Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

27: Tyler and Kylie

'What's going on?' He asked, as he entered the house and closed the door behind him.

'I don't know, there was some road rager speeding around with a gun. She ran in seconds before he came past. Now she's just hiding under my bed and I honestly can't get her out. She wants you. She prefers you, I guess' Callum explained, as his younger brother passed him his jacket. 'Why'd she come here?' Tyler asked.

'I don't know. I guess she was running around the streets and recognised me and thought I was safe? I don't know. I've gotta go down to the station to help Ginni and Trent. Can you please get her out of my room?' Callum asked, as he looked around for his own jacket now that the rain was setting in. 'Never mind. I'll wear yours' he said, shrugging Tyler's on instead.

'What even happened?' Tyler asked, confused as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. 'We're usually the last people anyone calls on in an emergency' he said.

'She was probably terrified of the psycho with a gun. Alright Ty, I've gotta go. Don't walk around outside at the moment, not until it's in the news that the gunman has been apprehended. Love you, little bro. See you later' Callum said, grabbing his phone and wallet as he headed for the front door.

'You're only 21 months older than me!' Tyler exclaimed, as Callum quickly backtracked. 'And don't you forget it' he said, smirking as he left the house. Tyler shook his head as he walked down to his brother's room. Callum had left the light on and the door open, but Lotte was nowhere obvious to be seen.

'Hey. Cal said you were looking for me?' He said, getting down on all fours as he looked under the bed. Lotte jumped, frightened as she still kept her face covered, frozen stiff.

'Lotte, it's okay. It's me. Tyler. Don't you recognise my voice? I know you and Ashlyn make fun of it all the time' he said, as he gently placed his hand on her arm. She pulled away dangerously fast. Tyler realised she was sobbing.

'Should I call Josh? Why hasn't Cal called anyone?' He asked, worried as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through contacts, looking for a Daicos. He wasn't the best with phone numbers and hardly kept track of them. He had about 5 numbers saved for Callum since 2014 - and always managed to call the wrong one. He didn't know why he didn't just delete them.

'How can I get you out of here?' Tyler asked, noticing how small the woman was making herself. Pressed against the carpet in the foetal position, making her face unseen.

'I....is...is Kylie...here?' Lotte asked, stuttering as Tyler looked on, confused by the question. 'Nah. She doesn't live here. Just you and me. And Callum's dog, but he's outside' he said, as Lotte uncovered her face.

'Where'd your brother go?' She asked.

'Had to help Jack and Trent with something, I guess. Hey, what's wrong? Don't cry. Um...you'll be alright' Tyler said, confused and worried. He definitely wasn't the best person to help with crisis'. He shut down internally himself during those situations.

'Thank you' Lotte said, as she suddenly got up, and nearly hitting her head, crawled out from under the bed. She wrapped her arms around her teammate's boyfriend as she cried on his shoulder. 'It's okay' he said quietly, unsure what else he could do. Also unsure of what he'd actually done that needed thanking. He'd just come home from visiting his parents. That was all.

'You're a good friend. I know you are, because you always help Jack with everything at his beckoning call. And there's been many times he's made me want to kill him when he fucks up' Lotte said, sniffling as she wiped her tears away. Tyler knew what the takeaway from that was. She wanted to see him as a friend but barely knew him, so she quickly used Jack as a cover up. 'He's not known for his thinking' he said, going along with it.