𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | Tyler x Reader | School Bus Graveyard

| Ep 53 |

After my talk with Aiden and Ben, I returned to sit with my mom. It was then that I noticed how uncharacteristically silent she had been. Occasionally, she'd speak up to check in on Taylor and Ms. Hernandez, but never said more than she had to.

I lightly tap her shoulder to turn her attention away from the wall she had been mindlessly staring at for the last few minutes.

"Mom...?"

She snaps out of her daze and locks eyes with me, "Hm? Are you okay? Do you need something? Water?"

I place a hand over hers to stop her rambling, "Mom, relax. I just want to make sure that you're okay."

She looks at me quizzically, as if the idea of me checking in on her was abnormal. She musters a strained smile and squeezes my hand,

"Of course I'm okay. Why would I not-"

"Mom."

She purses her lips, dropping her artificial smile, "Alright...There's just something that's been on my mind for a while. I think it's related to what happened to Tyler tonight, but I wasn't sure if I should address it-"

She's cut off when the main doors slam open, revealing Ashlyn and Mr. Banner. My eyes widen when they both snap their heads up and call for our attention,

"We need to talk."

---

The color on my face was completely drained. Mr. Banner had revealed to us that Ashlyn told him everything. But, the most shocking bit of it all was when he and Mrs. Banner both admitted to seeing phantoms too.

Ashlyn and Mr. Banner's deep debrief left us all completely stunned and full of questions. We were now sat outside of the waiting room. Us as in my group of friends and Ashlyn's parents.

I was aching to rush back into the room and squeeze answers out of my mom. Is this what she was trying to confess to me earlier? I needed to know what she knew.

"Wait, wait, wait- hold on..." Logan's head is buried in his palms. He was in a state of complete and utter confusion, like most of us were, "...How are they seeing the phantoms when they didn't go to Savannah?"

I frown down at him from where I was standing beside his seat. I rub at my dark eyebags tiredly, unsure if I even had the energy to take in all of this new information right now.

Mrs. Banner rubs the back of her neck anxiously, "We'll figure that out later...Right now we need to focus on what to do about Tyler."

My shoulders immediately tense up at the mention of his name.

"..So if I understand right," Mr. Banner begins, "Then if we were to place supplies where you guys were last, you'd be able to use them next time?"

We all nod silently. I was so relieved that they were willing to help us without question. This would make the process of rescuing Tyler in the phantom world much easier.

Mr. Banner turns to his wife, furrowing his eyebrows,

"Emma, do you think you can talk to the others while I take Ashlyn to town?"

She slowly nods, "...I can try."

I quickly push myself away from the wall I had been leaning against, "I'll help with that."

I was dying to talk to my mom more than anything. I needed that closure, that assurance that she could grasp the situation we were all in.

I watch as Mr. Banner and Ashlyn begin to walk away from the group. Aiden doesn't hesitate to take a step forward, eager to go wherever she goes.