33. Pain and Promises

I linked the song 10/10 by Troye Sivan above because I think it captures the middle to end of this chapter perfectly, so give it a listen if you want and enjoy :)

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That three-letter single syllable word was enough to make a white-hot wire weave itself down my spine. As I looked at the woman who shared so many features with the boy I loved, all I could see was his distraught face when he told me his story on the roof of this very building. The uneven scarred tissue on his legs. The trauma she'd embedded with him.

Pure hatred burned within me.

There were so many things I wanted to tell her: that I hated her, to tell her to burn in hell, ask her how she could still call herself his mother after everything she'd put him through, but, much like Tyler, my whirlwind of emotions kept me planted in place unable to move or form coherent thoughts.

"Why is she here?" Tyler lowly asked, his voice tight with tension as he looked at his father, speaking over his mother as if she were a toddler unable to speak for herself.

"Tyler, honey, I'm right here to–"

"I was going to tell you after dinner Ty, but then she dropped by early and through all of this I forgot about our dinner and..." He trailed before he shook his head. "I should have told you sooner."

"Yeah, you should've," was all Tyler said before he swallowed. His grip on my hand tightened until it was borderline painful, however, I made no move to loosen his grip or get away from the death grip his fingers had on me.

"Why is she here?"

"Son, we should really–"

"She's here because she wants her children back," his mom said like a child that was tired of being ignored. "And I'm your mother, boy. Show me some respect."

I couldn't help but scoff, causing her to raise an annoyed brow at me as she crossed her freshly manicured hands. "His mother? You may have birthed him, but you're no mother. You stopped being his mother when you decided that his sexuality sanctioned state-sponsored torture and trauma. You left him there to rot for what you deemed as a mistake as if you, or any of us, are perfect or fit to make that judgment."

She raised a brow at me, obviously displeased that I'd addressed her in such a harsh fashion and weighed in on family business. Usually, no matter how much I disliked an adult I would treat them with civility and respect, but this woman was worthy of neither, and it would be doing myself, but most importantly Tyler, a disservice to treat her as if she were.

"Excuse me, li'l boy, I don't know who you are, but this is family business–"

"He is my family, certainly more than you are" Tyler cut off. "You left me in that place. You ignored my screams and pleas. And now after years, now you decide that you want me back? Ever since you left me there, I haven't seen you or gotten a letter or a simple text asking about me or showing that you give a crap about the trauma and pain you've caused, but now I'm supposed to believe that you care? That you want me back even though I embody everything you see as a sin?"

Her features softened. "Tyler, baby, I–"

"I'm not your baby. I'm not your anything. These two people," he said motioning to his father and myself, "have loved me more than you ever did. They support and care for me as I am. They don't want to change me, but you can't say the same. I see the way you're looking at our hands and the way your eyes keep flickering to Addison trying to figure out what he is to me. Well let me make it easier for you: he's my boyfriend and I love him. I can't say the same for you."

"Tyler–" his father started, but Tyler started shaking his head as he began backing out of the apartment, taking me with him as moisture filled his eyes.

"No, I... I can't be here. Not while she's around. I won't let her ruin the last good things I have going for me. I refuse to."

"Tyler–"

He didn't stay around long enough to hear his father's pleas or his mother's excuses. He instead walked out of the apartment with me hot on his heels. My mind buzzed with possible ways for me to make him feel better but I knew that would just be an insult. Behind the door into the apartment that had offered him safety and warmth and love was the monster who'd taken it all away from him in the first place. I could see the pain in his eyes as old wounds were violently reopened, causing vulnerability and pain to bleed out of them.

I could practically see the boy whose strong arms protected me from the world less than an hour ago crumble beneath my fingertips like sand.

As soon as we reached the stairwell, I stopped, my tight grip on him causing him to stop too. "Ty, hold on. Let's–"

"No, I need to get as far away from her as possible," he said as he feverishly shook his head, tears falling down his cheeks and a distraught look on his face. He let out a loud curse as he violently punched the wall. "Goddammit!" He roared, as he hit the wall, again and again, ignoring the sickening cracks his hand made in protest. I quickly grabbed his arm, afraid he'd hurt himself if he hadn't broken his hand already.

