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I walk to my room, replaying my own stupidity. Apparently, I forget to think straight around her, and I’m afraid one of these days it’s really going to catch up to me
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
TYLER
I hardly sleep,tossing and turning all night as images of Gemma’s tears burn in my mind. Hanging out and watching a movie with her after Everleigh went to bed was probably a bad idea, but I don’t regret it. I hated seeing her so upset, and it makes me want to track Robert down and speak to him with my fists. If spending two hours with her was enough to put her in a better mood, then I’d do it all over again. Hearing her laughter and seeing her smile was worth the awkward tension.
At five a.m., I give up trying to sleep and can’t stop thinking about one of the letters she sent me. She was sixteen and obsessing over romantic comedies.
Dear Tyler,
Do y’all get to watch movies over there? If so, you NEED to see13 Going on 30with Jennifer Garner. It’s my absolute new favorite movie, and if I don’t fall in love the way she does, then I don’t ever want to. Just kidding (kinda!).
But seriously! Jenna’s best friend, Matty, is basically in love with her, and while she’s having this horrible middle school party, she starts wishing she was thirty instead of thirteen. Matty builds her a dollhouse and sprinkles it with “magic dust.” As she’s wishing to be 30, the dust goes everywhere, and her wish comes true. When she wakes up the next day, she realizes her wish was granted. The kicker is she doesn’t remember any part of her life since the party and has to go through the next several weeks trying to figure it out. She grew up as one of the catty popular girls and ditches Matty basically. And since she doesn’t know anything about her adult life, she has to catch up and ends up finding him. She doesn’t realize they stopped being friends and guess what? HE’S ENGAGED! (I legit screamed!!!)
They rekindle their friendship while she’s discovering who she is and doesn’t like the person she’s become. At the end, he’s about to walk down the aisle and returns the dollhouse he made for her. She leaves in tears (and at this point, I’m SOBBING) and closes her eyes to make another wish, and the magic dust on the dollhouse blows in the wind. Then, she’s 13 again and kisses Matty! She gets a redo, and it ends in a big fat happily ever after!
I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s seriously the best, and I’ve put it on repeat. Then Everleigh and I decided to have a girls’ night, and we choseA Walk to Remember. Though we bet each other we wouldn’t, we cried through the second half.
So, in case you’ve ever wondered what happens at sleepovers, we watch sappy romance movies and stuff our faces with junk food while trying not to cry but failing miserably.
Maybe look up the soundtrack forA Walk to Rememberif you have time to check it out. It’s such a good album.
The Notebookis on our list for next weekend, and I’m going to be an emotional mess, guaranteed. I’ll update you in my next letter :)
Until then, please be safe!
Love, Gemma
Though I had no plans to watch either of those movies, hearing her gush over them had me curious. I was able to listen to the soundtrack like she recommended, then found them on Netflix. In my next letter, I explained I saw them all, and that I thought she deserved to have someone like Matty or Landon in her life. I hoped she’d get to experience love in the same way and feel all the raw emotions they did, even if I personally felt like it was an unrealistic expectation. But she deserved and still deserves everything she wishes for.
As promised, she sent me a follow-up letter gushing overThe Notebook. How she and my sister used an entire box of tissues and put it on repeat three times in a row. Hearing from her always brought a smile to my face along with laughter during the hard times. Everleigh and I kept in touch too, but not as much as Gemma and I did. Sometimes, there wasn’t anything new going on, but it didn’t stop us from talking. Not being face-to-face helped us open up as the years passed, and we became more comfortable. It’s crazy to think about how much we shared and how quickly our relationship vanished after I left Alabama.
Sometimes, I wonder what would’ve happened if I had stayed, but I undoubtedly would’ve felt suffocated. Between my absent father and my alcoholic mother, I wanted to be where no one knew of my past or upbringing. I needed and wanted a new start away from it all. But if I could change anything, I wouldn’t have cut Gemma out of my life and would’ve made an effort to come home and visit more. I hurt a lot of people by avoiding Lawton Ridge, but I’m back now and hope to make up for it.
Finally, at six a.m., I roll out of the bed and decide to make breakfast for the girls since I’m wide-awake. Though a small part of me hopes Gemma will tell Robert off, the other part doesn’t want me to be the reason she’s second-guessing her relationship. I know Robert’s been pushing her to move up the wedding date, but she’s clearly not ready. I bet their problems started before I even arrived. If she’s not in a rush, she’s ignoring some underlying issues.
“Good mornin’,” I say when Gemma and Everleigh walk into the kitchen thirty minutes later. “Coffee and breakfast are ready.”
Everleigh comes closer, then puts her palm to my forehead.
“What’re you doing?” I look at her as though she’s lost her mind.
“Checkin’ to see if you have a fever.”
I snort before swatting her away. “Can’t a big brother make breakfast for y’all? I used to cook all the time, remember?”
“Depends. Does it come with a side of tequila?” Gemma opens the cabinet, grabs a mug, then fills it before adding creamer and stirring it.
“Thought you’d still be stuffed from all the margaritas you had?” Everleigh teases as she empties the rest of the coffee.
“Har har.” Gemma groans. “I’m gonna need something to get through this day.”
“Me too. Maybe we can call in sick,” I taunt.
Gemma chuckles. “That wouldn’t be suspicious at all. My dad wouldn’t know how to handle the phone.”
“Well, you might have to train someone if you plan to leave,” Everleigh says, grabbing a plate, then scooping scrambled eggs and potatoes onto it.
