Come over and start up a conversation with just me and trust me I'll give it a chance now

Markus and I were sitting on the front porch together. We hadn't seen each in about a week and had spoken a handful of times. We had hardly even spoken to each other. Neither of us really had anything to say to the other. We just sat, me on the porch swing swaying back and forth, him in a patio chair at the small table we had out.

"Um," I began awkwardly, "how's your week been?" I asked.

I looked over as he shrugged, "Fine," he said quickly.

I waited to see if he would ask about my week, but he didn't. We went back to the silence and I focused on the yard in front of me on the quiet street that I grew up on.

I bit my lip and let out a small sigh, deciding to speak up.

"You not gonna ask how my week went or...?" I trailed off glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

I saw him smirk and roll his eyes as he turned his head to me, "And how was your week then, Princess Raeanne? Was it magical in your perfect world where you hardly work like the rest of us?"

I bit down on the inside of my cheek to get the rude retort to myself, but something came tumbling out anyways.

"I guess we can't all have the luxury of our daddy giving us landscaping jobs when he can. When you’re sober enough to work," I bit back to him.

He whistled, "Woo!" he said shocked, but had a condescending look on his face, "Little Miss Raeanne is getting feisty! Look at you trying to be a big girl!"

I scoffed and looked away from him, crossing my arms over my chest, "You're an idiot."

He chuckled, "And you're being a bitch, but nothing new I guess."

The front door clicked and I looked over, just past Markus to see my dad walking out onto the porch, an unamused look on his face.

"Hey, David," Markus said lazily to my dad when he closed the front door behind him.

I closed my eyes and shook my head; Markus just had to be a fucking pest all the time. Markus knew not to call either of my parents by their first names. He just liked to think he was in control.

"Mr. Townson, Markus," my dad told him.

I heard Markus chuckle, "Come on, Mr. Townson. We're gonna be family one day, you've gotta let me call you something different."

I opened my eyes and felt the tears begin to sting my eyes; he always needed to start shit for no reason.

"First, we're never going to be family. Never. Never. Second, my wife and I used to let you call us by our first names, like any adult would. Until you cheated on Raeanne among so many other things. Then we realized that you will never act like a decent adult, so we wouldn’t treat you like one," my dad explained very casually, like he was discussing the weather, "so you will address me and my wife like the adult we are, and we'll address you like the child you are."

I shook my head at the exchange happening around me. It was absolutely ridiculous to me that I had a boyfriend that my parents wouldn’t let call them by their first names. It was insane that he wasn't allowed in my house. I couldn’t blame them, obviously. But I couldn't believe that was my life.

"Markus I think you should go," I told him, standing up from the porch swing.

"What?" Markus asked, shocked.

"I think it's time for you to go. You seem like you wanna cause shit right now with my dad and I'm not gonna let it happen, so just go," I told him with a small sigh.

Markus groaned, irritated, "When did you become such a prude?" he asked me quietly.

I rolled my eyes, "Probably around the same time you cheated with Kelly," I told him simply, knowing that would shut him up.

He looked me up and down and scoffed, before walking down the steps and to his car, not saying another word to us, then driving away.

I sat back down heavily and looked over at my dad, feeling myself begin to grin when I saw him smiling proudly at me.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Nothing, nothing. Just impressed is all."

"Why?" I asked, looking at him.

He smiled, "I think you're starting to realize that you shouldn't be treated the way he treats you. And that there's someone out there that a lot better for you than that douchbag."

I snorted and began laughing, which my dad joined in on. We sat there for at least a solid minute just laughing.

"I'm gonna see if your Mama needs help with dinner," he said with a chuckle as he stood up.

An idea popped into my head and I sat up looking at my dad walking inside, "Dad!" I said.

He looked back and nodded, "Yeah?"

"Could I invite someone for dinner?" I asked him.

He squinted, "Who?" he asked.

"Tyler," I told him, "The hockey player?" I reminded him.

"Oh," he said, "I mean, I'm sure it's fine, I'll just have to check with your Ma. Why do you wanna invite him?" he asked.

I shrugged, "He's a friend of mine, and he also just got back from a road trip, I thought he might like a home cooked Townson dinner."

He smiled and nodded, "Go on and call him, it'll be fine," he said before disappearing inside.

I smiled and picked up my phone from the table next to me, clicking on his number to dial instantly.

"Hey," I said when he answered, "Change of plans. Wanna come over to my place for dinner?"

--

I waited outside in the driveway for him when he said he would be at my place in a minute. He pulled up in his Ferrari and parked behind my Jeep.

