• Prologue

    Date: 12/14 Topic: Our first meeting
    Age: 13

    tab To this day, I still remember the first time I met him. Back then I spent most of my days alone, playing games that I only needed my imagination to play. On the day he arrived I had been in the kitchen, opening up all the cabinets in search for buried treasure when grandma called me into the foyer. The first thing I saw was a young woman who in my eyes, looked like a model. She was so thin and beautiful, especially with those perfect blonde curls.
    tab “This is Miranda Morgan,” my grandma said. “She’s going to be taking Mr. Carvin’s old room.” She walked over and rested one of her wrinkled hands on my shoulder, “This is my granddaughter Corrine,” she said adoringly, almost as if she had forgotten the expensive vase I had broken that morning.
    tab After living in Greenfield’s Boarding Home for three, almost four, years, I was used to people coming and going, so I didn’t really bother learning their names or faces.
    tab Taking off her sunglasses and revealing her dark tired eyes, she smiled, “Aren’t you the absolutely cutest little thing!” she reached forward with her long, red nails and pinched my face, leaving two deep scratches behind.
    tab “You know, I think having someone close to his age might be a good a thing, cause right now, he hardly talks to anybody. How old are you sweetheart?”
    tab Looking down at the dusty Oriental rug, I kicked at a dust bunny that grandma had forgotten to vacuum. “I’ll be eight in four months. I spoke without looking up, mumbling my sentences.
    tab Then Miranda reached behind her and pulled at something, “Did you hear that? Now you have someone to play with. Isn’t that exciting?”
    tab All this time my eyes had either been focused on the floor or Miranda’s blinding hair so I didn’t notice the small shadow clutching on to her leg for dear life. But now that I noticed him, I couldn’t seem to look away.
    tab Truth be told, there was nothing particularly special or remarkable about him. At this time in his life, his face, which would later draw the attention of every girl as he walked down the school hallways, was still a cold and emotionless slate. And though he looked at me with such hostile and angry eyes, I found myself drawn to him.
    tab Looking back on it after so many years, I think it was the brief moment that our eyes met, that I first started to fall in love with him…


    tab “My god Corrine! How many times must I remind you to clean the dining room?”
    tab Even at eighty my grandmother’s voice still rang loud and clear from the kitchen, two stories beneath my room. And to make matters worse, she had called me Corrine, even though I had been telling everybody since I was thirteen to call me Rin. It’s not like I don’t like the name my parents gave me, but after grandpa called me Corny in front of an auditorium-full of preteens, that wondrous event sparked months of torture. On the bright side, it compelled me to come up with the name Rin. I like it, it has a cool vibe-it’s not like I have a cool vibe, but hey, I’m working on it.
    tab “Corrine, I’m not going to ask again. Don’t make me come up there!” she screeched
    tab Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I felt my feet slid onto the cold wood floor of my bedroom. Grabbing my journal from its spot on my bed I shuffled out of my bed and over to my closet, trying to make the five-foot trek last as long as humanly possible.
    tab Before reaching the closet door, I looked down at the cover of my standard-issue marble composition book. In the space labeled subject I’d written the number, ‘thirteen’. Here’s what you have to know about me, rereading old journals isn’t a new habit that I’ve just picked up, in fact, I’ve always tried to reread all my old journals before the end of each passing year. I just find something refreshingly nostalgic about visiting my past. Snapping back into reality I slowly opened my closet door. I knelt down on the floor and I ran my fingers over each individually labeled box until I found the one snuggled in between twelve and fourteen. I’d gotten my first journal when I was five; it was actually Em who had given it to me. My parents had just died, and Em told me that if I wrote in a journal, I could tell my parents all about the things they were missing. I started writing in it that every night, making sure not to leave out a single detail out about what my life was like while living in a boarding home. I wanted to make sure that my parents knew that I was ok and happy, but most importantly, I wanted them to know that I still missed them. Even though my handwriting looked like chicken scratch at the time, it didn’t stop me from pouring all my thoughts and feelings into that the small little notebook.
    tab Ever since that night, I’ve made sure to write in my journals every day, well almost everyday. It’s something I still do now; however, most of my friends find my journal hobby a bit obsessive.
    tab Regretfully, I slid the journal back into its box and closed my closet door, just in time to hear my grandmother’s shrill voice reverberating from outside my door, “Last time Corrine! Open this door now or you’ll be on laundry duty for two weeks!” I wanted to remind her that Greenfield’s was a boarding home for renters, not a hotel with a free-of-charge maid service, but she’d probably accuse me of being and I quote, “cheeky”. So, I decided to just let it go.
    tab Opening my door, I blatantly avoided my grandmother’s all-knowing eyes and said: “Relax Em, I was just finishing my homework.” Then, in what I hoped seemed a nonchalant manner I proceeded down the stairs. Putting her hands on her hips Em followed me to the stairs, as if she thought I might make a break for the front door if she didn’t.
