12:01 (Sequel to Midnight Man)

chapter four/longterm

[ honestly the song choice was just to be ironic (who am i, 2014!dan?) but i kinda dig it BYEEEE ]

it takes a long while before any of us know what to say.

it's like falling, i guess. not falling in love, but falling out of it - more like being pushed, actually. it's like a strong force shoving me straight out of all the comforts and securities i'd worked so hard to build. now i'm unprotected, vulnerable, and i can barely hear over the roaring in my ears. maniacal cackles taunting my failure accompanied by heavy sobs grieving my 'love' for him. serial killers can't fall in love josh, i remind myself.

it's zack who speaks up.

"you don't -" he guffaws, shaking his head. "i'm your brother."

"oh, gosh i didn't know i- you better come in," tyler squeezes his eyes shut regretfully, opening the door wider.

"all of us?" jenna asks, testing his recognition.

he opens his eyes again, smiling at us once more. "of course! it'd be a bit rude to only invite one wouldn't it?"

not so much rude as it would be reasonable.

i bite my tongue and follow the other two inside. i nearly faint at the elegance of the room. i wonder if the rest of the house looks like this. it's gorgeous and very suburban.

we've stepped into the entry room, and i note the large, white, staircase leading upstairs. there's two flights to the case, the second one landing itself its own floor. there's two doors side by side, with another one way down the hall. my stomach clenches at the thought of that being tyler and his bimbo's room and what they'd be doing that far from the kid. there's a glass door to in front and to the right, with carpeted steps leading downward.

my eyes hover over the pretty black table sitting directly to my right, resting on the pictures of the woman and the girl. there are no pictures of tyler. i breathe properly again.

"tyler?"

speak of the fucking devil.
she shakes her long artificially blonde hair out of a tight ponytail, bustling toward us with a hesitant grin.

"lila, this is -" a sad look comes across his face, making my body move forward before i know what i'm doing.

"uh, hi i'm josh and this is zack joseph and his um... girlfriend jenna," i extend my hand out to her, winking at the mouthed thank you falling from tyler's lips.

what are you doing josh

"oh goodness, i hope you're not upset. i didn't know he had family, do you... do you know?" she takes her obnoxiously red streaked bottom lip between her teeth.

"well we've gathered he doesn't know who we are," jenna shrugs.

i almost laugh at the way she glances distastefully up and down lila's body. she's clearly threatened by a human being so pretty. i suppose later i can tell jenna that at least she's all natural, unlike the plastic girl in front of me. although, i'd probably get hit for degrading women for doing what they want to do. there's no winning.

"you really should come inside, sit down for this. it's a little upsetting," she ushers us into her - get this - gorgeous living room that could probably fit two duplicates of zack and i's whole apartment.