Life in a Den of Lions (Tyler Down x reader)

Chapter 14

You couldn't bring yourself to give your dad the full picture. He learned of bullies and insinuations at parties, but you fell into numbness whenever your thoughts even drifted near the full topic, and you had to pull yourself back to shore before you could lose yourself in the whirlpool of that few minutes long event that could drown you if it even emerged as a single syllable upon your lips. In his eyes that day had just been another attack of words from Bryce rather than sensation, where you had finally given in and broken down.
You were pulled from Liberty High that very day - your parents trying to enrol you in another high school before noticing how you flinched at their contact and seeing the deeper scars you had and switching their tactic to homeschooling. You liked the control you had over learning - no more hallways of jocks and lunches spent hiding round corners - only home sweet home, the trusty fridge and your parents encouraging smiles. You all moved out of town to stay with your mothers parents to give you the time to recover with as few triggers as possible, which allowed you to leave the house with no danger of passing your assailants or any associates. Slowly, it felt like you had your own hands back on the wheel; feet planted on the brakes as the car slowed back under your control. Sure you missed your friends, but you couldn't bare having to explain your absence. Anyone you considered a friend had heard those tapes, so had every ability to guess what could have driven you from school, and you couldn't face talking about it, or even hearing someone try to help, even if they meant well.
Tyler seemed to have fallen from the face of the earth. Your parents asked him for space and he respected that, and contact ceased, not that you tried to talk to him anyway. You missed him so bad, some days all you could do was stare at your phone, debating whether to call him. But as you thought of him your thoughts drifted to the sight of him struggling against Monty on the ground, trying to reach you before you even knew what was happening and you couldn't bring yourself to call. He'd ask about what happened, just in the split second after the call went through and you'd just be back there again, against the ground. So your phone went untouched and life continued as if you never went to Liberty.

-

For the first time in almost 6 months, your phone lit up, a name flashing up across the caller ID, and soft vibrations running from your phone and through the table, amplifying the noise and alerting you to the incoming call. It was until you looked at the name illuminated on the screen that you hesitated, but soon picked up the call, pressing the cold phone against your ear.

"Clay? Did you mean to call me?" Immediately you could tell that the voice on the other end of the phone was panicked.

"How far away are you from Crestmont?" You felt your mind switch off for a moment. Was he asking if you could come back? Why would Clay of all people want you back in Crestmont?

"Like 2 hours if I drive fast? Is everything alright? I've tried to keep up the best I can with the trial." You might have ignored the call at one time, but you felt more in control than ever, and it was hard to ignore the panic lacing Clay's voice.

"It's Tyler. I think he could really do with seeing you right now. If you can." You were already throwing things into a bag once you heard it was about Tyler. You left a message for your parents and climbed out of the window, wincing as your car unlocked a little too loudly, and driving down the road with Clay still on speaker on the passenger seat.

-

You made it in an hour and a half, and wouldn't be surprised if a couple speeding tickets had been received in the process. Clay had done his best to explain the situation with his own limited knowledge, but hearing that Tyler had at least attempted to start a school shooting was reason enough for you to drive back so quickly. After some haphazard directions from Tony, you reached your destination and took no time at all running up to Clay, who was outside ready to greet you.

"I wasn't sure you'd really come." Your momentum was thrown completely as you stopped in front of Clay. Six months of recovering only to come straight back to  the Crestmont drama. You flinched lightly as you locked eyes with Clay, who seemed to take notice and took a step back to give you space.

"Reflex action I guess. Is he inside?" Clay just nodded and stepped out of the way to let you into the small building, leaving you facing a single wooden door with faint voices coming from beyond. In your heart, you couldn't wait to see Tyler under any circumstance, but you couldn't help but dread that you would see his face and only be able to see him screaming against the grass. But you'd made it so far, and a few light knocks garnered a response, Tony's voice calling out for you to identify yourself. But your voice was gone, leaving Clay to respond and push open the door, leaving in an open doorway as all the eyes in the room fell on you. But you could only look at one person. Tyler looked so fragile as he sat with Tony, and this was enough to give your feet a mind of their own as they carried you forward, arms wrapping around the boys form before you could even register what you were doing. He followed suite, shaky arms wrapping themselves around your frame, face sinking into your chests as sobs started to rack his body.

A/N - I am sorry this took so long also it is 2am and I have a 9am lecture :)