    tab “I’m sure you were,” she replied, running a rag over the oak stair rails as we went down the stairs. “But old places like this need lots of love and care, especially if we want new tenants to move in…”
    tab Old place, now that was a euphemism. Greenfield’s wasn’t just old. It’s practically ancient. The three-story white painted house with blue shutters has been proudly standing in its spot on Ocher Lane since the mid 1920s. In fact, just last year, Big Willows very own historic society proclaimed Greenfield’s a town landmark. Em’s family had been running Greenfield’s since it first opened its doors, and it was a day she’d never forget. The whole town came out for the unveiling ceremony, and since our humble town has a population of fourteen hundred people that wasn’t exactly a hard thing to accomplish. We even got a shiny new bronze plaque as a commemorative gift, which is now hanging proudly in the hallway that leads to and from the front door.
    tab As for Big Willows, it might be a tad small but since when does one judge something based on size? Like Em always says, “Good things come in small packages.” It’d be an absolutely perfect place if it weren’t of its one minor flaw. With the town being as small as it is, it’s natural that everyone knows everything about one another. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. Now I’m not trying to make Big Willows sound bad or anything, but if there’s one thing this town knows how to do, its gossip. Funnily enough, the people who are gossiped about the most have been dubbed the towns “celebrities”. And as luck would have it, one such “celebrity” just so happens to live one floor below me.
    tab Of course, I know why they really talk about him. Years ago, when he first moved into Greenfield’s, his mother had been the town pariah. Back then; he was lucky enough just to be a footnote. But these days all I ever hear is people either bad mouthing him, or if it’s the tween girls who worship all things bad, declaring him a god. Of course, Tyler hasn’t always been the notorious guy he was now. As I mentioned before, years ago most people either ignored him or avoided him, and he was totally fine with his invisibility. Except for me, Tyler only talked to a handful of people, but that all changed when he: had a growth spurt, his voice deepened, and joined a band. Suddenly, he became Mr. Tabloid. Now personally I think he doesn’t deserve the bad reputation most of the town gives him. Just because the guy has five earrings in each ear and hangs out with people decked out in tattoos and dyed bright-red hair, doesn’t make him the spawn of Satan. Apparently, being different in a pro-dominantly white upscale town is considered the sin of all sins.
    tab “…Are you listening to me?”
    tab “Yeah,” I mumbled as I tore my eyes away from his room. Last night he and his band had played in town and hadn’t come back until four in the morning. But it wasn’t like I had waited up for him to come home.
    tab She must have noticed me staring because suddenly Em grabbed my hand and said in a frustrated tone, “Sometime today would be appreciated,” before pulling me down the rest of the way until at last, we reached the dining room. Pointing to the cleaning supplies on the dining room table, she gestured to all the paintings that lined the dark walls.
    tab “Try not to miss anything,” she said stiffly before turning around and walking back into the kitchen. I had half a mind to mention that of the eight tenants that currently live here, only four actually eat in the dining room.
    tab Grabbing the cleaning rags, I imitated the haughty tone that Em had used on me. Normally, Em is a fun person to be around, but lately she’s been in a sour mood. This is probably because Tyler keeps ignoring the curfew she had given him. Thinking back to the journal entry I had been reading, I smiled remembering that most of it had been about him.
    tab “Corrine,” Em called, almost as she knew I was in the middle of a daydream.
    tab Rushing over to a painting I started to wipe away the cobwebs from the dusty frame. “Yeah?”
    tab “When you’re done in there I have a laundry basket with you’re name on it anxiously waiting to have it’s contents distributed to their rightful owners.” The kitchen door swung open and she set down a battered laundry basket that looked like it was about to explode due to all the clothes that had been shoved into it.
    tab “No problem,” I forced a smile as she picked up a faded black T-shirt that was missing one of it’s sleeves.
    tab Shaking her head, she folded the T-shirt up neatly before placing it delicately on top of the pile, then she reached in and scooped up a pair of shredded jeans that had permanent grass stains and held them up. “Honestly, the notion of wearing clothing that look like they’ve been though a minefield baffles me.” Like the T-shirt she folded the jeans and put them back in the basket.
    tab “When you go to give Tyler his laundry, tell him I’m taking him shopping. It’s time he starts dressing like a respectable young man and not some third-world ruffian.” With that said she turned around and slipped back into the kitchen, unaware that she had just assigned me the one job I really didn’t want to do: talk to Tyler. At the moment you see, I’m kind of trying to avoid him, which is turning out to be a lot hard then I had anticipated.
