20.

I scramble up, and Tyler glances back. Fear flashes through his eyes.

"Heeeyyyy Archer..." I mumble. My brother looks livid, confused but angry. I smile timidly at him, trying my best to not run away. He levels his gaze on Tyler.

"Let's go." He snapped, unconcealed disapproval evident in his tone, with a mixture of disappointment.

"Bye Tyler, bye Em. See you at school." I say quietly, hanging my head as I walk towards him.

Em gives me a half-hearted wave.

"Bye Missy," Tyler says, and Archer stares him down. I think it's possible Tyler is actually intimidated by him. I find his nicknames adorable, a source of endearment. I think it just makes Archer even more pissed off.

We walk us to the car, and he is fuming. We aren't riding the motorcycle at night, my mum must have insisted. I walk around to the passenger's side and he climbs into his side. Archer slams the doorway harder than necessary.

We sit in a tension-filled the silence. Then he starts to lecture me.

"I thought you were hanging out with a friend." He says gruffly.

"I was. Tyler is Em's older brother. We're all friends." I mumble.

"I thought you agreed to not associate with him anymore." Archers say, slowly bringing his volume down although only slightly.

"No, you told me not to. I never agreed to it. He's a great friend, and that's all he is." I emphasize this part for his benefit and mine.

"You need to stay away from him. He isn't good enough for you. He's a drug dealer for Christ's sake. You could've picked any guy, why did it have to be him?" He snaps at me, desperation filtering into his tone. I ignored it, and frustration surged through me.

"Would you rather me hang out with the guy who cheated on me?" Instantly regretting saying anything. His whole body seized. Going completely ridged. I curse my loose lips. He didn't know about this. I hadn't told him, fearing how he would react.

"Wait. You mean... Harris?" He asks. At least I changed his direction of thoughts. Instead of him just wanting to murder Tyler, he now wanted to murder Harris too.

"Look, I could be hanging out with a thousand guys worse." I start to say, but he isn't done.

"And you're just telling me now? What the hell Melody? I thought we told each other everything." He says, sounding genuinely hurt. But I remember all the things he hadn't been honest about. From why he was home when he should be at college, to who Erysimum was.

"I used to think so too," I say, looking at the dark sky. A thought filtering through, as I think about our conversation.

"How did you know about Tyler dealing drugs?" I ask, suspicion thick in my voice. We pull into our driveway.

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm gonna let dad know that you were hanging out with a bad influence." He says, and I freeze. Anger pulsing through me. Snitching was not something we had done very often. It usually resulted in full out war.

"If you do that, I swear to god I will make your life a living hell. I know something is up with you. Like why you aren't in college right now. When it started a week after you came home. And I've been leaving it alone. But I will figure out what's going on. And inform our parents like the good daughter I am. Unlike what you're doing right now. That is just a petty threat cause you don't like my friend. So go screw yourself and let me be happy!" I say, slowly. Hoping he understands how much of a threat I am actually making.

He levels a glare at me, almost as intense as the one he gave Tyler.

"You wouldn't."

"I would." I snap back. Getting out of the car with a slam. I stomp upstairs and into my bathroom, stripping my clothes off. I climb into a shower.

The hot water hitting my skin as I start to cry. I hate him. The new him. I don't even know him anymore. Something had changed to make him more guarded. I turn the shower to cold water and let the freezing pellets hit my skin. I get out and towel off. Throwing on my oversized tee and sweat pants.

"Night!" I call my parents. Heading them call back in a similar fashion. I fall into bed and close my eyes. The night was quiet, except for The dishes being washed in the kitchen and the low sound of the T.V. I wait for sleep to draw me into her waiting arms. Blanketing my memory.

A loud yell pierces what could've been my sleep.

"WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO DROP OUT OF COLLEGE?"

My eyes snap open. Curiosity peaked, I grab my water cup as an excuse and slowly creep toward the voices.

I stand around the corner and listen to the conversation.

"Look, Mum, dad I know what I did was wrong but I have a very good reason." My brother pleads then to understand. It dawns on me he could be doing this to escape my threat, but I can hear a slight edge of relief in his tone.

"What is the reason, cause I can't think of one good one. Your mother and I are paying for your college intuition. And yet you decided to quit. Do you have something better going on?" He asks, slightly rhetorical in the question. Their voices have lowered.

"Look, it's a long story. But I got a job, and I've been saving money. I'll try to go to college again and get my degree." He says, trying to sound reasonable.

"Why did you quit in the first place? I didn't raise a college drop out." My mum says I think she's been crying. Her voice is thought with disappointment. My brother and I can't stand disappointing people. This must be tearing him up. I try to think of why he would've dropped out, but I draw a blank. Uncertain, I continue to eavesdrop.

"I'm so sorry mum. But, well, you remember my girlfriend right? Well, she's kinda pregnant. And I have to support her. So I'm saving up money so we can buy a house." He rushes out, and I can hear the fear in his voice. But right now, a rush of excitement fills me. I know it isn't good, he's only a few years older than me but all I can think at that moment is:

"I'm gonna be an aunt!" I squeal, unable to contain my excitement.

I walk around the corner to see three equally surprised people. I realize at that moment I should have just shut up. But it was too late. I'm holding my cup like a shield. Meeting my parent's shocked eyes, and my brothers relieved one that someone was happy.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N ~Roughly edited ~

I know this chapter isn't amazing. However, It gets the point across. I will probably come back and edit it.
Some of your questions have been answered.

Question; Where did all my readers go?

Until Tuesday,

~ Skye