𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | Tyler Hernandez x Reader

| Ep 54 |

We all fall silent from Taylor's outburst. I clench my jaw when she nearly cuts the circulation from my hand, squeezing the hell out of it. I say nothing, instead I begin to soothingly caress the back of her hand with my thumb.

Logan takes a step forward, worry written all over his face,

"...Tay, take a breath...we need to-"

His assurances are cut off by blood curdling screams coming from the medical wing outside of the waiting room. The hairs on the back of my neck shoot straight up and a chilling feeling runs cold through my bones.

I whip my head toward the double doors, recognizing the tone of those yells instantly. My thoughts spill out of Taylor's mouth when she whispers,

"Tyler..."

My hand falls out of her reach and to my side. I take a step toward the doors but stop immediately when the lights overhead begin to flicker above. My brows furrow subconsciously as I scan the room, feeling the temperature drop abnormally quick.

Mrs. Clark's mouth quivers as she murmurs, "...What's happening-"

"Mom...?" Lily speaks up shakily in her mom's arms, clutching onto her.

I follow Lily's gaze toward the tall windows on the back wall and nearly stumble back. There stood about ten phantoms eerily staring through the window, clawing at the glass hungrily. The sky had grown that all-too familiar shade of crimson.

"Step away from the window." I say, though I don't register the words that come out of my mouth, too shocked to think clearly. I look over at the parents and am awestruck when I process the fact that they see the phantoms too. Their so-called "visions" really were...

In an instant, the lights flicker back on and the phantoms disappear into thin air. I let out a short breath as my eyes stay glued to the window in confusion.

I feel a firm hand take my wrist and spin me around. My eyes meet my mom's tired ones and she scans me over. I stop her by grabbing her shoulders,

"Mom, I'm fine. I don't know what that was but-"

"A-Aiden," Mrs. Clark looks over her shoulder at her son, who was standing a few feet away from me, "Come here. We're leaving-"

I glance over at him and leave my mom's side when I see him struggling to keep Taylor from bursting into the medical wing.

"Taylor, stop!" He shouts, pulling her arm while Logan takes the other.

Logan's voice trembles as he tightens his hold on her, "We...can't- go back there...right now!"

Tears spill out of her eyes as she fights against their firm grip. I step in front of her and pull her chin up to face me. I hold her face in place as I say with furrowed brows,

"Taylor, please!"

She meets my hard stare for a moment, and I find it difficult to hold her gaze with how broken she looks under those tear-stained cheeks. My eyes had begun to water but I refused to break in front of her. That would only make things worse for her.

Aiden pulls her back rough, but not enough to hurt her, "You need to let the doctors handle it! If we go back there, then we're going to get kicked out!"

"Let go!" She shouts and I feel her shake under my hold, "He needs me!!"

I am about to say something until I feel a gentle hand rest on my back. I tear my eyes away from Taylor to meet Ben's sympathetic gaze. He shakes his head and pulls me away from her.

"TYLER!"

I flinch at her agonizing screams and it takes all my strength to not break away from Ben's hold to return to her side.

But keeping my distance will be good, because I would eventually give in and let her go off. All I wanted was to see Tyler for myself too, to get that closure that he really was okay.

Ben eventually drops his hand from my side once he realizes I am not fighting back. I look over at Taylor and feel tears begin to spill out of my eyes.

Tyler is her whole life. Her everything.

"I can't, Ben..." I whisper as I turn away from her, not wanting to watch her suffer the same way I was on the inside.

Without hesitation, he pulls me to his chest and strokes my hair the way an older brother would. I sob silently, mentally cursing myself for losing my shit like this. Taylor needs me too; she needs me to be strong for her and Tyler.

I aggressively wipe my eyes until the tears stay still on my lash line. Ben pulls away to glance down at my puffy eyes. He frowns and mouths, 'You can cry too.'

I nearly short-circuit, surprised that he could read my emotions so well now. He had always been an observant one. I swipe a finger under my eye to catch the last stray tear.

I shake my head and lightly push myself away from his embrace, ignoring his silent reminder. I spin on my heels and walk over to Taylor, who was still crying uncontrollably.

Aiden and Logan both stare over at me suspiciously, but I nod my head at them to drop their guard down. The moment they release their hold on her, I bring her toward me into a tight hug.

Her knees immediately give out underneath her and I do my best to keep her upright. I bury my head into her shoulder and cry with her, knowing that this is what we both needed. Her tears stain my shoulder, but that is the least of my worries.

I rest my chin on her shoulder and whisper through shaky breaths, "Tyler will be okay-"

I hear the double doors burst open and feel Taylor tense up against me as she lifts her head from my shoulder. I pull away just enough to look over at the doors.

Leaning against the doorway weakly is the boy that has been consuming everyone's thoughts and concerns. There he was, alive and very unwell.

There was my other half.

"Tyler..."