Heart Waves (28 page)

Nail in the coffin hammered.

Brandon’s shocked face told me I could easily escape his loosening grip on my arm. I snatched my arm away from him and got out of there as quickly as I could. I ran down the steps and out the front door into the night air.

Hugging my arms around myself, I walked around to the back of the building and found a thicket of trees fifty feet away. I ran over and sank down to the ground just past the first trees. I pulled my knees into my chest and succumbed to the tears and pain crumpling the already broken pieces of my heart.

There were no lights to illuminate the back of the building; that’s what drew me there. If I’d been in my right frame of mind, I’d never have ventured to an area so dark and isolated.  At the moment it seemed the perfect place to hide. I wanted to be alone. The last thing on my mind was personal safety.

Not more than two minutes could have passed when I heard twigs snapping and someone rustling through the grass in my direction. I regretted settling for this spot. I should have
ran
further. I figured someone from the party followed me out. A do-gooder, or worse, Reece, feeling obligated to make sure I was okay.

Newsflash, I wasn’t.

“Hey,” a male voice called from above me, “You alright?”

I sniffled a bit, trying to find my voice. “I’m fine,” I croaked, keeping myself curled up as tightly as I could, not looking up from my cocoon.

He settled himself down in the grass next to me. I shifted my body slightly away from him. I hoped he’d get the hint and leave me alone. Instead he moved closer. Close enough for me to feel him next to me, not so close that we were touching.

“Is there someone I could get?”

I picked my head up to look at him and tell him exactly where he could go. As soon as my eyes met his, my hands began to tremble. My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

“Jenna? What happened?” Tyler asked
,
his voice swathed with kindness.

I couldn’t speak.

“Wait here. I’ll go get Reece,” he said, scrambling to his feet. Much more concerned and accommodating than I would have thought.

The mention of Reece’s name brought forth a new wave of sobs. I shook my head and Tyler sat back down, knees close to his chest, arms wrapped around his shins. Just his presence unnerved me. I wished I could dissolve into the ground as he sat there, staring at me in silence.

After a few minutes I returned to a guise of calm I didn’t truly feel. “You don’t have to stay, I’m fine,” I wiped at my eyes with my fingertips.

“Like hell you are,” Tyler smirked. “No worries. I’ve nothing better to do. It’s not like I was invited to the party.
Or like I’d go even if I was.”

If he wasn’t at the party how did he find me? “I don’t want to talk.”

“Then don’t. I’ll just wait with you until Prince Charming, comes to save the day, or you decide to go back in there.” He motioned with his head toward the building. Tyler
brought a green plastic bottle up to his mouth and offered it to me just before placing his lips on it.

I shook my head. “No thank you.” I said, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Oh come on.” I could hear frustration ring out in his words, his eyes looked stormy. “Like I knew you’d be here.”

I didn’t answer.

“Don’t know why I bother,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. He lifted it to his mouth again and took a long swig.

“What is it?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

Tyler sniggered, “
Goldshlager
.” He tipped the bottle in my direction.

I never heard of
Goldshlager
. It sounded strong. I wanted something to numb me. Seeing Tyler drink it made me less jittery about trying it myself. I reached for the almost full bottle tentatively. I took it from him and brought it up to my mouth. I tilted it so the contents would pour down. It was strong, but the heavy cinnamon flavor made it easier to swallow than vodka or beer.

I guzzled down what I could before handing it back. “Thanks.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Feel any better?”

I shook my head. “It’s over.” I croaked. “They’re back together.”

“Who?”
Tyler asked with interest.

“Reece and Rebecca.”
I reached for the bottle again and took another long swig.

“That’s why you’re upset?” Tyler asked looking mildly amused.

I nodded, grasping the bottle with both hands, holding it tight, as if I could find comfort in it.

Tyler smiled at me, as if he
were
in on some inside joke and I wasn’t. He shook his head, “There is no way in hell Reece would get back with her.”

“I saw them at the party.” I insisted. “I watched her gawk at him from the minute I got there. He walked away from me for a minute. One minute. And the next thing I knew, they went into his bedroom.” I closed my eyes, wishing I could erase the memory.
“And locked the door.”
 

“And this is what has you so upset?” he asked, as if he never heard anything more bizarre.

I nodded.

Tyler reached for the bottle. I passed it back to him.

“You’re wrong,” he stated with so much confidence, I hoped he could convince me. “First of all, Reece has too big an ego, too much pride, to ever get back with her.” He brought the bottle to his full pouty lips and drank. “She made him look pretty bad.” I noticed a mocking smile cross his lips.

I didn’t want to get into all of the facts backing me, like how hung up on her Reece was the night we met, or my dire predictions. If Reece didn’t buy it, something told me
there was no shot Tyler would. Besides, I knew what Tyler lost. My losing Reece wouldn’t even register on his scale.

Tyler passed the bottle back to me. I accepted it and drank some more, aware of how easy it went down now. “Second of all, I never saw Reece act territorial and possessive the way he did with you.”

“You noticed?”

“I hate to see what he would’ve done if I tried to shake your hand,” Tyler joked. “He’s not going to just give you up.”

“You’re just saying that.” I dismissed his case.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What do I get for telling you what you want to hear? If I’m right, you two
make up
, which leaves you right back in his arms and in his
bed.
” I looked down, embarrassed he automatically assumed we were that intimate. “If I’m wrong, you hate him, but you hate me even more for giving you false hope. Either way I lose.”