"Hey," he smiled when he opened the door and got out.

"Hey, welcome back," I said, going to give him a hug when he got out of the car.

"Thanks," he said when we broke apart; I kept my eyes on him and smiled just as he did with me for a few seconds before I broke the silence.

"Ready to go in?" I asked him.

"Yeah, just a second," he said, leaning into his car.

He came back out with a bouquet of white roses and handed them to me, "For you," he told me.

I smiled widely, "Ty, you didn't have to get me these," I told him.

He was grinning at me, "Well I missed you're goofy little face and I wanted to make sure I put a smile on it."

I laughed and leaned in to give him another hug, "I guess I missed you too," I breathed.

He pulled away from me and smiled down at me, "Well doesn't that make me all special."

I smiled and shook my head, "I brought your parents some wine," he said holding up a bottle, "and I bought your brother NHL17 so that maybe we could bond."

I threw my head back laughing, "He'll love that!" I told him still laughing, "Come on, let’s go," I said linking my arm with him.

"Oh actually!" I said, stopping abruptly, "My parents, they don't let Markus call them by their first name. So I know I told you their name, but please, please just call them Mr. Townson and Mrs. Townson. Okay?"

He smiled and nodded, "Don't worry!" he said patting my hand that was wrapped around his arm.

I turned and faced the house and saw the curtains move, and I knew that they had all been watching me.

We walked up the steps and I let go of his arm and opened the door where my parents and Sawyer were casually, not so casually, in the hallway.

"Y'all are terrible spies," I told them smiling, "Guys this is Tyler. Ty, this is my little tiny pipsqueak of a brother Sawyer," I said motioning to the large teen in front of me; I looked over at Tyler and saw him smile.

"Nice to meet you, man," he said, tucking the game under his other arm, then reaching to shake Sawyers hand, and if I knew my brother the way I knew he, he would try and squeeze Tyler's hand to show dominance.

I saw Sawyer squeeze by Ty didn't flinch, which was a good sign, before they finally let go.

"Nice to meet you too," Sawyer told him.

"And these are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Townson," I said pointing to my parents.

My mom smiled and reached her hand out to shake his, "It's nice to meet you, Tyler," she told him politely.

"You too, Mrs. Townson!" he said happily shaking her hand.

He looked over at my dad and smiled, "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Townson," he said shaking his outstretched hand as well.

My dad just nodded once before dropping his hand.

"I brought some wine," Tyler said, handing my mom the bottle.

My mom smiled and took the gift, "Thank-you so much, that's too kind of you," she told him.

Tyler smiled back at her and then looked to my brother, who had his arms crossed across his chest, "And I got you this," he said to Sawyer, holding out the video game, "Rae said you'd never played any of the NHL games, but I figured I could try and convert you into a hockey person too," he said nudging me a little, looking down at my with a sly grin, causing me to stick my tongue out at him, making him laugh.

Tyler and I both looked back to Sawyer who had uncrossed his arms and smiled over at Tyler, "Thanks, man. We can definitely try this out after dinner. Then I'll kick your ass in Madden!"

I laughed and shook my head, "Deal," Tyler told him.

"Well, come on in, Tyler!" my mom said, extending her arm towards the living room, Tyler just about took a step before putting his foot back down and quickly sliding off his shoes.

I looked up at my mom, who was looking at my dad with raised eyebrows; my dad had a small grin on his face and nodded once, before erasing the expression from his face and becoming neutral once again when Tyler looked back up.

"I'll there in just a second," I said to Tyler, who nodded at me and followed Sawyer into the living room, when I went into the kitchen.

"Those are beautiful," mom said as she walked into the kitchen right behind me.

I smiled and nodded, "I know!"

She took the flowers from me and began getting them ready to put in water as I continued to smile looking at them, "That’s just the sweetest thing, Raeanne!" mama cooed after dropped them into the vase filled with water.

I giggled, "That's Ty, I guess."

She picked the vase up and we began walking into the living room, "And he's not bad to look at!" she said, hiding her face behind the vase.

I laughed and nodded, "Agreed!"

We walked into the living room and mama placed the vase on the coffee table and smiled at Tyler as I took a seat next to him on the couch, as he and Sawyer talked, I sat between the two of them.

"Man, I've never even seen a hockey game! You'll kick my ass for sure!" Sawyer said with a laugh as he held onto the game Tyler had given him.

"You have to come and watch a game!" Tyler said smiling, "I'll get you tickets, right at the glass! You'll love it!"

I looked to Sawyer and saw him nodding away, "That'd be awesome! Let me know and I'll be there!"

