Therapy is Good for the Soul

Bailey was all Tyler could think about lately; he didn’t have hockey to distract him since he was suspended for 3 games. He was glad that he’d finally be able to get back into the action and play tonight but was nervous that he wouldn’t play well. He knew Bailey would be at the game and wanted to impress her. It had been almost two and a half weeks since they’d seen each other and he missed her. They spoke on the phone and texted each other a few times. Tyler was frustrated because he was always the one to initiate contact and Bailey kept the conversations short. His friends told him he was lucky that she was even talking to him and he needed to be patient. Not a single day went by that he didn’t regret how he hurt her. He knew he had a long road ahead of him to prove to Bailey he was trustworthy and worth a second chance. Tyler said a quick prayer before the game that Jessica’s plan was going to work and he’d get to spend time with Bailey soon.

The Bruins won the game by a score of 4-2 over the Rangers. Tyler played extremely well, scoring two goals and getting an assist on Bergeron’s goal. He was relieved that the time off didn’t hurt the momentum he’s had this season. Now that the game was over, he shifted his focus on winning Bailey back. After he showered and got dressed he waited impatiently for Jessica’s text. When he finally got the green light, he headed out of the locker room towards the elevator.

“Hi” was all Bailey said when she saw Tyler.

“Hi. You here for Bergy tonight?”

“Yea, it was the first Bravehearts game of the season.”

“Cool, glad Bergy scored and we won for them.”

“You didn’t play so bad yourself.”

“Thanks, probably had something to do with my lucky charm being in the building cheering the team on.” Tyler smirked and winked causing Bailey to blush. Tyler loved that he could still make her react that way; it gave him hope that he still had a chance.

“It was nice seeing you, night.” Bailey exited the elevator and headed toward the exit.

“Bailey, wait. Would you join me for a hot chocolate?”

“I’m kind of tired and should probably head over to catch the T.”

“Just a cup; I promise I won’t keep you long. I can take you home after too.” Tyler looked at Bailey with big puppy dog eyes he knew would be hard to resist.

“Ok.”

“Great!” Tyler opened the exit door for Bailey and they headed down the road to Dunkin Donuts. “So, how is Alexis doing? I feel bad I haven’t been able to see her in a few days.”

“She’s doing amazingly well in inpatient rehab. In fact, she’s getting discharged from the hospital tomorrow and will start the Day rehab program on Monday.”

“That’s fantastic news! I’ll try to see her off tomorrow.”

“ She’d like that. Alexis is the most popular kid in the hospital thanks to your visits and she’s lovin all the attention. You’re pretty much all she talks about anymore. I still can’t believe she remembers you said you’d take her to a game and out for ice cream. She’s working hard to make that happens soon.”

“She’s a pretty special kid. I think she’d be popular even if I wasn’t involved; but I’m glad I can provide some motivation for her recovery.” Tyler smiled and opened the door for Bailey. “Do you know what you want?”

“I can get mine.”

“I invited you, remember?”

“I’d like a medium hot chocolate and a pumpkin muffin, please.”

Tyler ordered 2 hot chocolates, one pumpkin, and one apple muffin. He and Bailey found an open booth in the back and sat down.

“Thank you.” Bailey said as he handed the muffin and hot chocolate to her.

“You’re welcome. Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Are you going out later?”

“Nope; I’m just going home to watch a movie or just get some sleep.”

“Oh.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I thought you always went out to celebrate after a win.”

“I haven’t felt like going out in a while. It doesn’t have the same appeal it use to have.” Tyler took a bite of his muffin and a few sips of hot chocolate as he tried to erase the image of him making out with Mandy from his head. “Bailey, do you still want to fix Freddy up with your friend?”

“Christina?”

“Yeah, do you still want to?” Tyler had his fingers crossed under the table hoping she hadn’t changed her mind. Even though he knew it’s what got him into this mess in the first place, there was still a small part of him that was jealous of Freddy’s relationship with Bailey.

“I guess so, I think they’d be good for each other.”

“Great! I have an idea, are you and Christina free Saturday?”

“I am, but I’ll have to check with her.”

“Ok, you do that and let me know.”

