It’s as I’m turning the corner onto the fourth flight of stairs that he shoves his body in front of mine, grabbing my shoulders and stopping me from going any further. “Why?” he asks, voice still cracked, still raspy, still pained. “I thought everything was fine between us. What’s happened? Did I do something wrong? Tell me!”
I can’t even begin to muster up a reply. The truth is, everything was fine. Everything was fine until Tiffani arrived. Tyler hasn’t done anything wrong, and there’s no way I can lie and tell him that he has, so I slam my shoulder against his chest and barge him out of the way. I break into an even faster jog this time, my Chucks pounding against the stairs as I try to tune out the sound of Tyler’s voice as he relentlessly yells my name. His voice isn’t coarse, though, nor is it firm and deep. It’s because he’s not angry. He’s not furious. He’s just . . . hurt. That’s all he is. Completely and entirely hurt.
By the time I reach the twelfth floor, I really am crying. The tears are flowing down my cheeks and I don’t even have the energy to wipe them away. My throat has tightened so much that it feels like I’m struggling to breathe. Tyler’s breathing heavily and rapidly behind me, and as I reach the apartment door I pray that it’s still unlocked. I throw it open and it completely startles Emily on the couch, because she jumps and spins her head around to stare at us in shock, her eyes wide and her lips parted.
However, neither Tyler nor I pay her any attention, because I head straight into his room. I keep my face down in an attempt to hide the fact that I’m crying, but I think Emily notices anyway. I even try to slam Tyler’s door behind me, but he presses his hands against it just in time, pushing it back open.
“Eden,” he whispers as he follows me into the room. He clicks the door shut behind him, keeping his voice low. When I glance at him through my blurred vision, I notice the corners of his eyes are slightly swollen. “What made you change your mind? Why Dean? Why not me? Just answer me that. Please.”
“Because Dean isn’t my stepbrother.” I’ve stopped looking at him now. My heart is racing instead, my chest constricting as I move around the room, sliding open the closet doors and reaching up to grab my backpack from the top shelf. I start rummaging around inside the closest, yanking a few of my clothes off hangers and stuffing them inside the bag before moving past Tyler to the chest of drawers.
“What are you doing?” Tyler whispers, his shoulders dropping as he stares at me, his forehead creasing. For the first time in years, his eyes appear almost lifeless again, just like the way they always used to be.
“I’m going to stay at Dean’s hotel.” My voice sounds so pathetic. My words are more like a sob and I’m not entirely sure if they’re even intelligible. Either way, I continue to grab some more of my things, fumbling around by the wall socket as I fetch my phone charger. I pile everything into my backpack and zip it shut, swinging it over one shoulder. I straighten up.
“What can I do to stop you from doing this?” Tyler asks, but it sounds like begging more than anything else. He steps toward me again, one hand cupping my jaw and the other grabbing my hand. He squeezes his fingers around mine so tightly that it momentarily hurts, and the heat from his skin is burning hot against my jaw. “Is there anything I can do that’ll change your fucking mind?”
With all my might, I pull my hand free from his. “No.”
That’s when I leave. I grip the strap of my backpack as I run my opposite hand through my hair, wondering if there could have been a way to get around Tiffani. She was right—I could have told Dean the truth before she did, and that way she wouldn’t have had anything to threaten me with. I was planning on telling Dean anyway, just not this soon. That would have been the only way to completely avoid doing what I’ve just done, but Tiffani already thought that through, and if I’d told Dean, she’d have moved on to our parents. I’m not ready for that.
Tyler doesn’t try to follow me as I make my way out of his room and across the apartment. Even Emily doesn’t question me as I pull open the door, stepping out into the lobby. I don’t even care now that she can see me crying. She looks worried, and all I can do is offer her a sad smile as I close the door behind me. I don’t know what Tyler will tell her, but I do know that right now, I honestly couldn’t care less if he told her the truth about what’s happened, the truth about us. I just want to get away.