Breaking The Bad Boy (Completed)

Chapter 5: Wrong About Him All Along

"You got paired with who?"

"Tyler Miller," I huffed with annoyance, giving her a prompt before my mother's fork slipped through her fingers and clattered onto her plate.

"Tyler Miller? As in Taylor's brother?" She gasped and her blue eyes flashed with incredulity.

Dumbfounded, I just stared at her, wondering how she could forget Taylor's brother when they used play at my house when we were kids.

"No, I got paired with her dad," I rolled my eyes when her mouth hung open, wide enough to catch a dozen flies. "Of course he's a brother, how could you forget about her twin?"

After my father died, I stopped asking the twins to come over and Taylor never asked so I guess that my mom couldn't really be expected to remember someone who hadn't set foot in our house for over eight years. Eventually Taylor started staying at my house but I never bothered to invite her brother. I didn't want anybody to find out about my family's life.

Mom pushed away her glass of juice, leaning forward as she propped her head onto her interlinked fingers. She weaved her fingers to form a bridge that could support the weight of her head as her eyes darted around the room, recalling the last time she had seen Tyler.

"How is he holding up? Poor boy, he must terribly mis-"

"Mom! You're forgetting the issue here!" I cut her off as her eyes glazed over at the memory of the blond haired boy that used to chase Taylor and I around the house.

"Oh yes! Sorry dear, you were talking about a project, right? I don't see the problem with Tyler being your partner," Mom sat up straight. "I thought you had a crush on him for years anyway. And from what I remember, the young boy has grown up to be quite the looker."

She twirled her fork onto her plate, dragging the spaghetti from it's tangled mess before popping it into her mouth.

"You haven't seen him since the funeral Mom," I frowned, ignoring her latter comment and squirming beneath her intense gaze. "You do remember him at the funeral, right?"

Her eyes flashed with horror, adopting a dazed look as she reminisced over the funeral. I had to admit, Tyler was pretty horrendous to watch. Even thinking about it was unbearable.

"Of course I remember. He couldn't even complete his speech. The poor boy was just howling into the microphone while everybody looked away in shame. I can't even bear to imagine how bad it must feel to lose a twin. Taylor was his other half...Maybe it was more painful for him than it was for us to lose your father. I'm not surprised he ran off the stage, dashing past everybody incredibly quickly with those long legs of his, nowhere to be seen after."

Biting my lip, the image of Tyler's swollen lips and bloodshot eyes flitted behind my lids. Even though his suit looked like a million bucks, the guy himself looked as if he hadn't slept for a year. Blinking rapidly, I shoved more spaghetti into my mouth, forcing it past the boulder lodged in my throat.

"Yes, that's the same Tyler I've been paired with. He's exactly the same-" I croaked, only to be cut off by Mom's horrified expression.

"He still cries? Oh god! Ashley you have to do something! Maybe you could invite him over for dinner sometime? Taylor loved my casserole and since they're twins he'll definit-"

I gawked at her, wondering how she managed to think of such a ridiculous suggestion.

"Of course he doesn't cry! It's more like the opposite and Mom there's no way in hell that he's ever coming to this house! No way! Nope! I am never ever going to invite him for dinner! I mean, come on, let's be realistic here. Tyler hates me even more than ever before!"