"Ty, you have to stop before you hurt yourself, please," I begged as I wrapped my hands around his quickly bruising fist. The blood of his savagely torn knuckles slowly started dripping into the palm of my hand, warm and terrifying. His hard eyes looked at me, though they looked terrified at the same time as if she'd burst through the door and drag him back to the hell that left unmentionable scars on him in both physical and mental ways. His jaw trembled. "I don't want her to take me back." His voice broke something within me as if he'd cracked the shell around my very soul.

I quickly wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into me. His sobs echoed throughout the stairwell as he held onto me for dear life. "I'm here. Let it out. I'm here." I repeated as I held him and we slowly slid down onto the floor, my grip on him not wavering in the slightest bit. His cold wet cheeks pressed into my neck as he cried. He alternated between a fit of strangled sobs and constantly gasping for air. He was beyond hysterical and all I could do was helplessly watch. "Ty, tell me what to do. I want to make it better, what can I do?"

"T-Take me a-away from he-here," he made out, his tone almost a beg. A pinkish-red tint stained his cheeks and nose.

"Of course, baby. We can get a taxi or go somewhere while we wait for an Uber, okay?"

He mutely nodded as he hid his face in my chest, almost ashamed. "Hey, hey, look at me," I gently said as I took his cheek in my hand. His red-rimmed eyes bore into mine and I gently swept my thumb across his cheeks. "You're safe with me. I promise. I won't let her eye her eyes on you again, let alone touch you or hurt you, okay? I promise." I sealed my soft promise with a gentle kiss on his warm forehead. He nuzzled his face into my cheek, an action that was seeking comfort. I gently rubbed my cheek against his, wordlessly communicating my support and love. He was seconds away from shattering, but I would be there to pick up the pieces no matter how deeply he might cut me in the process.

I quickly peppered his face and eyelids with soft kisses before I tightly wrapped my arm around his shoulder and led him out of the building. He kept his head buried in my side to not only hide his face but to also shield his now damp face from the harsh unforgiving coldness of the city. As we walked, I used my free hand to start putting in the Uber information as my eyes scanned the congested streets for a taxi. The sun was luckily still out, though quickly setting, painting the sky with a deep orange hue, so I didn't have to worry too much about my safety, though I'd still be on high alert. As our feet slapped against the cold pavement, I whispered comforting things into his ear, though I doubted it actually did much to comfort him. I wanted to do something. Anything. I just wanted to make him feel okay.

Luckily, we were able to find a taxi fairly quickly, and after giving the taxi driver an address that was about half a block away from my apartment– I never gave out exact locations– we were on our way. The warm cab was a welcome change from the cool air outside and the quiet cab gave me the perfect opportunity to focus solely on Tyler.

I reached out and closed the tinted partition that separated us from the taxi driver so we could speak freely and so our business would remain private. Besides, if the driver was homophobic, I really didn't want to add another problem onto the ones that were already piling up, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

I steadily ran my fingers through his thick hair as he rested his heavy head on my shoulder. I really wanted to jump into his mind and dissect his thoughts; figure out exactly what I could do to make things better and erase all of the bad memories and pain that was bouncing around his beautiful head.

I really hated seeing him like this.

I hated feeling helpless.

"Baby, what can I do?" I softly asked.

He shook his head against my shoulder. "Nothing...Nothing, can we just...can we forget about it please?" His voice was still shaking, the cracks in it growing so big that I was worried that he'd be swallowed whole. But if that happened, I'd simply jump in after him. He wouldn't go through any of this alone; I'd be by his side through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

"Of course." I pressed another gentle kiss to his forehead before I held him impossibly tighter. Instead of studying him like I usually did, I decided to drag my gaze out of the window. I watched the city I'd called home for all my life breeze by. I thought about all of the amazing things I wanted to show the boy whose head was on my shoulder, all the memories I wanted to make. All the secret places I'd found that would no longer be mine, but ours. All the soft touches and heavy kisses we'd share; the laughter I'd pull from him, the blushes he'd cause to stain my cheeks. In my mind, I started writing the sequel to our story of memories that had yet to happen, and it made me more eager to help Tyler.

He didn't deserve to feel like this.

He deserved happiness. He deserved to be shamelessly, unconditionally loved regardless of his perceived "faults".

Before long, we were walking into my bedroom. We wordlessly stripped out of our heavy winter gear, and as Tyler slid off his jacket I could see how emotionally drained he was. His mother had sucked every ounce of joy and playfulness out of him.

