Ate and Tyler

Part 1

She sees someone waving out of the corner of her eye as she stretches her first quad. Her brows furrow, wondering who on earth would be waving at her. She never really talked to anyone at the gym. Naturally a bit reserved, she kept to herself. The gym was her happy place where she could just zone out listening to music way too loud and have a small break from being a single mom.

She steels herself and glances over. It's the cute kid with the brown curly hair she often saw there in the afternoon. She knew the local kids were on spring break. After all, her 3 were all school-age. But it was weird seeing him there in the morning, nonetheless. He seemed out of place.

He waved again and smiled, seeing he had gotten her attention. She pulled her headphones down and paused her music.

"Hey. Couldn't help noticing you mouthing the words to whatever you're listening to. I've been wanting to add some new tunes to my playlist. Sooo whatcha listening to?"

She stared at him dumbly for a few seconds. Was he being for real? Just hearing his voice for the first time was enough to throw her off too. It was deeper than she had expected, considering his relative age. And he had that slight twang to his voice that wasn't terribly uncommon in her neck of the Midwest. Most of the time, she found it redneck-sounding. After all, they weren't in Kentucky. With him, though, well, she hated to admit that it made him that much cuter.

He's still watching her, waiting expectantly.

"Uh, you really want to know?" she finally finds her voice, but still feels thrown off.

The kid just nods his head, smiling slightly.

"Well, it changes daily, but today is Nine Inch Nails."

"No way!" he looks at her disbelieving.

"Do you even know who Nine Inch Nails is?" she asks, disbelieving him just as much. The kid looks like he's all of 15, maybe 16. He's fairly ripped and tall, but something about his stature makes him seem achingly young.

"Of course! I can't believe YOU'RE listening to them, though."

She wonders what the hell he means by that, but wipes the sweat from her headphones on her shirt, hands them over to the kid, and pushes the play button.

"Jesus!" he says a little too loudly, pulling the headphones forcefully from his head. A few of the other people in the weight area look over at them.

"Sorry," she can't help but laugh and turns the volume down.

"I thought I turned MY music up," he shakes his head a little, putting the headphones back on. He listens for longer than she expects and starts to wonder when he's going to relinquish her headphones. After a painfully long time of listening to "Ruiner", he finally hands them over. She's too afraid to look, but she feels like people are starting to stare. She was very much the type of person who tried not drawing too much attention to themselves. That was no easy feat with her green eyes that perfectly complemented her red hair. She was on the taller side for a woman too, which drew enough attention.

"Don't think I've heard that one. I like it."

"It's a good one," she agrees, going back to her stretching, but politely leaves her headphones off.

"What else do you like listening to?"

What is it with this kid?

she wonders.

"Lots of random stuff. Everything from Electric Light Orchestra to Mindless Self Indulgence. Depends on my mood," she shrugs.

"Never heard of either of them. What kind of music is it?"

"Why am I not surprised?" she smirks, moving on to her calves.

"It's not the same type of music. One is from the 70s, well before my time, even. And the other is...well. I don't even know how to describe it. Not techno, but not rock either. It's weird."

"I like weird."

His smile was starting to unnerve her.

"Do you now?" she muttered. "I don't know what kind of music you like, but check them out if you want, kid. It's worth a shot, I guess," she shrugged.

"Well, I'm about done, so...Good luck with your music search."

She normally loved talking about all of the random music she loved, but this kid was making her more uncomfortable than he had any right to. She grabbed her phone and water bottle and headed to the track to do a few cool-down laps. She saw a swath of brown out of the corner of her eye. The kid was coming up behind her.

"What are you doing?" she asks, pausing her music again, as he starts to follow her around the track.

"Whatdya mean? Talking to you."

"One of your punk ass little friends put you up to this?" she raises an eyebrow. She looks back, but sees he's only got one of his little friends with him today and he didn't look like one of his usual cronies. She knew it wasn't very nice and she shouldn't judge, but that's the way she looked at his young group of friends. Little punks. Some of them seemed ok. He seemed ok. Matter of fact, she had found it amusing, but polite in a way, when he had literally pushed one of his friends out of her way that wasn't paying attention and in her way on the track just the week before. But a lot of his friends seemed like stereotypical teenage boys who were always getting themselves into pissing contests.