“What’s your plan?”

“It’s a surprise, I just need to work out the details with Freddy. I promise it will be fun.”

“You sure you don’t want my help?”

“Nope, you just need to convince Christina to come.”

Tyler drove Bailey home after they finished their snack. He helped her out of his car and walked her to the front door to her apartment complex. Bailey gave him a quick hug before saying goodnight and heading inside. It felt so good to have her in his arms again; he had to fight the urge to pull Bailey in closer and kiss her. He was disappointed when she pulled away so quickly and headed inside.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Christina rolled over as she opened her eyes and saw Bailey sitting at her desk looking at her laptop. “Bailey did you get any sleep last night?”

“A little, just nervous about today.”

“I’m the one going on a blind date, shouldn’t I be the one who’s nervous?”

“I just want everything to work out for y’all. Tyler won’t tell me anything about what we’re doing. What if he’s planned something stupid, the date’s horrible and you and Freddy end up hating me for it?”

“Don’t be so dramatic! You know as well as I do that isn’t going to happen. Face it Bailey, the real reason you’ve been so anxious and haven’t been sleeping the past 2 days is you’re worried about being around Tyler.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, please! It’s so obvious you still have feelings for him. You’re worried that if you hang out with him, you’ll give in to those feelings. You’re scared of getting hurt again, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know how I feel. He was so amazing that day at the hospital; I couldn’t have made it through the day without him. He’s also been so sweet to Alexis it’s really helped with her recovery. Seeing him after the game made me realize I do miss him, but then I think about what happened and what I know about his reputation before we met. I just don’t know if it can work; it was so easy for him to turn to that whore. I’m not sure my heart can truly trust him not to break it.”

“Bailey, I know it’s easier said then done, but don’t overthink it; just relax and see where things go. Today is about two sexy women going out with two good looking men and having fun. Now turn off your computer and lets get ready.”

Bailey laughed and got dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a white form fitting V-neck t-shirt, a green and purple plaid flannel shirt, and tennis shoes. She put her hair up in pigtails and opted to not wear any make-up besides her favorite plum lip-gloss. Christina was wearing jeans, a white tank top, her favorite red honeycomb-knit sweater, and hiking boots. Just as Bailey finished French braiding Christina’s hair Tyler buzzed the intercom. Bailey told him they would meet him downstairs. The girls looked in the mirror one last time before grabbing their coats and heading out.

Tyler and Freddy greeted Bailey and Christina as they came outside the door of the apartment complex. Bailey immediately gave Freddy a big hug before introducing Christina to him and Tyler. She caught Tyler’s disappointed look, and realized she may have unintentionally hurt his feelings by not hugging him as well. Bailey felt bad, so she went over to Tyler, stood on her tip- toes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek and thanked him for organizing the day. Tyler immediately relaxed, smiled and told her it was his pleasure.

The girls decided to sit together in the back seat of Tyler’s truck. Just as they got settled in their seats, Bailey asked Tyler if he could stop so she and Christina could get some breakfast. The girls were completely surprised when Tyler and Freddy turned around and offered them bagels, munchkins, and pumpkin muffins. They even had a hot chocolate for Bailey and mocha for Christina.

“Wow, y’all thought of everything. Thank you!” Bailey said as she took a pumpkin muffin.

“How did you know I like mochas?” Christina asked.

“I asked Bailey what you like to eat and drink. Wanted to be prepared for the day.” Tyler replied

“Well, I’m impressed! Thank you.”

“Now that we are on our way, will you please tell us where we are going?” Bailey pleaded with Tyler.

“Nope, I told you it’s a surprise.”

Bailey stuck out her tongue at Tyler’s response and had a pouty face. “You’re mean.”

Tyler just chuckled, turned up the stereo and continued to drive. They arrived at their destination near Billings Farm in Vermont about 2 hours later.

The group headed toward the Faulkner Trail at Mount Tom. They walked along the gravel path that gradually progressed over 1.5 miles of switchbacks through wooded terrain. The group stopped for a quick rest and to take some pictures at a small stone bridge with a scenic overlook before heading up the final part of the path to get to the top of the trail. The trail had been fairly easy up to this point, but the path became narrow and steeper with rocky slopes, leading to a summit with steep drops to one side with wire guard rails. There were also some puddles along the path due to the recent rain making their journey a bit more challenging.

