Confessions | (recycled for Tylar)

Nathan couldn't take it anymore. The confrontation with Tylar had made it more than clear that he needed to let Jessia know the truth. A few long days of torturing himself over what to write and a couple hundred pieces of paper later, he had finally settled on the words he had to say. No more, no less.

Jessia,

Tylar is with me.
I'm sorry.
I love you.

Nathan

If she chose to leave him now, Nathan wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop her. It was a hard thought to handle, but Tylar was right. He was a coward, and Jess deserved better. Maybe, just maybe, she would at least forgive him a little if she knew that Tylar wasn't alone on the island. She would possibly understand why he left now, more than ever, but he couldn't know for sure until he actually sent it.

@tylar

Tylar was sitting in the Post Office staring at the letter she had written. She wasn't sure if it would even make sense to her mother, but she knew she had to tell her. She tightened her hands around the envelope watching the pink paper crinkle under the fingers. She finally stood up and purchased a stamp from the little girl sitting behind the counter and dropped the letter into the box. On her way out the door, she found her....Nathaniel....

"Oh. Hello." She said stiffly, not sure if it would be appropriate to ignore him, but not sure what to say either.

Startled would be an understatement. Of course, he would have to run in to Tylar here and now. It was almost poetic. He had practically signed his divorce papers in sending this letter, and now the person who he was doing it for was standing in front of him. "Hello Tylar." He greeted, a sad smile gracing his lips. "I...I wanted to tell you that you were right, but I didn't think I could until I actually went through with it."

Holding the letter up so that she could see it, he felt a pang of loss at the sight of Jessia's name in his own sloppy handwriting on the envelope. "I'm telling Jess, so that she can move on with her life if she so chooses. She deserves better than this."

Of all the emotions Tylar could have, should have, felt. She was actually surprised that the emotion the surfaced was annoyance, "Seriously?" She said in a strained tone, "You don't even know?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, feeling the envelope with her own letter crumple under the elbow, "Mom loves you. Like more than anything." She took a breathe before continuing, "It's not that she wants anyone else. She just needs to know where you are. She does deserve the truth." Tylar felt herself softening a little bit, "Everything will be fine. Don't worry." She said quietly, moving her arms behind her back and stealthily shoving her own letter into the back pocket of her jeans. There wasn't really a need to send it now. 

"She does." He agreed, running his fingers through his hair. At least Tylar seemed to think everything was going to be alright. He refused to believe that they could ever be a proper family, but he at least hoped to make things right enough that she didn't necessarily despise him anymore. If there was an evil step father, it would be him. "I love her more than I could tell you, Tylar. If I hadn't thought I was protecting her, I never would have lied. I promis you that. We would have been a proper family, but I understand that there is no chance of that now. You deserve a real father, not a cowardly Doctor on an island full of misfit teens." Sighting the box that would send his letter home, he sighed before sliding it in, his heart falling as he realized there was no turning back.

Tylar stood silently with Nathaniel for a few minutes, starring at the mail box lost in thought. After what seemed to be an eternity, Tylar finally spoke, "You know. I'm hungry. As a self-respecting father, you owe me lunch." She said in a voice that suggested she would be willing to give him a chance.

Tylar's words stunned him for a long moment before a grin broke out on his face. "That I do." He said simply, gesturing towards the door and walking towards it before speaking again. "Have anything in mind? The food court has just about everything, but that restaurant on the beach should be open by now as well." If Ty was willing to try, so would he. A chance was all he had ever wanted.

Tylar rolled her eyes and started for the parking lot, "Pizza." She said simply, trying to guess which car belonged to her would-be father, "Lot's of it. Like maybe a buffet." She bit her lip and looked at him, waiting for him to unlock the vehicle so that she could walk towards it.

Chuckling quietly, Nathan hit the lock for his Taurus before walking towards it and hoping in the front seat. "Luckily the food court has us covered on that one." Starting the car, he drove in almost silence until they were outside their destination. Thank the Gods this was a small island, otherwise he might have died of nerves then and there.

\

The car ride was excruciating. Even though it wasn't very long, Tylar almost regretted even bothering to come. If he wasn't going to say anything, could they really even try for a normal relationship? She thought not, but Jessia would want them to get along. If not for her nagging at the back of Ty's mind constantly, she probably would have just conveniently 'forgotten' about the man all together, "Hey Doctor...Dad?" She made a face like that sounded weird to her, "Why couldn't you just tell mom what you were? She knows what I am."