TYLER

There was a time when Tyler sold Andrew and Greg out for his own gain. Looking back, it was stupid and selfish, but at the time, he didn't really have a choice. His father threatened to kick him out of the house if he didn't tell him the names of everyone that was in the school when the accident happened.

Greg and Andrew never forgave him, but to be frank, he never apologized.

And now, he might never get the chance.

Tyler stared at the strange trees around them illuminated by the morning sun. The colours were pretty, but off. Some trees were so white they seemed translucent. Others were black, glimmering in the sun like obsidians. Tiny, grey leaves decorated the black trees, while huge, red maple leaves hung from the white ones. The jungle beyond the beach was coloured in light and dark green, which made Tyler think the strange trees grew near the shore.

The ocean looked incredible, though. Azure blue spread as far as the eye could see and gentle waves kissed the tiny sand. Corinne lay on the shore, her naked legs dipped into the ocean. She had nothing on except her white bikini and her clothes were drying next to her. Tyler couldn't help but look at the curve of her body, emphasized by sunshine. Corinne was hot; in the same gracious way all predators were.

"What are you doing?" Tyler asked.

Corinne turned her head slightly, only to cast an irritated glance his way. The mimicry of her milky skin next to the sand made her almost disappear from view. Her violet eyes took on the azure colour of the sea and her hair shimmered like those black trees.

She looked like she belonged here.

"Sunbathing." She answered. "Waiting for Olivia and Greg to wake up. We have to find a source of fresh water."

Tyler got off the rock he was sitting on and approached her. He took off his damp sweatpants and his shirt and put them on the side, enjoying the warm morning sun on his skin. They had zero clothes beyond what they had on. Tyler smirked when he realised Corinne looked him over.

"I don't know why Olivia risked Greg's friendship over you." She murmured, hitting Tyler straight in the ego.

"Don't judge until you try." He shrugged.

"Is that a promise?" Corinne looked straight into his eyes, her lashes creating a shadow over her clear eyes, colouring them deeper, darker. Tyler let out a hoarse laughter.

"We can arrange something. But only if you behave." He said, trying to keep his demeanour nonchalant. Greg and Olivia stirred in the raft, waking up and interrupting this strange conversation.

"I never behave, Ty." Corinne got up and left him staring at the ocean for a moment. Tyler swallowed hard and frowned at the ocean. He wanted to punch himself in the face.

"The first thing we need to do is find water." Corinne talked to Greg and Olivia. "It's an unknown territory and someone has to stay here with Olivia."

"I'll go search for water." Tyler got up immediately. "Greg should stay with Olivia."

"I'll stay with Olivia." Corinne smirked, staring into his eyes. "I have to stitch her wound."

"Fine." Tyler put on his still damp sweatpants and his shirt. "I'll go alone."

"I'll go with you." Greg stretched himself. "You're too weak to carry all the water bottles." The girls laughed out loud and Tyler rolled his eyes, heading towards the jungle.

"Hey, bring some fruit!" Corinne shouted after them.

Tyler swallowed his annoyance at the fact he had to search the jungle with Greg and grabbed the backpack. He shoved the water bottles inside angrily. At this point, he was hungry, too. He didn't feel it until now due to adrenaline, but now that they were relatively safe, he felt his stomach rumbling. And he was angry when he was hungry.

The strange trees followed them through the jungle, accompanied by pink, blue and purple fruits that seemed too big. There were huge berries, as big as Tyler's hand, as well as small bananas. They couldn't know whether some of it was poisonous. Water already murmured somewhere in the distance and Tyler decided to follow the sound. The island seemed big enough to have more than one creek. There might even be a river or a lake somewhere.

"We should pick the ones that look normal, these might be poisonous." Tyler murmured, not in the mood to talk to Greg. This whole trip was the first time they saw each other after high school and the tensions were already too high.

"You should eat it." Greg murmured. "If you die, I'll let the girls know it's poisonous."

"Yeah, good luck surviving without me." Tyler mumbled.

"We have Corinne, we don't need you." Greg cut him off and Tyler laughed out loud. Was he bitter? Probably.

"You're an idiot for thinking Corinne is saving you out of the goodness of her heart. She's only saving you because you're here. If you become an inconvenience, she'll forget about you." Tyler said it because he knew it would hurt Greg. The guy was so desperately in love with her after all these years and it was bordering on pathetic.

The silence that ensued proved to Tyler this was something Greg was legitimately concerned about. And with good reason. Corinne didn't really care about people and Tyler seemed to be the only one to know that and he hadn't seen her in three years. They walked quietly for a while, when Greg finally opened his mouth.

"Corinne would never leave us here." He hit the branches in his way with his hands. "If there's anyone she doesn't need, it's you."

Tyler smiled sardonically. Maybe he didn't want to shatter this boy's illusion about the girl he cared for, but they had this conversation so many times in the past. Greg wasn't smart enough to see through her and Tyler hoped Corinne felt something for Greg in that tiny, cold heart of hers.

On the other hand, he wanted to let Greg know he was wasting his time on her.

"I'm not the one she called a pussy." Tyler smirked.