Bailey was trailing slightly behind the group as she approached the last 100 yards of the trail and stopped. There was a large puddle in front of her that the others easily stepped or jumped over. She knew there was no way she’d make it with her short legs, even if she tried to jump she’d land in the water. She decided she’d try to go around the puddle by pulling herself along the guardrail. It was very narrow and a bit rocky, but she thought it was doable. As she was taking her last step to get around the puddle, the rock she stepped on slipped out from under her foot and she let out a scream as she fell. Tyler, Freddy, and Christina immediately turned around and headed back down to help her. Tyler reached Bailey first.

“Are you ok?” Tyler asked Bailey as he knelt down beside her and took off his backpack to get the first aide kit out.

“I’m fine, just a little cut on my hand and a bruised ego.”

“What happened?”

“I didn’t want to get wet so I tried to go around the puddle by walking along the edge of the path and I lost my footing when a rock came loose and I fell.”

“Why didn’t you ask for help?” Christina inquired.

“I didn’t want to hold y’all up and I honestly thought I could do it.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t stay back to make sure you were ok; I didn’t realize you stopped and got behind. Please don’t ever hesitate to ask me for help.” Tyler said as he started to clean Bailey’s wound by pouring a bottle of water over the cut and gently wiping the dirt off with some gauze.

“It’s not your fault; I was just being stubborn.”

“This might hurt a little.” Tyler poured some peroxide over the cut and then rubbed some antiseptic cream on it. It made him cringe to see Bailey wince as he finished cleaning the wound. After he covered the cut with some gauze and paper tape he brought Bailey’s hand to his face and gently kissed the top of the bandage. “There, all better. Now lets get to the top of this trail.” He helped Bailey up and picked up his backpack. “Put this on, and hop on my back.” Bailey put the backpack on and Tyler helped her up and gave her a piggyback ride for the remainder of the trail.

“Tyler, it’s beautiful!” Bailey was in awe, as she looked out at the amazing scenic view of the Green Mountains and valley ahead of them “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Come on lets get a picture with Freddy and Christina.” Bailey got off his back, Tyler took her hand and they walked towards a very large rock where Freddy and Christina were sitting taking in the gorgeous view. Tyler asked another hiker to take their picture. The group huddled together; Bailey wrapped her arm around Tyler’s waist and leaned in for the photo. Tyler took full advantage of the opportunity and put his arm around Bailey and pulled her in even closer to his side. The group stayed at the top of the summit for a good 30 minutes enjoying each other’s company and the majestic view before they headed down taking the easier marked zigzag path that lead them to a lake. The group sat on the benches surrounding the lake and enjoyed the picnic Freddy and Tyler packed. They really had thought of everything and Christina and Bailey were thoroughly impressed. After lunch, Freddy and Tyler gave the girls a piggyback ride down the remainder of the trail and back to Tyler’s truck.
“Thank you for a beautiful day!” Bailey told Tyler as she gave him a hug.

“You’re welcome. The day isn’t over yet, we have more in store for the two of you.” Tyler unlocked the doors to his truck and everyone got in and they headed down the road toward Billings Farm.

Bailey’s face lit up, “We’re goin’ apple pickin’?”

“Not exactly, there’s a fall festival and carnival. We can get apples and pumpkins while we’re here.” Freddy replied.

“I love carnivals!” Christina cried out.

“Me too, this day keeps getting better and better!” Bailey was giddy with excitement as she hopped out of the car.

Freddy and Tyler purchased tickets for the festival and the gang decided to head over to the pumpkin patch and apple area first.

“Holy Cow, look at that pumpkin!” Bailey exclaimed pointing at the giant pumpkin in the middle of the patch.

“Dang that thing is huge!” Tyler said as they walked towards the pumpkin to get a closer look.

“Its bigger than Bailey.” Freddy joked causing Bailey to give him a gentle shove on his arm.

