Golden (Joshler)

27. Soft

He heard a car door slam. "I'm calling with some bad news." He coughed out.

Tyler's heart stopped in his chest. "What?" He breathed out, anxiety prickling under his skin. "Are you okay? Is mom okay?"

"We're both fine." His dad sighed over the line. "Your grandfather is in the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest, your mother and I are on our way there now." Tyler stopped breathing for a moment. The anxiety that had been building up in his chest now sinking low to his stomach.

He'd always been close to his grandfather despite him living in New Jersey. He would spend his summers there when he was little. Even now he'd call him occasionally just to talk to him, he was his biggest supportive. He supported him in every way and he had never pushed him into basketball, he'd just told him he would be proud of him no matter what and that's what really spoke to Tyler.

He closed his eyes and breathed out, letting himself sink into the couch.

"He's okay?" He asked, controlling his breathing to focus on something other than the fact that he was going to cry.

More noise came from over the phone. "Yeah, he should be fine but we're going down to stay with him for a little bit."

He couldn't even ask them to bring him with them because he had firstly lied about where he was and secondly he couldn't miss any school and he had no idea how long he'd be in New Jersey for.

"Okay." He pressed the palm of his hand over his eyes. "Keep me updated please."

His dad sighed. "We will. Bye."

As soon as Josh turned around the corner, food in hand, Tyler shut his eyes and buried his face in his hands. Damn it. He wasn't going to cry, now wasn't the time or place for tears. It was impossible for him to even move in the slightest though. His body trembled and the thought of losing anyone in his life was terrifying and the fact that it was happening right now was even more terrifying.

He just wanted to curl up and listen to music and zone out for the rest of the day whilst also wanting Josh to hold him and take care of him like he'd been doing all day. He sniffled into his hands, unable to keep his emotions from overwhelming him. He wasn't used to having these types of family problems, more times than not the only issues his family had were divorces, cheating and miscommunication.

"Ty?" He heard Josh say, questionnement in his tone. His voice came from across the room and Tyler listened as food steps approached and a plate was disposed on the coffee table. His heart warmed just a little bit, while also speeding up. God he liked him so much. It wasn't fair that a singular person could do this to him.

"Hm?" Tyler finally cracked his eyes open, letting his legs press further into chest. He felt so small but still, he let his eyes open so he could stare down at Josh.

Josh who was now crouched down in front of the couch, a hand on Tyler's ankle, a frown on his face. "Are you okay? What's going on?" He asked, sincerity on his face. 

He stared at him for a moment, debating wether or not to say anything. Ultimately he needed to get it off his chest, plus he wanted to be open and honest with Josh, If he wanted this to be a real relationship some day he would have to be comfortable with him. This was just one of those steps, it really didn't matter that they weren't even dating yet. They had a relationship and Tyler intended to build and build and build on it until it was strong. "Family stuff." Tyler sighed and pressed a hand to his cheek, closing his eyes. "My dad just called me. My grandpa is in the hospital." His lip quivered.

Josh froze for a second, letting his hand squeeze his ankle before leaning in just a little bit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." He hesitated. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe just not right now, he's safe."