"Put me up to what?"

"Cut the shit. You're starting to piss me off." This kid was seriously starting to get to her. Why the fuck was he still talking to her? Following her, even? She had made it clear their conversation was over.

"You sure curse a lot."

"I put sailors to shame, kid."

"Why do you keep calling me 'kid'? I have a name, ya know."

"Because you ARE a kid. What are you, like 16? I'd guess younger, but I've never seen you waiting for a ride, so I assume you're old enough to drive."

"I just turned 18 in March, thank you. And my name is Tyler."

"Ooohh 18. Guess that makes you a man now, huh?"

"Pretty much," he says completely serious, but his dark eyes glimmer with mischief. "Speaking of which, I couldn't help but notice you don't seem to have a man," he points to her ring finger.

She can't help but give him points for being observant, but pointing it out still vexes her.

"Nope. He left 3 years ago," was all she would offer.

"Divorce?"

"Yep," she looked straight ahead. She suddenly and desperately wanted to get lost in her music again.

"Not mutual, I'm guessing?"

Boy, this little bastard is pushy, isn't he?

"Nope."

"Don't feel like talking about it?"

"No, I don't feel like talking about how my husband cheated on me with a GIRL half his age and left me with our 3 kids with some kid I barely know," her face reddened with anger. She silently hoped it would get him to drop the subject too.

"Tyler. And we've seen each other around plenty of times."

"That doesn't mean we KNOW each other."

Silence.

"So, you have 3 kids?"

"Yep. 5, 7, and 9. They're closer to your age than you are mine."

"You don't look old enough to have 3 kids."

She couldn't help but laugh.

"How old do you think I am?" This should be good.

"I dunno. 30? 32?"

She laughed again.

"I'm 36...old enough to be your mom."

That shut him up. At least for a minute.

"How many questions was that?" she broke the silence.

"What?"

"Did we reach 20 questions yet? You DO know what that is, right? Or am I showing my age?"

"Oh," he laughed. "No, I know what it is. Guess it's only fair you ask me questions, if you want."

"As weird as this has been, you should probably scamper on back to weightlifting land. I have to go pick my kids up...Because I'm old...and have responsibilities."

Tyler rolled his eyes.

"36 is NOT old. I'll see ya around..." he waited for her to give her name, realizing she hadn't. Against her better judgment, she did.

"Katherine. But my friends call me Kate."

"Ok, Kate. I'll see ya around," he lifted a hand in goodbye and went back to the bench press before she had the chance to mention the fact that they weren't friends.

Part 2

Kate slid off the exercise bike and limped her way over to the spray bottles full of disinfectant and paper towel dispenser. Still, she stole a glance at the weightlifting area across the gym from her. She knew Tyler was over there and felt silly for even worrying about whether he, or anyone else for that matter, saw her limping. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a bit relieved when she no longer found him over there. Kate grabbed a bottle of cleaner and some paper towel to wipe the sweat from the bicycle she'd just finished 30 grueling minutes on and tried to walk as normally as possible back to it, feeling the kinks slowly work themselves out the more steps she took.

"You ok?" a concerned voice asked from just over her right shoulder.

"Jesus," she spun around, staring Tyler in the face from what would normally be uncomfortably close, especially in public.

"You scared the crap out of me!" Kate turned back to finish wiping down the bike.

"I'm fine." She tried walking as normally as possible to the trash can, but failed miserably.

"You don't look fine," Tyler commented when she returned to grab her water bottle.

"Pushed myself too hard, evidently. Puts kinks in my hips. The joys of genetic hip problems," Kate forced a laugh. Her heart skipped a beat when her hand accidentally brushed against his as she started walking away. She wasn't surprised this time when he followed her.

"So kid, you just come over here to check on a poor old lady?" she smirked. Her goal of getting a rise out of him worked, but not in the way she intended.

"Ty-ler", he enunciates, clearly perturbed. Kate's smile fades immediately. She'd never seen an ounce of irritation on the kid's face before. It gave her pause.

"You really don't like being called 'kid', do you?" her voice softened. He shook his head without a word.

