Chapter 24 Say Cheese and Goodbye #2
The locker room is empty when I arrive, the rows of metal doors silent and still in the fluorescent light. I spin the combination on my lock, thinking about what to wear tonight. Nothing too fancy, but maybe that blue button-down Tyler once said brought out my eyes.
When I open the locker, an envelope falls out, landing at my feet. My name is written across the front in block letters. I frown, picking it up. It's unsealed, the flap simply tucked in.
When I pull out a stack of glossy photographs, it feels like my world comes to a standstill.
The first photo shows Tyler at what looks like a fraternity party, red cup in hand, smiling down at someone just out of frame. The second shows him with his arm around Cher, her body pressed intimately against his side. The third shows them talking, faces close together. The fourth...
My hands start shaking. The fourth shows them kissing. Tyler and Cher, wrapped up in what looks like a hot kiss, her hands in his hair, his arms around her waist.
As I flip through the remaining photos, each one a fresh knife to the chest: Tyler leading Cher upstairs, Tyler looking over his shoulder with a guilty expression, and Cher looking triumphantly at the camera.
The room spins around me, and I have to sit down on the bench before my legs give way. I recognize the setting immediately, it's the '90s throwback party the frat hosted a couple of weeks ago.
I'd gone with Tyler to my first frat party as his official boyfriend. I can see the decorations in the background, and I even spot myself in the blurry distance of one photo, talking to Gavin, utterly oblivious to what was happening across the room.
This doesn't make sense. We talked till dawn that night. He told me about his engineering dreams, and I confessed my irrational fear of automatic flush toilets. We spent an hour ranking breakfast cereals by how quickly they get soggy.
He showed me embarrassing photos from his high school emo phase, for god's sake. That's not something you share with someone you're planning to betray. But these photos…
My brain doesn't comprehend I'm crying until a tear splashes onto one of the photos, blurring Cher's smug smile.
I wipe my face roughly with my sleeve, feeling sick to my stomach.
Everything Cher said to me in that hallway, everything I feared about being Tyler's experiment, everything I had feared, was all true.
And the worst part? I'd just decided to trust him completely. To go all in.
My phone rings, startling me in the silent locker room. Sylas's name flashes on the screen. With a trembling hand, I answer.
"Hey, where are you?" he asks cheerfully. "I thought you were having dinner with Tyler tonight."
"Sylas." His name comes out choked, barely recognizable.
"What's wrong?" His tone shifts immediately to concern. "Ethan, what happened?"
"He—" I can't get the words out past the tightness in my throat. "Tyler and Cher—"
"What? Slow down, I can't understand you."
"Pictures," I manage. "Someone left pictures in my locker. Of Tyler and Cher. Kissing. At the 90's party."
"What? That can't be right," Sylas says firmly. "Where are you?"
"The locker room," My reply is mechanical.
"Stay there. I'm coming to get you."
Twenty minutes later, Sylas finds me sitting in the same position, staring at the photos spread out on the bench beside me. He looks at my face and sits down, picking up the stack of pictures.
"Holy shit," he mutters, flipping through them. "This doesn't make sense. This can't be real."
"It's real," my voice is dull. "Look at the decorations. It's from that night. That's the shirt I was wearing." I point to a blurry figure in the background. "That's me, talking to Gavin while Tyler was..." I can't finish the sentence.
Sylas examines the photos more carefully. "But you said that's the night you two stayed up till dawn. Why would he kiss her, then disappear with you for hours?"
"I don't know.” The sick feeling in my stomach is intensifying. "Maybe he was with both of us. Maybe it was all some kind of game."
"I can't believe it," Sylas says, shaking his head.
"I mean, I know I was skeptical at first, but Tyler seemed genuinely into you.
And after that call Thursday night..." He looks at the photos again, anger replacing his initial shock.
"Those lying bastards. Was this all some kind of prank?
Get the gay kid to fall for the straight frat boy, then laugh about it later? "
The thought is so painful, nausea rises in waves. "I don't know." The words barely make it past my lips.
"Come on," Sylas stands up and starts to gather the photos. "Let's get you home."
"No," As I stand up, a strange calm settles over me, the kind that comes after grief has burned through everything else. "I need to talk to Tyler."
