The next week Tyler wasn't at school. I felt as his mentor i should do something to help him with the missing assignments. I went to see Ms. Hilton. "I have a question." I asked her once i was sitting in a chair in her office. "Tyler isn't here this week i haven't heard from him, should i take his work to him?" I asked. "Oh that would be wonderful if you can get it from all of his teachers he can have it back by Monday, Give me a second to look up his class schedule." She said. She printed it out and handed it to me.

       I felt bad i hadn't gotten his work to him sooner. Now he was going to have to do it all weekend. I went to each of his classes to round up his work. I had a huge stack of it. I walked to my car and set it in the passenger seat. I was just glad it was Friday. 

       I pulled up to his house. I knew he didn't want me going inside but he was sick so he shouldn't be going out. And it was my job to help him. His dad's beat up car was under the car porch. He could let me in. How mad would Tyler be about me going into his house? Well guess I'd find out.

       I grabbed the stack of papers and went to the door. When i knocked on the door a man who i assumed was Tyler's dad answered the door. "Hi Mr. Hillcroft is Tyler here?" I asked politely. "Yes he is, he's in bed sick though." He said. "He may not be up for company." "Oh that's fine I'm Brooke his study buddy, i have all of his work here." I said holding it out.

       "Oh that must be heavy come on in." He said opening the door a bit wider. I stepped inside. "Well i just needed to give him all the work he missed and perhaps help him with it?" I asked making sure his dad wouldn't mind. "Oh that would be great, if he's feeling up to it." He said pointing me to his bedroom. 

       The living room was small and quant. There were pictures up on the walls. There was a beautiful woman who i assumed was his mother. From what Tyler's packet had said it was just him and his dad. I wondered what happened to his mom? The living room was clean, they had a blue plaid couch in one corner and a medium sized boxed tv in front. They had a nice fire place that looked like it had been used a lot. 

       I went down the narrow hall way and saw three doors. The one on the left was the bathroom. Then i saw two at the end the one on the left looked to be his dads and the one on the right was closed. I turned the knob and pushed the door open. 

       The room was on the small side but it looked like he had made good use of the space. Tyler was asleep, he had one hand over his head. he wasn't wearing a shirt. The covers were all messed up and i could see he was just wearing a pair of blue boxer shorts. Now I felt odd being here. I didn't know if i should wake him or just leave. 

       On the nightstand i saw a box of Kleenexes and some cough syrup. The garbage can beside the bed was over flowing. He was asleep, he probably didn't want to study anyways. I had decided to just set his papers down on the night stand and leave. When i set them down it made a noise. He stirred and opened his eyes. 

       "What are you doing here?" He asked alarmed. His biceps and the muscles in his chest tensed up. "I'm sorry Ms. Hilton said i should bring the work to you and your dad told me to just bring it to you." I said apologetically.  

       "Fine, how much did i miss?" He asked. I pointed to the stack. "Great." He said sitting up. He pulled the covers up to his waist and moved his legs. "Have a seat." He motioned to me. I picked up the stack of papers and put them on the bed between us. "So what's up first?" He asked. "Ok so were studying Hamlet in English." "Ok do i have to read the whole thing?" He asked. "I rented the DVD just in case." I said holding it up. 

       "Ok just give me a recap real quick." "Ok uhm lets see. Its set in Denmark, its about how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet. It's crazy from overwhelming grief to seething rage and it reeks of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption." I said. He raised his eyebrows. "Wow Shakespeare sure did like them tragedy's." He said.

       "That's for sure." He was flipping through the papers. "I'm sorry i just stopped by." I said frowning. "It's ok i guess, i figured once you saw the outside and didn't laugh you wouldn't laugh to much while you were inside." He said not looking up. "Why would i laugh? Your house is great. It seems really cozy." I said. "Yea it is, we've made it as homey as we can." He said not looking up from the papers in his lap. "Uhm i saw a woman in the pictures. Was that your mother?" I asked. 

         Now he looked up. "What?" He asked giving me a cold look. "It's a simple yes or no question why do you care if i know who she is?" "Why do you want to know? So you can study the life of Tyler? Is that Shakespeare's next tragedy?" He asked.