“Come on let’s get our pictures on top of it.” Christina grabbed Bailey’s hand and they ran towards the pumpkin, climbed on top and took a seat. Freddy and Tyler snapped a few pictures of the girls before they helped them get down.

“How many pumpkin pies do you think you could make out of that thing?” Freddy asked.

“None, that’s not the type of pumpkin you use to make a pie. But it sure would make an awesome jack- o-lantern!” Bailey informed them.

“Have you ever made a pie from a real pumpkin?” Tyler asked.

“Twice, but it’s a pain in the butt, so I usually cheat and just use the canned stuff.”

“If that’s cheating, I guess my mom commits a felony because she just buys a pie from the store.” Christina chimed in and everybody laughed.

Freddy suggested they have a pumpkin-decorating contest, so they each picked out a pumpkin to purchase. Freddy and Christina took them to the truck, while Bailey and Tyler headed over to look at the apple selection.

“So what are the best kinds of apples for a pie?” Tyler asked Bailey.

“Depends on if we are talking fried or baked apple pie. I really like to use a combination of granny smith and pink lady apples in a baked pie.”

“Great, I’ll take a bucket of each.”

“You plannin’ on bakin’ some pies?”

“Well, I was kind of hoping this good friend of mine would come over and pay up on this deal we made a while back and make them for me.” Tyler gave Bailey a sly smile.

“If I recall, you hoodwinked your friend. Lucky for you that she’s so forgivin’ and doesn’t go back on her word.” Bailey replied, as she looked over the wide variety of apples available.

“I know how forgiving she is; it’s just one of several things that make her very special to me.” Tyler said as he looked directly into Bailey’s eyes causing her cheeks to flush. She became nervous and didn’t know how to respond to Tyler’s remark so she just walked away and filled her own bucket with a variety of apples.

After she and Tyler paid for their apples, they brought them to his truck and then joined Freddy and Christina to walk around the festival. The group checked out all the different booths at the festival and danced to the live music for a bit. They sat on a bench and enjoyed some warm apple cider as they listened to the music.

“Hey do you mind if I pull Bailey away for a while to talk?” Tyler asked Freddy and Christina.

“Sure no problem, just text me later and we can all meet up at one of the carnival rides.” Freddy replied.

“Is that ok with you?” Tyler asked looking at Bailey as he extended his hand towards her.

“Sure.” She happily took his hand and they headed off in the direction of the carnival rides and games. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“What? Oh, I just said that so Freddy could have some alone time with Christina.”

“Oh…Good idea.” Bailey tried to hide her disappointment; she thought Tyler was going to say he wanted to date her again. She started to walk off.

Tyler caught up to Bailey and tugged on one of her pigtails. “You ok?”

Thankful she had her sunglasses on to hide the couple of tears that had fallen she replied, “I’m fine, just lost in my thoughts.”

“Ahh, what I wouldn’t give to hear those thoughts. You know I’m a pretty good listener.” Tyler could sense something was upsetting Bailey, he just hoped it wasn’t something he said or did.

“I don’t want to bore you.”

“I doubt that; just know I’m here if you change your mind.” He said as he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You feel up to playing some games?” Tyler asked as they approached the game area.

“Sure, how about some skee ball?”

“You’re on, just warning you I’m pretty good.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Tyler got them both tokens and they picked lanes next to each other. Bailey out scored Tyler by at least 200 points in every round they played. After 3 rounds he stopped her and said, “You’re a little hustler! Where’d you learn to play like that?"

Bailey laughed, “I never said I wasn’t good. Guess all my years working at Chuck E. Cheese have finally paid off.”

“You worked at Chuck E. Cheese?”

“From the time I was 15 through every winter and summer break my first 2 years of college. I did everything, from making the pizzas, running birthday parties, gamekeeper, dressin’ up as the different characters, and doing the voice of Helen Henny.”

“You’re kidding me. You did the voice as one of the characters; please tell me you remember it and give me a little taste.”

“Here? I don’t think so Tyler.”

“Pretty please!!!”

