Caroline was sitting on her bed, in the sunlight. Though it was nearly noon she wasn’t dressed yet. The moment she got home she had jumped into the shower and stayed there for hours. It wasn’t until her mother threatened to cut off her phone she got out. Liz Forbes was still under the impression Caroline had spent all that time with her father, so as much as she would’ve wanted to curl up against her mother’s warm body and cry, she had to pretend everything was okay. She would explain it all on a better time. Right now she still had too much to worry about. And Tyler didn’t respond to any of her taxes. She knew he wouldn’t keep her in the dark, knowing how worried she’d be. So the alternative was… Caroline shook her head. She couldn’t think like that. Tyler was alive, he had to be.
“Caroline?” Liz called. “I made lunch. You care to join?”
Caroline wiped the one single tear on her face. “Yeah, I’m coming, mom” she replied. She slowly got up and walked downstairs. Liz was already sitting down and she waved with the coffee-pot. Caroline shook her head. “Sweetheart, are you okay?” Liz asked concerned, noticing the sad expression on her daughters face. Caroline nodded. “Yeah, I’m just going to take these outside” she said, lifting the plate with sandwiches her mother had prepared for her. “You’d like me to come?” she suggested. “No, mom, I…eh…I need some time alone” Caroline said. “Sure” Liz commented and so Caroline walked outside and sank down on the pavement. As she chewed her sandwich a shadow came over her, but thinking it was just some clouds floating before the sun, she carried on.
“Save one for me, please”
Caroline jerked her head up and shrieked. She jumped up and threw her arms around Tyler. “Okay, someone’s happy to see me” Tyler joked. He tried to untie Caroline’s hold, but she wasn’t ready to let go yet. “I thought you were dead” she sobbed.