    tab Why am I trying to avoid him you may wonder? Well, it’s not because I don’t like him. Actually, my feelings towards him are the total opposite of hate. To be honest, I’ve been in love with him for as long as I can remember. As for why I’m avoiding him, it’s because lately I’ve been watching him; around the house, in the hallways at school, even walking around town with his friends. And trust me, the last thing I need is for Tyler to find out. But it’s not my fault that I can’t stop staring. There’s just something about him that makes me not want to look away. This might sound stupid but I really just can’t help it! I mean if this guy were a famous celebrity, I’d cut his pictures out of magazines and post them around my room. And it’s not just me who obsessed about him. My friend Lynn’s favorite pastime is following him around town.
    tab As if on cue, my own cell phone started to ring and sure enough, it was Lynn.
    tab “Hey Rin, what’s up?”
    tab Setting down the rag, I leaned against one of the old chairs and smiled, “Em has me on cleaning duty, what about you?”
    tab “I’m just lounging around waiting for something exciting to happen. By the way, do you remember that favor I asked you?”
    tab I hesitated before I answered. Last Friday, Lynn had been raving about a party that’s going to happen a few miles from town next Saturday night. She hadn’t hid her desperation to go, dropping about a thousand hints for me to ask Tyler for a ride. Conveniently, he had a car and also intended to go to the party.
    tab “Well, I’m not sure if he’s going to say yes…”
    tab “Please Rin,” she pleaded. “What if I told you that I found the perfect guy to set you up with? Would you ask him then?”
    tab Great, Lynn was now bribing me, knowing that I’d do anything to get a boyfriend of my own.
    tab Taking my silence as a yes, Lynn thanked me a hundred times before asking me to call her after Tyler had given me an answer.
    tab Closing my phone, I shoved it back into my pocket.
    tab Watching Tyler was one thing, but actually talking to him was another matter completely. It seems that every time I try to have a conversation with him, I always end up saying something stupid. And on the rare occasion that I do say something that makes sense, he just turns his back to me and walks away. However I did have to give him something, other than his laundry, so I didn’t see why I couldn’t just bring up the party. I am, after all, going to be right there.
    tab Checking to see that Em was distracted in the kitchen, I ran over to the coat rack in the hallway and grabbed the white envelope from my jacket pocket. While I climbed the stairs, I rehearsed over what I was going to say in my mind. As long as I didn’t lose my nerve, I’d be fine. The next thing I knew, I’m standing outside his door. After taking a few relaxing breathes, I reached forward and knocked lightly on his door.
    tab When the door didn’t open at first, I thought that perhaps he had slipped out without being seen. But then after a few heart racing moments, the door cracked open a bit before opening fully, revealing a sight that Lynn would have died to see.
    tab I’m not sure why, but even after all the times I’ve seen him shirtless, the sight still manages to take my breath away.
    tab “Um…hey…hey Tyler,” I stuttered like an idiot while I tried not to notice how he had left the top button of his low cut jeans undone.
    tab Leaning against the doorframe, I watched Tyler run a hand through his messy black hair, “What’s up Rin?” Since he had stopped spiking his hair, he had this one stray piece of hair that constantly fell in front of his right eye. If I could, I’d follow him around for hours, just waiting for it to fall so I could push it back into place.
    tab Behind him, I caught sight of his room. Ever since his mother had left, Tyler had ceased to care about keeping his room tidy.
    tab Keeping the envelope behind my back, I passed it from hand to hand while I tried to get my mind working correctly again and tried to keep my eyes away from his chest. “I’m…I mean there’s something I need to talk to you about…” Suddenly, Tyler pushed off the doorframe and rested one of his hands on my shoulder.
    tab “Listen,” he said in a low voice, “if this is about last night, I’m sorry. I mean I thought we were being quiet but I guess-”
    tab “Wait,” I said cutting him off, totally confused. “What are you talking about?”
    tab Before he could say anything, a girl with blue streaked hair appeared besides him. I’m not sure what made me blush more, the fact that she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the shoulder, or the fact that she was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and a red bra.
    tab “What's taking so long T?”
    tab All at once, I felt as if someone was squeezing all the air out of my lungs. This wasn’t happening, it couldn’t be happening. I knew that Tyler had girlfriends but I didn’t know, didn’t want to know, that he was already having sex with them.
    tab “I…I should go,” backing away I shoved the envelope into his hands, “you’re obviously busy and I really don’t want to disturb you.”
    tab Tyler took a step towards me, but I took off before he could come up with an excuse. “See you later,” I managed to say as I stumbled up the staircase, running towards my room. We both know that Em had given Tyler a strict ‘no girls’ policy and if she found that he had broken that rule, he’d be kicked to the curb before dinnertime.
    tab As I finally reached my room, I could hear voices coming from Tyler’s room through the thin floors.
    tab “What's that, an eviction notice?”
    tab “No,” there was a long pause; “it’s a birthday card.”
    tab Climbing onto my bed, I hugged my knees as I whispered what I had been trying to work up the courage to say for weeks, “Happy eighteenth birthday Tyler.”