Forbidden Territories

Chapter 17: You Were Mine

A pair of brown eyes stared down at me. My chest heaved up and down. it was the last face I wanted or expected to see, especially after a flashback like that. It couldn't be him, could it? No way. No fucking way. Please, let this be just a coincidence. 

I wasn't sure how he found me or what he was doing there. Maybe it was random but the fact that I didn't think so highly of him anymore made the situation even more confusing. I couldn't find it in me to give him the benefit of the doubt anymore. I was all about second chances but considering everything that happened in the last few weeks, I simply didn't have it in me. 

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked with a frown on his face as his eyes scrutinized me. 

I grumbled and sat up, on the sand, scooting back to put more distance between us. 

"I'm fine," I replied. Short and stern. 

I reached for my shirt on the ground and pushed my arms into the sleeves before buttoning it up.

Tyler was sitting on the sand a few feet away, his gaze still on me and I had to admit, I didn't like it. My mind instantly went to Zach and how I knew he would look away if he was in this same situation with me. I remembered how he covered me up when he found me passed out in the shower. Surely, if Tyler found me that day, I would wake up still naked. 

The vibes both of the males exuded could not be more different. And yet the result ended up the same, no? They were both full of shit. But for some reason, the grudge I held against Zach was far greater. 

"What do you want?" I snapped at Tyler as I got up and pulled my jeans back up to my waist. I didn't care that my underwear was still damp from the waves, I just wanted to get the fuck out of there. 

His dark eyes followed my movements and his eyebrows raised in question. 

"Wow, you don't have to be such a bitch, you know? I was just jogging past here," he defended himself and raised to his feet as well. 

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, talk to me about being a bitch." 

He snickered. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

I shrugged my shoulders as I pushed one foot inside my sneaker. "Just that you're just as full of shit as everyone else." 

Tyler blinked and scoffed at me, wiping his sweaty forehead with his wristband. "Yeah, you're the one to talk ..." His voice came out as a mumble and I had to focus for a moment to actually understand him. 

"What does that mean, Tyler?" I asked, audibly done with whatever the fuck this was. And with him in general, might I add. That one date surely was a mistake. Why did I have to spill my coffee that day? Stupid, stupid, stupid ... 

His palms rested on his hips, eyes darting right at me. "That you're not as cute and innocent as you keep pretending to me, Via. You've done a  lot of fucked up shit and I'm sorry you don't fucking remember it but the rest of us do."

I held my breath for a moment before releasing it in a form of a sigh. 

"You know what, Zach and the rest of them keep finding excuses for you. But I think this is just something you fake when you don't want to face all the shit you did. I think you remember me. I think you remember all of us and it's easier for you to fake all this bullshit than to own up to it," he continued. 

I stared at him in disbelief for a couple of seconds, maybe more until my heart started pounding. What?  

"Why the fuck would I fake something like this? Did you or did you not just find me passed out?" I hissed back but not as sternly as I hoped I would.