— Tyler —
"Tyler, what the fuck?" Josh shoved me, his voice raised, and I staggered back but quickly regained my footing.
"What are you mad at me for? I thought you broke up with her!" I shot back, my anger bubbling just beneath the surface.
I felt my blood boil as the confrontation in the tour bus escalated. I exchanged shoves and heated words with Josh, our friendship now hanging by a thread. I couldn't believe the betrayal, the lies that had unraveled before me. Him sleeping with Jenna didn't hurt as much— If we're being honest, Jenna and I have been due for a breakup. But this... This was too much.
"He didn't break up with her," Jenna's voice added to the turmoil, her words slicing through the air.
"What...?" I glanced at Josh, searching for answers in his guilty expression. The truth was an ugly thing, laid bare for all to see.
"What about at the airport?" I lowered my voice, pressing for an explanation. Josh's discomfort was palpable.
Jenna let out an incredulous laugh, crossing her arms. "Oh, the airport? When Josh said that he loved her? Wren told me in the car."
Debby's presence only intensified the chaos, her guilty looks cutting deep. My frown deepened as I tried to make sense of the whirlwind of revelations. Everything was happening so fast, and I could hardly keep up. Josh ran his hands through his hair, his frustration mirroring my own.
"So... you lied to me and slept with my girlfriend." My words came out as a statement more than a question, my anger simmering just beneath the surface.
"I didn't sleep with Jenna," Josh groaned, his voice muffled by his hands still covering his face. Josh's feeble denial did little to quell the turmoil.
"Oh!" I faked a laugh, my bitterness seeping through. "So you only lied to me and cheated on your girlfriend. That's so much better, thanks, Josh." I turned to face Jenna. "And thank you for being such a good friend to Wren, Jenna. It's really cool that you knew Josh was cheating on her and never said anything. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to talk to Wren." I ignored Jenna's crying and Josh's pleading. I couldn't stand to be in the same bus as them.
I found Wren sitting in Jenna's car on the passenger side. She was still, just staring blankly ahead. I couldn't tell if she was crying or not, but it would be a safe bet to assume that she was. She had every reason to. I made my way into the driver's seat, and Wren didn't even flinch. She remained staring straight ahead in silence, and I joined her.
We stayed that way for what felt like hours before Wren reached over and held my hand.
"Are you okay?" I kept my voice soft because I knew she was fragile right now. She nodded almost immediately, like she was waiting for me to ask. "Were you crying?"
She chuckled dryly and shook her head "no," still not looking at me.
"I have better things to do." She replied easily. The dampness on her cheeks said otherwise, but I didn't argue with her.
"I really thought he saved me, you know?" Her voice was cracking a bit. "But he didn't." She finally looked at me and let her tears roll down her cheeks.
"Why do you need some stupid guy to save you?"
Wren looked at me as if she never thought about that before. She didn't say anything back to that. She just squeezed my hand tighter and returned to staring ahead.
I noticed that the keys for Jenna's car were still in the ignition, so I started it before leaning over and placing a kiss on Wren's head.
"Let's get you home," I said softly, steering us away from the storm, toward a place where her wounds could start to heal.
