"It took them three hours to find us," I said. "It was Chris's father and his team. I thought Danny had died after he had stopped talking, but they told me later he had gone into a coma. Brain swelling. He was on life support for a week before his parents pulled the plug."

My voice had taken on a wooden tone and I had trained my eyes on the wall to keep my composure. My tongue felt thick and heavy, like I had been talking for ages. I took a deep breath and forced the last words out, directly them at the chip in the wall I had been staring at.

"So he finished his last challenge; he didn't die that night. He kept his promise."

After a minute where I silently counted out the seconds, I forced myself to look over at Tyler and Amber.

Amber's face had lost its anger and replaced it with a pasty pallor. Confusion bordering on distress had her opening and closing her mouth like fish, though no sound came out.

But it was Tyler's reaction I was afraid to see. All he knew about Danny was that he had died in a car crash, but he didn't know I loved him, didn't know I had cheated on Chris, a living boyfriend while his own girlfriend was dead and buried. Would he judge me, hate me? Turn away in disgust? Did it even matter when I could feel all of my wounds from the crash ripping open anew?

But when I turned my head, all I saw was unmistakable sadness. The kind where you could only stand by, helpless, as something horrible played out before you. Tyler reached out and pulled me close to his chest. Usually such a gesture would've made me cry—but re-living Danny's death moment by moment had left be as drained as it had that night. I was a statue, still and emotionless.

"I've never told anyone what happened that night—not my parents, not Vanessa, not Chris. You guys are the only ones that know."

I pulled back and wiped at my face. All of my senses seemed to have been muted—my vision was fuzzy, there was a faint buzzing in my ears, I couldn't smell anything but stale air. Phantoms pains spread through my hip and lower back and the familiar weight had returned to my chest.

A strangled sound coming from Amber distracted me.

While I had been talking, she had seated herself on the floor next to me and Tyler, but now she got unsteadily to her feet. Her weight kept shifting from her toes to her heels as though the floor was undulating beneath her.

"I'm—I'm sorry. I didn't—didn't know, but I, um—I need to go." She staggered out of the room and turned down the hall towards the bathroom.

I watched her go with leaden eyes, not blaming her for wanting to leave. After all, I wouldn't know what to say either if our positions had been reversed.

I grabbed a sweatshirt hanging on the chair next to me and pulled it on. It felt stupid to be sitting on the ground, bare-foot and still in party clothes, talking about Danny. Like I was making light of the story by telling it at a drunken sleepover.

It took me a minute to realize Tyler's hand was on my knee.

"Don't worry about her," he said.

"I'm not," I said tiredly. "I'm not looking for a pity party. I got enough sympathy to last a lifetime."

"I know you are probably sick of hearing, but I am sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine what it must have been like."

I picked at the carpet, lost in thought. What would it be like, I wondered, if Danny had lived? So many things would be different. It almost hurt to think about the ripple effect it could have had, to think about where I would be now if the crash hadn't happened. This moment, me and Tyler sitting on the floor, wouldn't exist. I might not even have met him.

Would I trade that for Danny still being alive?

"Thank you," I said, finally. "I didn't mean to dump it on you guys. It was just so she could understand—that she isn't the only one with baggage or battles or demons or however you want to label it. And it doesn't mean my pain is any worse than hers—you can't compare your pain to someone else's."

I locked eyes with Tyler. "Even you and I are different, even though we went through similar things."

His fingers contracted on my knee, squeezing it for support. . "It doesn't mean you have to go through it alone though."

"So you're not angry?"

"Why would I be?"

"I cheated on Chris with Danny."

Tyler studied the hand that was on my kneecap for a moment. A flurry of thoughts crossed his face, too fast for me to read them individually, like a flock of little birds taking flight.

"I wouldn't say it's one of your best moments, and if I didn't know you like I do, I would probably judge you for it. But that's between you and him. It's your past. And my opinion really doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

The warmth from his fingers made me realize how cold I was even with the sweatshirt.

"You're a great person, Dash. And even great people make mistakes."

I nodded without saying anything. Not because I agreed, but because I didn't think falling for Danny was a mistake.

I glanced at my alarm clock sitting on my bedside table. It was nearly 5am. Outside, the stars had just started to fade, the edges of the world lightening shade by shade from dark blue to grey as the sun began leeching the color from the sky, like a pair of jeans washed too many times. To anyone else it would still look like nighttime. But after endless nights of staying up until sunrise, I had learned to spot the weakness in the sky earlier than most.

"I should leave so you can get some sleep," said Tyler, following my gaze.

He made a move to stand up and before I had consciously made the decision, I heard myself saying, "Wait."

I got to my feet as well. Blood rushed painfully back into my feet and knees, which had been folded under me for the last three hours. My hand moved of its own accord to take Tyler's. I blamed the disconnect between my brain and limbs on my exhaustion.

"Can you stay tonight?' I asked.

There was no implication of desire in my voice or actions. I just didn't want to be alone. I led him over to my bed and let him settle on the side that backed up against the wall before climbing in next to him. At first, I left a few inches between us, all that the twin size mattress would allow, but he threw an arm over my side and pulled me close, like we did this every night.

He's always warm, I thought to myself groggily, as his body heat soaked into me.

The smell of his lemon and sage detergent enveloped me in a sense of calm familiarity. It reminded me of warm summer days on the hammock, of wide open spaces filled only with the wind, and it was what carried me off into sleep.

For once, I didn't dream that night.
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So a little bit of a filler chapter for you guys to balance out the emotions of the last one. I know not much happened but I would love to hear your thoughts!

What do you think about the story as a whole so far? Likes and Dislikes?

What do you think would have happened if Danny had lived?

Thanks, as always, for reading! Reading your comments literally always makes my day :)