        "I don't know is it one?" I asked softly. "Why do you care?" He growled. "Because I'm going to be spending a lot of time with you until schools out and I'd kind of like to know what's going on." I said. "You know in order for this to work you don't actually know all of my past. Or really that much about me in fact. We just need to do the work." He spat out.

        "Ok I'm sorry i asked then geez." I said putting my hands up in surrender. He slammed hamlet shut. "What do you want from me?" He asked. "I'm just trying to understand you." I said wiping at a tear that escaped my eyes.  "Maybe i don't want to talk about it because I'm still upset about it!!" He shouted. 

       "Oh Tyler, I'm so sorry. She died didn't she?" I asked. He just nodded. "When?" I asked putting a hand on his arm. "Last year ok!? I don't need your stinking pity." He said pulling his arm back. "She's gone you feeling sorry for me isn't going to bring her back!" He shouted. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You don't have to be such a jerk about it. Your mom died. That sucks!" I said, plain and simple.

       "It does, in fact that's why i had to change schools." He said letting a little more of the truth out. "I don't understand." I said biting my lip. "Of course you don't you still have both of your parents and the only thing you can complain about is how they like your sister more than you at least your mom is still around." He said. "That was uncalled for. You don't know anything about my life. I love both of my parents and i am glad they are still around but don't say that. You don't know what you're talking about." I said. "I think i do." He said. "Look your mom died, and you are hurting i get it. But it is tough living in someone else's shadow. So don't say things to me in your anger. I didn't do anything." I said. "Oh no? You just have to come in here and start asking me things. I don't tell people things for a reason. If i wanted you to know I'd tell you." He said.

"What now? Are you gonna ask me more about why i left school? Or maybe what happened to my mom?" He asked. "I won't lie and say I'm not curious but you clearly don't want me to know so..." "It's not that i don't want you to know, like i said it still hurts to talk about it. And you just come in here all high and mighty and EXPECT me to tell you. Where in the program does it say that? Because we had a meeting on the first day saying if we felt comfortable we could talk. Well i don't." He said.

      I nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry i brought it up." I said wiping at my eyes again. He groaned. "Don't do that, i hate when girls cry. She died in a car accident. Okay?" He said. "Oh i am so sorry." I said putting my hand over my mouth.

       "Yea, i didn't even have time to get ready for it." He said nodding. "Even if you had it wouldn't of made it any easier." I said. "I know that, and i don't handle things well i guess." He said shrugging. "You guess? Sometimes your nice and then other times you jump down my throat!" I Said.

         "Yep, i acted out in school. I got an attitude with pretty much everyone and i started fights." "Well things haven't really changed i see." I said making a face. "What does that mean?" He asked. "You're still rude and cop an attitude with me any time i bring up anything you don't want to talk about!" I said. "I am not rude but you just walk up in here as if you have a right to ask me stuff. So if i was rude then it was warranted." He said throwing back.

        "I didn't know i wasn't allowed to ask you about your mother or maybe i wouldn't have." I said. "Yes you would have!! See i might be rude and throw a jab from time to time but you stick your big nose where it doesn't belong because you're Ms. Perfect and you have to fix everything and everyone. Well news flash, not every one can be fixed!!" He said. I was worried his dad would hear us yelling through the paper thin walls but he never poked his head in the room.

        "Well that's where you're wrong. I don't try to "fix" everybody. Because i get it, some people don't want to be fixed. I can't control other people. I can't make them be decent. I can't make you stop being rude. But i was hoping i'd get some answers as to WHY you're so rude and mean all the time! This right here is why i study you can't get hurt with your head in a book." I said.

        "No you just let life pass you by." He said. "Oh don't even start with that crap that's what you're doing!! You're letting your mothers death take over your life. She's not coming back." I said. "So that doesn't mean i can't miss her." He shot.

        "You're right. I've never lost a loved one, I'm sorry." I said. "Thanks, and you... one day you'll have to get out of those books and start living life once high school and college is over you can't hide behind your good grades." "We'll see about that." "Well good luck with that." He said. "And you are going to have to find a better way to deal with your mom's death. I know it sucks that she's gone but if i can't hide behind my grades then you can't hide behind her death. That's all i meant. You use it as an excuse to push people away. Not everyone is going to leave like her. And i know her leaving was unexpected but maybe some people will surprise you." I said.

