Dinner was awkward, but they forced themselves to suffer through it. They didn't need Tyler getting suspicious. Amory was the only one who didn't join them, who had grabbed the gun and locked himself in the guest room before Tyler came in. Lou didn't know that he had the gun, but she lied and told Tyler that Amory wasn't feeling well. She was grateful, really, that Amory had chosen to sit this one out.

Tyler drank throughout, talking jovially as if nothing was wrong. In fact, he seemed friendlier than he had most days there. Nadia suspected that he was at a level of drunk that made him happy and talkative, but if he kept it up, he would reach the level he was at the night before. She planned to be upstairs by the time he got to that point, hoping that he would drink until he passed out and they could all make their escape.

"None of you are drinking tonight?" Tyler looked around at them, a small smile on his face. "Come on, you guys only have two more days here, none of you have even really gotten drunk."

"Not really in the mood tonight." Marc shrugged, toying with a crumpled napkin in his lap. He couldn't look at Tyler, so distracting himself was his best option.

"You guys are so lame." Tyler barked out a laugh, causing Ophelia to flinch. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice. "No wonder I had to teach Vallie how to really drink. What did you guys do in college, sit around and read?"

"So she's Vallie now?" Nadia couldn't bite her tongue it seemed. She sat forward in her seat, fixing her eyes on Tyler with a venomous glare. "Last night, she was 'my wife' or 'bitch' or 'cunt.' We're back to Vallie, huh?"

The room went silent. Even Tyler seemed stunned, reeling back as if she had physically slapped him. He took a moment to recover, closing his mouth and scoffing. He rolled his eyes lightly and took a swig from his beer before looking back at Nadia.

"I was drunk, okay?" Tyler shrugged. "If Vallie were here, she wouldn't care. She knows how I am when I'm drunk, she knows I love her."

"That's the thing, though. Vallie isn't here." Nadia bit back. "And it's really fucking odd. You know, you didn't even bother explaining yesterday why she didn't show up. Or today, for that matter. The trip is almost over, have you just given up on lying to us?"

"Nadia." Marc shot her a warning look, his voice firm. They did not need this, they needed to keep calm and get out.

"What the hell do you want me to say?" Tyler shot up out of his seat, spilling his beer in the process. He swore under his breath and rolled his eyes, but made no movement to clean it up. Instead, he looked back at Nadia, who was now standing as well. "I don't know what goes on in her fucking head. Maybe she realized she didn't actually want to see any of you guys, ever think of that?"

"Then why would she invite us?" Nadia laughed mirthlessly, throwing her hands up in the air.

Lou, Ophelia, and Caspar looked between the two, though they stayed silent. It was an impending train wreck, one that they did not have the power to control. Lou bit down on her lip, wishing she had had the forethought to tell Nadia to stay upstairs as well.

"You know, I couldn't tell you." Tyler shook his head. "Vallie and I have plenty of friends now, ones that we actually would have had a good time with. Don't think that I wanted you guys here, in my house—"

"It's not your house." Ophelia finally spoke up, her voice angry. Marc sighed, there was no saving this now. "It's Mr. Wright's house. You have no control over who is invited here."

Tyler whirled around on her, his eyes angry and his jaw set. He took a step forward, but Marc was quick on his feet, placing himself between Ophelia and Tyler. He knew that he was stronger than he was in college, having taken on working out, but he also knew that if it came down to a fight with Tyler, he probably wouldn't win. Tyler was 6'4 to his 5'10, with the muscle to accompany his height.

"Back off." Marc warned anyways. In that moment, he felt he had more energy than he had in years.

Tyler stepped forward anyways, and the entire room devolved into chaos. He put his hands on the collar of Marc's shirt, and Caspar was quick to jump up and place a hand on Tyler's chest, shoving him back. Nadia and Lou had jumped up and begun to shout. Tyler stumbled from Caspar's shove, releasing Marc's shirt, but was quick to move back in. 

Behind them, the guest bedroom door opened.

"Sit down." Amory commanded, causing everyone to freeze. Tyler laughed for a moment, but the sound escaped him when he turned and saw Amory. His arm was outstretched, the gun in his hand.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" Tyler didn't move to sit. Instead, he took another step towards Amory. "Have you shits been going through our stuff?"

"I said, sit." Amory spoke once more. When Tyler didn't move, he clicked off the safety. Still, Tyler just glared.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Tyler deadpanned, giving Amory a bored look.

"Do you want to find out?" Amory raised his eyebrows. The truth was, he had never shot a gun before. Still, he hoped it couldn't be too hard. There was the safety, and the trigger, and that seemed to be all he needed to worry about. He wasn't even sure if there were actually bullets in it.

Tyler drew his lips into a fine line, appearing to weigh Amory's words. He still wasn't sitting, but he was no longer making any movements, either. Eventually, he put his hands up as a sign of defeat, nodding his head slightly.

