Forbidden Desire

I’d jumped out and slammed the door, something I never did and had all but bitten mom’s head off when I walked inside, and she gave me a surprised look, asking me what was wrong. I was a steaming ball of teenage anger as I slammed into my room and closed the door behind me, seething with rage. For a moment there, I actually thought I was going insane.

It was hours later when I heard the phone ring and rushed to answer it before he did. It was her. I just knew it, since she’d started calling at the same time every evening. Our parents had gone out to dinner with some of their friends, so it was just Tyler and me at home. I’d been locked away in my room this whole time, refusing to come out to see anyone.

Somehow that ringing phone was the last damn straw, and I snapped. There was only one phone in the upstairs hallway, Eric can be a bit anal about the phone thing, so the only ones in the house were in the master suite, the upstairs hallway, and the kitchen. The one in the hallway just so happened to be between my room and Tyler’s.

He came out of his room with a towel wrapped around his waist, hair wet and breathing. If he knew what was good for him, he’d have taken himself out of my sight. I snatched up the phone just as he made it there. “Hello!” I all but growled into the receiver. Her bubbly bullshit came through the line. “Oh hi, Lora, isn’t it? Can I speak to Tyler?”

“No, he can’t come to the phone. He’s busy. He’s busy every night FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.” I slammed the phone down just as he reached me. “What the hell has gotten into you?” I tugged my arm away from him and fought the stupid tears that had gathered in my eyes.

My chest rose and fell as I choked on my own anger, and the pain in my heart almost made me double over. He was just standing there looking at me like I’d lost my mind, but when he went to pick up the phone to call her back, I really lost my shit. I pulled the phone out of the wall and threw it at him before running back to my room and slamming the door.

“Lora, open this damn door and talk to me.” I was crying so hard I had to bury my head under my pillow. Why isn’t anyone helping me when my heart is breaking into a million pieces like this? “Do you need me to call your mom?” I could tell he had his ear to the door as he knocked, so I held my breath to stifle my tears.

I’d be too ashamed if he saw me like this. Then I recalled my reaction a few minutes ago and was mortified. How do I explain that? I still can’t bring myself to admit the truth because I know it would change everything. I was sure of his rejection, which is why I hurt so much. And I knew if I told him the truth that it would damage the relationship we now shared and things would never be the same again.

“Just go away, Tyler, I’m fine.” He stood there for a few seconds more before I heard his footsteps walk away down the hall past his room and was sure he went to the master bedroom for the other phone. I felt defeated and stupid, and now that Sherry person must be wondering if I had some kind of mental imbalance.

He was on the phone with her for a while, and then I heard him fixing the one I’d broken not long after while I drifted off to sleep. My stomach rumbled, and I realized it had been days since I last ate. Sometime later, I heard voices coming from downstairs, mom and Eric were back. I heard other voices as well but was too lazy to get up and check.

Then I heard a laugh that sounded nothing like my mom’s. It was more like a teenage giggle, and my stomach dropped. I hadn’t been paying attention when mom and Eric were telling us where they were going for the night. A look at the clock showed that it was still early.

Not long after, I heard Tyler’s door open, and then he was making his way downstairs. I jumped up off the bed and rushed from the room just as I heard Eric say, “you kids have fun,” and my heart dropped. Back in my room, I watched through the upstairs window as Tyler and Sherry walked out to his car. My heart hurt as I watched him open the door for her with a hand on her lower back, so caring, so affectionate. Why couldn’t he be that way with me?