Tyler walked out of the hospital; a bit groggy from the painkillers he'd taken for his now casted arm, but smiling at Taylor, who hung on his right arm. When Caleb had called her and told her what had happened, she'd rushed right over.
She squeezed his arm, sympathizing with him. She knew how much he hated hospitals. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.
Caleb, Reid, and Pogue had left Tyler with Taylor to go to Nicky's. No one knew how Ian was doing; they were too nervous to go near his room because Erin was still pissed at them. The doctor had checked them all, and apart from Caleb getting some stitches in his arm and Pogue some on his head, they were fine.
They walked through the parking lot towards Taylor's truck. She got in and shut the door. " You sure you're okay to drive?" she asked, worry in her voice. " You've only got one good arm."
Tyler smiled. " I'll be okay. I don't want you going out of your way. Besides, the guys brought my Hummer over; and I'm not letting Reid drive it."
" Okay. I'll see you back at school."
" Not right away. I'm going to just pop in on my folks. They'll be worried."
She nodded. They kissed, then she drove off, headlights cutting through the darkness.
Tyler got into his Hummer and headed in the direction of his house. He hoped his parents weren't asleep.
-
Chase stood in front of the house, anger in his eyes. He knew the father was home; the mother wasn't, but that didn't matter. All he wanted was the father.
He walked up to the front door, opened it and went in. a dog started to bark, growling and bristling. Chase laughed and flung the dog aside, which whimpered as it collided with the wall. He heard movement and walked towards it, knowing whom it was. Before he reached the kitchen, a middle-aged man appeared, shotgun in hand, eyes wide with shock.
Chase smiled. " Hello Glen."
-
The Hummer roared across the road, the radio playing Pain by Three Days Grace. Tyler hummed along to it, having surprisingly little difficulty steering with one arm.
He turned onto Pinebrook, memories flooding back to him, none of them good. Here's where he'd nearly crashed, gotten sick. There's where the transport had nearly crushed him. He pushed the thoughts out of him mind and continued on.
As he turned onto his street, he thought he saw something running towards him on the side of the road. Squinting and shinning the headlights brighter, he frowned when he saw Rex, his boarder collie, limping across the grass.
Tyler pulled over and got out, calling to the dog. Rex ran to him and Tyler saw that his white and black fur had blood on it, and so did his muzzle.
" Oh my God Rex…What happened?" he asked, knowing that the dog wouldn't answer.
He whined and turned his head back towards the house, tail wagging slowly.
Tyler narrowed his eyes, then picked Rex up with one arm and put him in the Hummer. He got in himself, started it back up again and drove the rest of the way to his house. He was alarmed to see the door open, and he got out and ran. His mother's car wasn't there, so she wasn't at home. But his father's was.
Tyler walked inside slowly, and nearly stumbled when he saw what was inside. The table in the living room had been broken in two, papers lying everywhere. The fireplace was missing some bricks and the couch was torn.
" Dad?" He walked slowly into the living room, then stopped. He stared at something beneath the debris. A hand.
" Dad!" Tyler heaved off the junk until he reached his father. His heart stopped. Glen was covered in blood, eyes wide and glazed over. He was dead.
-
Reid arrived at Tyler's house to see an ambulance and police cars, red and blue lights flashing in the dark. Reid had received Tyler's call telling him to come over. He hadn't said why, but when he got out of his father's car and saw the body bag being taken away, he guessed that it couldn't be good.
Reid hurried over to Tyler, who was sitting on the front steps. A police officer walked away from him, closing his notepad. He'd just interviewed Tyler.
When Reid stepped in front of Tyler, he saw that the brunette had his hands resting on his knees, starring straight ahead. His cheeks were wet from crying, but now seemed to be in almost a state of shock.
" Ty?" Reid sat down beside him, looking concerned.
Tyler turned his head to face the blonde, and Reid was surprised by the anger portrayed in the blue eyes. " He killed him."
" Who?"
" Chase. Chase killed my father." His body shook slightly and he broke down.
Reid brought the younger boy into a hug, careful to avoid his broken shoulder. " It's okay Tyler. It's okay."
Tyler replied between sobs. " No…it's…no-not! It's m-my fa-fault!"
" What are you talking about?"
" Chase kil-killed h-him because of m-me!"
Reid pushed Tyler away, keeping a hand on his good shoulder. " Listen Tyler. This is not your fault! It's Chase's. And we're going to get him."
-
Tyler sat in class, hardly listening to what his English teacher was saying. He wasn't sleeping, but the teacher's words were more like buzzing sounds, and Tyler constantly just sat there, staring at nothing.
Reid noticed his friends' change in behavior. So had Caleb and Pogue and Taylor. Reid had told them what had happened the next day, and they were all shocked. Chase had gone too far this time.
It was three days since his father's death and Tyler hadn't changed. He didn't pay attention in class, had flunked the test they'd had, and didn't listen to the boys when they tried to comfort him. He was depressed and they were worried. Depression could lead to suicide and they could not let that happen to their Baby Boy.
But Tyler wasn't the only one who was depressed. Rose Simms had obviously taken Glen's death hard. She'd gone to visit her sister in New York and would be gone for a while. The boys hadn't liked that she'd left her son alone in a time like this, but they'd take care of him; they always did.
