Page 27 of Tied

Once again, my insides flip, and it reminds me of the excitement I felt the first time I had ice cream again. I wanted to gobble it all at once but forced myself to eat it slowly, savoring its deliciousness.

That’s how Tyler makes me feel.

“I better go,” I say, wrenching my eyes from his. “My friend is waiting at the road, and it’s getting dark. She has a date to get to…”

He looks off behind me and up at the darkening sky; then he hands Poppy’s leash back to me as he steps outside, closing his front door behind him. I look at him questioningly, and he points to the trail leading back to the road and nods.

Wordlessly, he walks me back to the end of the dirt road as the sun begins to set, the sky turning a dazzling reddish orange behind us. I turn several times to see the sky change color, and he watches me with amused interest.

He’s not rude, I decide. Plagued with a bad attitude? Yes. Guarded? Definitely. But enough of a gentleman to walk me back to the car so I don’t have to walk alone. On television, that’s what the nice guys do when they like a girl.

“Thank you, Tyler.” I hand the leash to him after crouching to give Poppy a kiss and a pet goodbye. I hope Tyler doesn’t notice my hand shaking. “For saving me, and for taking care of Poppy for me. I know ‘thank you’ isn’t enough…”

He stares down at his feet for a few seconds, and it almost seems like he’s struggling, maybe wanting to say something, but when he raises his head, he just nods and then walks back up the trail. I remain rooted where I’m standing and watch them walk away. Right before they disappear from view, Poppy turns to see if I’m still there, and of course I am.

For reasons I can’t understand, I long to go with them, back to the little house in the woods.

“It’s about time,” Feather says when I get into her car, pulling me back into reality. “I was starting to get really worried.”

“I’m sorry, I went as fast as I could.”

“So, what did he say?”

“Nothing. He doesn’t talk.”

“Still? Is that like a permanent problem? Did you see his face? What the hell happened to him?” She puts the car in drive and burns rubber back onto the road.

I don’t answer her because all I see when I look at him are eyes the color of a sky I ached to see but was kept hidden from me for almost twelve years.

CHAPTER 10

Tyler

If not for her misty, blue-gray eyes, I never would have recognized the beautiful woman in front of me as the same girl I pulled out of a dirt hole. It seems like a lifetime ago.

Back then, I thought she was much younger. I guess not being able to eat or get outside in the sun and air robs a person of being able to grow properly. She’s still thin and pale, but her genes obviously refused to be denied, and now her natural beauty has surpassed dirt and malnourishment. Unfortunately for her, not much can erase tragedy and heartache from forever lingering in her eyes.

I’m reminded of that little fact myself every morning when I look in the mirror.

She’s still holding the note I gave her when I leave her standing by the side of the road. As I walk away, I want to turn back to see if she’s still there watching me, but I don’t let myself. Her dog looks back, though, and I can tell she’s still there just by the amount of time it takes him to face forward again. The endless, unconditional love and loyalty of a dog are serious goals.

Call me a bastard, but I’m glad she brought him back because I would’ve missed this little white fucker. Sure, I still have the fuzzy red lunatic to keep me company, but the dog on the end of this new blue leash weaseled his way into my heart a year ago. We’re kindred spirits, me and him.

Both debarked.

Both scarred.

Both lost.

Both worried about her.

Both still thinking about her.

As soon as I get back home, I climb into the loft to lie down but I don’t fall asleep as fast as I normally do. It’s been an unusual couple of days, and they keep playing over in my head. I never get visitors or people traipsing into my yard unless it’s a lost hiker.

If I had known it was her, I wouldn’t have tried to scare her with the mask. The thing is, though, she didn’t run back toward the road screaming her head off like most people do when I play let’s-scare-people-out-of-my-domain. She took control of the situation and calmly got herself away from me. She handled it like she was well trained in dealing with someone unhinged.

It made me admire her strength even more. Later, I rode into town after dark, parked down the street from where she lives, and walked to her apartment, my dark clothes blending into the shadows. I found out a while ago that she still lives in this place with the ironic name. I’ve checked up on her whereabouts a few times since I found her that day last year, although, if you asked me why, I wouldn’t have a good answer. I just needed to know. I stood outside the facility she lives in and watched her window like the creeper I am. I needed to see her again, even from afar, just to make sure she hadn’t been a figment of my imagination. And she wasn’t. I’m pretty sure she saw me standing there as she peered down from her window, and I wondered if she realized it was me or if she had completely forgotten about me.

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