I smile as I sip the coffee in my mug and listen to Matchbox Twenty. The guys went out to film a video and it's pretty much just me in the house with Chica.

I pet lightly between her ears on her forehead and she complies, laying down and closing her eyes and I hear her heavy breathing. The softness of her fur is calming. She could be a therapy dog, in all honesty.

I watch as her head lifts and her ears pick up. "What is it Chica Bika?" I ask as I look down at her. Her big brown eyes look at me for a second before her head flicks toward the door.

Her body stands and she looks like she's on high alert. I look to the door. It suddenly flies open and Tyler runs in and slams the door behind himself. Chica realizes the harmlessness and sits back down.

"Hey, babe." I smile because I know smiling while talking can project towards others.

"Hey," he says, completely out of breath. I hear pounding on the door and both Chica and I jump. "Go away!" Tyler yells.

"Open up the freaking door, Tyler!" Someone yells from behind it. I can't exactly tell who through the door.

"What's going on?" I ask. Tyler quickly turns and peeps through the peephole.

"I see you! Now get out of here! I swear I'll call the cops!" He screams at them.

My eyes widen "Cops?" My voice croaks and I can tell something bad might've happened. "Tyler, what's going on?" I stand up.

He's dead silent for a minute. His finger wavering in the air as his eye stays glued to the intruder's watch. He finally breathes, letting his hand fall and he turns to talk to me. His mouth opens for a second like he's going to say something. But then he closes it again and quickly darts upstairs.

He comes down in his swim trunks holding a towel and some goggles. "I'm taking some laps."

I nod, not questioning anything. And for a second I sit down and take in what just happened. I peer my head over my shoulder after a second to make sure Tyler's already in the pool. His long arms pierce through the water like a knife through butter. His muscles strain. I know tonight I'm gonna have to give him a rub.

I move hastily towards the door. I check the peephole, open the door, and discover no one's there. I poke my head out to check around. Nothing. I shrug but just before the door closes, something catches my eye.

I swing the door back open to a little package on the ground. I pick it up, it's quite heavy but just a bit larger than both of my hands. 'Tyler' is written in thick black sharpie along the brown paper bag wrapping. My heart skips when I realize there's no address.