"Well dinner is done! So come into the dining room!" my mama said once there was a quiet second.

I stood up along with everyone else and led Tyler to the dining room, taking a seat next to him and across from Sawyer, with my parents being at each head of the table.

"Thank-you so much for having me over, this looks great, Mrs. Townson," Tyler said, sending her a sweet smile, which she returned.

"Oh it was nothing," she said waving him off, "we're happy to have you here, I just hope the food is up to par with the fancy meals you probably eat when you're on the road and everything."

Tyler laughed and shook his head, "I would take a home cooked meal over anything, any time."

My mom smiled in appreciation, "So, Tyler," my dad started, "what's it like to skate around on frozen water for a living?" he asked, scooping some roasted potatoes and putting them on his plate.

"Daddy," I called shooting him a look.

Tyler being Tyler laughed from next to me, "It's a really valid question, Rae!" he told me, "Honestly, Mr. Townson, I love every second of it. And I want to do it for as long as I'm able to. Jaromír Jágr is in his forties and still playing with the Panthers...that's the dream!"

My dad nodded, "It's a bit dangerous, isn't it?" my mom questioned.

Tyler chewed his food quickly, but nodded, "It can be...I mean guys careers have ended because of injuries they've gotten while playing. I was telling Rae a few weeks ago my Achilles heel was cut pretty bad back in April, Sidney, he plays in Pittsburgh, he's pretty prone to concussions. He was out for just over a full season because of it."

"But you have protection with your uniform and everything right?" dad asked, seemingly interested in what Tyler was telling him. They all actually seemed pretty interested.

"We do," Tyler agreed, "but if someone checks you the right way and you slam into the boards a certain way...I mean, people have broken bones, concussions like I said."

"Well, I would just be terrified," mama said looking at us.

I smiled, "Tyler's pretty tough. Honestly, y'all need to watch a game! When I was there they were just everywhere, they're so fast on these tiny blades! Someone got hit right in front of me, I was so scared!"

Tyler looked over at me and laughed, "We tried to put on a show for you!"

I laughed and nodded, "Well you did!"

He smiled at me and we held each other's gazes for a few more seconds before I looked down at the table.

"So, Sawyer," Tyler started, causing me to look up at Tyler, who was looking at my little brother, "I hear you play football?"

Sawyer smiled and nodded, launching into his whole football history. And it was just a really nice atmosphere. We were all involved in the conversations happening at the table, and my parents had been really chatty with Tyler, which was really nice.

"Can I be honest for just a second?" Sawyer said when they was a brief lull in the conversation.

We all turned our attention to Sawyer and I watched as he smirked at me and I knew he was gonna say something to embarrass me, "I already like you a hell of a lot better than Markus. And I've known you for like, an hour."

"Sawyer!" I said, shocked and looked to my parents who seemed to be holding back small smiles.

"What?" he said with a small laugh, "Come on now, Miss Rae! If brains were leather he couldn't even saddle a flea!"

I narrowed my eyes at him as he laughed and I looked at my parents who were barely containing their laughs, then over to Tyler who didn't seem to have a clue what was happening.

"Dad!" I said, looking over at him as he smoothed his face out very quickly when he saw that I was upset.

"Come on now, Sawyer, don't want Rae here to have a hissy fit," he said, looking at my brother.

"I'm not gonna have a hissy fit!" I said, throwing my hands up, "I just don't like the fact that he's calling my boyfriend, who's not here to defend himself, dumb."

"It's not that he's dumb," Sawyer started, "He's just...ya know, a few pickles short of a barrel."

"Alright, Sawyer, that's enough. We have company," mama said, stepping in to scold him.

Sawyer stopped laughing and but still had a shit eating grin on his face as he looked at Tyler, "Sorry, Tyler."

I looked over at Tyler and saw him smiling, "It's all good! I mean, I don't think any of that had to do with me...so I'm good!"

I couldn't help but smile a little at him, "No, my boy here was talking about Markus. The boy that left Rae here at the arena alone," daddy told him with an irritated tone, looking at Tyler.

"And the boy that's never taken her anywhere," Tyler piped up causing my mama, dad and Sawyer to laugh.

"Come on," I whined, "I didn't invite Tyler here so that everyone could rag on Markus."

The table, minus Tyler, laughed as Tyler just looked over at me with a smile, "Alright," dad relented, "so, Tyler, what's it like being on the road often?"

Tyler looked at him and shrugged lightly, "It's okay. I get homesick a lot, for Canada home, you know? I don't really have anyone here that I miss...until now I guess," he said with a small laugh as he glanced at me, "all my friends that I have down here are my teammates so they're with me all the time on the road. Raeanne is the only person I miss here in Dallas when I'm on the road."

