Promises to Keep

Tayla walked back to her condo, as quickly as she could. She knew where Tyler would be; the same place he was every Sunday; hanging out at Jamie and Katie's place, typically catching the football game.

Tayla 3:00 p.m.

where u?

She sent a text to Katie, just to ensure that they had not deviated from their usual Sunday pattern.

Katie 3:01 p.m.

where else would I be on a Sunday?

Katie replied almost immediately. Tayla rolled her eyes, quickly typing back a response.

Tayla 3:02 p.m.

ok ms sarcastic. i'm coming over

Katie 3:02 p.m.

everything ok?? BTW Tyler's here

Tayla 3:03 p.m.

I know.

And with that, she hopped into her car, her heart racing with anxiety.

Justin 3:04 p.m.

You get 'em, girl! Good luck!!

She simply smiled at his text, trying her best to not speed, despite just wanting to arrive at her destination as quickly as she could.

Katie eyed the message with a little skepticism. It was strange Tayla would even ask where she would be on a Sunday afternoon; she always knew. It had been months, however since she'd made an appearance. Although Katie always asked her to come join, she never did because of Tyler's presence.

"Everything okay?" Jamie asked, as Tyler went to the other room to grab another beer. Katie simply showed Jamie the messages, and once he read them, had the same perplexed expression Katie bore just moments before. "Soo, it's not okay?" Jamie then asked, and Katie shook her head.

"I have no idea, honestly" Katie shrugged. "I just think it's kind of strange"

"Maybe she wants to talk to him?" Jamie suggested.

"That would be my only guess..." Katie trailed off, biting her lip. "I guess we'll find out, here she is. Where's Tyler?" Katie eyed the seat Tyler had just occupied only moments earlier before he got up to grab a beer.

"Kitchen probably" Jamie replied. "Apparently taking forever!" he added a little louder, so Tyler would be able to hear him. He got no response back, so he became a little concerned. "Be right back" he excused himself, just as Katie heard a knock at the door.

"Hey, Tay" Katie greeted Tayla, who looked unusually happy. "You look... well, you look really happy" she commented, not wanting it to sound like an insult. When she had gotten the text she was concerned something was wrong; evidently that wasn't the case.

"I think I am" Tayla replied, as the pair made their way to the living room. "I met a guy at-"

"Woah there" Katie stopped her mid sentence. "You met a guy?" she asked, hoping to God Tyler wasn't able to hear her. Her eyes flickered to the dining room, where she noticed Tyler standing there, a sad expression on his face. Before Katie nor Jamie could flinch, he was out the back door, all without Tayla noticing.

"At the park, yes" Tayla confirmed, not fully understanding what it sounded like. "I kinda bumped into him at the park. He's really nice- I'd think you'd get along with him well we all have a lot in common" she added, continuing her rapid train of thought.

Katie looked at Tayla with skepticism and confusion. Was she coming to tell Tyler she had made up her mind? That she wasn't going to forgive him? That she was already in the process of moving on? Tayla noticed the look on Katie's face immediately, and back tracked.

"I should have added that the guy, Justin, is gay- so no I didn't meet someone to go on a date with" she laughed and Katie let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Jamie stood still in the dining room, and turned around after Tyler, who he was sure had disappeared by now. He felt his heart slow down a little as well; he wasn't sure how Tyler would have ever been able to handle Tayla not only not forgiving him, but moving on to someone else so quick. But he realized this is exactly what he thought happened; he needed to find him quickly before he did something stupid.

"Anyway, he made me realize something- so I was hoping Tyler was here so I could talk to him- I think, I mean, I know I want to forgive him" Tayla announced, and both Katie and Jamie's faces lit up with excitement.

"You better go find Tyler and tell him that" Jamie piped up, announcing his presence to Tayla. "He just took off- I don't know where either" he informed Tayla, who looked confused.

"He left when I got here?" she asked, a little defeated.

"No, he left when he heard you met a guy in the park" Jamie corrected her.

