Tyler looked up from the wet grassy ground and into the icy blue eyes of Anastasia. He looked back down at the dozen white roses he had stuck in a row in the wet dirt.
"Her mum used to weave them in her hair." Ana added.
She took a few steps, then paused, hesitant. Tyler noticed and scooted over a few inches, leaving room for Ana to sit beside him against the tree trunk. She sat, thankfully, and shared her umbrella with him. Quietly, they sat, and reflected on the events of the past weeks.
Chase Collins was very much dead (this time.)
Tyler had made sure of that. In fact, he was so bent on massacring every inch of Chase that was still solid that he nearly killed Caleb when the latter came to and tried to intervene. Thankfully for him, after a few hours of pummeling an already dead man, the physical strain and the excess using, Tyler's body was unable to function and he passed out cold.
When he woke up nine hours later, he was greeted with the harsh reality that Maddie was dead and buried, whereas he and Caleb were on a plane, minutes away from landing in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
And when they landed and shared the news, Ana had for the first time shown an emotion other than lust or indifference. Her mask was left to crumble and she cried for hours straight in Reid's arms.
"I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't be, Tyler Sims. Nothing you did could have changed anything. What happens happens. Maddie knows that more than anyone. Now go off and be happy, she would like that."
Tyler stayed silent, and fiddled with the wilted petals of one of the roses, who were gently getting soaked from the rain. Ana knew, about Maddie's odd gift, and she had explained that one of the reasons Maddie could stand having physical contact with her was because she died peacefully. She didnt specify how (Maddie never specified.)
"One thing bugs me." Tyler said. "She said she could see us die, like everyone else. But how did she figure out about our powers?"
They had given Ana the talk that they had given Sarah and Kate. It only seemed fair, since it was the same power that had taken her first and only best friend's life.
"She's a smart girl." Ana said. She still spoke of Madeline in the present tense, even though she had been dead over twenty four hours. "And maybe one of your deaths involved it. Or it could have been Fae's video that tipped her off..."
Tyler shrugged it off. There were too many unanswered questions, and no one left to answer them. If they spent their time pondering how and why certain things happened they would certainly get lost in the cycle.
"She loves you." Ana said bluntly, and answering the question that had been bothering Tyler from the moment her heart stopped.
I would tell you. I really would. But it would haunt you for the rest of your life...
"You don't know that." He said simply.
"I don't." Ana said firmly. "But you do. And so did she."
She fumbled in her pocket and took from it a piece of paper that had been folded too many times than necessary. She unfolded it carefully, making sure not to get it wet, and shoved it in Tyler's open palm before closing his fingers around it.
"Present." She said. "And don't you dare think of returning it."
Tyler opened his hand and looked at the paper.
"What is this?"
"I have this nasty habit of taking pictures of people when they aren't looking. And i thought that maybe for once it could come in handy."
Tyler looked down at the small colour polaroid that Ana had given him. He recognized the tree, the same they were sitting against right now, but Anastasia was behind the camera and her blonde friend was sitting beside Tyler instead. In her lap was a book, her hands were gloved in dark leather like they always had been and her head was turned slightly towards his. Her pale hair was blowing in her face, and his hand was outstretched and between his fingers was a single golden strand. Ana had captured the single blissful peaceful moment he and Maddie had lived before they were bothered with curses and powers. And she was returning the split-second of peace to him, printed on a polaroid.
"Ana, I can't-"
"Sorry Ty, no refunds."
She stood, took her umbrella and strutted across the park, waving a quick goodbye with her right hand, using the other to light a cigarette clumsily. Tyler looked back at her curiously, and watched her disappear under the rain. He carefully placed the picture in his pocket, making sure not to get it wet.
"That's one hell of a habit," He whispered. He stared off into the distance for a few seconds, before the urge to look at the picture again nagged him enough to do so. He unfolded it, and looked at it for a long five minutes before a faint smile, the first in a long time, appeared across his lips. He placed the picture back in his pocket for the second time, stood, and walked towards his car and headed off to Nicky's.
Thats all, folks! (for now...)