I had to look away from him part way through him talking, because him and the whole table woulda seen how red my face became at his words. I didn't know he...ya know...really cared that much to genuinely miss me when he was off playing hockey and living his dream.

"Isn't that just the sweetest thing!" mama exclaimed.

I looked over at her watching me, with a big smile on her face, which I couldn't help but return.

"It's the truth," Tyler said simply.

I took a look over at him and smiled a little at him, his smile back to me was huge. He winked subtly at me as my mama spoke once again.

"Who wants some dessert?"

--

The night was finally wrapping up. Tyler and Sawyer had played NHL17 and the new Madden game for a while as we all watched me and my parents each taking a couple turns making complete fools of ourselves. Tyler sat right up next to me and helped me with controlling my player, not surprisingly from the Dallas Stars. Every time he was touching my hands helping me I felt like I was on fire. Even when we were just sitting with our sides right against each other...I felt like my breathing was more shallow, and I could barely focus on anything other than him right there.

I liked it more than I should have. But I didn't seem to care.

"Thank you guys so much, I had a great time!" Tyler said, sliding his shoes back on at the front door, as we all stood in the hallway to say our goodbyes to him.

"Thank-you for coming, you're welcome anytime!" my mom gushed to him.

I smiled looking up at Tyler, "Sawyer, until next time. I will redeem myself!" he told my brother, shaking his hand.

Sawyer laughed and nodded, "I'll be practising NHL too, man. I'll kill you in that!"

Tyler laughed and nodded, dropping his hand, "I'll hold you to that! I'll text you to figure out when you can come and see a game!" he smiled as my brother nodded along with a smile. Tyler then turned to my mom,"Mrs. Townson, thank-you so much for having me," he said charmingly, extending his hand for her to shake, my mom took his hand and pulled him to her for a short hug which he returned happily.

When they broke apart Tyler turned to looked at my dad, "Mr. Townson, thank-you too, I had a really good time tonight! It's been a while since I've had a dinner like that with a family like yours," he said, holding out his hand for my dad to shake, which he did with a smile.

"Well, like the Mrs. said, you're welcome here anytime," he told him, which surprised me.

I opened the front door and Tyler took a step backwards, "Thank-you all again! We'll have to do this again, but you'll all have to come over to my place!"

"That'd be great, Tyler," my dad told him.

Tyler had just turned to walk out when my dad stopped him, "Ty!" he called.

Tyler turned back around with a smile, "Yes, sir?" he asked.

My dad looked down at my mom and sighed, "Call me David...and you can call her Dorothy," he said, motioning to my mom.

I looked at the two of them, absolutely wide eyed. I looked over at Sawyer who just sent me a small wink.

"Well," Tyler started, and I looked at him and saw him smiling hugely, "David and Dorothy...I had a great time tonight, thank-you all again."

"Good night Tyler," mama told him, he sent them one last smile before he walked out of the door with me following. We stood on the porch and he turned to face me with a smile.

"Not bad, eh?" he asked.

I laughed, "Pretty impressed, Seguin, I must admit."

He laughed and looked down, "I gotta head out," he said looking back at me, "practice in the morning," he told me.

I nodded, "Drive careful," I told him, "and text me when you get home," I said.

He smiled and nodded, "I will, promise."

"See you later, Tyler," I said softly.

"See you, Rae," he said before walking down the steps to his car. I watched as he got in, and he waved at me again. I waved back at him, and he got in his car and drive off.

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip, dropping my head and groaned.

"What the fuck is going on," I whispered.

I straightened back up and turned to go back inside, meeting my brother and parents, still standing in the hallway.

"Again, you guys just kill it in the spy game," I told them, making them smile, "So what was that about?" I asked my parents.

"What?" dad asked.

I rolled my eyes but grinned at him, "You know what," I accused, "you told Tyler to call you guys by your names...you don't let Markus do that anymore."

My dad shrugged, "Yeah, well, when Markus acts like half the man Tyler is then we'll talk. And you're not even dating Tyler and that's how well he treats you and this family."

"He's just a friend," I told them.

My mom smiled, "Well, I watched him look at you. Markus has never looked at you like that, even when you two started dating."

"Yeah, you're all googly eyed, like 'oh Tyler, you're so handsome, oh my god I love you,'" he said in a high pitch voice.

I smacked his shoulder, "Shut it!" I cried but couldn't help but laugh.