       "Yea, but it's easier to push people away because I'm not sure i could let myself care about someone only to have them leave too." He said. "I get it, but I'm sure she wouldn't want you acting like this." I said. He didn't say anything. Maybe i had touched a nerve. I know he certainly did. I wouldn't say anything else about this.

       I looked at him curiously. Was he going to say something else? If he didn't i decided that would be okay. I wasn't going to make him talk when he wasn't ready. I wasn't sure he'd ever be ready. He pulled out his algebra home work and pulled out his notebook to work on the problems. I looked down at my hands not sure what i should say. He didn't say anything so i just sat there for a bit. Finally he looked up. 

       "It was on a rainy night my mom had been at the office working late. She worked for a lawyer and they had this big case. It was coming down really bad out there and my dad called to tell her to be safe. On the way home she got hit by another car. We were woken up at like 2 am with a phone call from the police saying they had found my mothers car wrapped around a tree and we had to go out there to identify her body." I heard him sniffle a bit. 

       "We got there and my dad took one look at her mauled up face. He knew it was her. I lost it, i couldn't believe my mother was actually gone you know? It felt weird after that. We had the funeral and after that waking up was different like she wasn't really gone and i expected her to be there at the kitchen table eating breakfast but she never was. She was just gone. Now i know she's not here or coming back but i still can't get over it.  She was the greatest woman in the world" I saw a tear drop roll down his cheek. 

       He might not have been my favorite person but i wasn't going to let him just sit there and cry. I moved the papers and scooted over to wrap him in a hug. At first he was tense as if he didn't want me there. But then decided it was okay. He released the tension and i could still feel his strong back muscles as i had my arms around him. He was warm and his skin was soft. He just sat there for a minute and cried letting all the anger and hurt back. When he was done he pulled back and wiped at his face. "Sorry bout that." He said.

      "It's okay." I said giving him a weak smile. He returned to his book.  "Um but you know, If you ever need to talk or anything you know I'm here." I said. "Thanks but I'm fine." He said. "You didn't look fine, look i just thought if you needed to talk maybe you wouldn't..." I trailed off. "Wouldn't what? Do like i did at the last school? I can't screw this up this is the last and only school left. The only one that would take. If i screw this up then my dad will have to sell his garage and we'll have to move to another place. That probably wouldn't wanna take me anyways! And we'd have to start over, i can't do that to my dad !" He said. "Okay, i was just letting you know." I said quietly.

       Once he had finished the math problems he started reading his history notes. He sighed looking up. "If you ever wanna talk to you know you can." He said. "Talk?" I asked. "Yea you know about your uh...sister." He said. "That's always a fun topic." I said. "Why does she make you so angry anyways? Don't you like her?" He asked. "Of course i do, she's my sister. It's just....My mom and dad think she walks on water or something and nothing i ever do will ever match up to her greatness." I said. "Why is it so important for you to have your parents approval?" He asked.

                "I don't know. I guess i feel that maybe they even love her more then me." I said finally admitting the truth out loud. "Come on Brooke you don't think your parents really love her more then you do you?" He asked. "Maybe, I mean I know they love me but it's like oh you did this? Good for you. Your sister though did THIS and it's great better than whatever it was i did. How am i supposed to not feel like that?" I asked.

        "I don't know, but competing with her just might make it worse especially if your sister finds out about it. Let her be in the spot light, don't be a dream crusher. Your parents can have a favorite child all they want, you decide who you want to be. Besides, I'm sure you're cooler than her anyways." He said. "Oh you're giving me a compliment?" I asked amazed. 

       "Not really i just meant if you think your sister is so bad you'd have to be cooler than her." He said nonchalantly. It kind of hurt. But i was pretty sure he meant if i was a nerd she was an even bigger nerd. And so me being less nerdy was a good thing. How rude! He finished going over his history notes. "So what did we have to do in English for our test?" He asked putting this notes on the table with his math.

        "We had to make something depicting the story." I said. "What did you do?" He asked. "I used some of my old ken dolls to recreate the death scene, i dressed them up and got a sword and everything." He wasn't laughing. "That's cool well i need to finish this movie so i can decide what to do with mine. I wouldn't know where to start." He said.