"So he missed the part where I said he was gay and only helped me realize that I want to forgive him?" Tayla asked, exasperated. Jamie and Katie nodded sadly, and Tayla sighed heavily. "Nothing can ever be simple, can it?" she asked, though it was more of a rhetorical question.

"We'll find him, give him a call" Katie instructed Jamie, who took out his phone and hit Tyler's number.

"Just goes straight to voicemail" Jamie informed them after waiting what seemed like hours for him to pick up the phone.

"Dammit" Tayla muttered, getting up from her seat and pacing. "Would he have gone home?" she then asked.

"Wouldn't hurt to look- he's only a couple blocks from here" Katie pointed out.

"I'll be back" Tayla sighed, running again towards the front door, feeling like she was on a wild goose chase. What ever happened to things being easy? Why couldn't they play out like they did in her head?

************

Tyler sat on the couch at Jamie and Katie's place, as he often did on a Sunday afternoon. A lot of thoughts swarmed through his head, most of them the usual; how the game went last night, his up coming schedule, and of course, Tayla. Despite having a good conversation late one night, she had yet to reply to any of his text messages. He shook his head, trying to rid his thoughts of her; he couldn't let her continuously consume his mind.

"Beer bitch, next commercial it's your turn" Jamie pointed to Tyler, shaking his beer can to signify that it was empty. He smirked, happy he had won the bet.

"Yeah, yeah" Tyler muttered. "Remind me to never make bets with you again" he added with a grin.

"Why would I do that? I always seem to win them" Jamie smirked, just as the next round of commercials came on. "I'll take that beer now" he added, and Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Coming right up" he muttered, just loud enough for himself to hear. Once getting to the kitchen he went to the fridge, letting out a large sigh. He looked out to the living room, where Jamie and Katie sat, close together. He missed that. He missed the closeness of having Tayla beside him. He missed everything about her; but there was nothing, in his mind, he could do about that.

He didn't realize how long he was standing there, absorbed in thought until Jamie came into the dining room, where he stood, expressionless.

"Dude, what's taking so long?" he asked, just as the pair both noticed Tayla walk in the door. Tyler's heart began to increase as he saw her, and how beautiful and happy she looked.

"I met a guy at-"

"Woah there" Katie stopped her mid sentence. "You met a guy?" she asked, and Tyler was certain in that moment his heart had shattered. It was like time was frozen, and he was standing still. He could hear the voice of Jamie, trying to get his attention, but couldn't seem to think straight. Without even so much as another thought, he vanished, taking off through the back door as quickly as he could, before Jamie even had time to react.

He walked though the back yard, cutting through the front yard until he found himself on the sidewalk. He drove to Jamie's, but had no intention of going back for his keys, which sat on the coffee table in the living room, where Tayla sat, gushing about some guy she had just supposedly just met.

He finally began to face the reality of the situation; he had lost her. He had fucked up royally; he knew it the moment Jason told Tayla the devastating news that it was over between them. He couldn't say he blamed her; he did a pretty shitty thing. But he never, ever in his wildest dreams, think he would ever lose her for good; and he was certain now, that day had arrived.

Despite the walk being a decent distance, he seemed to get home in no time flat. He opened up his front door, not bothering to lock it, and made his way to the pool outside. It was chilly, but sunny, so he sat on the swinging bench overlooking the pool, and the fantastic Dallas view. Immediately, as if his dogs could sense something was off with him, sat by his feet. He sighed, happy to have them in his life.

"At least you guys won't ever leave me" he said out loud, petting Cash's head.

"I never left"

He heard a female voice state softly. He whipped his head around, not even having to look to know whose voice it was.

"Tayla" Tyler looked at her, a sad expression on both of their faces. Was this it? Was this the part she told him she had began to move on? That she wasn't forgiving him?

"Can we talk?" she asked, feeling guilty for the way Tyler was currently feeling. Tyler numbly nodded, unsure if he was ready to hear the bad news.