Too Close

Chapter 31

Tyler's P.O.V

I hit the punching bag over and over. "Argh!" I landed a kick in it, pushing it back on its chain.

"Hey, hey. Ease up on that thing will ya?" Colton's dad placed a hand on my shoulder and I turned and swung blindly at him. He easily blocked the punch and managed to lock my arm behind my back.

"Whoa, now don't take it out on me." He pushed me away from him. "'An angry mind is a narrow mind'. Didn't you ever hear that?" I beat the side of my head with the boxing gloves. "Hey, Colton? What's wrong with your friend?"

Colton walked over to us and inspected me. He pulled up my eyelids and shone a small flashlight on them.

"Jesus Christ, man. Did you take something?" I looked at my bags over his shoulder. I was at their house, in the basement his dad turned into a gym, where I'll be staying for a while.

Colton didn't miss anything and immediately reached for my stuff. I didn't bother trying to stop him.

"What the hell...?" He found the pill bottles and a small bag of weed I'd copped before coming here. His dad shook his head.

"You're above this," he said to me, grabbing the drugs from his son. "As long as you're under my roof, you won't be using any of this stuff. Is that understood?" I glared at him and my eyes followed him as he walked past me and up the stairs to the first floor, but he was right, it wasn't like me. I heard some mumbling and then Reed came stomping down the same stairs. I took the gloves off my hands and threw them at the wall.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked Colton. "Dude, do you see his eyes?"

Colton mumbled something and I ignored them both, walking over to the sofa bed Colton and I brought down earlier for me to sleep on. They thought this was bad? The drugs haven't even fully kicked in yet.

"Bro? You good?" Reed came to stand in front of me.

"Do I look good?" I glared at him. Then I forced out a laugh and dropped my head in my hands.

"What happened?" He asked. Colton sat down on one of the lateral pull machines facing us.

"I think I know..." He started and Reed looked at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"I think he finally broke it off with Olivia."

"Is that true?" Reed turned back to me. Questions, questions, questions. I tugged on a few strands of my hair as their voices got louder in my head.

"He just showed up here with his bags."

"And now here we are," I finished, looking up. But I couldn't see straight. I tried to stand but it was like I was looking through water and everything had blurred over. I reached for Reed when I got the feeling that I was falling forward.

"Reed, grab him!" Colton yelled from somewhere and I hit the floor. The basement floor was cold. I started to shiver and Reed's and Colton's faces appeared above me.

"I got his feet," one of them said and I felt myself moving through the air.

"Stop swinging your arms, you almost hit me in the eye!" Then I was thrown onto the sofa.

"Jeez, he's burning up Colton, what do I do..." I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted and like they were too heavy to keep open.

"Hold on..." Behind my eyelids images of Olivia floated around in my head. I can't believe I still managed to hurt her in trying to protect her. I had to get her back as soon as I got out of this Ciro bullshit.