Falling Too (Tyler Joseph)

Chapter 20

I've always been used to Josh's first reaction to seeing me at his job was to hug me, but I noticed that this one lasted longer than usual.

"I'm guessing you know what happened." I murmured as I returned the embrace.

He nodded against my shoulder and then let me go asking, "How are you doing?"

I gave him the best smile I could muster and said, "I'm fine."

"You're lying." He instantly argues.

"Believe me, I'm fine." I insist.

Josh shook his head, "I know you better than that. Please just tell me what happened, because Tyler is too vague about it."

"There's nothing to explain. Jamie lied to Tyler about me and he believed her. I've just decided to stay out of it."

"Since when have you ever done something like that? That's how you met Tyler in the first place."

I shrugged, "I guess I'm starting now. They all seem so convinced that I'm bad for him and I think they might have a point. You should have seen him, Josh, he was so torn up and it was all my fault."

"Ash, are you hearing yourself correctly? The only person that truly wants you away from him is Jamie and you're letting her win!" Josh cried out, shaking my shoulders.

I sent him a pleading look confessing, "But I don't know what to do to fix it."

"Don't worry, I'll help you. I'll try to talk some sense into him and you two will go back to being my favorite couple."

My eyes widened at that and I shoved Josh slightly exclaiming, "We were never together!"

He chuckled, "But you almost were. Don't think Tyler doesn't tell me what goes on between you two. Not to mention the stuff he doesn't tell you..."

"What stuff?"

Josh wiggled his eyebrows teasing, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

I rolled my eyes, sarcastically mumbling, "Well aren't you helpful."

Josh smiled at me before it quickly changed to a look of realization. "You haven't heard Tyler's new song, have you?"

"I've actually only heard one song; it was called Falling Too."

"You might want to listen to this then." He tells me, handing me his phone as he rushed off to tend to someone waiting at the register.

I gazed down at the screen reading the title 'Time to Say Goodbye' as it drifted along. I pressed play and held the cellphone up to my ear.

"It's time to say goodbye to the earth and now my worthless life. Cause everything I've ever made is dead now. Inside the grave." His voice spoke over the music and I was doing my best to fight back tears.

He was clearly so much worse than I had ever thought.

Josh slowly approached me murmuring, "I'm worried too."

"Josh, you would know better than I do. How has he been acting?"

I could see the worry deep in Josh's eyes as he tells me, "He tries to make it seem like he's okay, but it's becoming clear that it's not the case."

A tear slid down my cheek as I considered what that could mean. Josh pulled me into another hug as I softly asked, "What do we do?"

"I wish I knew Ash."

***

I decided it was a better idea to just skip out on going to the chapel today. I don't think I'll be able to keep my cool around Tyler after what Josh had let me hear a few days ago. I remained in the Sunday school room, making sure that it was pretty much spotless. I continued to sweep the floor as I listened to the people leave, planning to slip out after everyone else was gone.

A female voice startled me from behind the door for how close the person clearly was. I heard them say, "Yeah, I'll catch up with you all later."

When it was quiet again I went back to tidying up with my back to the door.

The door then creaked open and I heard the same female voice speak, "Ashley, do you have a minute?"

I whipped around to see Madison standing in the doorway and I had to admit that I was a little shocked that she was speaking to me. None the less I tell her, "Yeah, I'm finishing up with this."

She nodded and shut the door behind her and took a seat in one of the small chairs at the table closest to me. She took a deep breath before beginning to talk, "I'm not really sure what happened between you and my brother, but whatever it was I want to help you both fix it. All I'm certain of is it has something to do with Jamie, doesn't it?"

I nodded and quickly finished sweeping up the dust and got everything in order. I sat down across from her and only said, "It does."

She nodded thoughtfully, "I figured that much, and after hearing what she said to you last Sunday I knew there was something screwy going on with her. Then that's when I remembered that on Tyler's birthday she kept telling him things that I didn't hear that well, something about him being used. She said that he was being lied to. Now it all makes sense."

"I would never..."

"Lie to my brother? I wanted to make sure that was true, so I talked to Marceline about you leaving. She told me that you had decided to stay because of Tyler and then I talked to Carly about you using him and she was so adamant that you weren't, that you truly liked him..."

"So what's your point?"

"I decided that I believe you because I know what kind of person Jamie is and what she would do to get what she wants." She explains and then tilts her head from side to side murmuring, "Also when you came into Tyler's life he became happier than I had seen him in such a long time. I would like for him to have that back."

I rose an eyebrow at that and in a voice that was nearly a whisper I asked, "I made him happy?"

She smiled slightly, "That's one of the things you did for him."