— Tyler —
"I have one for you now," Wren proudly declared.
We were still sprawled out on the kitchen floor, but Wren appeared notably happier now. She had been asking me to sing to her and share poems all morning, and I gladly obliged, carefully selecting only the cheerful ones.
"Tell me," I encouraged, unable to suppress my smile.
"It's called 'Him,'" Wren said, and my stomach instantly fluttered. She cleared her throat dramatically, struggling to hold back laughter before she began.
"Ah, there he is.
That motherfucker.
What a tool."
"What the hell!" I gasped dramatically, pretending to be offended. This led to a chorus of apologies and "I'm just kidding!" from Wren. Her eyes were squeezed shut, freckled nose scrunched up, and her cheeks flushed pink as she laughed heartily. I couldn't recall seeing her this happy before; she was radiant.
"I don't think I've seen you this happy before," I commented, her smile lighting up the room and her eyes twinkling.
"Well, I don't think we've really spent this much time together," she replied, and my heart melted at her words. At that moment, a surge of anger toward Josh washed over me. I couldn't fathom how he could hurt someone like Wren. I opened my mouth to speak, but before any words could escape, there was a loud knock at the door. Wren looked nervous, so I assured her that I would answer it for her. It was Josh; I wasn't surprised.
"Hi."
"Of course you're here," he rolled his eyes at me. "Where's Wren?"
"She's busy. What do you need?"
"To talk to Wren," he said slowly, as if he thought I needed clarification.
"Dude, you don't get to treat her the way you do and then come back whenever you feel like it. It's not fair to her. She's hurting, Josh."
"Don't act like you know her better than I do. You don't know anything."
"I know enough." I noticed his bloodshot eyes, and yet, he didn't smell like weed – he reeked of perfume. "Were you just at Debby's?"
"No," he replied honestly. I could tell he wasn't lying.
"Was Debby at your place?"
He remained silent.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked softly.
"I don't know, Ty," his voice cracked. "I messed up."
"Majorly."
"Then let me fix this," Josh pleaded. I'd never seen him so vulnerable; it almost made me feel sorry for him.
"You're still my bandmate and my best friend, but I can't let you do this right now. Wren needs time, man."
He looked at me with pleading eyes one last time before finally sighing. "Okay."
"Get some rest, okay? We leave again tomorrow night." Josh nodded before returning to his apartment.
I found Wren sitting on her bed, appearing somewhat bored as she scrolled through Instagram on her phone. She looked up nervously when I entered.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing important," I reassured her with a smile. Her visible relief put me at ease. I sat beside her and rested my head against hers.
"I started writing this new song," I began. "Wanna hear it?" Wren's eyes lit up, signaling her consent.
I pulled a pair of headphones from my bag in her room, found the song on my phone, and handed it to her.
"It's just a rough draft," I explained hastily, playing with my hair as I watched her listen. Her expression remained fairly neutral, but her brow furrowed slightly, a sign of her concentration. After she finished, she slowly removed the headphones and handed them back to me.
"So?"
"It's amazing," she said seriously. "But it's pretty dark. It's about Josh and Jenna, isn't it?"
I nodded. "I don't exactly know how I'm going to get Josh to agree to play this, but, you know, I'm the lead singer, so," I replied with a touch of arrogance, which elicited a giggle from Wren.
"So cocky. Maybe you're the heathen," she laughed.
