the rest of it alone.

She was snapped out of her book-reading trance by her phone buzzing on the table. She snatched it up and answered the call without checking the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hey Ty, it’s me,” a voice said, a voice that did not belong to her boyfriend, but to her best friend.

“Oh, hey Kayti, what’s up?” Tyanne said tiredly, tucking the book jacket into the book to mark her place.

“Don’t sound too excited to hear my voice,” the younger girl said from the other end.

“I was hoping you were my stupid face boyfriend.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not him. Why? What’s he done this time?”

“It’s what he hasn’t done, actually.”

“O-kay. You’ve lost me.”

“He hasn’t called yet. He hasn’t come home. He hasn’t even texted me, Kayti.”

“Awww, love. He’ll call, I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” Tyanne asked, playing with the hem of her dress.

“I can’t, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Tyanne said. A silence fell over the pair as they thought about it.

“Ty?”

“Yeah?”

“Happy birthday,” Kayti said softly.

“Thanks, Kayti,” she replied. “I gotta go. There’s a book that requires my attention.”

“That’s good. There’s a Jordan that requires mine,” Kayti said with a chuckle.

“Right. Say hi to Eckes for me.”

“Will do. Have fun with your book, birthday girl.”

“Bye, Kayti,” Tyanne said and hung up the phone. She looked to see if he’d texted while she was on the phone, but no such luck. She tucked herself back into her little fictional world and ignored reality. She had to take a break towards the end as things got intense. She closed the book, tucked it under the chair and got up to stretch her legs. She wandered around the store, touching the cool spines of books and soft fake fur of stuffed animals in the Children’s section. She found Mark lounged in a chair behind the counter, his head lolled back with his eyes shut. She glanced around and rung the bell to get his attention. He awoke with a start, nearly falling from his chair. Tyanne could not suppress her giggles as he straightened up and fixed a glare on her.

“Can I help you?”

“Nah,” she replied, shrugged and headed back to her chair. The bells on the front entrance door tinkled, signifying a customer had entered. She hurried away from the main area and into her secluded section. She checked her phone and then groaned. It was close to 6 o’clock at night, and he still hadn’t contacted her. What a boyfriend, she thought to herself. She picked up her book and dived right back in.

That is, until the book was snatched away. Literally. It was taken right out of her hands. She stared for a moment, blinking. She jumped up and went for the book, which was held high out of her reach. She jumped against the person holding it, her arm stretched up over her head.

“You’re cute when you’re determined,” a voice chuckled, that familiar heart-warming voice that she’d wanted to hear all day. She stepped back and stared. He grinned at her and lowered the book. She snatched it away, tucked the book jacket into it, shut it and then hit him with it, hard.

“Alexander William Gaskarth, you abominable ass!” she cursed, hitting him again a few more times with good measure.

“Good to see you too, Ty,” he replied.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” she yelled, shoving him backwards.

“Tyanne, keep it down,” Mark warned from somewhere across the store.

“Let’s go home,” Alex suggested.

“No! Because then you’ll make me forget that you haven’t been home since the freaking Maryland date and that you haven’t called in 5 days and that you waited until the end of my fucking birthday to show up! I’m mad at you, Gaskarth, and I don’t want to forget that you’re an ass.”

“Yes, I’m an ass, and you’re going to think even more so when I tell you that I’ve been home since the end of tour. I just was staying with Jack.”

She hit him with the book again. He rubbed his arm and pouted.

“Why the hell were you doing that?”

“Because I was planning,” he said.

“Planning WHAT?!?” she screeched.

“Come with me?” he asked, holding his hand out. She let out an angry sigh and then took it. He lead her through the store, out the front door and towards his car.

“I’m angry at you,” she muttered.

“I know. Hopefully this will make it better,” he said, climbing into the other side. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to look out the window, avoiding him. He still rested his right hand on her knee, just like always and sang along with the radio. It was nice to have him home, she thought, but he was still an ass.

He drove, and she noticed that they weren’t going home.

“Alex, where are we going?” she asked.

“Shhhh, you’ll see.”

“Did you just SHUSH me on my birthday?”

“Yes.”

He knew better, but she was already angry at him. There wasn’t much more he could do, honestly. Shushing her was never a good idea. He knew that. She frowned and leaned away, resting her temple on the window. They were driving into the more suburban area of their little town, bordering Baltimore. She watched as the houses grew bigger, farther apart, with bigger and greener lawns.

“Seriously. Where are we going?”

“We’re almost there,” he informed her, turning down a slightly less paved road off the main road. He drove for a while and then, pulled into a driveway facing a two-story Tudor-style house.

“Alex?”

“Welcome home,” he replied.

“This isn’t our,” she stopped as realization dawned on her.

“Alex! Did you buy me a HOUSE for my birthday?” she shrieked.

“Yeah, kind of. We’ve been cramped in that little house for a while now and if we ever start that family, we’re gonna need room. This house is perfect. It’s not far from the school district; it’s got a study where you can do your writing and painting and whatever else you want. It’s got a pool and a finished basement where I can set up a studio and there’s a full kitchen and dining room, just like you wanted.”

“Alex,” she said softly.

“This is why I haven’t been home, because I was finishing up paperwork and painting and, do you like it?”

“Alex, you bought me a HOUSE for my birthday. Of course, I like it! I fucking love it!”

He grinned and leaned over the console to kiss her softly. She slid her hands up into his recently cut brown hair. Warped Tour had been good for him. His skin was darker than before, and his hair was so soft sliding between her fingers.

“Do you have to be so unbearably perfect? I mean, honestly, Gaskarth, it’s not fair.”

“It’s completely furnished too,” he informed her.

“What about our stuff from the house?”

“Well, completely. It still needs a table, and a couch, but I bought a new bed, four poster like you like, and a new television and entertainment stand… and,” he was cut off by another kiss.

“Shut up, Gaskarth.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you, baby. I love you.”

She grinned and leaned her forehead against his.

“Happy birthday, Tyanne Michelle Morris.”