ambivalent | hes

13

The sound of a doorbell ringing sounded throughout my house, bringing me from my sleep. I expected it to pass, so I settled back down, closing my eyes. But the noise struck two more times, and I hoped after the third one the visitor would decide that no one was home and leave. But they didn't. In fact, they rang the bell even faster than before, multiple times in a row. I groaned, pulling the blankets off of me and going downstairs.

I opened the door, finding Bea on my door step, reading over something on her phone. She hadn't seemed to notice that I opened the door.

"Bea." I said, causing her to jump as her gaze shifted to me.

"Lyla! Finally, I thought you weren't home." She told me, quickly rushing inside.

"What's up?" I asked as I closed the door and joined her on the couch.

She looked hesitant, as if she was debating whether to tell me or not.

"Bea." I urged.

"It's Tyler." She finally spoke.

My heart dropped at his name, fear rushing over me.

"What happened?" I dared to ask.

"He was released from the hospital this morning." She explained.

"When does he go to jail?" I questioned, hoping it was soon.

"In a little over a week," she informed me. "But don't worry, you have Harry and I here to make sure nothing happens."

I looked down at my lap, feeling a bit reassured.

"He," she paused, looking down at her phone, then bringing it up to my face, she said. "He texted me this morning."

Let her know I'm watching her.

Tears stung my eyes. I had no idea what to do, or what he meant by "watching me". The nervousness must've been displayed on my face because Bea pulled me into a hug.

"Just remain calm, Lyla. It's the best thing to do in this situation."

She was right, but somehow I was everything but calm. I was nervous, scared, angry. The list went on and on. I fought back the tears that threatened to spill over my eyes.

"Why couldn't we have gone to Chuck E. Cheese or something?" I said.

She laughed, breaking the embrace.

"Lyla?" Harry said as he came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

He must of just woke up, seeing as he was still in just his boxers. Bea whistled, causing me to laugh.

"Oh my god." Harry said once he saw Bea.

He quickly hurried upstairs to put clothes on, later coming down in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

"Sorry, I didn't know we had company." He apologized, sitting on the couch.

"It's alright, Harry. We have bigger problems to deal with." She responded.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Tyler is," I started, taking a deep breath before letting it out. "out of the hospital."

He wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead.

"Don't worry. I won't let him within 100 feet of you." He informed me, rubbing my back. "Has he said anything?" Harry asked Bea.

"Yea, he said that he's watching her." She told him.

"What the hell does that mean?" He replied.

She shrugged her shoulders in response. None of us really knew what it meant, which made the situation worse.

"We'll just have to be extra careful then." Harry said.

BEA'S POV

I wish I would've listened to my instincts that day. Lyla would've never have been caught up in this situation.

I knew Tyler had a record of being an asshole, but he was so sweet to me, I thought he'd act the same towards Lyla. But unfortunately that didn't occur and I wish I would've never left her alone with that prick. I should've taken her with me.

In a way I still feel guilty, like it's all my fault. No matter how many times Lyla tells me it isn't, I still feel a bit ashamed of myself for being so idiotic and leaving her alone with him. But luckily Lyla is such a good friend and forgiving person because I would feel terrible if she was angry with me and I couldn't get her out of this mess. Which is what I need to do, since I was the main cause of this.

I looked over at Lyla and Harry. Without Harry here Lyla would most likely be a mess. I'm glad he's here to keep her stable because it would be hard to protect her on my own. His strength and intimidating height will play a key factor if we ever cross paths with Tyler, which hopefully we won't.

After a bit of sitting here, reassuring Lyla of her safety, I decided to change the topic. It only seemed to cause everyone to worry.

"Hey, how about we go to the mall? We can go shopping or go to that place at the food court you love." I suggested to Lyla, figuring it would make her happy.

She sniffled, sitting up.

"Yeah, that'd be cool. Can you give us a couple of minutes to get ready?" She said.

"Of course." I responded as her and Harry made their way upstairs.