Lou looked between the gun and Tyler, her eyes unable to look at Amory properly. She didn't think Amory would actually shoot him, but then again she had seen Amory's rage. He did not often express his emotions healthily, but he was entirely worse when someone he loved was threatened. A man had once grabbed Ophelia's butt at a bar, and Amory threw him into a pool table. The only reason he wasn't truly punished by the university was because of his status as an athlete.

Marc gulped, more legal jargon filling his head. Even if this situation stabilized, Tyler could press charges for Amory pulling the gun on him. He didn't imagine that Tyler would be above such things.

Nadia was frozen, her own anger dissipating as she stared at the gun. She didn't like guns. She was an advocate for world peace, so obviously any weapon that could cause mass destruction was one she detested. Moving to Europe had put into perspective just how lax the gun laws were in America, and it had made her sick.

Caspar had seen guns before. Even used one, once. One of his old foster dads was a man who would get drunk out of his mind then shoot cans in the backyard. He'd made Caspar do it once, too, and he had been endlessly scared the entire time. Now, that same fear was returning to him, and he could feel himself losing his voice and shutting down.

Ophelia was surprisingly calm. She did well under pressure, something she had learned a few years before. While she could be an emotional wreck, she could easily be snapped into place simply from seeing those she loved panic. She glanced at Lou and Marc and knew they would be no help in diffusing the situation. She would have to be the one.

"Amory, put down the gun." Ophelia spoke calmly, raising to stand amongst the others.

"Not until he talks." Amory pulled his eyes from Tyler briefly, his gaze softening as he looked into Ophelia's eyes. He forced himself to look back at Tyler and straighten up, not wanting to lose his momentum. He needed to get a confession.

"Talk about what?" Tyler laughed out, dropping his hands to his sides. "What the fuck is even going on here?"

"Where is Vallie?" Amory bit out.

"I don't know!" Tyler exclaimed. Lou thought he almost seemed genuine, but she knew better than to trust him. "I haven't heard from her since yesterday when she got off work."

"We know she hasn't been at work, Tyler." Marc spoke next, biting his lip. If they were going to do this, he at least wanted to hear the truth. "We went to the hospital today. They said she hasn't been there in days."

Tyler turned his head to look at Marc and Amory took another step forward, causing Tyler to return his gaze forward. Amory shook his head, wordlessly telling Tyler that he was not to move a muscle.

"That doesn't make any sense." Tyler breathed out, looking deeply into Amory's eyes. "You can check my phone, okay? Read the texts. She's been telling me she's at work."

"That doesn't matter much, considering we know her phone is here." Amory replied, glaring back at the boy. "If there are texts, you've probably been sending them to yourself."

"What?" Tyler laughed out incredulously. "What do you mean her phone is here?"

Amory sighed, getting sick of this. He was in no mood for Tyler to play dumb. He wanted to hear from Tyler's mouth what exactly he had done. He wanted him to admit it, and then he wanted to kick his ass. After that, they could call the police.

"I called her earlier when I had service, Amory heard her phone ringing here." Ophelia answered him when Amory did not.

Tyler looked genuinely confused, but did not turn towards Ophelia. Instead, he furrowed his brows before looking down, as if he was working something out in his head. Nadia had to give it to him, he was a tremendous actor. Still, she did not believe it for a second. He was evil, she could see it in his eyes every time that she looked at him. It was why she bristled every time she was in his presence.

"That doesn't make any sense." Tyler whispered, seemingly more to himself than the others. After a moment, he made a quiet 'oh' sound, then looked up quickly. His demeanor changed, from frightened confusion to a tremendous anger. He clenched his hands into fists, and shot Amory a look that was so filled with fury it startled him. "That fucking bitch."

After that, everything happened so quickly. It was as if they were in a video that was placed on 2x speed. Tyler dropped down to his knees, his hand shooting out under the recliner chair where he had previously sat. Amory moved in quickly, pointing the gun at his temple. Marc and Ophelia moved towards Amory, Nadia jumped away, and Caspar grasped Lou, because he knew what would happen next.

Tyler seemed to find what he was looking for, and then a bang sounded out, and all of their ears began to ring.

Amory dropped his gun and stumbled back.

Nadia screamed like a starlet in an 80s horror movie.

Marc froze.

Caspar shielded Lou away, tucking her into his chest.

Lou's fingers trembled as they grasped at the fabric of his shirt.

Ophelia stared on, wide-eyed and shocked.

Then, everything went silent.

---

This is a really short chapter for me, but I didn't want to drag it out or include the immediate aftermath in it. Small but packs a punch, you know? The turning point of this story, if you will.

Do you believe Tyler was clueless or just a good actor? And where oh where is dear Vallie?