Lost In You

N I N E

WARNING: This chapter contains mention of bulimia, you know the drill. Please don't read it if you feel that it will trigger you. TAKE CARE! X

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"Staring at it isn't going to make solve itself," Tyler laughed from the doorway. My heart jumped and my hand flew to my chest.

"Don't do that," I muttered, but didn't turn around to face him, instead, I just stared at the paper in front of me harder.

I hated trigonometry.

His low laugh echoed through the room, followed by his footsteps.

"You use Sin," He said matter-of-factly before throwing himself on my bed.

"How do you know that?" I retorted, analysing the question.

"Because they've given you the opposite and the hypotenuse," He said, now flicking through my stack of CD's.

I groaned and buried my head in my hands.

"I'm going to fail my exams," I moaned.

"Don't be ridiculous, should we listen to The Kooks, Ed Sheeran or the 1975?" He mused, still flicking through my massive collection of CD's. My CD collection started with Hannah Montana when I was 7, and ever since then I've made up a collection that takes up about 12 disk binders.

Mum hates it, but I don't care.

"Ed Sheeran, but put his Plus album on, I haven't heard it in a while," I answered before turning back to the question in front of me.

It still didn't make sense.

"Just leave it, you'll be alright," Tyler said cheerfully from his position on my bed.

"Do you want to go and get some dinner?" He asked, standing in front of my photo wall now.

I glanced up at him, but he had his back to me. The corners of my lips tugged upwards when I saw the way his head was tilted to the side while he studied my wall.

I couldn't picture Tyler doing anything bad enough to be sent away.

"Not really," I said, the thought of food making my stomach roll, but my stomach thought otherwise. A low grumble filled the room.

"I think your stomach thinks otherwise," He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, making me laugh despite the pounding headache I had.

"I need to study," I argued, but he had a sparkle in his eyes that told me he wasn't giving up.

"I'll tutor you in maths, for free," He offered.

"You should do it for free anyway," I grinned and got up, rummaging through my wardrobe for a hoodie and some thicker socks.

"It's not even cold," Tyler whined, acting like an impatient child.

"I'll meet you downstairs. You're driving," I said, shooing him out of the room while I got changed.

Tyler was already waiting in my car when I locked the front door, and as soon as my seatbelt was gone, he pulled away from the curb. He'd put Daughtry on in the car and I lost myself in Wild Heart, letting the music fill my mind to try and distract me from the idea of food.

"Where's Mum and Gabby?" I asked, only just realising how quiet the house was.

"Liz had an appointment, and Gabby went to a friend's house for the night," He said, never taking his eyes off of the road.

"Oh, okay," I murmured, hurt sinking into my bones.

Mum hadn't even bothered to tell me.

Tyler's hand was warm when he placed it on my knee, sending shivers up my spine.

"You were with Kara," He said softly, sensing the change in mood.

I nodded.

"Okay."

❦

"You would get on so well with my Mum," Tyler laughed and shoved another forkful of steak in his mouth.

"Do you talk to her much?" I asked, taking a small bite of my salad. The restaurant was crowded, but it wasn't uncomfortable. We were seated in a booth in the back corner, right next to the air conditioning, which was a relief because it was getting hot in here. Tyler nodded and swallowed before speaking.

"Yeah, we call every couple of nights, she's doing well. Her work takes her all over America, so she's always travelling, which makes it hard for her to talk sometimes, but we make it work," He explained, his voice going flat.

"What about your Dad?" He asked to fill the silence that had followed. I shook my head bitterly.

"He's an asshole," I muttered and speared a piece of cucumber.

"How?"

I took a deep breath.

"Four years ago, when I was 13 and Gabby was 2, Dad packed his bags and left. He moved in with his girlfriend of two years, Skanky Susie, and her daughter, Kelsey. They got married when I was 16, and I haven't seen or spoken to him since the wedding." I stated, ignoring the stab of pain when I thought about that horrible wedding.

Susie had bought me a dress that was two sizes too small, and made me drop down two dress sizes in less than a month in order to fit it. They hired me a personal trainer and monitored what I ate so that I didn't "get any fatter than I already was". Mum didn't even notice that it was happening, and I had never bothered to tell her. The night of the wedding, Kelsey took me to the bathroom and showed me how she stayed so thin.

I spent all night in that bathroom, and after the wedding, I decided I didn't want anything to do with Dad's new family, or him.

"I'm so sorry..." Tyler started, but I cut him off.

"Don't. You can't change it, and I don't need your pity. Are we ready to go?" I asked abruptly, feeling sick to my stomach about dinner. He nodded.

"Ready when you are."

"I just need to shoot to the bathroom, I'll meet you out front?" I asked, shoving £15 into his palm and rushing towards the bathroom.

After checking that it was empty, I locked the door behind me and knelt in front of the toilet, emptying my stomach of everything I had eaten that day.

I popped a mint in my mouth and splashed some water on my face before slipping back into the restaurant and going to meet Tyler in the car.

"You alright?" He asked before starting the car and pulling away.

"I'm great," I grinned and ignored the burn in my throat.

Kelsey had been good for one thing, at least.

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Her Dad is such an asshole, you'll see more of him later on though. What do you think of the story about Kelsey and Susie? 

I'm kind of running out of things to write down here but thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far, and don't forget to comment/vote if you like it! 

- K