Tyler went to his room to pack up stuff, clothes and stuff he took from his mom's room. He wanted something to remember her by.
He remembered one necklace she loved more than anything; she always wore it when she went to bed but took it off when she went out in public.
Maybe she was afraid to lose it; she was extra cautious about it. Tyler remembered asking her before what was so important about that bracelet; she only smiled, a mysterious smile, but wouldn't tell him.
After that, Tyler never asked that. His mother always liked to carry secrets to her chest, but now she kept her secrets to her grave.
Tyler packed the stuff and looked around the room for the last time. A hint of sadness flickered through him. Once again, he's leaving.
It seems fate is never done with him.
Tyler turned around when he heard the policewoman's voice, "Are you ready?"
Tyler stepped down the stairs and nodded at the woman. For some reason, he felt the woman's voice was familiar, then it struck him.
It was that woman's voice on the phone.
Tyler frowned and asked. "Didn't you say that a male officer was supposed to come? Why did you come here?"
The woman police officer, if he remembers correctly, her name was Alissa, or something like that. She smiled at him. "Yes, he was planning to come, but he has business to take care of, so I took his place."
She tilted her head. "I hope you don't mind."
Tyler shook his head. "No, I was just curious."
Tyler stepped down the stairs and followed into the hall where Nino was waiting, sitting on the couch while on the phone with someone.
Nino turned off the phone and saw Tyler with his packed stuff.
Nino got up and said, "Tyler, don't forget me. I will be seeing you again. I'm thinking of checking on you by the end of the week."
Tyler smiled, "How can I forget you? You're literally annoying and impossible to forget."
Nino smirked, his eyes curving into a wink. "Alright, brat. When you arrive at your stepdad, make sure to give me a call."
Tyler nodded. "Of course."
***
Tyler arrived at the police station with Alissa; everyone was so busy and didn't look at him.
Tyler arched his brow when he heard a rattling noise; he looked toward the sound and saw a man behind a cell bar walking in a rage. "Those fuckers, I wasn't supposed to be here."
Tyler watched him in curiosity, and Alissa patted his shoulders. "Just ignore him; I'll take you to see your mom."
Tyler nodded, his chest throbbing painfully, and he was led to a room where his mother's body lay in a morgue. The room itself was freezing, and he entered the room with the police woman.
The room was white, sterile like a doctor's office. She carefully pulled out the morgue door, there was thousand bodies buried in the morgue, and when she opened his mother's morgue, her body was nearly pale like white snow, and Tyler felt a familiar grief hitting him in the chest, watching his mother's face frozen like she was sleeping hit harder than he expected, and her eyes were closed, like she was only dreaming.
Tyler wanted to touch her, but he couldn't move. Alissa patted his shoulders. "I will give you some alone time with your mother."
And she stepped away, and Tyler stepped forward silently. "Hey, Mom."
He looked at her; some part of him was expecting to respond, or say something. No, none of that happened. Tyler pursed his lips, his throat thick like water. "I'm sorry, Mom, for what I said to you before. I shouldn't have been so rude, so disrespectful to you. I can't believe they were my last words to you."
Tyler wiped his cheeks, the tears that fell down his face, and he smiled, "Mom, I promise I will not cause you any more trouble. I will visit you again."
Alissa felt sorrow in her chest; she witnessed many people losing their loved ones, and it never gets easier over time.
Tyler smiled before kissing his mother's cold cheeks, and he saw underneath the white cloth the sliced wrists, as if they were sliced by something sharp.
Tyler felt sad; he couldn't believe this resilient, strong woman would take her life.
Tyler shook his head and turned away before walking to Alissa. "I'm ready."
She nodded with a gentle smile. "Alright. Come with me."
Tyler followed her out of the morgue room; he would remember it for the rest of his life, his mother lying in that cold morgue, sleeping forever.
Tyler tried to ignore the painful sensation in his chest.
He tried to forget. He asked, "Where are you taking me now?"
Alissa smiled, "I'm taking you to your stepfather."
Tyler felt his heart racing. "You mean right now?"
Alissa nodded, watching him carefully. "Yes. He was very excited to see you."
Tyler didn't know how to feel about that. If the man truly missed him, why didn't he call or speak to him in the last six years? Besides, isn't it kind of too late for that?
Tyler shook his head; he remembered, through his blurry memories, how his stepfather would treat him like his real son.
He would take him to the park, swing him back and forth on the swings; it used to be one of his favorite things to do before he and Mom moved away.
His mother never told him why they divorced, but it wasn't anything good.
His mother always seemed haunted by something, but Tyler would always ask her what was wrong, and she would always purse her lips and never tell him anything.
Tyler walked into the room, his heart beating, and he lifted his head to see a tall man sitting in a chair. He had white hair and a small beard on his chin.
He looked very stern and cold, but the moment Tyler entered the room, the old man's eyes became gentle. The old man set down the newspaper on the table and turned to Tyler with a small smile, "Hello, Tyler."
Tyler opened his mouth, "Hi."
Tyler felt lame; he didn't know what to say. He nearly forgot what the man looked like, but he remembered some stuff, and the old man got up from his chair and hugged him as if he missed him more than anything. "I miss you."
Tyler felt awkward, his arms hanging at his sides; thus, he awkwardly patted the man's back.
He wanted to say he missed him too, but that would be a lie.
So he didn't say anything.
Thankfully, the man didn't seem bothered by that.The man stepped back and turned to the woman. "May I speak to him alone?"
Alissa turned to Tyler, her eyes asking if he was okay with that. Tyler nodded. She smiled and stepped out of the room; the room filled with tension, and the man stood facing Tyler.
His presence was calm and filled with authority. "Tyler, I know it's very sudden to see me like this. I heard what happened to your mother, and I know you don't have anyone else to go with, but you are very much welcome to stay with me if you like."
Tyler looked at the man, his heart calming down, but he asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time, "What happened between you and my mother?"
The man seemed embarrassed by the question. "Are you sure you want to know? It's nothing that I'm proud of."
Tyler frowned. "Yes, I want to know."
The man let out a sigh, like he was burdened by this as well. He turned around; he wore a suit, looking like a businessman. "Truth is, your mother had a lover."
Tyler's eyes twitched. "What?"
The man's voice was calm, but there was a hint of sorrow underneath. "Your mother and I started to fall apart. I don't know when it started, but things started to go wrong when your mother started drinking."
The man turned around, his eyes cautious. "Does your mother still drink?"
Tyler didn't like it, but he nodded.
His mother had a drinking problem; it was also another reason why he and his mother argued so much, and their relationship turned sour over time.
But he didn't remember his mother drinking while staying with his stepfather. He asked, "Do you know why she drank so much?"
The man sighed, "At first, I didn't notice it because I was working too much at the time. I didn't come home very much, but I started noticing that when I was off work, she would stare off into space; that's when I noticed something was wrong."
Tyler knew some of what he was saying was true, but it wasn't easy hearing it. He looked at Tyler with calm eyes. "Your mother came from a high-standing family, but she had issues with her father. She wasn't happy at the time when she was forced into marriage with me."
He continued. "She had a lover at the time, which resulted in your birth. She wanted to marry that man, but that man ran off."
Tyler felt astonished. "Wait, are you saying that man was my biological father?"
The man smiled sadly. "Yes, that man was your father."