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Chapter 4

The weeks that went by were back to their usual normality. Before I knew it, the last days of summer skipped by paving way for an unusually cool fall.

I awoke tangled in Jerry's arms. Yawning widely, I placed a small kiss on Jerry's slightly parted lips. He was still sleeping peacefully, and I couldn't bring myself to wake him. Awkwardly, I slid out from under his arms and touched my feet to the cool hardwood floor.

Straightening my back, I stretched before padding quietly downstairs. To my surprise, I actually felt hungry. Really hungry. Descending down the stairs, I turned into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge. I mused over what I wanted for breakfast and settled for hard boiling a few eggs.

As I grabbed a pan from a cabinet, I filled it with water, delicately dropped the eggs in, and turned the eye to the highest setting. My stomach growled loudly and impatiently as I spied a large fruit bowl sitting on the counter.

I plucked a large grapefruit from the various fruits and sat down at the glass kitchen table. Silently, I began peeling the skin from the fruit not thinking about anything in particular.

"Yes, sir," grumbled a voice from the living room adjacent from the kitchen.

I froze.

"... and you're sure I can't do this in the office?" The voice paused. "I would rather do my work in the office, Mr. Greer." There was another pause and a long sigh. "Fine. I'll organize everything here. Just have Judy fax over all the papers to your office."

I remained frozen and sent a little prayer to whatever deity presided over my life that I would be left alone.

No such luck.

Daniel walked in looking rather ruffled. His dark hair was tusseled and he was wearing a white button-up shirt with the buttons halfway undone, reveling his white undershirt and had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. To be honest, it looked as if he hadn't slept decently in a few days.

Without paying me any attention, he grabbed a glass from the cabinets and walked over to the tap, filling it with water. I watched him as he drank the whole glass in a few long gulps and let out a rather un-Daniel-like belch.

I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my lips.

Daniel turned around and instantly flushed. "Crap! I didn't see you there."

With his attention turned to me, I lowered my eyes and starting picking at the skin of the grapefruit once more. I could feel my appetite slipping.

Without another word, Daniel sat down at the table, choosing the chair in front of me. "Your father has me using his office here like a whole separate branch of his firm," he spoke even though I had my attention fully focused on the damn grapefruit. "I actually slept in there last night. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to sleep in a office chair?" His voice carried with it a light humor.

I glanced up and gave a sheepish shrug. Inhaling deeply, I sat the grapefruit down on the table and blew out a breath. "I don't think I've ever actually been in his office," I said keeping my eyes down and fumbling with my thumbs.

A silence that made my skin itch crawled by. "Look, Tyler," Daniel began, his voice serious, "you don't have to act so shy around me. I've been in and out of your house for over five years now. I figured you would be used to me by now." He paused and after I said nothing, he continued. "It's not like I bite or anything. I just don't get much human interaction working for your father; he tends to keep me busy, so I actually see more of you and your mother than anyone else. It's just nice to talk a little here and there, ya know?"

"Say something," grumbled the voice in my head. At least this time it wasn't mocking me.

"I don't talk to anyone, really." It was the truth. I only ever spoke to my mother and Jerry. My father was never around.

Daniel sighed. "Can I ask why, or am I pushing some unseen boundary?"

I swallowed; my mouth felt dry and gritty like a desert. An invisible force seemed to be compelling me to spill my guts, lay everything out on the table. Why? I didn't know, but I fought the force with everything I had and found myself only giving up a small fragment of the truth. "I don't know how to." My voice sounded weak. I cleared my throat in a desperate attempt to sound less like a fucking moron. "Being around people feels so foreign to me. Makes me feel weird."

I decided to take a chance and lift my eyes and to my surprise, Daniel was smiling a very pretty smile that shone his white teeth. I actually took a moment to study his face. He really was gorgeous. He had a straight nose and high cheekbones. He was pale, but not deathly so like me. Daniel's eyes were large and a very lovely shade of green. He had a strong chin that was dotted with stubble.

"What?" I asked self-consciously, averting my eyes back to my thumbs.

Chuckling lightly, Daniel spoke once more. "I think this is the most we have ever spoken to each other." He paused and chuckled once more. "Well, actually, this is the most you have spoken to me. It's nice."

I blushed.

"Look, you don't have to feel weird around me." His voice sounded so sincere.

I glanced up once more and forced myself to meet his eyes. My mind screamed in a loud protest for me to look away, to run, to walk away, anything to get me away from this man, but I stood my ground.

"I'll try."

Daniel's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Tyler!" Excitement echoed in his voice. "I'll let you get back to your breakfast, but if you ever feel like talking, just come and find me. If I'm not here, my cell number is in the rolodex on your father's desk." He stood from his chair and smiled once more. "I need to head out and shower so I can get to work." He smiled once more and ran a hand through his messy hair. With that, Daniel turned around and left.

Once I was alone again, I blew out a breath I didn't know I held clinched in my lungs. A smile crept onto my lips despite the hammering I felt inside my chest. "I think we could really be friends," I thought to myself as I picked my grapefruit from the table and finished peeling it.