“Oh, Alright. I don’t remember all the words, but it went something like this. Hooowwwdy little buckaroos! Did y’all hear we got ourselves a special birthday boy in the house. Let’s give Tyler the best hootin’ and hollerin’ y’all got and wish him a Happy Birthday! YEEHAW!” Bailey was bright red after doing her super southern character voice and covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe I just did that. Stop Laughing!” Bailey swat Tyler’s chest because he was laughing so hard.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it that was awesome! Thank you for sharing that moment with me.” He was still laughing as he pulled her into a quick embrace.

“Think you can pull yourself together for another game?”

“More skee ball or a new one?”

“Can we play this a few more times and then you can pick a game? I really want to win more tickets; I have my eye on a prize.”

“After that, we can do anything you’d like. You made my day!”

“Glad, I’m so entertaining. Now, let me show you how to win this game so I can get more tickets and win that prize.” Bailey put a token in Tyler’s machine and came behind him. She put one arm around his waist and leaned in close to his body. She took his right arm and placed his hand in hers and she guided him as he released the ball. The ball landed in the top hole worth 100 points.

Not wanting Bailey to let go, “You better show me a few more times, to make sure I have it down.”

Bailey smiled and gladly did the hands on demonstration with 3 more balls, before she got a bit flustered with the thoughts she was having being that close to Tyler again. “There, I think you probably have the hang of it now.”

Bailey let go of Tyler quickly and went back to her own lane. The fact that her cheeks were his favorite shade of pink again, didn’t go unnoticed by Tyler. He knew he was making good progress with repairing their relationship. They played a few more rounds, although he came close, Tyler was never able to beat Bailey’s score. They played a few other carnival games and then went to turn in all their tickets for a prize. Tyler was pleasantly surprised when Bailey picked out a stuffed dog that looked exactly like Marshall. Tyler got a text from Freddy to meet at the Ferris wheel.

“AWW, did Tyler win you that dog?” Christina asked.

“Sure did.” Bailey replied as she hooked her arm through one of his and gave Tyler a wink before resting her head on his arm.

Freddy and Christina got in a bucket together and Tyler and Bailey got in the next one. As they slowly reached the top, Bailey noticed Tyler got very quiet and was looking straight ahead of him.

“Are you scared of heights?”

“Who me? Nahh.”

“You sure? It’s ok if you are.”

Tyler’s eyes became wide, beads of sweat started to form along his forehead, and his breaths became shallow when their bucket stopped at the very top. Initially, Bailey thought they were stopped to let some people off the ride, but then the person running the ride came on the bullhorn and said they were having technical difficulties. The announcement made Tyler’s pulse race.

Bailey took Tyler’s hand and started to apply some touch pressure and massage techniques to it as she spoke to him. “Did I ever tell you that my brother Stephen has a 2 year old daughter? Sarah Kate is a little spitfire that is into all the Disney princesses right now. She loves to watch the movies, sing the songs, and act out scenes from the movies. My sister-in-law posted some video clips on Facebook of Sara Kate making my brother act out scenes from Beauty and the Beast and Snow White. They are hilarious! She’ll turn 3 right before Thanksgiving. I’m going to give her some board games and dress up clothes for her birthday. My sister, Rebecca also has a 6-month-old daughter named Kara. She’s beautiful and has the best smile in the world. Kara could easily be the Gerber baby, she’s so stinkin’ cute. I can’t wait to see them both over Christmas. Wish it could be sooner, but I have to work on Thanksgiving. We’re required to work at least 1 major holiday a year. I was originally given Christmas, but a coworker who celebrates Hanukah traded with me. I’ll probably just go to Emily’s home after I get off work and experience my first Yankee Thanksgiving; should be interesting. What about you? Will you go home for the holidays or will your family come here?”

“Our Thanksgiving was last week and I’m going to celebrate Christmas early with my family, when we play Toronto.”

“I didn’t realize you celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada. Did you and Freddy get to celebrate?”

“Brittany and Looch had a bunch of us over for dinner that day. It’s not as big of a holiday for us like it is in the U.S.”

“Oh, what are you going to do for Christmas?”

“Haven’t really thought about it. I guess I’ll just see who is around and hang out and play video games and watch movies or something.”

Bailey leaned on Tyler’s shoulder as she continued to massage his hand. “Just promise me, you won’t spend Christmas alone!”