"Sorry," you could barely hear her voice above the background noise of basketballs being dribbled and weight bars crashing down as they continued walking together.

"So what's your story, ki-, Tyler," she caught herself. If he was going to insist on walking with her again, she might as well change the subject. Kate really did feel bad for pissing him off.

He blew out a puff of air.

"I gave you mine. And you said I could ask you questions the other day. Are you rescinding your offer?" Kate hoped she wasn't pushing her luck.

Tyler shook his head, looking down at his feet.

"No. But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

Kate raised an eyebrow. She wondered who the hell he thought she would tell, but kept her thoughts to herself.

"My friends don't even really know," Tyler shrugged.

Kate looked at him, waiting patiently. Now she was intrigued. He sighed before continuing.

"I didn't have the best home life growing up," he started, avoiding eye contact with her, looking straight ahead as they continued walking around the track.

Growing up

, she thought, struggling not to smirk at this. He was barely grown. But if he wanted to be treated like a man, she would try. He certainly seemed more mature, so far, than most guys his age.

"My dad was, is, an alcoholic. He'd come home belligerent a lot of nights and start yelling at my mom. I fell asleep most nights listening to them screaming at each other. She never let him lay a hand on me, but I knew he did her. Those were the worst nights. When I could hear the slaps from my bedroom, but not do a damn thing about it," Tyler's cheeks reddened in anger at the memories.

"She was always making up excuses to everyone for the bruises and black eyes. I knew it embarrassed her," he shook his neat mass of brown hair lightly back and forth.

"It's not right, you know?" he finally glanced at Kate. "It wasn't her fault. If anyone should have been embarrassed, it should have been my dad for treating her the way he did."

Kate was starting to get a sinking feeling, hoping his story had a happy ending.

"Did your mom ever get away?" she asked timidly.

"Yes and no. She finally filed for divorce while he was in jail for his umpteenth DUI. He wasn't in there long, but she packed up all her stuff and left. She lives in a shelter in Bloomington for women trying to get away from domestic abuse. She figured she'd be safer there than with family. She didn't want my dad to come after them too. My mom's still waiting for the divorce to finalize so she can get her own place without worrying about him finding the address."

"Wow...Sounds like you've been through some worse shit than I have," she secretly thanked the powers that be that she had never been through anything like Tyler had. Kate couldn't help feeling sorry for the kid, too. She tried to keep the look of pity off her face. She had a feeling it would only piss him off.

"So, where did you end up going?"

"I've lived with my aunt Barb for a while. I already lived with her most of the time before my mom finally got out. I hate not seeing her much, but we text a lot and she calls every weekend."

Kate wondered how this young man she was coming to befriend turned out to be a seemingly decent human being, not ending up following the same path as his father, as so many kids seemed to do in situations like that, or become a totally ruined individual from living in that environment for years. She also couldn't help but think of her own kids.

"Your mom must miss you," was all she could think to say.

Tyler nodded, looking at his feet again.

She felt bad for saying it as soon as she saw the flash of sadness pass over his face.

"Your aunt must be a pretty special person," she offered.

"Yah," he looked up again. "She's pretty cool. She helped me pay for my truck. It might not be much, but it's mine," he chuckled.

Kate suddenly wondered how he could afford the gym membership. She knew he worked at the grocery store in town, but figured he wasn't exactly making bank from it. Then again, it wasn't like he had a mortgage and three kids to take care of, either.

"Can I ask you something personal?"

Tyler laughed again.

"Might as well after everything I just told you."

"Is the real reason you come here to get away?" she asked gently. She was surprised at herself for even wondering, let alone asking.

He nodded.

"I guess," he agreed.

It made a lot more sense to Kate now. There had been plenty of times she'd seen him there and noticed he barely did anything, messing around with his friends more than actually working out.

"Plus..." he trailed off, second-guessing what he was about to say.

"Never mind."

Kate could see secrets stirring behind his eyes and she felt herself wanting to know what they were, but decided not to push her luck.

Maybe another day

, she thought.

His chocolate eyes had taken on a puppy dog quality, though she knew he was averting them to hide it. Kate had to resist the sudden urge to reach out for his hand and squeeze it. It scared her enough that she felt the sudden need to escape. His candor was turning her to mush. She looked at her watch. It was about time for her to go anyway.

