𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | Tyler x Reader | School Bus Graveyard

| Ep 55 |

His dark eyes instantly land on Taylor's. In seconds, she is out of my embrace and in Tyler's arms. They both stumble onto the tiled floor and hold onto each other for dear life. My heart shatters when I hear them break into sobs.

I've only ever heard Tyler cry a few times in my life, but never like this. He hasn't cried like this since...Mr. Hernandez...

My lip quivers as I stand with the group, watching the interaction unfold. They are whispering to each other reassuringly and I'm fighting the urge to take him into my arms next.

Mrs. Hernandez wearily walks past us and toward her children, stopping right before them.

"Tyler?" Her voice is soft and barely controlled.

He lifts his head up and I notice a flash of relief in his eyes. Mrs. Hernandez kneels down to hold her son's arm. My eyes land on the blood seeping down it and I purse my lips.

"Sweetheart," Her voice is barely above a whisper, "You're bleeding."

Tyler lets out a shaky breath before pulling her sleeve and bringing in to join the hug.

The three of them stay like that for a couple of minutes. Tyler is bombarded with questions while also constantly being coddled.

I feel like my feet are glued to the floor and it's almost unbearable knowing now wasn't my time to reunite with him just yet. I needed to feel him and see him up close. I need to know that he truly was going to get better.

"Excuse me-"

Everyone's attention turns toward the doorway, where two nurses enter through. They appear completely exhausted, as if they just ran a marathon. I then switch my gaze over to Tyler, who was glaring at them.

He must've slipped out of his room without their permission...

He ran all the way here?

The male nurse looks over at Mrs. Hernandez as she rises from the floor and he asks, "-Would you happen to be his legal guardian?"

They exchange words quietly, not wanting anyone else to eavesdrop. My eyes are locked on them both until I hear a small voice from a few feet ahead,

"Y/N...?"

My eyes follow the voice to where Tyler and Taylor were sitting on the ground. My eyes water when I realize my name came from him.

Taylor reluctantly pulls away before glancing up at me with a relieved smile. I inhale shortly, hesitating to approach them. I wasn't sure if their moment was over and ready to be interrupted just yet.

I then watch the way his expression softens as he looks me over, almost in awe, "Y/N."

He repeats my name, this time clearer than the first. I walk over and drop onto my knees in front of him. I part my lips as I take him all in. One of my shaky hands reaches up to touch his pale face, and I nearly flinch when I finally make contact with him after what's felt like forever.

He rests his hand over mine, smiling at me the way he always did,

"Did you forget how to talk-"

I cut him off by pouncing on him and wrapping my arms around his torso. I hear him huff, as if I just knocked the wind out of him. But it doesn't take long until he buries his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. I feel his arms tremble around my lower waist as he pulls me onto his lap with zero intention of letting go so soon.

I choke back a sob, which makes him rub my back comfortingly. "Hey...hey...shh. I'm okay...You're okay..."

"We tried...to go back for you...I'm so sorry-"

He shakes his head against me before pulling back to look at my face, "I know, corazón..."

Tyler using Spanish nicknames is canon because I say so.

He hooks a finger under my chin to pull my face toward him. I feel his lips brush against mine for only a few seconds before he pulls away and repeats in a whisper, "I know..."

I fist the back of his patient gown as my eyes dart over his sickly face, "I really didn't think you were going to liv-"

He brushes his thumb over my bottom lip and furrows his eyebrows, "Don't. I'm here, aren't I?"

I let out a heavy sigh before nodding, "You're here..."

We then both perk up when we hear Logan's cries as he kneels down behind Tyler to rest a hand on his back. Not long after, Aiden bends down to poke Tyler's head with a grin,

"Are you dumb? What are you gonna do if you bleed out?"

Tyler's soft expression shifts into a threatening one as he glares up at the blonde, "Stop poking me."

Ben looks over Aiden's shoulder and raises his phone up to reveal a handwritten message that reads, 'R U Ok?'

He nods over at Ben and swats Aiden's hand away. I can't help but laugh at the scene before me. We were all so worried. I'm glad to see the color return to everyone's faces as they reunite with Tyler.

I am about to lift myself off of him when his hold tightens. He leans up to whisper into my ear,

"Thank you for looking after Tay..."

---

Mrs. Hernandez and the twins exit the waiting room with the nursing staff to return to Tyler's room. I watch them until the closing doors block them from my line of sight.

Once they shut completely, I exhale quietly. My head drops down and lands on my hand. I narrow my eyes as I lift my palm to see a splotch of blood on my hand. Tyler's blood.

I scrunch my nose in shock and disgust as I quickly try to rub it off on my shirt.

"Hey, woah!"

Aiden takes my blood-stained hand away from the area on my shirt I had been cleaning it with. He must've noticed the frantic look in my eyes while I was harshly scrubbing off the blood.

He gently uses the sleeve of his hoodie to clean off the excess until no trace of it was left, "There."

"Thanks..." I say quietly as my eyes linger on the spot that was stained red just moments ago.

He opens his mouth to say something, likely a comment to lighten the mood. But he is interrupted when his phone begins to vibrate in his front pocket.

She takes it out and answers the call button, "Ash?"

My ears perk up at the mention of her name. Her and Mr. Banner were still out.

I hear faint murmurs on the other line, in which he responds to with, "Yeah, everything's okay now...Tyler's in rough shape but he's awake. How'd you know to call though?"

I walk away to give his conversation some privacy. I head over to a nearby seating area where Logan and Ben were sitting. They both seemed to be lost in thought, so I stayed silent as I took the empty seat in between them.

"What if they still don't believe us..." Logan's small voice fills the silence after a few minutes.

I look over to my right to find him staring down at his fidgeting hands. His question is almost comical, especially after everything that just happened in the last hour.

"How could they not?" I ask as I turn my attention toward the parents quietly discussing on the other side of the waiting room. I don't fail to notice the way my mom glances over her shoulder at us several times during their conversation.

When I make eye contact with her, I say to the boys, "They're talking about us."

Logan lifts his head to follow my gaze, "Maybe they're trying to figure out where the nearest psych ward is..."

Ben's lips crack into a teasing smile and I refrain from rolling my eyes at Logan's pessimism, "Oh, please. Don't start with that asylum stuff again..."