"So..." Tyler dragged, looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

"So...ummm.." I paused, not sure if he was back to his normal self. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts while we were driving away from Dylan's house and after a while, he had brought us to a park which over looked a small lake, not far from my house. We were sitting on one of the park benches and staring at the still lake.

Usually, I would have found this place scary and creepy at night but with Tyler beside me, I felt safe and the cold winter air felt good against my skin.

"I bet you have a lot of questions from what Hunter told back there. I wanted to tell it all myself." He spoke softly, shaking his head and I turned to face him. Even though it was dark, I could still make out his facial features.

"It's okay and honestly, it doesn't matter at all. I don't care about your past." I added, touching his hands which were warm and he held mine tightly.

"Hunter goes to my old school and we used to be best friend."

What?

"What?" I repeated the question in my head as I did not expect that. From the way hunter spoke to him at the party, I guessed they might have known each other but this was surprising.

"Yeah, we used to be so close but then, he got involved with the wrong gang. He started selling drugs for money and he dragged me along with him. I was dumb and stupid. I thought it was cool and we used to get high every day after school." He started to explain, looking straight ahead while I kept staring at his face, trying to remember this moment forever. I didn't want to interrupt him so I let him continue.

"I became addicted to it and my mom knew I was doing something wrong so she made my little brother hang out with me, hoping it would be good and set a good example for him."

I sensed his voice breaking a bit and my hands started to tremble because I knew. I knew he was going to tell me something bad, something my mind already predicted the moment he uttered the word brother.

"Al..Alex is your..." I stuttered and he swallowed hard before looking down at me with a sad smile.

"Was. He was my little brother. He was 13 years old when he..." He looked away squeezing his eyes shut and I felt his pain. My heart ached to comfort him and I wanted to take his pain away somehow if that was even possible.

I knew something bad was about to be thrown my way but what scared me most was how bad was it.

"Alex, he was such a smart kid, always curious and he loved me so much. He used to think I was cool and he tried to be like me. Eventually, he knew we were doing drugs and I didn't make any effort to hide it from him." He continued but he sounded angry now.

"I should have been more discreet and careful. Heck, I should have fucking stopped when my mom suspected and none if it would have happened." He spoke through gritted teeth and I felt some wetness on my hand. I looked up and that's when I noticed that he was crying.

Oh my God! My heart broke at the sight of him in tears.

I reached out my hand to wipe his tears and I cupped his face softly. I knew this was hurting him, to relive all the bad memories and I wanted him to know that he didn't have to tell me anything.

"Tyler, it's okay. You don't have to continue."

"I need to, Chloe. The worst is yet to come and you have to know how bad I am and why I keep pushing you away. I owe you atleast that much."

"Don't you get it? Nothing you say will push me away anymore. I don't care because... because I love you, Tyler." I blurted out, not caring if it was bad timing or if it was way too soon. I was in love with him and I don't think whatever he was going to say would change the way I feel about him.

He went rigid for a split second and neither of spoke a word. We kept staring at each other and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking right now.

"Fuck!" He stood up from the bench and walked a few steps forward, running his fingers through his hair.

"No, no, no! You can't. You can't love me. Fuck, Chloe. What the hell do you see in me? I'm a fucking loser, a drug addict and.." He paused again, unable to complete the sentence and I stood up from the bench as well with my eyes filled with tears.

"And what, Tyler? Why can't I love you?" I asked, my voice breaking a bit and he shook his head, as if he was fighting his feelings.

"Because, I killed my own brother. I am a fucking murderer." He yelled, making my eyes go wide in shock and I froze, unable to move from my spot.

No! It can't be.

He wasn't a killer. He must be exaggerating.

"No, I don't think so. You are blaming yourself." I whispered after a few seconds, hoping he would prove me right and my heart was racing wildly against my chest.

"I was supposed to take care of him and I was supposed to set a good example for him but he...it was all my fault. I shouldn't have kept the drugs in my room." He fell to the ground and started to sob. I rushed to him and held him in my arms immediately. He hugged me tightly and cried against my shoulder. We stayed like that for a while and I realised how much he had been hurting inside all this time.