Whether he knew it or not, he needed a distraction. And I knew exactly what he needed.

"Come here," I gently said as I extended my hand to him.

He gave me a confused look but he took my hand nonetheless. "Why? What are we doing."

"We're not doing anything. It's what I'm going to do for you."

A confused look still painted Tyler's features, however, he followed me without a breath of resistance until we got to where I was leading us: the bathroom. His baffled expression only deepened when I turned on the shower and adjusted the water to my liking. When I turned back to him I gripped the bottom of his shirt into my hands. "Arms up, il mio re."

He lifted his arms up as his brow furrowed. I raised the shirt over his head. "Addi, what are you doing? I don't need you to bathe me, I'm fine."

"No, you're not Tyler. You're not fine, and that's okay. It's just...please let me do this for you. When I'm not fine, I enjoy taking warm showers. I mean, we obviously don't have to do it if you're uncomfortable but...I just want to do something for you." I felt almost guilty asking this of him. Was I insane? How could I be asking him to do anything when he was the one who was in pain? Who was wounded so deeply that my eyes couldn't even see it?

I shook my head and reached for the shower handle. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have–"

"Do it."

Those simple two words were enough to make my fingers stop just as they wrapped around the handle. I turned back to him. "Are you sure? There are no hard feelings if you don't want to. I understand."

He took my cheek in his hands and craned his neck down to gently kiss me. "Distract me," he whispered into my lips before he pressed into me again. "Please, Addison." There was a slight beg in his voice that pulsated within every syllable of my name, almost warning me that he'd fall apart if I didn't offer him some kind of distraction.

I hummed against his lips before I kissed him back. I held him there for a moment before I pulled away and looked up at him. "I love you," I whispered.

"I love you more," he said as he gripped my shirt in his hands. "Arms up, Romeo." A playful grin tugged at the edges of his mouth, though the joy that usually radiated from him was, understandably, missing. I obliged to the command that parroted my earlier one and within seconds, we were both shirtless. "Are we keeping pants and underwear on?"

"Do you want to?" I asked.

"Do you?"

The question hit me in my core. We hadn't seen each other naked before. I hadn't even seen her naked and we'd dated for years. My heart was racing in my chest. I knew how my body would react when I saw him bare, and that was a reaction that I wasn't quite sure I was ready for. But then again, when would I be? Would I ever be fully prepared for the emotions he'd pull out of me?

To answer his question and my unspoken one, I looked at him and mutely shook my head before I slowly started stripping, first my jeans, then finally my underwear until I was bare before him. Goosebumps rose on my skin as the cold air wrapped around me and my heart was all but bursting out of my chest. A weird feeling wrapped around me that wasn't quite nervousness or embarrassment nor was it confidence or pride. It was weird, and it only grew as I studied Tyler's face trying to gauge his reaction.

As cliche and stupid as it sounded, although I knew I was safe with him, I really didn't want to disappoint.

Only the sound of the shower running hung in the air as Tyler and I simply stared at each other for a few moments as if we were frozen in our own moments of time.

A grin tugged at his lips before he too stripped down, his eyes remaining on mine the whole time. Though neither of us let our eyes wander, it felt strangely intimate to see one another naked yet not touch each other. There was a tug of war going on within me: one part of me really wanted to take all of him in and devour him, to let my body's wants consume and lead me. But a bigger part of me, thankfully, simply wanted to exist with him at the moment.

"Come on," I gently said as I opened the shower curtain for him to enter first. He did so without hesitation and I quickly grabbed some towels for the two of us before I too hopped in. He was simply standing there letting the water flow over his face and down his body. Even with his eyes closed and his body completely still, I could see the tension that raced through each muscle and ligament in his body. I placed a whisper of a kiss on his shoulder before I lathered some soap on a towel and gently started washing his tight toned back. It was as if a ball of tightly wound yarn was slowly coming undone as he started to relax ever so slightly.

I continued bathing him, paying close attention to his body language as my hand slowly moved over his body. I in no way wanted to make him uncomfortable nor did I want to start something that we might not be able to finish. "You know what?" I softly asked as we stood chest to chest. I slowly dragged the towel across his face, our bodies pressed together in every way possible, though neither one of us seemed uncomfortable in the slightest.

"What?"

"I think I'm going to take you up on your offer and we're going to pick up everything and go straight to Florida with only a suitcase full of Takis, a TVD boxset, and each other."

