Deal With It

thirty eight

Chapter 38

Arissa's POV

I sat quietly on the sofa beside Tyler whilst Daniel was still present in the room. I knew the only reason he was still here was to say something about yesterday night, but Tyler had no idea and I could sense that he wanted Daniel to leave.

I sort of did too.

I kept my eyes fixed on the large tv screen, trying to divert my thoughts from Drew's departure when Tyler spoke up. "I'm going to go use the bathroom," he said, waiting a few seconds for my response. I nodded my head and he left the room.

Daniel seized the opportunity and approached me, standing up as he looked down at me. "Arissa, I need to talk about yesterday." I was surprised he even remembered. I glanced at him and gave him my okay. "I want," he started, pausing as he scrambled through his mind and tried to word what he wanted to say correctly. "I want to apologise, I shouldn't have said anything about your relationship with Tyler. That's your personal matter," he smiled and despite the words he was saying, I couldn't grasp any real regret from him. He sounded quite reluctant to say anything, almost as though he had no other choice.

"It's okay," I told him, unwilling to keep our friendship uncomfortable. "You were drunk, you didn't know what you were saying," I brushed it off. Currently, I was not in the mood to talk about what he said or the meaning behind it. I didn't want to dwell over what was going through his mind or how he felt about me.

"Well, apparently you speak the truth when you're drunk," he mumbled, looking away, but I made no comment. Why did he have to be so difficult? Here I was, accepting his apology and suggesting that we should forget what he said but he was just adamant on not letting it go. I didn't understand. Did he want to settle this or not?

"Let's just forget last night and start afresh," I said, hoping he wouldn't make another ambiguous remark.

His powerful gaze was held on me and he finally sighed, nodding. "Okay."

As soon as those words left his lips, an angry faced Tyler stormed into the room. "What the hell happened last night?" he growled.

I frowned, really not needing an argument from him. I realised what must have been going through his head but hoped he had enough faith and trust in me to stop him from imagining the worst possible scenario. "Not what you're thinking," I let out a heavy sigh.

He raised his eyebrows, folding his arms over his chest confidently. "And what am I thinking?"

"That we kissed maybe? Or slept together," Daniel shrugged his shoulders, holding back a smirk. I glared at him. He was just provoking Tyler unnecessarily and I was honestly worried about the consequences it could lead to.

"You shut up!" Tyler bellowed, pointing his finger at him threateningly. This only made Daniel grin wider as he shook his head.

"If anything like that really is going through your head, then you're a total moron. You really think Arissa is that type?" he asked, mustering an appalled expression.

"I never said that at all. Now leave, I want to talk to my girlfriend," he made sure to emphasise himself, the possessive side of him growing, "without interruptions from you."

I bit my lip and turned to Daniel. "I'll handle this," I told him. His lips parted and he was planning to say something but I shook my head at him. "Please."

I swore we had been in a very similar position only weeks ago. Tyler seemed madder then though. Maybe he was finally learning to control his anger and would talk to me instead of ordering me around. Daniel gave a small grunt and reluctantly left my home, giving Tyler and me some space.