"He overdosed, Chloe. He didn't know what he was doing and it was all my fucking fault."

Fuck!

This was bad and yes, it was partly his fault but he was not the same person anymore.

"Tyler, you have to stop blaming yourself. Alex wouldn't want you to live like this. God, I wish I could take away your pain."

I couldn't help but cry as well and I knew he must have heard the same thing over and over again.

"I know but I can't, Chloe. My parents, they don't even blame me and they have been good to me despite everything which makes me feel even more guilty. I don't deserve this, Chloe. I should be the one who overdosed and not him."

I pulled back from him and wiped his tears away. He was broken and felt worthless of what happened but I wanted him to know that he was a good person who is worthy of love, that I loved him still despite what happened.

Yes, something horrible happened because of his bad choices but it was his past and I would never judge him for what happened.

"You were young and stupid but that's not you anymore, Tyler. You've changed for Alex and I still love you despite what you told me. I'm just so glad that you trusted me enough to open up to me." I spoke, looking straight into his eyes and he looked at me like I was crazy.

"You are fucking crazy, Chloe Adams. You should be running for your life by now. Are you sure your head is fine?" He asked, making me chuckle a bit and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, I might be crazy but you make me happier than I've ever been, Tyler and whatever it is, we will figure it out together. I just...I just want to be with you." I stated and swallowed hard, waiting for his response. He kept staring into my eyes and held my face between his hands.

"Alex wasn't the only reason I didn't relapse." He whispered and I scruched my eyebrows in confusion. Before I could aske him what he was talking about, he crashed his lips to mine and everything disappeared from my mind except him and the way his lips which were brushing against mine now.

This kiss was different.

He kissed me like he needed me and I wrapped my arms around him, hoping he would get the way I feel about him from the kiss. I felt him, pulling me closer onto his lap and I realised that we were still on the ground.

He slipped his tongue inside my mouth, exploring and tasting every bit of me and I felt alive at that moment. I held on to him like my whole life depended on him as I kissed him and wished this moment would freeze in time.

"Fuck!" He pulled back out of breath and we both rested our foreheads against each other. I touched his face lightly, tracing my fingers against his jaw and I noticed his lips curve into a smile.

"Stop doing that, Princess."

"Doing what?" I asked and he flicked his eyes to meet my gaze.

"Touching my face and looking at me like that," He whispered, his gaze falling down to my lips.

"Why? You don't like that?" I asked in a confused manner because every sense in my body wanted to touch him and feel him. I bet he felt the same way. He wouldn't have pulled me on to his lap if he hadn't felt it. The physical pull between us was so intense that even he couldn't deny it.

"The opposite. I'm scared of how much I like it." He breathed out, running his thumb against my lower lip and I was having a funny feeling in my stomach as he traced my lips and his fingers went down to trace my collarbone.

Sweet Lord!

"What if I fuck this up and make you regret the whole thing?" he asked, looking straight into my eyes and I shook my head.

"You won't, Tyler. I trust you more than you trust yourself." I added with a small smile and he let out a huge sigh, biting his lips.

"Are you sure you are not obsessed with me?" He teased, making me slap his shoulders and we both started to laugh. I loved watching him be this way around me. I wanted to be the reason for his smile. He pecked my lips one last time before lifting me off from his lap.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Are you hungry?" he asked, looking down at his watch. It must be way past 11 now and my stomach was growling for food. We both definitely need to eat and become normal after his emotional breakdown.

"Yeah, starving." I blushed and he simply took my hand as if it was a normal thing for him to do but it only made me blush harder. We both walked out of the park silently until we reached my car.

"We can go to McDonald's and talk some more if you'd like that?"

"I would love that." I smiled and we both got inside the car. 

I was sure of a few things from the talk I had with Tyler.

He was not a nerd or a loser.

He was just a broken soul who chose to be this way to avoid any attention.

And even though, I still had to know more about him, I was hopelessly in love with him, his smile, his laugh, his smirk, his anger, his flaws and I was not going to give up on him expect if he realises that he doesn't love me the way I do.