Eighteen ➵ z.m. [Camp NaNoWriMo November 2015]

<12>Shit has just hit the fan

"What the hell do you think are doing here?" I ask balling up my fists in an attempt to contain myself.

"I told you over the phone E: I missed you," Tanner replies, with a small smile playing on his lips. Because Tanner was Tanner he took it a step further and tried his luck moving closer to me, in an effort to embrace me.

Every sense of my being wanted to jump into his arms, but logic said otherwise. Tanner was no longer welcome here and I couldn't pretend like he was.

"The real reason Tanner," I spat pushing his large frame into the wall, in an effort to create some distance, and therefore self control, between us. "You just can't show up here, least of all my apartment like you own the place. What happens if my father found out you were here Tanner?"

I never know how my father get his information, but it seems to be as if it were magic. He was always a step ahead of everyone and kept up-to-date tabs on anyone he deemed fitting.

We were finally making some progress in our messed up relationship, and I couldn't betray the little trust I had earned from my father.  Although my father's trust didn't mean much to me, as he had done things that he could never come back from, the exact opposite was true for him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay Everly. You never made it to Denver which raised a couple of red flags for me, but then Connor told me about the conversation the two of you had which is why I'm here," Tanner says. "And now I see your hanging out with that Zayn kid. What's going on with you E? None of this is like you."

I sigh and burry my face into the palm of my hands because, fuck, Tanner was right- like always, when it came to reading me.

"Shit has just hit the fan, that's all," I admit not wanting to go into all of the specifics at the moment. I would actually prefer to never talk about any of these matters with Tanner, but he's persistent and I knew from experience that he wouldn't leave without a proper explanation and sufficient information.

In an effort to comfort me, Tanner pulls away my hands from my face and holds them in his strong grip, before looking me in the eyes.

"Everly, you have to give me more than that," Tanner replies.

Although I wanted to roll my eyes at his response, I refrain from doing so, as I knew that he would say something along those lines.

"I know and I will, just not right now."

Tanner frowns in response, before quirking his eyebrow up at me, as if to ask 'why not?'.

Even though I know that it would piss Tanner off I turn my back to him, choosing to ignore his curious glance.

Before I could walk into the next room I was being shoved into wall. It didn't hurt by any means, but it was rough enough for me to know that Tanner meant business.

"I'll give you one last time to answer my question," Tanner states his arms on either side of my head as he stares into my eyes, trying to intimate an answer out of me.

To this I have to work extra hard not to slap Tanner across his damn face. He may be my best friend, but he was being so fucking disrespectful towards me. First he decided to show up, unannounced might I add, and now he was pushing me into walls and demanding answers from me like I was his little bitch.

Right now, I was the only thing standing in the way of my father murdering Tanner in cold blood, as he needed me for this merger to happen with the Maliks'. And if he continued to put himself in the line of fire, I wouldn't be able to do much for him.

Eventually my father would follow through with his plans, the only unknown variable is when he would strike.

"Move Tanner," I instruct already tired with his childish games that he thought was intimidating.