"All I know is," my dad started causing me and Sawyer to stop our laughter, "is that he treated you better in front of us in the four hours that he was here, and treated us with respect, more than Markus ever did, Raeanne. He was polite, well mannered. Everything a guy should be. You can't deny that, Rae."

"Tyler is a friend," I told them, leaning against the hall closet door, "that's all there is to it."

"And that's fine," he told me, turning to go to the living room once again, "but I'm just telling you like it is."

And with that he left me with my mom and Sawyer in the hall.

I looked between the two of them and sighed, "He's just a friend," I emphasized.

My mom laughed, "To you. Right now. He's a good, good guy, Rae. And good guys don't stick around forever," she said, before walking into the living room to join my dad.

I looked over at Sawyer, "Do you have any last minute wisdom too?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.

He nodded with a small chuckle, "Yeah, ditch the loser and get with Tyler. I already trust him more with you than I trust Markus. And I've known that idiot for six years now," he said, before turning away from me towards the stairs.

"Sawyer!" I called quietly.

He turned and looked back at me, "Yeah?"

I'm afraid to leave Markus. I'm afraid of what would happen if we broke up. I'm afraid of being alone. I'm afraid because I like Tyler. I'm just...really afraid.

"You okay, Rae?" he asked, taking a step towards me.

I blinked and re-focused on his face again, "Yeah...sorry, yeah I'm fine."

He put his hands on my shoulders, "You know you can talk to me right?" he asked quietly, "You can talk to me about anything you need to. You know I don't judge."

I smiled and nodded, "I know," I breathed, "I'm just...trying to figure some things out."

"Talk to me if you need help," he told me, dropping his hands.

"I will," I promised.

With one last look from Sawyer, he turned and went up to his room. I followed right after him, heading to me bedroom, across the hall from his.

I shut the door behind me and sat down on my bed, pulling my laptop in front of me and setting up Netflix so I could continue watching The Princess Bride.

Even though it was on, Lord knows I wasn't paying attention to it. I was biting my fingernails and watching the screen as the characters moved around and spoke but I had no idea what part I was at or what I was watching for the most part.

I knew that I did love Markus...or had a strong affection to him at the very least. The thought of not being with him wasn't so much a bad thing in my head...it was just different. I wasn't sure if I wanted different. But I knew I couldn't handle the same of everything that had been going on with us. We hadn't been right in a while.

When we first started dating, Markus treated me pretty well. Well, for my standards I mean. He had shown me affection, and said really good things to me. And at first my family really liked him. And then he began slipping away, little by little. Not returning my phone calls or texts. Not talking for a while at a time. Not seeing each other for days.

We moved in together just before I opened Charmed, and things were okay. When the store first opened I was the only worker, so I was there all day until we got it off the ground. I was too busy so I wouldn’t be able to talk to him all the time, and when I would get the chance to text him it would be hours between responses from him.

We had opened a joint account, which was a huge mistake. He would take money without my knowledge from the account. I don't know if he thought I would just let it go, or what. But after a few months I took his name off, much to his disdain.

I was finally able to hire Sheila and a couple workers for the shop so I wouldn't have to be there as many hours, but I was still there most days for several hours regardless. When I got back to our apartment one night I found him, literally, having sex with a girl we went to school with on the couch in the living room. A couch I had paid for.

I had never been so angry in my entire life. I was so hurt and humiliated. She ran outta the apartment so fast. I yelled at Markus until I was blue in the face, and cried until there was no more liquid to cry. He had apologized, but it seemed like he was saying it out of necessity rather than actually meaning it. I moved out a couple days later, back in with my parents.

That's pretty much when the shit storm hit my family with him. My parents forbid him from coming into my house, and he was no longer allowed to call them by their names. We broke up for a couple days, but that never seemed to matter with us. We were together again. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with him again for a long while.

But...I felt like we were at an impasse. There was nowhere to go from where we were. We were just together. He went days without talking to me. A week or sometimes longer without seeing me. But I just didn't know what else there was for me. I think what it came down to was that I didn't think anyone would treat me any better than he did, no matter what my family and friends said. It was hardly a relationship at that point. We just kinda...were.

And that scared me, because I didn't know what to do at that point. I didn’t think I knew how a real relationship actually was like. Would there be a guy that would treat me well? That showed me that he did actually care and love me?

And I knew that the grass was greener on the other side of Markus. I wasn't dumb enough to not realize that. It was just...six years is such a long time. But, I knew it wasn't working. I was used to Markus, and I knew how to handle the relationship I was in...And I didn't think I would know how to handle anything else that was different.

Notes

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