I plopped a sliver into my mouth and walked over to my eggs. The water had come to a rolling boil, so I tapped a few buttons on the stove's interface and set a timer for twenty minutes.

Hands wrapped around my waist, startling me. "Good morning, baby," Jerry whispered into my ear.

I relaxed slightly and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Good morning."

After our embrace, Jerry placed a kiss softly on the top of my head. "You look really happy this morning."

"This is it, Tyler," I said mentally. "I might as well just spill the beans now before he freaks out." I cleared my throat and mustered forth the courage to just tell Jerry that Daniel and I spoke; however, just as I was about to speak, I head my mothers voice from the other side of the kitchen.

"Who are you talking to, honey?"

I snapped to her direction and frowned. "No one. Just mumbling to myself." I turned to face the stove and Jerry took a step away from me.

"Earlier, I thought I heard you and Daniel speaking..." My mother's voice fell off as if she was silently prodding me for information.

I felt my face drain. So much for talking to Jerry about it first. "Yeah," I mumbled as my appetite completely dissolved. I wanted to turn around, to see the look on Jerry's face. Was he mad? Would he freak out on me like he did that one day? Instead, I chose to stand motionless and stare at the eggs.

"He's a nice boy, Tyler. Maybe you could give him a chance. He always speaks so fondly of you." She fell silent once more. "You can't just stay cooped up in your room every day of your life." An edge crept into her voice. "You're wasting away, Tyler."

Well, look at that. My mother seemed to be genuinely worried. She must have spoken to my shrink, who I refused to see anymore. Actually, the last time I saw him was over two years ago.

I stayed silent, keeping my body rigid. I wanted her to leave me alone. I wanted to be alone. "Why do you care now?" I spat, feeling anger bubble over. "What's changed? Did you read a book on raising a crazy son, or did you go behind my back and talk to my shrink, who I fired?" Still staring down at the boiling water, I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip in an attempt to stifle myself, to shut myself up.

"I care about you, Tyler." My mother was back to using her I'm-a-fairytale-princess voice. "I love you."

I slammed my fists down on the stove, causing boiling water to slosh onto my hands. I didn't care. "Then stop loving me! I turned to face her. "I don't want it. Your love is useless; it isn't going to fix me!"

I stormed off as tears began to spill down my cheeks. "I'll be damned if that woman is going to see my cry," I spat mentally. Slamming my door and locking it behind me, I collapsed onto my bed, wrapping my arms around a pillow. Pulling it close to my face, I sobbed.

"What is happening to me?" I choked out. What was happening to me? My life was far from perfect, but at least I was content with it. Jerry was everything I needed. Why were things changing now? What was different?

"You're different, Tyler." Jerry's voice was strong and steady beside me.

"I'm not!" I shoved my face farther into my pillow.

Jerry placed a hand on my shoulder. "You are, Tyler. You just can't see it like I can." Jerry paused and sighed. "One day you won't need me anymore. I think that day is closer than I would have ever thought." A deep sadness cracked in Jerry's voice.

My heart lurched at his words. I released my pillow and turned around. Jerry was sitting beside me, leaning against the headboard staring down at me. The pain in his eyes only made me cry more. I threw myself into his lap, wrapping my arms around him. "No, Jerry. No," I sobbed.

A world without Jerry was a world I couldn't stand to live in.

"I can't live without you."

Jerry sighed, running his fingers through my hair. "One day, Tyler, you're going to have to."

I shook my head, pulling myself closer to Jerry. I refused to listen to what he had to say. Jerry and I were together. Always. It was just the balance of things. He evened me out. Without him, I would be a one ended seesaw stuck in the sand.

The rest of my day was shot to hell. Once I finally calmed down, Jerry and I decided to go downstairs for booze. Well, it was mainly my idea. It was just a booze day. I descended the stairs and wondered into the kitchen. The liquor cabinet was a small double door cabinet above the refrigerator. Of course, these days the booze fountain ran a little dry. I couldn't count how many times I found my pathetic mother comatose with a bottle of Jack on the couch with the TV blaring.

Even Mrs. Perfect wanted to escape her life.

Using one of the kitchen table chairs as a stepping stool, I opened the cabinet and much to my delight, I found my father restocked his supplies. My father was known to spend most of the rare days home drunk off his ass either yelling at the TV, the newspaper, or my mother.

There were a few tall bottles of Jack, but in all honesty, I never cared for the stuff. Actually, I never really cared for booze at all, but like I said, today was just one of those days. I scooted them to the side and peered farther back and found exactly what I was looking for. I wrapped my hand around a cheap bottle of vodka.

It was really the only liquor I could stomach. Usually, I would mix it with some orange juice, but today, I chose to take it straight.

On the way back up to my room, I paused by my father's office. The door was slightly cracked and Daniel was sitting at the desk with a mound of papers towering around him. Great, there was no doubt that he heard the spat between my mother and me. Still, I smiled for no particular reason before I walked away to my room.

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I really don't like Tyler's mother. She reminds me of a stepford-wife. Though, I believe she's just as tormented as her son. Really, this whole family is messed up.

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to tell me how you liked this chapter and the story so far! I have the next chapter nearly finished, so I may update this story one more time before I'm without internet. (long story)

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