Silence // a TØP fan-fiction

chapter 2 // again

ONE YEAR LATER

| May 2012 |

Tyler grasped the steering wheel and yawned widely. The neon dashboard clock read 2:38 am and he shook his head. This damn road trip was taking everything in him. He was supposed to transport band equipment, along with Josh driving behind him. Their tour bus was getting fixed and they couldn't postpone the gig. The crew was up ahead, they got a couple hours head start. Tyler yawned again, this time pulling the car a little too close to the curb.

"dude, dont fall asleep" A text from Josh vibrated on Tyler's lap and he replied slowly raising his eyes to the road every 2 seconds.

"dont worry. we'll get there"

"i hope so" Josh replied and Tyler chuckled out loud, once again veering the car too far to the right. His phone slid off his lap and fell in between his legs, onto the floor. Tyler cursed under his breath and tried to grasp it without looking away from the road, but it kept sliding around. He finally looked down for a split second, grabbed his phone, but when he looked up he registered too late that his car was about to connect with a man on his bike. Tyler let out a scream, but it was too late. He lost control of his car as it collided into the man, sending him spiraling over the car, falling somewhere below. Tyler braked as fast as he could skidding onto the shoulder. He sat behind the wheel breathing shakily, quietly praying that the man was still alive. 

"Tyler! Get out of the car!" Josh yelled from outside and Tyler finally crawled out of the car, leaving the door ajar. There wasn't a single car in sight, and the road was quiet with only the crickets and the nature from the woods beside them. Josh saw the whole thing and parked behind Tyler and the now crippled body.

"We need to call 911...," Josh said quietly, but neither one got their phone out. Tyler kneeled towards the man and put his ear to the man's face. There wasn't a sign of life, but he didn't want to touch him to make sure.

"No, we can't." Tyler replied slowly, crawling away from him.

"Where the hell did he even come from?!" Josh asked, trying to ignore the increasing pace of his heart. Flashbacks from a year ago came crashing into his mind and he felt his hands trembling.

"I...I don't know! My phone fell and I reached down and--," Tyler began explaining.

"This happened because your phone fell?" Josh interrupted him, his question laced with ice. He took a step towards Tyler and pushed him back. 

"We can't afford this! Do you know how big this is? We have a show in 10 hours! Do you even think?" Josh began yelling, pushing Tyler further and harder. 

"You think I don't know what's at stake?" Tyler spat back, his panic dissipating only to be replaced with rage.

"This was an accident!!" Tyler yelled. 

"An accident?" Josh replied incredulously. 

"Yes, Josh, an accident. You should know all about those. Because I helped clean up yours not too long ago." Tyler took a step towards him and they were now chest-to-chest. Josh was quiet, running his hands through his hair. Neither said anything, but that was soon interrupted by Josh's phone ringing in his pocket. 

"Who is that?" Tyler asked nervously.

"It's Danny." One of their crew members who was up ahead was probably checking on them.

"Pick it up, tell them we needed to get gas." Tyler said and Josh brought the phone to his ear.

"Yeah man, we're driving. Just pulled over to take a piss....aha, yeah, yeah see ya soon." Josh hung up and said, "We need to clean this up, now!" Tyler nodded and without another word he grabbed the man's shoulders as Josh took his legs and began dragging him down over the side of the road. There was shrubbery and a small ravine that they used to their advantage as they rolled the man's body into it. They tossed the bike further into the woods, covering it up with leaves and dirt. They ran towards the road and Josh turned to Tyler, wiping his hands on the side of his pants.

"This never happened, do you hear me?" Josh said. Tyler nodded and they went back to their own cars. Tyler sat quietly, resting his head against the seat trying to slow down his heart beat and calm down. He just killed an innocent man. Like Josh. Josh killed someone, not so long ago. Fear creeped through his body, but he refused to think that way. Since last year they've released another album and their fame was swelling. 

Sometimes there are bumps in the road, but thats not going to stand in their way. Tyler turned on the car and then the radio and put his seat belt on.