Isabelle was a small town's pride and joy, living a life sheltered by popularity. She never knew what it was like to face the wrath that came with small town rumours. That was until someone walked into her life and turned it upside down.
It had taken me two weeks to recover, and even then, I still had that annoying sniffling cold that never seems to disappear. I had practically moved into Tyler's, not wanting to be anywhere James, or even in the same air that he breathes. Mum and Will had come back after their placement three days later than they should have. Apparently, the trip was well worth it. Mum had been recognised by one of the top surgeons who had spoken to her about a potential position. As if she didn't have enough work involvement already. In her defense, she really was amazing at her job, that was easily recognisable, but there is more to life than a job. I'm not sure that Mum had quite grasped that yet. I reassured myself that she was out saving lives, and by her spending less and less time with me that she was giving another family more time with their loved ones. Some days though I just wished I was the priority. I had to tell her that I was staying at Tyler's, as she began questioning me about who this 'friend' was. As soon as I told her that it was Tyler there were no more questions asked, I think she secretly always had a soft spot for him. We came to an agreement that I had to at least spend two nights every week at home.
Tyler had been such a support for me, constantly listening to every detail that I had to say. He was my escape. I like to think of him as my human diary, I could tell him everything without feeling judged or self-conscious and he'd just be there. He knew was the only one I confided in about Dad, he was there every step of the way when we were friends, always encouraging me that talking to him would make it better.
I walked into the kitchen to let Mum know that I was going to be staying over Tyler's, knowing that she would be more than happy to let me go.
"Why don't you take James to see Tyler with you Isabelle? I'm sure they'd get on really well." Mum looked up from her cooking bowl to see my not so obvious glare.
"I'm leaving Mum, alone." I walked away from the kitchen through the front door. I had reached the front steps why my arm was grabbed back.
"Tyler? What's his last name?" His eyes were calculating spotting for any signal from my facial expression.
"Why does it matter to you?"
"Isabelle, it better not be who I think it is." His voice was gradually raising. If Mum wasn't so oblivious she would have heard what was going on.
"And what if it is? What are you going to do about it?"
His fist clenched and his body appeared to turn rigid, "He's going to pay." It seemed like he was talking to himself rather than answering my question.
"I'll tell you what's going to happen, you're going to leave me and Tyler alone and never interfere in our lives ever again, got it?"
"He's got you wrapped around his finger hasn't he. Much like Lewis Marshall right?"
My eyes bulged. Lewis Marshall, how could he know about him? He was my first kiss when I was thirteen, the guy who I thought I was head over heels in love with. I had gotten caught trying to sneak out to go see him and was grounded for a week. Lewis moved away only weeks after the kiss and I was heartbroken, a teenager in love with a guy that I didn't even really know at all. I remember Tyler trying to talk some sense into me at the time. Only Tyler knew about that day, and there was no way Lewis would have told anyone seeing as he was miles and miles away.
"How the hell do you know about him?"
"Tyler"
"What?"
"Well let's see princess, when was the first time you met me?"
"My Birthday party, obviously."
He let out a snicker, "There's your problem. I had been around since your Mum and Will got married, you were just too caught up in your own world. Tyler was part of mine and Alec's group, except he spent more time with you than us. He'd always tell us all your stories, and in a lot of detail as well princess. It never bothered me or Alec that much till he started getting personal. Can't you remember what happened when you were fifteen? What happened before Tyler left you?"
My heart dropped. There's no way this can be true. Tyler wouldn't have told a soul about that.
"You're lying" I could feel my heart drop at the sly smirk that graced his face.
"See that's where you're wrong princess. He told us all every single one of your dirty secrets. At the start, it was quite entertaining, you certainly did have an interesting life. One time he took it too far, I imagine you know what I'm talking about, but let's just confirm it for you anyway. Tyler was all too excited to spill on your attempts to reach out to your Dad when you were fifteen. The rejected letters, ignored calls, didn't he even block your number? Tyler didn't spare a detail. That's where I stepped in. Alec was fuming that he was starting to share your family life. So, I threatened him, we saw to it that he would never interfere again. We wouldn't want your lack of loyal friends to affect Alec, so we did what we had to do. I must say you sure have a bad taste in friends."
I could remember that time clearly, I had been so desperate to reach out to Dad. I had convinced myself that I hadn't made enough effort and that I was the reason for him leaving. I would spend hours coming up with ways of trying to contact him, all in the hope of just being acknowledged by him. Tyler had betrayed me, someone I relied on and thought of as my rock. For some reason, no tears escaped my eyes, but a pang of hurt consumed my heart instead.
I looked up at James and uttered two words that I would never have thought I would say, "Thank you." I picked up my bag and walked away without a glance back. In some way, James had protected me and for that I was grateful. I couldn't comprehend why Tyler would ever betray my trust, but James had saved me from his backstabbing behaviour, even if it was for his and Alec's self-preservation.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry for all the updates, I was editing the other chapters. Possibly may upload another chapter tomorrow if I can.
Bit of a heart breaker this one was, guessing it's Tyler's turn for his secrets to escape soon.