"Are you sure that's a good idea right now?"
"No. But I need to hear him say it." taking the photos from Sylas's hand. "I need to see his face when he explains these."
Sylas studies me for a moment, then nods. "Okay. But I'm coming with you."
The walk to the fraternity house is a blur. I'm aware of Sylas beside me, occasionally shooting concerned glances my way, but I'm too focused on what I need to say to Tyler to respond. The photos are clutched in my hand, the edges digging into my palm.
As we approach the DPO house, several guys are lounging on the front porch. Tyler is among them, laughing at something Drew said, a beer in his hand. He looks happy and carefree, as if he hadn’t just blown up my world.
He spots me coming up the walkway, and his face lights up. "Ethan! You're early—" he breaks off, his smile faltering as he registers my expression. "What's wrong?"
Stopping at the bottom of the steps, I look up at him. The words I'd rehearsed in my head evaporate, leaving only raw, bleeding hurt.
"How could you?" My voice is quiet, yet it carries in the sudden stillness.
Tyler's brow furrows in confusion. "What? How could I what?"
"Was it funny for you?" My voice is getting louder now. "Was it a good laugh with your brothers, stringing along the naive gay kid?"
Drew stands up, looking between us. "Whoa, what's going on?"
"Stay out of this," The words come out sharp, eyes never leaving Tyler. "This is between me and your Vice President."
Tyler descends the steps, reaching for my arm. "Ethan, I have no idea what you're talking about. Whatever you think I did—"
Jerking away from his touch, I thrust the photos at his chest. "Don't — Don't touch me — Explain these."
He looks confused as he takes the stack, but his expression shifts to shock as he flips through them. "What the hell? This isn't — these aren't real."
"They look pretty real to me," bitterness drips off of every word. "You and Cher, '90s night. The same night, you supposedly realized you had feelings for me. Was it fun, juggling both of us?"
By now, a small crowd has gathered. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gavin and James emerge from the house, drawn by the commotion. And there, at the edge of the yard, stands Cher with a few of her sorority sisters, watching with undisguised interest.
"Ethan, these are fake," Tyler says desperately. "I never kissed Cher that night. I was with you almost the entire time, remember?"
"Except for the hour you disappeared to 'help Drew with something,'" I throw back. "I guess now I know what, or who, you were helping."
"No! That's not—" Tyler runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "I was helping Drew break up a fight in the backyard. Ask him!"
"Like I'd believe anything any of you say now," my laugh sounds harsh and broken. "God, I'm such an idiot. I actually convinced myself that you were different. That this was real."
"It is real," Tyler insists, taking a step toward me. "Ethan, please, you have to believe me. I never kissed Cher. I haven't touched her since we broke up months ago."
"Liar," I hiss, tears threatening to spill even as I clench my jaw, determined to keep it together.
"You were just experimenting, right? Testing the waters with a guy before going back to what you really want?
" I gesture toward Cher. "Well, congratulations.
Experiment concluded. You can go back to her now. "
Tyler looks devastated. "Ethan, please—"
"No. We're done." My voice breaks on the last word. "You were different, you made me believe you were different. Fuck you and fuck her. Go back to that hag that's been hanging off you the whole time."
Turning to leave, I'm unable to handle looking at his face any longer. As I do, I catch sight of Cher watching us, a small, satisfied smile playing at her lips. The realization hits me like a physical blow; she knew I'd be here tonight. She orchestrated this whole thing.
"Ethan, wait!" Tyler calls after me. "These photos are fake. I can prove it—"
"Save it," I cut him off, turning back one last time. "Lose my number, Tyler. Never contact me again."
As I walk away, I'm aware of the stunned silence behind me, the weight of dozens of eyes watching my retreat. Sylas appears beside me, slipping his arm through mine supportively.
"You okay?" he asks quietly.
Silence feels safer until we're a block away. Then the tears break free, coming in waves while sobs shake through my entire body.
"I loved him," the words feel like they are tearing from somewhere deep inside me. "I was going to tell him tonight."
Sylas pulls me into a fierce hug, right there on the sidewalk. "I know," he says softly. "I know."