American Sweethearts

53

"Yeah, but-"

"So, you have to go to court, and what happens if you're convicted?"

"I go to prison."

I jump up, taking some hasty steps away from him. He stands up too, but he's nowhere near as worried as I am.

"Doesn't that scare you?" I ask.

"I told you," he says. "I'm not scared of anything."

"That's bullshit! No one wants to go to prison!"

"Well I won't have a fucking choice, will I?"

"Yes, you do! You could stop breaking the law!"

"And then what? I can get a fucking white picket fence and some kids? I don't fucking want that shit!"

"Then what do you want?! What are you trying to achieve with all of this?!"

"I'm trying to get the fuck out of my head!" he yells. "Jesus fucking christ! Don't you understand?!"

I clamp my mouth shut. His fury hangs in the room, filling up my lungs with horrid tension. I take a deep breath, making sure my voice is a lot softer when I speak my next words.

"No," I shake my head. "I don't understand."

His eyes flicker between mine. Through his furrowed brows, I can see him analysing me. I extend my arm to his, taking his hand. I take a step towards him, giving him a reassuring smile. I sit down on the couch, and he follows. He collapses down beside me, letting out a sigh in the process.

Instead of me leaning against him, I pull him towards me. He's too tall to rest on my shoulder, but he throws his hand over my legs, and lazily relaxes over me.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" I ask. "Whatever goes on in your head."

He doesn't respond, but he doesn't have to.

"I don't know what happened to you, but whatever it is, it's not going to make me like you any less," I tell him. "Even your job. I don't like watching you getting hurt, or hurting someone else, but I mean... on the other hand, it's kind of hot."

I say it as a joke, but there is some truth to it. Who doesn't like powerful men?

Tyler lets out a deep chuckle, causing his chest to rumble. I smile, knowing we've made progress. This is good. He's opening up to me, even if we had to argue to get there.

"The pay is great," he jokes.

"I'd hope so," I laugh. "You don't want to get beat up for nothing."

He scoffs. "It's not like I fucking lose."

"You don't?"

"I haven't all year."

"Wow. That's impressive."

"I go pro next year."

"Really? You're so young."

"Not really, I'm 22."

"That's young."

"I should've gone pro last year."

"Why didn't you?"

"I was waiting to finish college."

"You want to graduate first?"

"Yeah," he nods. "It's important to my mum."

A wave of nausea washes over me. My body begins to heat up. I pull my hands free from Tyler's, feeling their clamminess increasing. He sits up straight and looks at me.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's okay," I swallow.

"It's not. I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine. I just...."

"We'll change the topic."

I seize the moment. There's been something bugging me for weeks now, and I need to ask it.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Of course, baby," he nods. He lifts his arm up, placing it around my neck. He plays with the strands of my hair.

"Why are you on parole?"

Christian once told me it was because of a fire he lit, but I don't trust anything he says anymore.

"It was stupid," he shakes his head, looking away from me. "I was young. I didn't know what I was doing yet."

"What happened?"

"It was just after the accident happened, when my mum was still in the hospital," he explains. "My dad went crazy. He'd come to my door, yelling and screaming, begging for money. But I had to pay mums medical bills."

An odd sense of guilt washes over me. I have no idea what his mothers injuries were. I knew she was in the hospital, but I never found out why. I never even thought about her family or what they'd be dealing with.

"My sister came knocking at my door, bawling her eyes out."

"Your sister?" I interrupt. I didn't know he had any siblings.

"Phoebe," he says. "She's 20 now, but she was just a kid back then. She was so upset. She took the bus across town. She hadn't eaten all week. God, she was so skinny."

My heart breaks for her. I can only imagine the kind of shit she's had to deal with.

"I was so fucking mad, you know? They're meant to be the adults! Not me!"

I nod, agreeing with him. He takes a deep breathe, and continues his story.

"I kept drinking and drinking, until I was completely gone. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help, but I couldn't. And I fucking hated it. I was so fucking angry, I walked all the way to my dads house. I was meant to just yell at him, but he wasn't home. I broke in, poured out a bottle of Jack, and lit the place on fire."

"Shit," is all I say.

"I watched the place burn down, and didn't even say anything when the cops showed up. They took me away, and I was charged the next day. The school decided they didn't want a criminal on campus, and kicked me out. I was lucky they let me keep studying."

I have so many questions. How did he not get expelled? Where is Pheobe now? What about his birth father? Do they talk? Does he see him?

"Let's get out of here," Tyler says. "I need a smoke."

"Wait," I stop him from getting up.

"Hmm?"

I press my lips against his. He responds right away, leaning in to me. Before the kiss gets too deep, I pull away. We rest our foreheads together.

"I really, really, like you," I say. I just want him to know how much I appreciate him opening up to me.

"I really, really like you too, Princess," he smirks. "Now I'm going to take you home before Lena yells at me again."