I swallowed hard, looking at him, really taking Tyler in. I detected no sign of that dark, dangerous energy filling Reece’s bedroom when we met. I even felt something healing radiating from Tyler to me. Lord knows, his heartache was so much worse than mine.

It felt like the Earth shifted under my feet with that heady sense of comprehension. Tyler wanted to comfort me, in spite of my relationship with Reece, whom he desired to hurt very much. Although alone in a dark isolated place, with someone who terrified me the first time we met, I felt safe, reassured. I swallowed hard, suddenly incredibly aware of him.

His eyes were unrelenting, like they were examining me, unwilling to give me an ounce of privacy. I couldn’t help but notice how they lingered below the neck line from time to time, making me a little self-conscious. I felt each beat of my heart. Not an adrenaline pumping heartbeat like I had around Reece, this was slow and steady.
A strong life force.
  

“You are not at all what I expected.” I said, hoping to match his kindness.

His eyes were downcast, as if embarrassed by my comment. “I’m sure Reece told you I don’t have any redeeming qualities at all.”  The left corner of his mouth curled up. I couldn’t help but notice how alluring he looked. “That I’m actually the devil in the flesh.”

I shook my head, “No. He doesn’t talk about you much.” It was my turn to avoid his scrutiny. I wondered why I suddenly felt like I’d betrayed Reece by giving Tyler any information. Or why I cared. “I just know he doesn’t want me around you.”

He chuckled. “Then do yourself a favor. When you go back inside,” Tyler said getting to his feet, “don’t tell him you were with me.”

“I won’t cause any problems for you,” I said standing and almost falling back down, before Tyler’s strong arms steadied me. Unlike Reece, he wasted no time releasing his hold on me once certain I could stand on my own.

A strange image passed through my mind, and I wished Tyler didn’t let me go so abruptly. I yearned for understanding. I saw myself in his arms, finding solace in his embrace. It wasn’t an image of what was happening currently. It was something that hadn’t yet passed. How? Why would I turn to Tyler?

It wasn’t romantic. It couldn’t be. I couldn’t help but wonder if I would get the same dizzying sensation from Tyler, as I felt when Reece was near.

But why?

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Tyler said somewhat smugly. “I can handle Reece’s self-righteous bull. I don’t think you can.”               

I didn’t protest. I didn’t feel too good. The ground felt wobbly beneath my feet. I turned from Tyler resigned to going back inside and facing Reece.

“And Jenna,” Tyler drew my attention again with his kind and sympathetic tone. I couldn’t imagine this was the very same person I warned Reece to avoid. The very same person Reece made me promise to keep my distance from. “Hear him out, okay? Give him a chance to explain before you do anything you might regret. Think of how he would feel if he knew you were out here with me. He might not believe we just talked.”

“You do care about him don’t you?”

I watched Tyler suck in his breath, as a flash of something dark, crossed over his face. I didn’t understand his strange reaction, but before I could read it with any certainty the look passed. It disappeared and was replaced with a grin. “I think he needs someone in his corner.”

I let it go, convinced I’d been wrong when I judged Tyler so harshly. Regardless, it didn’t matter. I’d most likely never see him again. I wasn’t certain I’d ever see Reece again. But, if by some miracle he could convince me to trust him, I would bring them back together. I could help them see why they couldn’t just throw twelve years of friendship and loyalty from the top of a cliff.
If I decided to trust Reece, to give him another chance.

As to what I would say when I saw him, or what I’d do, I had no idea. I knew I’d have to take it as it comes. First, I had to make it back, without help from Tyler.

Tyler.

Funny, he didn’t think I could handle Reece. I didn’t think I could handle walking.   

“Too late,” Tyler crowed. “Here comes Prince Charming.”

I spun around in time to see a mask of hate covering Reece’s face. I gasped in shock, frightened. I didn’t know if I should be afraid for Tyler, me, or both of us.

“I got this,” Tyler whispered.

I didn’t protest, I couldn’t answer. I stood paralyzed by the look on Reece’s face. I swallowed hard watching him jog towards us. I didn’t know how long I’d been outside with Tyler, or when Reece noticed I was gone. In the end none of that would matter. A minute with Tyler would be a minute too long.

As guilt seeped from my head to my eyes, I reminded myself I had no reason to feel guilty. He was the one locked in his bedroom with his ex-girlfriend. The guilt faded; anger replaced it.  

“Jenna,” he looked from Tyler to me and back. “What the hell is going on?” Reece asked once he closed the distance between us.

I wanted to answer, but words didn’t rush to the foreground of my mind. A result of the drink I shared with
Tyler,
combined with the stress of what I’d witnessed at the party.

“Hey lover boy, you might want to keep better tabs on your girl.”

“Shut up!” Reece glared at Tyler, his body stiff, muscles taut.

“Good thing I was out here.” Tyler’s eyes were mocking as he goaded Reece. “I found Jenna crying her eyes out, oblivious to the fact she was alone in a secluded area. After all, you never know what
kind of creeps are
lurking in the shadows. I’m just saying.”

Still unable to find the sound of my voice, I hugged my arms around myself, trying to suppress the chill Tyler’s words sent through me. I glanced over at Reece. Veins were popping out of his neck, and his body trembled. I thought he would lunge at Tyler.