Chapter 35 Tyler
We’ve been stuck in this classroom for what seems like an entire night.
We are ghosts in an old house. Here, the past is haunting us ruthlessly. Not just the man with the rifle whom we hardly know, but our own mistakes too.
Next to me, Naomi’s tense and silent.
I want to explain myself, to explain why I’ve kept that dumb kiss with Adri a secret, but her rigid posture says it all: she doesn’t trust me or her brother. Not after what we did to her.
"The truth. All of it. Right now," she finally whispers with determination. Her eyes burn through me, daring me. "Or I swear I'll never speak to either of you again." She shifts her gaze to Adri for a second, then back to me.
I don't know what to say. I don't know where to start. The silence is thick. I feel it crawling up my skin. My voice is a stranger when it finally comes. "Nomes—"
"Tell me," she demands. "Did you actually like my brother?" Her words are sharp, a slap, a reminder that I'm one step from losing everything again. Her eyes are a warning, and I realize I can't keep quiet. Not this time.
I swallow. "I didn't," I say in a rush. "I never felt that way about him." My eyes find Adri’s, as if I’m apologizing for not liking him back then, for not reciprocating his teenage crush, as if it’s my fault.
"I had no idea, Nomes," I continue. "I was blindsided when he kissed me. I thought he just liked me as a friend. I didn’t know he was into guys. "
"I didn’t know I was into guys either, asshole," Adri grumbles. "Until your ass showed up."
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she turns to her brother. "You." She points a finger at him. "Did you do it because you liked Ty or because Ty liked me?"
Adri flinches. It’s hardly noticeable, but it’s there. Then he nods, barely. "I was jealous, okay? I met him first. I thought I had dibs."
She looks at him in disbelief.
Adri's shoulders slump, his usual arrogance gone. "You happy now, Shrimp? I hated that he liked you and didn’t like me. I hated that you were going to give up everything for him. I didn’t want you to regret anything. It was my way of protecting you."
It's the smallest I've ever seen him. He was always larger than life, filling the room with his anger and stubbornness, but now he's just a man who coveted something he couldn't have.
I want to yell, to punch, to run, to make him understand that everything was wrong.
Everything was a lie. My life, my dreams, my future—all of it.
All of it twisted and torn and gone because he was a selfish bastard who thought he owned us.
"Seventeen years, Adri. You couldn't just let us be happy? "
Naomi watches us, her face unreadable, a tight, trembling line between anger and tears. "So that's it," she says. "That's what I've been to you both? A stupid, pathetic pawn in your sick little game?"
"Never," I say, the word breaking through before I can stop it. "Never that, Nomes."
She shakes her head, her mouth a thin, furious line. "You left," she tells me. "And you," she snaps at Adri. "You just couldn't handle that someone might want me instead of you."
His eyes meet hers, defiant and fragile all at once. "I'm sorry. Okay?"
"I never meant to hurt you, Nomes," I whisper, grabbing her hand. This time, she lets me hold it.
She looks at me, then back at him. "You're both sorry?" she asks. "And that makes it okay? Seventeen years, Adri. Do you even know how to apologize properly, or do you have to make Ty do it for you too?"
He's silent for a long moment. "I'm sorry," he says again, and this time, his voice cracks like a boy's. "I thought— I'm sorry, Naomi. I thought I was doing the right thing."
His eyes are the darkest I've ever seen them.
"Is that supposed to make it better?" she whispers.
"I messed it all up," he admits. He stares at the wall, at the floor, anywhere but at me. "I can't make it right. I want to, but I don’t know how. It’s too late anyway."
I’m angry at him. I’m not sure why all those years ago he thought I was into him. And I don’t understand why he’s still holding that grudge when I’m ready to leave it behind, leave it in the past so I can move on. With the woman I love.
I glance at Naomi, my breath tight and uneven. She's the only thing that's real. The only thing that matters in this madness.
"This isn't just me," she says. Her eyes are softer now, the fire turning to something else. "You two need to make up. Life's too short for this crap." Pause. "Can’t you see where we are?” She motions at the dark classroom around us.
Adri stares at her, his mouth opening and closing around words that don't come.
"Did you mean it?" she asks him, her voice quieter. "What you said about doing the right thing?"
He tips his chin.
"Then fix it," she tells him. "I want my brother back."
She looks at me, her gaze steady. "I want you both back."
Adri meets my eyes too, his own unsure. He's never let me see him so fragile. I don't know if I can trust it. I don't know if I can trust him.
Bam!
Gunshots. Right down the hallway.
Instinct takes over and I drape myself over Naomi, pressing her to the floor. Adri’s radio crackles softly beside us, like a pesky fly buzzing in the silence.
"Shit." He scrambles to turn off the volume completely before fumbling with his cell phone. He types something furiously while lying on his stomach.
Beneath me, Naomi is shivering. Her fingers are coiled into fists, and I wish I could take the fear away from her, but I’m scared myself, scared for our lives.
Adri taps my shoulder and lets me see the incoming text on his phone.
Shooter back on second floor. We have no visual. He shot at Ramos.
My gaze settles on Adri's face. Beads of sweat cling persistently onto skin that's marked by deep exhaustion.
He blows out a breath, and with a shaky grin, he mutters, "Looks like we're in desperate need of some divine intervention tonight."
I see him checking his weapon on his hip. Naomi catches on. She grabs his arm, whispering, "Are you crazy? You’re not thinking of going out there, are you?"
"It’s my job, Shrimp," he whispers back. "And I’m good at it, all right?"
"No."
"Don’t do this, man," I add.
"We’re sitting ducks here. He knows who I am. It’ll be best if he’s approached by someone familiar rather than a bunch of strangers. I might be able to talk him down. Besides, my ass hurts from sitting on the floor."
He gets into a crouch and pulls his sister into a brief, tight hug. His gaze bounces between us, serious and determined. "Stay here and don’t make a sound. No matter what you hear."
Naomi nods.
"And you?" He gives me one of those deadly stares. "Your job is to protect my sister. I will cut your balls off if you let even a single hair on her head be harmed. You understand, Brady?"
"Loud and clear."
"Good."
He moves, silent and quick, then gestures for me to help him with the desk barricade. We do it carefully, trying not to make any noise. When there’s enough room for him to squeeze through the door, he says, "When I’m out, put it back. At least the best you can to slow him down."
"Okay," I whisper.
He doesn't look back. Not at her, not at me.
Then he's gone, the door closing shut, and it's like I've lost him all over again.
Naomi is beside me in an instant. We push the desks back in place just like Adri instructed and return to our hiding spot.
I wait for the crack of gunfire, doubting myself, doubting my abilities. I don't know if I can keep Naomi safe. I don't know if I can keep us safe. The seconds tick by, the silence becoming too thick to breathe.
She doesn't say anything, doesn't look at me.
I feel the distance between us grow, the soft echo of Adri's footsteps getting further, softer, until it's gone.
Until all that's left is this new void, sharp and tight, an awful, familiar thing.
It reminds me of the void I had in my heart all these years, the void where Naomi should have been, where my songs should have been.
Instead, I exchanged it all for a spot on stage with The Deviant.
"Nomes," I start, my voice as uncertain as I feel.
She doesn't respond, and I don't know how to fix this.
Then comes another gunshot. My pulse spikes at her sudden gasp.
The next thing I know, the hallway is filled with noise, dozens of footsteps, voices.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Sheriff, can you hear me?"
It sounds like it’s over. It sounds like the end.
"Adri!" She’s on her feet, running to the door. "Ty, help me," she rattles off, and we're moving, frantic and fast, adrenaline kicking in as we shove the desks away to get out of this classroom.