Reid listened tiredly as the teacher finished his lesson and dismissed the class as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day.
The bodies piled out, chatting about different things. Tyler sat there, staring. Reid packed up his books and frowned at Tyler, saddened for his best friend. He placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder, not pressing too hard so he wouldn't hurt his broken arm. " Tyler?"
The brunette blinked his blue eyes and faced Reid. " Ya?"
" Class is over. You coming?"
Tyler smiled, though Reid knew it was forced. " Yeah. Let's go." He stood up and followed Caleb, Pogue, and Reid out of the classroom. The three older boys started to talk amongst themselves in whispers and he knew they were talking about him. He fell back a bit, thoughts going back to three days ago, finding his father murdered in his house. He slowed even more, feeling tears threatening to fall.
-
Taylor grabbed her books and said goodbye to Grace, who left for her locker. Taylor spotted Tyler lagging behind as his friends exited the class and her face fell. Ever since his father had died, they hadn't really spent anytime together. After school he'd go right to his dorm and not come out. She was worried about their relationship. She didn't want it to end.
Taylor sprinted down the steps. " Tyler!" she called, hoping he'd stop and talk to her.
He did. Tyler turned around, hastily wiping his tears away with his good arm.
She stopped in front of him. " Tyler, please talk to me," she begged. " We used to be so open with each other! Let me in, please." Tears started to well up in her eyes.
Tyler immediately felt guilty. Taylor was the only person besides his brothers that he could really open up to. He'd fallen in love with her, told her his secret. She'd been there for him when he needed her, and felt bad when she wasn't. And here he was, grieving for his father and completely ignoring his girlfriend. Tears came to his own eyes as he dropped his book bag and hugged her with his one arm, crying. " I'm sorry Taylor…I'm sorry…"
She embraced him back. " It's alright Tyler…you can tell me things…I love you."
Tyler cried more, sniffed and pulled away. He smiled his beautiful smile and kissed her lips.
Taylor kissed back, then broke it. She grinned. " I don't think that this is the best place to be doing this."
He laughed. Taylor smiled; his first laugh in three days " You're right. Let's go." He picked up his book bag, slung it over his shoulder and placed the same arm around her waist. She laid her head against his should as they walked out of class.
They caught up to the boys, who had changed into casual clothes.
Caleb spotted them. " Hey you two," he said, smiling when he saw Tyler's changed face. Trust Taylor to make him feel better. " Coming to Nicky's?"
Tyler and Taylor looked at each other, smiling. " Naw," Tyler replied. " Taylor and I already have plans."
The boys grinned, raising eyebrows. Plans indeed.
-
The door opened at Nicky's as Erin and Ian entered, looking for some people. They glance around, soon spotting the three boys playing pool together.
The three looked up when they saw the couple. " Oh, hey Ian…Erin…" Caleb said, slightly nervous.
" I see you're out of the hospital Ian," Pogue added.
" Nice observation Parry," he shot back sarcastically.
The boys swallowed; they were pissed. Caleb breathed. " Look Erin I know I said I'd tell you what happened and I-"
She held up a hand. " It's okay Caleb. Ian told me. Everything."
Reid raised an eyebrow. " And you're not completely freaked out?"
She shrugged. " I was, but now I think it's cool. And I wanted to apologize for being an ass back there. I was just worried for Ian."
Ian grinned. " Yeah, well I'm fine now. My hands hurt like hell, but I'll live." He raised his bandaged hands, smirking. His statement was almost believable, except for the glint in his eyes; fear. Ian was still scared about his situation that night and it was something he wouldn't be forgetting for a while.
He put his hands gently together. " So, you up for a couple more players?" he asked, smirking.
Reid grinned. " Sure. I'm always up for some fresh meat." He racked the balls, handing Ian a stick.
Erin shook her head when Reid offered her one. " No thanks. I'll go and sit with Sarah and Kate." She walked over to the blonde and brunette.
Ian smiled. " Okay, so you guys ready to lose?'
Pogue grinned. " Are you?"
-
The clock's red numbers glowed 12:42 a.m. in the dark room, not that the occupants noticed or cared.
Taylor lay on her back on the twin bed, one hand on the back of the brunette's head, her lips grasping his.
Tyler lay on his side, propped up on his good elbow his other hand resting on her stomach. He used his other hand-the one he was resting on-to stroke her wavy brown hair.
She responded by pulling his head towards her more, twirling her fingers in his hair. Their kissing never stopped.
They'd been lying like this for almost an hour now, but that was fine with them. They didn't need to strip their clothes off to show their love; lying together was perfect. It was totally quiet, except for their breathing. It had gotten warm in his dorm, so he had taken off his jacket, but that was it. Truth was, they both had never done this before and weren't ready for the " next step". But no rushing; they were fine at this level.
Their lips were still grasping each other and between contact they spoke softly to each other.
" I," touch, " love," touch, " you," Tyler spoke, stroking her hair.
" Me," touch, " too," she replied, twisting his hair gently.
" And I'd love it if you would notify me next time you two wanted some time alone in my dorm," the voice said, smirking.
The two broke apart, blushing, then glared at the intruder. " Reid!"
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