"Listen, I have to pick up my kids." Kate hated running off after he had trusted her enough to open up like that. She hoped Tyler didn't take it the wrong way.

He nodded.

"Thanks for listening to me," he stole a glance at her finally. "I'm not sure why I felt the need to tell you all that," he gave a nervous chuckle.

"It's ok. Everyone needs someone to vent to," Kate returned his smile. The overwhelming urge to squeeze his hand was returning.

"See you Monday, Tyler." She made a conscious effort to use his name and not call him "kid". She high-tailed it out of the gym, looking forward to the distraction of her children.

Part 3

It was a whole week before Tyler talked to her again. It wasn't for lack of seeing him. He had been there every time she had. A small nod in her direction had been his only acknowledgment to her. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Kate caught him stealing glances at her occasionally each time. By the end of the week, she was developing a theory on his sudden distance and decided to call him out on it when he approached her Saturday morning. The fact that he was actually coming to talk to her and he was only with his one particular friend, the scrawny one with the shaggy black hair, only solidified her idea more. He was the same friend Tyler had been with when he first approached her.

"Hey," Tyler greets as he catches up to her.

"Hey...I got a question for ya," Kate decided to cut straight to the chase.

"What's that?" he laughs, but she can sense his sudden tension.

"How come you only talk to me when your friends aren't here?" she forced herself to look at him.

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" she lifts an eyebrow, only half-teasing. In actuality, Kate figures the fewer people that saw them together, the better. She knew it looked weird because it was. Still, her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"No!" Tyler said a little too forcefully, meeting her eyes.

"I just don't think they would understand," he says vaguely.

"Wouldn't understand what? Why you seem to like hanging out with old ladies?" she smirked.

"Oh my God. Would you stop?" Tyler looked her dead in the face again after rolling his eyes quickly.

"I told you, you are NOT old," he paused. Kate waited patiently for him to finish his thought.

"I don't think they would understand why I like talking to you."

Silence hung like a cloud between them. Kate finally gathered the courage to ask the million-dollar question, not entirely sure she was ready for or wanted to know the answer.

"Why do you like talking to me?" she forced herself not to whisper.

"I don't know," he shrugged, balking at first. "You've always interested me, I guess."

Kate couldn't help but laugh. She didn't feel all that interesting.

"Why?" she was dying to know now. She had to know why this kid had decided to suddenly start striking up conversations with her after months of barely acknowledging each other.

"You're kind of mysterious, in a good way."

Kate briefly wondered if "mysterious" was ever used in a bad way. The fact that Tyler wasn't looking at her as he answered was also not lost on her.

"How so?" she was surprised at her own relentlessness.

"Uhh, well, you're this beautiful lady who doesn't talk to any of the other gym rats and lip-syncs to her music. You never try to get anyone's attention either, even though you have to know you're good-looking. Everyone else here, some of them not even that good-looking, seem to be vying for attention. You're different. I just wanted to know what made you tick, I guess."

She admired his bravery for being honest. But she hadn't had anyone tell her she was beautiful in a long time. Kate had a feeling his answer to her question would make her uncomfortable. And it did.

"I think 'beautiful' is a strong word," she couldn't bring herself to take the compliment, but felt guilty about it.

"Plus, you have to keep in mind most of these little hussies are still in their 20s," she smiled, but it was an unpleasant one.

"So? If these dumbasses were smart enough to look beyond the hoochies throwing themselves at them, they'd see they're missing the real catch."

Time passed quietly between them as Kate gathered her thoughts. Instead of her inclination toward being agitated by his words of praise as she usually was, his sincerity was endearing. It felt like a tiny part of her long hardened heart softened.

"That's the thing, though. I'm not looking for anyone," she spoke softly, shrugging. More silence passed between them.

"It's ok to just have fun too, ya know," Tyler offered, the mood changing in an instant.

"You're treading on thin ice, my friend," Kate warned. She had never been the "hook-up" type. Plus, she was pretty sure he wasn't implying she go have a one-night stand with just any random guy.

Part 4

"Hey," Tyler fell into place next to her as Kate walked.