“Ok.”

“ I mean it Tyler, nobody should be alone on Christmas. Promise me that if you don’t find anyone to spend the day with, you’ll fly to Georgia and spend Christmas with my family and me.”

Tyler turned to look at Bailey, finally relaxed and smiled. “I promise.” As soon as he spoke, he realized the Ferris wheel was moving again and they were almost back to the ground. “How did you do that?”

Bailey smiled, “Do what?”

“You’re amazing you know that! I don’t know exactly what you did, but you sure helped me relax. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, and it was nothing. I just did a little reflexology on your hand and thought the talking would either bore you to death so you could zone out or help get your mind on something else.”

“I already told you Bailey, I could listen to you talk all day. You could never bore me.”

“Well that was crazy!” Christina said.

“You up for one more activity before we head home?” Freddy asked everyone.

“Y’all planned a fabulous day for us, we wouldn’t dream of missing out on one more surprise.” Bailey answered.

Tyler and Freddy held out their hands for Bailey and Christina and they headed towards the final activity for the evening, a hayride.

“We’re goin’ on a hayride? I love it!” Bailey squealed with joy when she saw the sign they were approaching.

Tyler and Freddy purchased their tickets and helped the girls step up on the trailbed. Freddy and Christina sat on a bale of hay next to another couple and across from Bailey and Tyler. There were blankets for each couple to share. The tractor started to move after farmer Ted introduced himself and went over some basic rules for the ride. About 10 minutes into the ride, there was a loud puttering noise and then the tractor came to a sudden stop.

“That didn’t sound good.” Freddy said.

“Sorry folks, looks like the tractor is having some technical issues. I’ve called for them to send another one to pick you up. Please be patient and just sit here and it will be here soon.” Farmer Ted told the group before he headed back to sit in the tractor and got on his phone.

“This must be how they’re starting it this year. Wonder what the theme will be?” the girl sitting next to Christina said.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear you. What do you mean how it’s starting and theme for what?” Tyler asked the girl.

“The haunted hayride. They have a different theme each year and they always have something strange happen before the scary stuff starts.”

“Did you say haunted hayride?” Bailey asked the girl for clarification.

“Oh yeah, you didn’t know? The haunted hayrides start at dusk every night.”

Bailey looked at Freddy and Christina and then turned to Tyler with big doe-eyed look on her face. Tyler took Bailey’s hand, “I swear we didn’t know it was a haunted hayride! I would never do that to you Bailey.”

“He’s telling the truth Bailey, we had no idea.” Freddy immediately chimed in.

“I believe you.” She said reassuringly to Tyler.

“If you want, we can get off here, and you and I can walk back.” Tyler said with concern; he couldn’t believe their perfect day was about to be ruined because he and Freddy didn’t catch the “haunted” after dusk part.

“Hate to break it to you, but you can’t do that Tyler. We have no idea how far we have come and it’s not like you can use your GPS. Face it you’re going to have to stick this out.” Christina said.

Bailey and Tyler knew Christina was right. “I’m so sorry Bailey!” Tyler wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulder and pulled her into his chest.

“It’s ok, you didn’t know. Just don’t let go, ok.”

“No problem!” Tyler smiled and wrapped his other arm around her.

Farmer Ted came back out. “The new tractor and trailer bed should be here any min…” he was cut off when something suddenly pulled him up and into the trees. The group started laughing at how cheesy it was and that they could see the wires that lifted him up and over into the trees.

“If it’s going to be like that I’ll be fine.” Bailey said as she sat up tall, but not completely out of Tyler’s grasp.

A new tractor pulled up and everyone was asked to get in the new trailer bed and off they went. They drove through plastic bats, spiders, and ghosts hanging from the trees, and scary music coming from some speakers hidden in the trailer bed. The group couldn’t stop laughing at how cheap the props were. Bailey and Tyler were both relieved that there was nothing scary about this ride. The couple next to Freddy and Christina were obviously pissed and said they couldn’t believe how bad it was this year. They assumed someone new was in charge, because they said the past couple of years were extremely scary.

