Just before he speaks, Tyson walks into the room and he smiles when he sees me. “Morning, baby,” he says.
“Morning,” I say, and he comes to lightly kiss me on the lips like we have done this before and didn’t just have our first date last night.
“What’s going on here?” he asks when he sees that his mother his still trying to hold back laughter.
“Xavier here said that he was glad he didn’t have to kick your ass this morning because your date went well last night,” Derek says with his lips still twitching as he tries to hold back a smile.
I see Tyson smirk at my brother. “Well I’m so glad,” he says dryly.
The look on my brother’s face is priceless. Everyone finally loses it and bursts out in laughter.
Tyson sits beside me as my brother leaves the room grumbling under his breath.
“I just came here to check on you, but I have something I need to do today so I might not be around until later,” he tells me.
I just nod my head. I don’t bother to question him because if he wanted to tell me then I know he would.
“Alright. Just call me if you need me,” I tell him and he nods his head and seems distracted. I have to tell myself again that if he wants me to know what it is, then he will tell me.
I clear my throat and he brings his eyes back to me. “So, I have been thinking of getting a tattoo over some of the scarring.”
I hope he knows which one I mean because I don’t want to say it out loud.
His eyes soften. “If you want to, baby. Do it for you. Ink and Bullet are really good with tattooing over scars so they would be happy to help you.”
“I know you don’t mind them, but I don’t want to have to look at it every time I am looking in the mirror, you know? It’s a literal piece of me that I need to get back,” I say and he nods his head completely understanding me.
“Well I’m sure they will be here soon, so you can discuss it with them what you want. That way they can design you something perfect,” he says as he wraps an arm around me.
When Ink comes in the room, I tell him what I want. It would have to be a fairly big tattoo. Tyson holds my hand as I show Ink the scars since he needs to know what he’s working with.
Everyone in the room is silent but, since Derek, Lily and Tyson are still the only ones in the room, I’m not afraid to show them. They had all seen it a time or two during my recovery.
I watch as Ink holds back the same anger that everyone who has seen it shows.
He takes a few moments to examine the scars on my body where the tattoo will go.
“What were you thinking?” he asks as I put my shirt down.
“A phoenix,” I say and he nods his head, his eyes lighting up.
“That’s fucking great.”
“I know it’s predictable and everything, but I think it fits me. I’m not the same person I was before everything, but I’m coming out different and stronger than before. I want to show that,” I say as I feel Tyson’s arms tighten around me.
Ink shakes his head. “It means something to you and that’s all that matters.”
“I know that it’s going to be big and might take a few sessions, but it’s something I have been thinking about for a while.”
“Let me take a few days to draw something up and I will show you what I come up with,” he says. I nod my head.
“I got to go now babe, but I’ll call you later,” Tyson says and kisses me on the lips.
“Okay,” I say softly as I watch him go.
Lily looks at me with a small, reassuring smile.
“Sometimes we all need time to claim a piece of ourselves back,” she says looking in the direction her son went.
Tyson “Torch”
I needed to see Camilla before I opened the box. Maybe it was selfish of me, or not, but it felt completely terrifying to be opening a piece of the past.
My parents knew what I was going to do without me even having to say it. I could tell by the looks on their faces.
My legs feel heavy as I climb off my bike and into my house.
I stop in the living room and stare at the final thing that Stacey had given me.
I hear thunder in the distance and it almost felt fitting that I was opening this while a storm was on its way.
Sitting down in my recliner, I pull the box towards me and ignore the fact that my hands are shaking.
I lightly traced the words written on the top.
“For my love Tyson.”
Here goes nothing.
Slowly peeling the tape back, I open the flaps.
My breath catches in my throat as what I can see is a set of baby booties and a onesie that says “Little Snake” on it.
In the bottom of the box, I can see why it was so heavy. She had gotten a motorcycle that was small and looked like it could be one of those horse rocking chairs for babies, but instead of the horse it was a motorcycle.
Tears automatically well in my eyes.
There is a card in the box and I almost don’t want to open it but there, in Stacey’s handwriting, were her final words to me.
Tyson,
We had talked about a family when we first met. I wasn’t ready then. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be ready. You said it didn’t matter to