"How are we going to afford a hotel room then?" He playfully asked as he held my hips. A grin that almost reached his eyes that were looking down at me as I ran the towel over his eyebrows. Each feature highlighted the other, creating an image that would rival even the most iconic greek statue or renaissance painting. And I had the honor of looking at him every day.

"We'll sell our bodies; become strippers or exotic dancers."

"We'll get hired for bat mitzvahs."

"Or bar mitzvahs."

"Never bar mitzvahs," Tyler said as he shook his head. "I'm the only guy allowed to see you remotely naked, and you I."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, but you can't hog me. Plus, I could get extra money from the guys."

"And after you collect that bank, I'll beat them down for looking at you."

"Awe, you're so cute when you're possessive and bloodthirsty," I sarcastically said as I took his scabbed-over hand in mine and kissed his bruised knuckles. "Speaking of, you probably should avoid punching walls for the next few weeks." A chuckle escaped his lips as I let his hand fall down to his side and I started washing across his chest. He watched every move I made as water rained down on him and ran down the back of his neck that was craned down toward me.

"What else would we do?"

"We'd go to Universal. No, Disney World!" As I spoke, I continued working my pruney fingers down his body. "Then we can actually talk to the Disney characters about their iconic songs and have live debates with other park goers. We could get those cute ears and take stereotypical couple pictures in front of the castles. Then at the end of the night when the fireworks go off and they have their grand finale. I'll kiss you, my perfect storybook king. And I'll kiss you again and again and again until they have to physically pull me away from you."

"I think I'd like that. A lot."

"Oh yeah?"

"Ye–" A slight groan escaped from his lips as his hand wrapped around my wrist. I froze as I looked down at my wrist. Horrified, a blush stained my cheeks as I realized that my hands were mere inches if not millimeters away from his not-so-mini mini-me.

A weird feeling filled my chest and I quickly looked back up at him. His eyes were closed and tension was running rampant in his jaw.

"Ty, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." My words died as he pulled my arm so it wrapped around him and he held me in a tight hug, resting his head on top of me. After I got over the initial shock, I dropped the towel and merely hugged him. I found myself listening to his body, allowing it to tell me all of the thoughts and emotions that he couldn't fully articulate.

I gently rubbed his back and pressed my cheek against his warm clean chest.

"I'm sorry," I whispered so softly that it almost got drowned out by the heavy rain of the water that was slowly turning cold.

"Addi, it's fine. It didn't make me uncomfortable or anything."

I shook my head. I could hear the steady beat of his heart as his blood rushed through his veins, like a symphony that was putting on a special performance for only the two of us. "No, I don't mean that. I mean tonight. You were so excited about it and then...she just came in and ruined it. She selfishly put you in that situation."

His grip tightened on my waist. "Trust me, I am too." A humorless chuckle tagged itself to the end of his sentence as he pressed a kiss into my hair. "She's like...she's like a thunder cloud I can't escape. Every time there's even a sliver of sunshine, she comes to ruin it. That's all she's good for."

"I wish there was something I could do. It's not fair how she can just waltz into your life and mess everything up when she feels like it. That's not right."

"But you are doing something."

I pulled away so I could meet his eyes as my eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"You're making me happy, and that's all I can ask for right now."

I relaxed as I let out a small chuckle as I slung my arms around his shoulders. "You make me happy too. Like, super happy." I pressed a soft kiss on the left edge of his lips, then the right edge, then finally right on his lips.

He grinned against my lips before I pulled away. "I think it's time we get out of here, don't you?"

He nodded and I reached past him to turn off the now cold water before I laced my hand with his and led him out. "You know what else we should do in Florida?" I asked as I ran a body towel over Tyler's upper body as he sat on the toilet lid. I stood between his legs, and once again he was looking at me with a gaze that made my heart melt. That would be the next picture I would draw of him so I could selfishly sneak a glance at it whenever I wanted to, or when I missed him a little too much.

"Babe, I can dry myself off."

"That's not what I asked. But, maybe we could go to those cool art museums, or those pretty gardens and I can teach you how to draw a bit. I heard they got some cool buildings there too, like mansions and stuff. That sounds fun, doesn't it? We can fake house hunt and all that."

