Falling Too (Tyler Joseph)

Chapter 32

Hello everyone! I know it has been a SUPER long time since I posted for this story, but I think I have a good grasp on how this story ends after all this time. So, hopefully, I'll actually start updating again here soon! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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I was only half-listening to Josh when he told me that he was going to go pick up Carly, and we were all going to just hang out and try to calm back down. The tension in my neck and shoulders told me that it would be a challenging task for me to take on. Today had been ridiculous, and there was no way for me to fix any of these problems.

Having my dad show up after so much time being absent only added insult to injury. What had he hoped would happen? That I would be ecstatic to see my lying and stealing father after all this time? I let my head fall into my hands as I let out a sigh, and then a moment later, I felt a hand rest on my knee.

I peered up between my fingers to find Tyler giving me a reassuring little smile before murmuring, "It'll be okay, you've done alright without him for this long, and that's not going to change."

I weakly returned the smile as my hand drifted down to rest over the top of his and squeezed it momentarily before saying, "It's just hard to believe that he would appear like that after all this time and the fact that he expected me to not be angry with him is mind bottling."

"It was clear that he hadn't thought it through," Josh remarked over his shoulder. "I wonder if he was there for some other reason, though."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. It seems like a lot of trouble to come out of hiding only to say he misses you."

"I hope he doesn't think he can work his way back in with my mom. She's finally happy with Noah, and I refuse to allow him to ruin that for her too."

"I doubt your mom would even entertain the thought of him because she has Noah." Tyler points out.

I shook my head. "She's not the one I'm worried about. How do you think it will make Noah feel seeing that her ex-husband has shown back up after all these years? Don't you think it'll make him uncomfortable?"

"I guess all we can do is hope that he truly feels the way he seems to feel about your mom and that he will fight to keep her."

"Here's to hoping," Josh murmured as he pulled into Carly's driveway.

My eyebrows shot up when I saw that she had Dee standing on the porch with her, clutching a thermos to her chest. Carly bounded down the steps and over to the car, her bright red hair bouncing along. I couldn't resist giggling at the way Josh blatantly stared at her as if she was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen, but that didn't stop him from reaching behind and giving my leg a slight shove.

"We have two more," Carly explains to Josh before looking at all of us to question, "Is that alright?"

"I don't know where we're going to put everybody, though," Josh remarked as he glanced around the interior of his small car.

"Ashley and Tyler could share a seat," Carly suggested with a slightly impish grin, and then she sent me a not-so-subtle wink.

"Why do I put up with you?" I muttered with a groan, but to my surprise, Tyler got out of the car and joined me in the back.

Then as if on cue, two more people made their way out Carly's front door, and I instantly recognized them as Brandon and Dwane.

"I hope everyone likes hot chocolate!" Dwane called out as he nodded to the several other thermoses in his arms. "Because that's all I got!"

Brandon slid one of the cups out of Dwane's grasp and took a long drink before remarking, "I can promise that it's actually good."

"Since when is anything I make bad?" Dwane questioned as he followed Dee and Brandon to the car.

"Would you like a list?" Dee asked as she held the door opposite me open for them while all three laughed.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves as I situated myself on the edge of Tyler's lap and mumbled, "I really hope that wherever we're going is close by."

"We'll be fine." He murmured as he grabbed my hips and pulled me backward until his chest was pressed against my back.

I bit my lip to suppress my urge to squeak out of shock, and of course, Carly spotted all of this in the rearview mirror. "Everything alright back there, Ash?"

"Sure is," I replied, trying to sound casual, but I gave the back of her chair a sharp little kick while I subconsciously dug my fingers into Tyler's thighs.

"Hey, Carly and I will need to trade seats if Tyler and Ashley keep up whatever they're doing," Brandon remarked, even as he smirked.

Carly appeared prepared to join in on the teasing, but Josh grabbed her hand, instantly making her fall silent as she became a blushing mess.

Josh then peered in the rearview mirror and gave me a subtle nod before asking the rest of us, "Is everyone ready to hit the road?"

Tyler's grip tightened on me for a split second before wrapping his arms around me and handing me the seatbelt, saying, "I just don't want to risk you getting hurt or something."

I take the belt from him and fasten us in. I peered over at Brandon, Dee, and Dwane, finding that they had all already managed to buckle in, except her seating arrangement seemed much more casual than mine since she had her legs draped over both of the other guys' laps as her back rested against the passenger door.

"I think we're all ready to go back here," Dwane answered as Brandon began distributing the hot chocolates to the rest of us.

"So, where are we going?" Tyler questioned as one of his hands finally let me go to sip from his cocoa.

"Didn't you see the snow sleds we put in the trunk?" Carly questioned as she turned to face us with a bright smile, knowing that neither Tyler nor I had been paying any attention to what was happening outside the car a moment ago. "We're having a snow day!"

Josh raised an eyebrow, pointing out, "But it hasn't snowed here in days."

"It did in the next town over."

"How much?"

She grinned, "At least three feet."

At that, Josh exclaimed, "Snow day it is then!"

The whole car then erupted into over-the-top cheers and whistles.

"I'm in a car full of ten-year-olds." Dee declared even while she chuckled at the same time.

Tyler took advantage of the loud volume around us to whisper in my ear, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable a second ago. I didn't mean for it to happen like that."

I reached down to lay my hand over the top of the one he had still holding onto me. "It's alright. I wasn't expecting you to be so up for Carly's idea."

"I'll take any excuse to be close to you." He teased as his grip tightened on me for a second.

My entire face and neck instantly heated up at his statement, but thankfully the topic was dropped when Josh butted in to challenge Tyler to a sled race as soon as we reached our destination. I was glad for it because I felt like I would burst from the mixture of giddiness and embarrassment if another word was said. So instead, I did my best to calm my nerves by looking around the car at all my friends, and a swell of gratitude and love filled my chest in a way that wouldn't have happened to me today if it hadn't been for all of them. I basked in the emotion as the car coasted down the road, but then I felt my phone vibrate in my coat pocket. I slipped it out to find that my dad was calling me and felt my happy moment fade somewhat.