Everybody was looking out the back of the trailer when they hit a large bump. There was a strange movement coming from the back of the trail bed and suddenly there were a million spiders and bugs that came crawling out of a bale of hay and moved along the floor of trailer bed. All of the girls screamed and picked up their feet. Bailey immediately grabbed onto to Tyler and clung to him with fear. Tyler tried to reassure Bailey that they were fake, but she wouldn’t open her eyes until she heard Christina say they were gone. Bailey slowly opened her eyes and looked down at the floor and saw that all of the bugs were gone but she still kept her feet up off the floor. None of them could figure out where they disappeared too and thought it was a pretty cool trick.

Just as Bailey’s heart rate started to slow down, she received a tap on the shoulder and a woman asked if she could move her feet so she could get the blanket under her feet. “Sure, I’m sorr…” was all Bailey got out before she screamed and jumped into Tyler’s lap. When Bailey turned she saw the woman resembled a very realistic zombie and was emerging out of a bale of hay next to her. A few more of these zombie like creatures started to pop out of nowhere on the truck as well as come out of the woods to scare all of the couples. At this point poor Bailey was shaking and an occasional whimper was all you heard from her. She felt one of the creatures look her and Tyler up and down and could feel its breath. Tears started streaming down her face and Tyler lost it.

“Leave her alone! Can’t you see that she’s scared to death.” He yelled at them and put his hand up to block them from touching her.

The creatures left them alone after Tyler’s outburst and thankfully the ride came to an end soon after that. Bailey was still trembling, her eyes closed tight and whimpering in Tyler’s lap when the hayride was over.

“Shhh, Bay you’re ok. It’s over and they are gone.” Tyler rubbed Bailey’s back and comforted her.

“Come on Bailey, let’s go to Tyler’s truck and go home.” Christina knelt in front of Bailey trying to help her calm down.

Bailey gradually opened her eyes and let out her breath and a long sigh as she realized it was just the four of them there now. Her legs felt like jelly when she stood and she couldn’t move. Tyler picked her up and carried her off the trailer bed over to a bench. He sat down with her in his lap. Freddy bought everyone a bottle of water and helped open Bailey’s for her. They all sat there waiting for Bailey to completely regain her composure. Freddy made a couple of corny jokes that really helped her come out of the funk.

“I’m sorry y’all I hope my stupid scaredy cat ways didn’t ruin your night!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you were just being yourself. If anyone should apologize it should be Freddy and I for not realizing it was a haunted hayride.”

“It’s nobody’s fault and the day was not ruined. The hayride just had an extra surprise in store for all of us. I personally want to thank all of you for helping me have one of the best dates of my life.”

“Best dates of your life?” Freddy asked Christina with a raised eyebrow and a curious grin.

“Most definitely and none of this would have been possible without my best friend Bailey.” Christina gave Bailey a hug and whispered in her ear that she had more to share with her later. Bailey immediately smiled and said she was ready to get home.

The group all piled into Tyler’s truck. This time Bailey sat up front with Tyler and Freddy sat in the back with Christina. Bailey said she needed happy music for the ride home and asked Tyler if they could listen to one of her “fun” playlists on her phone. Tyler of course couldn’t say no, so they listened to a bunch of music from the 90s and early 2000s with several songs from different boy bands. The ride home turned into a name that tune and a sing along game.

Bailey fell asleep during the last 30 minutes of the trip back to Boston. Tyler decided not to wake Bailey up when they reached her apartment complex since Christina had confided in them that Bailey didn’t get much sleep the past couple of nights. He carried her up to her apartment and Christina and Freddy trailed behind with her apples and their pumpkins in tow. Christina found Bailey’s keys and unlocked the door. Tyler carried Bailey to her room, pulled down the covers to her bed and put her down. He removed her shoes, placed the stuffed Marshall toy she won next to her, and proceeded to tuck Bailey in bed.

“Sweet dreams Bay.” Tyler leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly before heading home.

Notes

I am so sorry it has taken me forever to post this update! I hope y'all can forgive me and will still read the story. I promise I am working on the next chapters and it won't take long for me to post them. I tried to make this chapter a bit longer since it's taken so long; hope I didn't frag it out too much.

Feedback is always appreciated!!!!!