"Yeah, it does." He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his head in my lower stomach, his warm breath lapping against my lower region in a way that turned me into a blushing mess. I was just glad he couldn't see me. I was also learning that he was a person who required physical affection and comfort more than he needed verbal affection and comfort. I tucked that note in the back of my brain.

After I finished drying him, we were both laying on my bed with our towels hanging around our waists, both too physically and emotionally tired to walk the few feet to grab clothes from my dresser. Tyler was playing with my fingers–his own crudely wrapped in some bandages I'd snuck from Azalea's room–as I used my free hand to run my fingers through his hair. He gently pressed kisses to my fingertips in a way that made my lower stomach to pull and ache.

I wanted him so bad. More than I'd ever wanted anyone before, and it honestly scared me. Every cell of my body craved him, and as he gently kissed up my arms and chest, the more the pull in my stomach increased. I felt like I was about to burst.

Once he made his way to my neck, it was as if he knew what he was doing and how badly he was affecting me. Kissing, sucking, teasing. It was torture of the worst kind. He was playing with me. He'd bring his lips within an inch of mine, brush them against mine, allow his warm teasing breath to gently caress my lips before he'd ruthlessly pull away and go back to attacking the skin beneath my jawline.

I tried to move so that I could finally kiss me, but he too would move. I was growing frustrated. I wanted to be kissed and touched and feel a way only he could make me feel, but he was making me wait and I hated it.

I pulled away from him and he looked up at me innocently. "What?"

"You know what," I said with a pout. "If you're going to do it, do it. If not, don't bother."

"What do you want me to do, Addison?" He asked in a teasing voice that turned me on far more than it was supposed to.

At that point, I threw all self-control and self-consciousness out of the window as I pulled his lips down on mine. He settled himself between my hips and I tightly wrapped my legs around him. I wanted to feel as much of him as possible.

Our soft, tame kisses quickly became heated and messy as he rolled his hips against mine in a way that made my brain melt and my senses go into overdrive. I raised my hips to meet his again, copying the grinding motion that pulled a throaty groan from within Tyler as well.

He slowly slid his hand calloused, bruised hand up my thigh, causing bolts of electricity to shoot through me as a gasp escaped my lips. He used the opportunity to slide his sweet tongue into my mouth and press his body impossibly deeper into mine. He came at me with an intensity I'd never felt from him before, but I never wanted it to end.

I felt a sudden rush of desire, of lust stream through me like a river, and before I could stop it, my hand effortlessly ripped Tyler's towel off, leaving him bare on top of me before I greedily took handfuls of his behind, tightly squeezing it.

He pulled away and looked down at me, however, he didn't look embarrassed or mad or even uncomfortable. He just looked at me with the same lovestruck expression that froze the roaring world around us.

His hand gently came to meet my cheek before he stroked it. "Are you sure you want to go there?" There was no teasing or hesitation in his voice. Just a simple question that would change the course of our relationship forever. "You make me feel so many things...I don't want to accidentally lose control and make you uncomfortable."

"Maybe I want you to lose control," I lowly said before I leaned up and started kissing the soft flesh of his neck, sucking and swirling my tongue across it the way I knew drove him crazy. The way his arms slightly shook as they held him up let me know I was hitting the right spots.

"You can back out any time you want, Addi. You can change your mind and there will be no judgment or hard feelings or anything, okay. I just want you to feel safe."

"I want you to feel safe too, Ty. But I always feel safe with you," I mumbled into his neck as I gripped his bare hips. "I want you, Tyler."

A sound vibrated from deep within his toned chest. I pulled away and angled my head up at him. It was almost as if his irises had turned darker, almost black. It elated me and turned me on.

"I want you too, Addi."

I grinned as I pulled him back on top of me. Within seconds, I was bare beneath him as well as his hands explored every inch of my body, earning groans from within me as I continuously leaned into his touch and raised my hips to his, a glutton for the feeling of his body against mine. Goosebumps pricked my skin as his tongue ran down the front of my body and he used his knees to slowly spread my legs apart. I closed my eyes as he slid one arm beneath the low of my back, pushing my hips up to the position he wanted them to be.

My heart raced with the speed of an Olympic track star. There were no questions about the roles each one of us were going to play, and it made me both excited and scared that I was at the complete mercy of Tyler and his desires. But not so much because I was scared of what he'd do to me, but more so that I, again, would be utterly powerless. Before Tyler, I was used to being the one who gave the pleasure and now I was receiving it, a weird power switch that my body was slowly adjusting to.