"Let's face it, Ty, between the two of us, you're the coward." Greg said and Tyler stopped in his tracks and he tried to ignore the words he had heard so many times in his life. From his own father.

"If it were up to you, we'd still be floating in the middle of the ocean while you screamed at the waves telling them to go fuck themselves." Tyler stopped walking and waited for Greg to turn around. Which he did; pure rage seeping off him.

"Fuck you, man!" Greg shouted. "At least I would be doing everything I can do save us, all you ever did was save your own fucking ass!"

"We have to find fresh water." Tyler wanted to change the subject, he didn't want to talk about everything that happened back then.

"No, no, no, let's talk about this. Let's settle this once and for all. You said you would have our backs and you didn't!" Greg's face turned red with anger as he came closer. Tyler fought the urge to take the step back. He was smart enough to know he wouldn't win a fight against Greg. Physical, that is.

"It was your fault." Tyler said through his teeth. There was no fucking way he would let Greg pin that thing on him. Yes, he cracked under his father's pressure, but they all fucked up.

"But you snitched." Greg pointed his finger towards Tyler. "Snitches get stitches!"

"What are you, twelve?" Tyler laughed shortly.

"At least I know right from wrong!" Greg shouted.

"I had no choice!" Tyler snapped, feeling all the anger and resentment he carried for his father boil over. Rationally, he knew they should not be fighting right now. Not in the middle of unfamiliar island with strange shit happening all around them. "You knew it back then and you know it now. Goddammit, Greg, you knew what my dad was like!"

"We were your friends!"

"Nothing happened to you!" Tyler spread his hands and came closer, ignoring the shame that came with the accusation. "Fucking nothing! You got a slap on the wrist."

"Nothing? Nothing?! Andrew almost lost his scholarship because you couldn't keep your fucking mouth shut!" Greg came closer as well and now they were both screaming at each other over something that happened almost four years ago. Not that any of them forgot.

"But he didn't!" Tyler countered. "By graduation, no one even remembered what happened. Do you think my dad forgot? No. I paid for that little stunt of yours a price you cannot even imagine."

"Oh, poor rich boy, did your daddy make you walk to school for a year?" Greg pouted and Tyler forgot his manners for a split second.

"Oh, you motherfucker." Tyler let out a brittle laugh. "Is that why you're mad? Because of my money? You didn't mind my money when it bought your way out of trouble."

"I didn't hang out with you because of your money!" Greg countered. "I considered you a friend!"

"Yes, well, my friend would have understood that I couldn't keep quiet! You know what happened to my brother after he disobeyed dad! I had a future! I had a chance!" Tyler's throat clenched and the air barely got through the rage that blocked the way.

None of them understood. How could they? They only saw the nice side of his dad, the polite, funny, charismatic side. None of them had to live with that fucking monster.

"And look what you did with your future." Greg smirked. "Tell me, what were you doing on the cruise in the first place? Because we sure as hell didn't call you."

Tyler shut up and stared at his former best friend. He could not believe that Greg didn't even try to understand him. After everything he told him about his father, after every wasted conversation.

"Do you think I wanted to see any of you again?" Tyler smiled humourlessly and began walking away.

"Well, you obviously wanted to see Olivia!" Greg shouted.

"Is that what this is about?" Tyler asked. "Because Olivia had nothing to do with what happened between you, me and Andrew."

"Olivia is one of my closest friends! How do I know you're not just messing around with her to get back at me?" Greg asked.

"Because I'm not a fucking monster which is something you keep forgetting. Come on, man, we used to be friends!" Tyler insisted; he couldn't help but feel hurt by Greg's words.

"Used to be! Big difference. I have no idea who you are now. What I know is that you're screwing Olivia, probably promising her eternal love or whatever and we both know you're not capable of that."

"Olivia's a big girl, she can take care of herself. She knows exactly what our little arrangement means." Tyler continued to walk through the jungle, realising there was no point in arguing right now.

"You're going to break her heart and you know it." Greg murmured. "Corinne might have called me a pussy, but at least I'm not afraid to deal with my own shit. Was I scared in the middle of the fucking ocean? Sure. But you're afraid of everything else. That's why you're running away. You're not capable of dealing with anything, so you simply decided to pack your things and leave."

Tyler rubbed his eyes and pinched his nose, trying to stop the sudden headache. These words were strangely similar to what his father used to tell him. You think you're a leader, but you're too big of a coward to be one. You'll never escape from my shadow.

"You think I don't remember how you talked about running away from home?" Greg continued, adding insult to injury. "And I told you to stay and fight. Just like I told you when they caught us after that party, after Mark ended up in a hospital. I told you to fight your dad. But you didn't, you couldn't. Instead, you snitched and Andrew almost lost his scholarship because of you. Is that what you're going to do for the rest of your life? Follow your dad's orders?"

Branches snapped somewhere in the distance and both of them stopped talking. Tyler realised there could be wild animals in the jungle and he couldn't believe they walked around shouting like this.

"What's that?" Tyler whispered, but Greg simply shook his head, his brown eyes widening.

A few more branches snapped, followed by quiet, but distinct voices.