        "Well what if you drew a picture or something? I mean you said you liked to draw." "Yea i could do that thanks." There was a knock on the door. "Hi would you like to stay for dinner Brooke?" He asked. Tyler made a motion with his hand as if to tell his dad no but it was to late. I glared at him. 

       "Yes sir Mr. Hillcroft I'd love to." I said smirking at Tyler. He groaned. His dad left the room. "Great." He said. "Whatever." I said. "Do you maybe want to leave?" He asked." "I just told your dad i was staying I'm not leaving." "No i just meant unless you want to see me in my boxers you should go." He said. "Too late." I said smirking as i walked outside and shut the door behind me. 

       I walked into the kitchen to see Tyler's dad putting food onto three plates. "Smells good." I said. "Thanks over the past year I've learned to do a lot of things, cook, clean...first load of laundry i ever did came out pink." He said. I smiled. "Got easier i see." I said nodding to his white shirt. I heard a noise behind me and saw Tyler walk in. 

       He had put on a pair of shorts and t shirt. We all took a seat at the table after his dad said a prayer we dug in. "So it's real nice of you to help Tyler out here with school." "Oh it's my pleasure." I said between gritted teeth. My pleasure, ha as if. "He's been doing alright in school?" He asked making polite conversation I'm sure he already knew how his son was doing. "Yes sir." I said nodding. "You're son is very smart." I felt something kick my foot under the table. I kicked it back. Tyler's dad seemed none the wiser. "I've always told him he was smart." His dad said. Tyler glared at his dead. Silently begging him not to say anything more. His dad didn't.

        When dinner was over we went back to his room. "Are you going to put hamlet in?" I asked. "Yea. Might as well." "Ok good I'd like to see it again." "What do you mean?" He asked. "You missed a week of school i don't have enough hours logged this week." I shrugged. "Can't you just i don't know make something up." I gasped. "I will not lie on this!" I said.  He rolled his eyes. "You? Of course not.  Come on in and take a seat on the bed. He said putting the DVD into the DVD player.

       I don't even remember falling asleep at all. I just remember waking up to my cell phone ringing in my pocket. When i was watching the movie i was leaning against the wall next to Tyler. Now i was comfortable, too comfortable. Something was off. I stirred awake to realize i was in his arms. One of his arms was wrapped around me and i was leaned over on him. I jumped back so hard that it woke him up. When he realized what had happened he scooted all the way to the end of his bed. "Geez what where you doing?" He asked. "Me? You're the one who had your arm around me." "Because i felt something next to me it's jus what i do." 

       My phone rang again. "Crap that's probably my parents." I said looking at the screen. It was. I answered the phone. "Hello?" "Where are you at it's late?" Asked my mom. I looked at my watch 12 am. "Oh I'm at Tyler's we were making up a weeks worth of homework. I'll be home soon." I said. "Ok dear drive safely." My mom said hanging up. 

       "Did you just lie to your mom?" "I don't like to do that." I said. "I told her we were doing homework and we were." I said matter of factly. "But you left out the detail of us falling asleep." He said. "I'll tell her that when i get home i don't keep thins from her." I said.

        "You don't do anything bad do you?" He asked. "No not really." "I knew it the first time i saw you." He said. "Oh you did not. And what's wrong with being good?" I asked. "Nothing i guess, you're just predictable." He said. "I am not." I shot back. " You are too. Take a look at what your wearing now. A t-shirt and Jeans. Very plain. It's August why not break out a skirt or a tank top or something? Go crazy." He said. "Hey i like what i wear." "I see that. You need to break lose." "So you keep saying, there's nothing wrong with this." I said looking down at my Dark blue t-shirt. It didn't have any design on it whatsoever and my jeans were plain. 

       "Yea plain just like you." He said shaking his head. "What's wrong with that?" I asked again. "Nothing but i think it's a defense mechanism. If you actually showed a little skin guys might look at you and you could get hurt. Face it you're just as afraid as i am." I held my chin up high. "Look as much as I'd like to sit here and debate my clothes with you i got to get home." I said refusing to talk about this any longer. "Fine, bye." He said pulling his shirt off over his head. It was late and I'm sure he was as tired as i was. I closed his door behind me. When i walked out into the hall his dad's door was closed i assumed he was asleep as well. I let me self out locking the door behind me.