But why would Tyler freak out over a package?

~~~

"What happened?" Tara's thumb reaches into her mouth. A move I haven't seen in a long time but I shrug it off. Her baby bump is more noticeable than her thumb sucking.

"He just barged in screaming about the cops. I think he was running from someone but I mean, they left this package out on the doorstep." I motion towards the rectangular prism lying on the bed.

"Well..." Tara speaks around her thumb. "That's from a girl. See the curl on the y?"

She's right. There is a curl on the y and a swoosh on the T. "So... Tyler has a stalker?" I choke almost, I'm so confused.

"Possibly... why don't you open it?" She gets this look in her eyes. That juicy look.

"I can't do that!" I shake my head.

"Why not?" She sits down and puts the package in her lap.

"Because isn't it a federal crime to open someone else's mail?" I bonk her on the head.

"This is hardly mail. It doesn't even have an address on it! Not to mention, you're his girlfriend. You should have a right to check out what other girls are sending to your mans." I can see her pointer finger poking into the triangular fold on the left side. It pops up. "Oh no! It's just opened!" She says almost completely sarcastically.

"What if he comes in?" I bite my lip as I grab the package.

"Here," she stands up and walks out the door. After a minute, she comes back in and shuts and then locks the door. "He's still in the pool but he's got a whole sandwich sitting on a chair out there. We have time." She ushers toward the package.

"I may not have the straightest moral compass but this feels so wrong." I say as I nibble a hole into my lower cheek.

"Come on. You don't have those morals." She shakes her head. "Someone didn't just send a package to him, they left it on the doorstep. That's creepy stalker, my dude. Just open it. See? It's already a little opened."

"You're terrifyingly devious when you're pregnant," I say as I look up at her. "Alright. Alright." I close my eyes and take a breath.

I let my fingers do the work. I hear the tabs pull up and I look down as I pull the paper away from itself. A Converse shoe box that looks like it's fit for a child's pair of shoes.

"Shoes?" Tara sounds disappointed.

I pull up on the lid to peek inside. I don't see anything right away so I pull the lid completely off. A picture lies on the bottom of the box. I pick it up and turn it over. Two boys exactly the same smile at the camera. These wide smiles and big blue eyes. Here's the weird thing, their right eyes are an icy blue and their left eyes are a bright blue-grey. They're brown hair curls on their heads.

"Is it just me or do those kids look an awful lot like-"

"Tyler." I interrupt her. I look over the photo mesmerized.

"Hey, there's a note!" Tara reaches in the box and pulls out a piece of paper. "'Tyler,'" she starts, "'I can't believe how long it's been. When I found out, I ran. But the boys remind me more and more of you every day. They're old enough now that they've been wondering where their dad is. I never told you because we were sixteen. We were still kids. I think about you everyday and I decided it was time. The boys turn six in a month; and they asked if their daddy could come. You don't have to, but please, come meet them.'" Tara goes quiet for a second. "There's no signature."

"What do you mean?" I grab the paper from her hand and look it over. She's right. There's no name on the bottom. I grab the picture again and turn it over. The boys' names. "Danny and Spencer." I look at the picture again. They're wearing floaters on they're arms and they have matching swim trunks and shirts. "How am I going to tell Tyler?"

"I can help," Tara says as she lays a hand on my back. I lean against her and that's when we hear the doorknob shake.

"Andrew?" Tyler asks from beyond the door. I get up and unlock the door. I swing it open slightly and Tyler looks at me, a towel wrapped around his waist as he runs a smaller towel through his wet curls. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, um, yeah..." I laugh nervously as I pull the door open slowly. I turn around and Tara has the box hidden behind her.

"Whatcha guys talkin' about?" He asks as he walks over to the dresser. He opens the top drawer and pulls out some underwear and then a pair of shorts.

I look at Tara and she looks at me. She grabs my hand as her eyes catch mine. I nod and look back at Tyler. "Someone left a package on the doorstep."

He turns around, eyes wide. "What do you mean?" He looks at us each and then notices Tara hiding it behind her back. "Give it to me." He holds his hand out. Tara and I look at each other before we finally let up.

I pull it out from behind her back and hand it to him. "A little shoebox?" He opens it and I see his face soften as he reads the note. He picks up the picture and I can see his eyes glossing over. He laughs as he wipes his eyes. "I have kids..." he chokes out.

Me and Tara stand quickly and we walk over to him. "You have twins." Tara states.

Tyler turns and looks at me. He sweeps under me and picks me up. "I have twin boys!" He laughs and swings me around. It's extremely contagious because I'm laughing too. I squeal and he sets me down, wrapping his arms around me and pulling my up against him. He kisses me and I fall for him all over again.

"Who's the mom?" Tara asks.

Tyler slowly pulls away. He looks at her and looks at me. "It doesn't matter. I have kids. I twin boys and," he looks at the picture again, "their names are Danny and Spencer! Look! They look exactly like me."

"But, Tyler, there's no signature. Do you know who the mom is?" Tara's thumb has reached her mouth again.

"Yeah. And that's the fucked up part. I don't know how it's even possible..." he shakes his head.

"How what's possible? Who's the mother, Tyler?" I look up at him.

"Her name's Karley. We dated for a little bit and after... she just disappeared. It makes some sense but it's still all a little fuzzy." He shakes his head. "But all that matters is in one month I get to meet my kids. My boys." He smiles lovingly at the picture. Like he's known them forever.

I feel a little jealousy come over me. Maybe because I know I can never give this gift to Tyler, what with the 7% chance I have of giving him one, or maybe because I know my father never looked at my pictures like that, never cried seeing me.

"Andrew, what if she lets me bring them home for a night?" Tyler smiles giddily. "Oh! You have to come with me! To meet them!" He grabs me and spins me around again. Gives me a sloppy kiss on the forehead. "I love you so much!" He wraps his arms around my shoulders. "I'm so happy."

I am too, Tyler.

~~~~~

Word Count: 1787

Listen, I know I'm the worst at this. So, I'm gonna keep it short. I'm so so sorry. I started working two jobs for a couple of months and I was literally working 7 days a week.

Note to anyone: do not work two fast food jobs. It is EXHAUSTING!! I was literally falling asleep behind the wheel.

But thankfully I found another job and I quit both my fast food jobs and hopefully I'll have the moneys rolling in and hopefully I can save up for college.

But enough of that. I'm gonna give you guys another song of the day because you deserve it. You guys deserve everything and I hate that I can't give it to you. But I can give you this song.

Drum roll please....

So denied
So I lied
Are you the now or never kind
In a day
And a day love
I'm gonna be gone for good again
Are you willing
To be had
Are you cool
With just tonight
Here's a toast
To all those who hear me all too well
And here's to the nights
We felt alive
Here's to the tears
You knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon
Put your name
On the line
Along with place and time
Want to stay
Not to go
I want to ditch the logical
Here's a toast
To all those who hear me all too well
Here's to the nights
We felt alive
Here's to the tears
You knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon
All my time is frozen motion
Can't I stay an hour or two or more
Don't let me let you go
Don't let me let you go
Here's a toast
To all those who hear me all too well
And here's to the nights
We felt alive
Here's to the tears
You knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon
Too soon
Here's to the nights we felt alive
Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon

(Here's to the Night - Eve 6)

Your Worst Godess,
Cheyanne 🤍