He Makes My Life Better

Chapter Sixteen

Alex's POV

After school, Tyler and I decide to go to the gun club.

I hop into his truck, pecking his lips as he gets in on the driver's side and turns it on.

We listen to the radio the entire drive, Tyler ruining the songs by singing them at the top of his lungs. I just laughed at him.

When we got out to the gun club and get out of the car, Tyler immediately wraps his arms around my waist and was about to kiss me, but I see my childhood friend, whom I haven't seen in what felt like forever.

"Oh my gosh, Marshall!" I exclaim, running up to him and hugging him. Despite his surprise, he hugs me back.

He chuckles. "Hey Alex."

"Don't 'Hey Alex' me," I pull away from him, smacking him upside the head. "I haven't seen you in like a year."

"I know, I've been really busy." He sighs, scratching the back of his neck.

Tyler walks up beside me. "Oh, this is my boyfriend Tyler," I tell Marshall, turning to Tyler. "This is Marshall, he's Mrs. Jane's son. We've been friends since my dad met Mrs. Jane, which is pretty much as far as I can remember."

"Cool," Tyler says, almost uninterested, but something else just seemed off.

I brush it off and turn back to Marshall. "So how's school been?"

"Hard. None of my teachers know how to teach," he replies. "What about you? Still making all A's without having to study?"

I shrug with a laugh. "Yeah, but I have to study. Sometimes," I mutter. Marshall chuckles, then smiles, his brown eyes looking into mine.

"Hey, Alex? Did you want to go shoot?" Tyler asks me.

"Oh, yeah. Do you want to come?" I ask Marshall.

"Sure."

I smile. "Well, let's go!"

I get my gun and ammo and walk down to five-stand.

"I'll pull for y'all," Tyler mutters, setting his gun down and getting ready to pull targets for us. I look over at him with a confused look, but he just avoids my gaze.

I turn back to Marshall. "Should I go easy on you?" I ask him teasingly. He chuckles.

"Try your best, I bet that won't even be enough." He smirks at me.

I just stick my tongue out at him and load my gun.

"One two pair. Pull," I say, shooting the clay pigeon at one first, the target going straight ahead of me, then shooting two, the target coming at a side angle.

"Same ones. Pull," Marshall says, shooting both of them as well.

We continue this for nine more rounds, and I missed one of the clay targets, making Marshall winner.

He smiles tauntingly at me. "Told you."

I just roll my eyes, going to pull targets for Tyler and Marshall, but the tension that Tyler had only increased. I really didn't know what was up with him.

We shoot until we run out of ammo, and then walk back up to the porch at the clubhouse.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Tyler grumbles, walking into the house.

"Ok," I answer, even though he pretty much left before anyone could say anything.

I look at Marshall with a smile. "I'm glad you were here. I've really missed you."

Marshall sighs, wiping his hands on the front of his jeans before looking directly at me. "Alex, I lied about being busy. I haven't been out here for a year because I started getting feelings for you, and I knew I couldn't let it go anywhere because we've always just been friends. I thought they would just go away, but they never did. And I can't just hold these feelings back anymore."

Marshall looks into my eyes intensely with his, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Marshall, what are you-"

Before I can say anymore, his lips land on mine, shutting me up. I start to pull away, but for whatever reason, end up kissing him back.

My mind finally catches up with my actions and I pull away quickly, but not quickly enough. Marshall was looking behind me, so I turn to see Tyler standing there.

He looked at me with his arms crossed, so much pain and hurt in his eyes. The thought of me putting that look on his face made me want to kill myself.

I push Marshall away from me and walk up to Tyler.

"Tyler, that wasn't-" I start, but he cuts me off.

"Yeah it was, Alex. You kissed him back," he answers, everything about him holding so much hurt.

I was speechless. I couldn't believe myself for doing that, I didn't understand why I could even let that happen when I already have the most perfect man I'm ever going to get. Or had. I may have just ruined my chances of having him.

"I'm just going to go," Tyler mutters, walking to his truck.

"You're my ride home," I say, trying to get him to stop and talk to me.

"Well then let's go."

I start to walk that way, but turn around and slap Marshall across the face as hard as I can. His face turns to shock, but I don't wait for a response of any kind. With that I get in Tyler's truck.

The drive home is silent, other than the radio playing quietly in the background. I want to talk to him, I want to tell him that he's who I love, and that I don't ever want to be with anyone else. I finally speak up.

"Tyler-"

"Don't," he stops me, looking straight ahead of him. I sigh, looking at him. His jaw was set, his hands clutching the steering wheel, his knuckles white. He was hurt, and I caused it.

I look out the window as silent tears roll down my cheeks. I may have just lost the man I love.

****

Tyler's POV

I look straight ahead of me, not even attempting to look at Alex. The emotions running through me would make that unbearable, and I know neither of us could handle it.

Even her just trying to speak made me so indescribably hurt, and the betrayal I felt was beyond anything I could even compare to.

I thought that Alex was the one I would have forever, I thought she was perfect, yet she was already kissing another guy- her best friend! I knew something had to have been going on with him by the way he looked at her. The thought of him made me squeeze the steering wheel harder.

Finally, I pull up to Alex's house, not bothering to say a word to her. I feel her eyes on me, but I can't look at her.

"Tyler, let me explain, please," she pleads, and in her voice I hear that she had been crying.

"Please just get out," I say, not showing any emotion as I still refused to look at her.

"But-"

"Please," I say, my throat beginning to get tight. There was a short silence before she opened the door and closed it. I look over to watch her walk up to her front door, a tear rolling down my cheek as I take the truck out of park and turn around, pulling into my driveway before walking inside my house.

I walk up the stairs to my room and close the door behind me before sitting on the edge of my bed. That's when I let my tears fall. I rest my elbows on my knees and cover my head with my hands.

There's no point in trying not to think about Alex, because she had become the best thing I had in my life, and now I'm pretty sure she's gone.