Perhaps one day the roles would switch and Tyler would be the one shaking beneath me, tightly tangling his fingers in my hair with anticipation the way I was doing to him. Make my name climb up his throat and press against his pursed closed lips as he tried not to call it out and sound needy. Make his fingertips itch with the urge to move my lips where he truly wanted to be kissed like mine were.

"Addi, open your eyes," he commanded, his voice low and sexy. "I want to see your eyes."

I obliged without a breath of hesitation.

He leaned in and kissed me again, wrapping my legs around him. I could feel him pressed against me, and I realized the magnitude of him. My insides festered with excitement at the idea of being joined with him, the first person I'd do so with. But it also hit me how much pain I was going to be in, and walking tomorrow was completely out of the picture. That, however, didn't lessen my craving for him and impatience for him to give me what I wanted.

"Are you ready? You can still change your mind," Tyler said into my lips as he lined himself up with me. "No hard feelings, I promise."

I nodded. "I'm ready, just...please be gentle."

He grinned before he pressed a soft kiss into my lips. "I will, I promise. Ti amo, Addison Michael."

"Ti amo, il mio re."

My grip tightened on him as I let every guard I had fall down as I gave myself over to him in a special, sacred way that no one other than him had seen or would ever see. He kept his promise and went slow, kissing away all the tears that came and soothing all the cries that escaped my lips. But we quickly found our rhythm and fell into a pattern of uneven breaths and noises that would surely give us away to the others in the apartment complex. Our names continuously spilled from each other's lips between the feather-light touches and the fast passion as we showed our love in its most intimate form without the constraints of words or arranged actions.

By the time we were done, we were both covered in sweat and exhausted in a way I'd never felt before. I was laying on his chest and my body was physically shaking, weakened, and still riding the immeasurable high that Tyler had perched me on. My breath was uneven and I couldn't feel anything but tingles from the chest down, but it was the best feeling in the world.

Tyler was the best feeling in the world.

Expressions that mirrored drunken smiles took refuge on our faces as we looked at each other like idiots. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

I chuckled into his chest as I shook my head. "I'm better than okay. I've never felt better."

He grinned. "Me neither." He kissed me, a soft lingering form of communication. We both needed this, not only for us as a couple, but for us individually. He needed this, especially after what happened with his mom, and I needed it because he did. And I didn't regret it at all. I could only hope he felt the same.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too."

We both laid there, but despite both of us being exhausted beyond comprehension, neither of us made a move to go to sleep. Instead, we both stared at the darkened ceiling and listened to the cars drive by outside, sounding as if they were lightyears away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyler's expression slowly shift, as if a weight was physically pulling him down into a deep sunken place. My heart dropped knowing that he was likely thinking of his mother and why she was here instead of thousands of miles away in Louisiana with the other things he'd left behind for good, or so he thought. I wasn't an idiot; I knew that sex wouldn't magically fix all of his problems and that when the sun rose in the morning, we'd have to face whatever storm we were facing head-on.

I gently pressed a kiss to his chest and I made a silent promise to him that no matter what, I'd ride out this wave with him, no matter how bad it may be or how heavy it would weigh down on us.

***

Hey y'all! I hope you enjoyed this little election-night-destressor-thingy of a chapter with that little steamy moment in the end, and before any of y'all ask, no I won't be writing any explicit scenes for this book or any book in the near future. I don't feel mature enough as a writer to accurately capture such intimate moments, nor do I really have the desire to. Y'all can imagine what you want in your heads and I'll leave it to that. On a random note: I got into my 2nd and 4th choice colleges, both with scholarships, which is pretty fun, and I also turned in my application for my dream school so wish me luck. It's crazy to think that I've been writing since 6th grade and now I'm getting ready to go to college. Crazy. But enough with all of that, I know y'all are bored.

Please don't forget to vote and comment because I love reading y'all's comments. What did y'all think of how Addi tried to calm Tyler down? What did you think of the whole shower scene and what happened after that? What do you think Tyler and Addi would actually do if they went down to Florida? Let me know in the comments! Also, as always, if you want to read the next chapter before it's on Wattpad, y'all can check it out on Inkitt with the link in my bio 1000% for free!

Stay safe and healthy!

Love y'all- Jordan