Defrost my heart

Chapter 27

Tyler stood in the living room and smiled at me.
''Here you are at last," Mika pressed a jacket and a scarf into my hands.

''I'm glad you decided to go out. Tyler will take good care of you," she assured and pushed me over to him.

''Don't worry, I'll," he smiled and took a step closer.
Without words, I put on my jacket and tied my scarf. I desperately needed to get some fresh air because I couldn't think of anything but the kiss. My heart was pounding; I was afraid that someone would notice.

I was afraid that they would get suspicious.
''Sweetie, you seem a little upset; I know it's the first time you're going out again. But you don't have to be afraid," Mika murmured and patted my shoulder.

It must have blown my cover after all, but at least she thought that was what it was all about.
I nodded slightly.

''Good, let's go then," Tyler grabbed my hand and led me outside. As we stood in front of my porch, I took a long breath in and out of the cool air. It had been getting freezing these days, well, not as cold as in Paris, but I still needed to get used to the weather here.

As I did so, I pushed the kiss to the very back. I tried to take in nature. It looked no different than when I stood in front of my balcony.

We had a beautiful front yard, with a large lawn, several small trees that had already changed color, some had already lost their leaves. The steps up to there had been enjoyable. To feel the earth under my feet, even though I had shoes on, was lovely.

A cool breeze floated around us and made the leaves dance. Since we were still in front of my house, I also felt safe. Only when we moved away from the house, I started to feel uneasy.

We walked along our block usually at first; the streets were not so busy. So there was little going on. Through the gray sky, it seemed a bit bleak.

''Rose, are you all right?" Tyler asked and squeezed my hand lightly as he noticed that I flinched slightly at strangers passed us by.
I nodded.
''You are doing well so far," he praised.
"Thank you."

He held me a little closer and then fell silent again. We walked on until we were in front of the park where I used to walk with Sammy. Still, I didn't feel ready to go in because of the dense trees and the resemblance to the forest where Dean and I were taken. This path reminded me too much of the terrible time.

''Do you remember when you didn't want to go out with me, and yet I got you to go with me?" Tyler's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I had had many memories in my head, but I didn't even think of that. However, now that Tyler reminded me...

I had actually had a bad day with him, and then there was this private detective who was in our garden.
''You forced me to go out with you," I mumbled.
Tyler started to laugh.

''Well... That's not what I was getting at... I wanted to spend time with you and used a stupid method to do so..."
I stared at him with my mouth open.
"What?"
"Yeah... I just had to act cool. I even told Sophia about it... She laughed at me but went along with it anyway because she wanted to help me."

He quickly changed the subject, ''Remember that little boy we played within the sandbox?"
How could I not remember him?
I started to smile, "Yes, I remember him very well."
''Shall we go back there?" Tyler suggested.

I knew what he was trying to do, he was trying to trade good memories for my bad ones, and he was doing an excellent job of it.

Still, I was a little apprehensive.
"Look, we're going to go up to ... this bench first," he extended his index finger to a small park bench, which was in the middle of the park, on the sidewalk.