Philophobic : Tyler Galpin

18: Revelations

Sunday afternoon, October 27th

[victoria's pov]

Yesterday, Tyler had brought me to meet his therapist for a physical therapy appointment before he went to work. The session was half an hour of simple arm training–starting with my forearm up to my shoulder. Admittedly, it felt unfamiliar to be pampered this way, but Tyler made me feel truly human.

I still haven't told him about the vision I had with Wednesday, or that Rowan was dead, there might have been two monsters lurking and now there was one. Or even the fact that I remember him when we were kids, but there was enough time for all of that.

The new revelation of him and his friends being the one who harassed Xavier made sense now. It made sense why Xavier was dismissive around Tyler and especially didn't like it when Wednesday and he were speaking in a private manner. I also tried to not let it bother me since we were all (except for Xavier) in this investigation together: to figure out what the monster was.

And Wednesday had another thing on her mind: what prophecy Rowan was talking about before he tried to kill her. But she insisted that it was more of a personal manner than anything else.

So as of now, Enid and I sat together at the Weathervane. I hadn't seen her since Friday morning–since she was busy all afternoon, apparently planning a Halloween party on Raven's Island with Ajax.

"Why didn't you bring me along to help plan?" I asked.

"You're the principal's daughter," Enid shrugged. "Ajax made me swear to not bring you along or even tell you."

"I'm sure he just didn't want me there so you could both participate in your usual shenanigans," I said as my eyes followed Tyler.

He was at the espresso machine, making drinks and rapidly focused on other things as well. He had given me a happy wave when my mom had dropped Enid and I off at the Weathervane.

"What shenanigans have you and Tyler been up to?" Enid asked me, wiggling her brows as she drank her hot coffee. She tapped her colorful nails on the ceramic mug and even with her mouth concealed, I could see the smile on her face.

I told her what happened on Friday night as I was walking home, the truth he told me about the Outreach Day incident, yesterday's visit to the hospital, and what I also didn't tell him.

"Wait- you had a vision?" Enid gasped as she slammed both hands onto the counter. "You have powers now?"

"I don't know," I quickly explained. "I haven't had time to explore more, but that's the last vision I've had. I'm kind of glad I haven't told Tyler yet though... maybe I will tonight."

"Why's that?" Enid asked. "Aren't you afraid he'll think of you differently-? I mean what happened after Xavier..."

She looked unsure as her eyes trailed to Tyler. He was caught up in his own world but spared us both a glance as he smiled at me. It was enlightening–knowing I was a part of his.

"I trust him," I replied as I turned my head back to Enid with a smile. "He won't think of me differently. I mean, if he told me he was an outcast too, I wouldn't see him any differently."

Enid's jaw slowly dropped as she covered her mouth with both hands then quickly placed hers over mine with a smile.

"What?" I asked.

She pursed her lips before answering, "Tori, call me crazy but... I think you love him."

"Wha- love?" I repeated, in disbelief. "That's ridiculous..."

"I've told you before!–You don't know those kinds of feelings at all even if it was staring right at your face!" Enid exclaimed. "It's very clear to me that he knows what he wants. You clearly don't..."