by Apollo Surge
Chapter Ten
Johnny pedaled furiously as he sped away from the house in the middle of the forest. He could barely believe what he had just seen. That monster Todd, with his lips all over Tyler, and Tyler kissing back! Johnny's heart burned and broke and turned to ash inside him. A wave of nausea swept through his body and it was all he could do to keep his insides from falling out his throat. He tried to tell himself that what he had seen was a mistake, but there was no denying it. There was no other explanation that made sense apart from the facts before his eyes.
Maybe his mom had been right and Tyler had been a bad influence in all of this. Maybe he had been stupid to think that anyone could ever love him truly.
Tyler hadn't even bothered to come chasing after him, that's how little Johnny meant to him. Never before had Johnny felt so insignificant. Tyler had ruined him. Well, I can ruin him too, Johnny thought. Johnny knew something about Tyler that nobody else did. A secret that could ruin Tyler's life if it ever got out. If Johnny told the world that Tyler was a werewolf Tyler would never have the peace he sought. A malicious grin crept over Johnny's face as he thought about how Johnny would be taken away and hounded by the press, studied by the government, treated like a freak.
The smile vanished.
As much as this pain hurt intensely, it didn't seem right to make Tyler's life a living hell like that. Besides, it wasn't as though anyone would believe Johnny anyway. More likely he would be the one treated like a freak for accusing someone of being a werewolf. But there were other ways to hurt Tyler, and his mind ran through a series of plots as he cycled home.
The night was dark, and the path was one that Johnny had traveled a few times now. He had been expecting to show Tyler the letter and have an argument, and had actually been prepared to be riding home in this state, but not because Tyler was a cheating son of a bitch with no morals and a piece of coal where his heart should have been.
Johnny didn't know where things had gone wrong. He'd trusted Tyler completely. What sign had he missed? Tyler had seemed so genuine whenever they had been together. It didn't seem to make sense...and what was it about Todd that drove everyone around him crazy? The man was good looking in a way, but he certainly wasn't Johnny's type, and more than that he was an ass. Sure, apparently he could write well, but what bearing did that have on his attractiveness? Well, at least he and Mel would be free of them. Things could go back to the way things were. Mel, he had to go to Mel.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Johnny cycled with more force. He didn't notice the beauty of the stars, or the silence of the night. His concentration was taken wholly by the horror he had just seen. He didn't think he'd ever forget that intense moment when his world had crumbled, and he was sure that he would never be the same again.
He also didn't pay proper attention to the cars whizzing by. There was a rush of air as they passed, and the roar of the engines rose and fell. Even though Johnny was pedaling as fast as he could he wasn't a match for the speed of the cars. The light evening air rippled across his face and he began to feel cold.
Unbeknownst to him a man by the name of Ben Pilkington had had a bad day at the office, and was also suffering from a matter of the heart as his wife had just filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. These differences turned out to be that Ben's wife preferred spending time with Ben's boss to him. His life was in tatters. The kingdom he had built had come crumbling down around him and there seemed to be nothing left but to sink into the abyss, so he did. He'd spent the afternoon at a bar, trying to drown his sorrows. In a stupor he had left, convinced himself that he was all right to drive, although secretly he wanted to crash. It would have been easier to end it all.
Ben crooned sad songs as he drove back toward the city, back to his home that was just a place filled with shards of bitter memories, and he sobbed as he sang, his entire body shaking as he drove back. He was driving slowly, but erratically, swaying along the wide lanes. Other cars honked at him, other drives shook their fists, but they were all able to avoid Ben and treat him as a minor inconvenience.
Johnny couldn't. He didn't hear Ben coming up behind him until it was too late. The bright headlights suddenly lit Johnny up as though he was an actor on a stage, and then Ben's car knocked against Johnny. The last thing Johnny heard was a warbling voice singing 'That's Life' before his bike's momentum was interrupted, the wheel skidded, and he was flung off to the side, crashing into the metal barrier.
Johnny yelped in pain and cradled the side of his body as he watched the car idly sway back toward the middle of the road, and disappear into the darkness. Johnny called out and cursed, but there was no response. He hung his head and winced as he pressed his hands against his ribs, then cried out in pain. This was just the icing on the cake. He could probably die out here, abandoned by Tyler, left alone by fate.
But he wasn't about to do that. He pushed himself up even though it hurt, and told himself that no physical pain could ever hurt as much as the betrayal he felt. Instead of trying to ignore the image of Tyler and Todd kissing, Johnny embraced it to help shield himself against the throbbing pain in his side. He picked up his bike, which thankfully wasn't mangled. He knew that if the car had been traveling any faster he'd likely be dead.
Johnny got back on the bike and resumed his journey home. The lights of the city lit his way, beckoning him back, offering him solace away from the shadows of the forest. The only thing he tried to not think about was what Tyler and Todd were doing at that very moment.
Chapter Eleven
Mel was idly watching a movie in her room, trying to figure out the turmoil that was raging through her heart. It didn't seem right to be lying there without Todd's arms wrapped around her. Whenever she closed her eyes she could almost hear him whispering in her mind, and yet he had been so callous about his feelings for her. All of a sudden he'd had some project to work on. Mel was quite sure he hadn't said anything of the sort, and she wracked her brains trying to think of when he would have said such a thing.
She was jealous of Johnny. He and Tyler seemed well-suited for each other and they hadn't had to endure the same type of drama she had had with Todd. Johnny obviously didn't approve of Todd, which was a shame, and she hoped it wouldn't come to a point where she had to choose between the two of them. Her friendship with Johnny ran deep, but she loved Todd.
She knew that being with Todd would hurt her, but she couldn't back away or hide from her feelings. They swept through her like a tornado, and any time she tried to deny her love she was hit with the most nauseating pain she had ever experienced. It was as though she was tethered to Todd, and even the mere thought of breaking that tether brought her an insurmountable amount of pain.
Her phone rang, it was Rita. Mel picked it up, not bothering to pause the movie because she hadn't been fully focused on it anyway.
“Hi love, I was just wondering if Johnny was with you?” Rita asked.
“No, not at the moment. He was earlier. How come?”
“Oh, you know what moms are like. I just don't like the thought of him being outside when it's dark, and usually he tells me if he's going to be home later than expected.”
“I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You know how absent-minded he can be sometimes. He's probably just with Tyler and they're losing track of the time. I bet he'll be home before you know it.”
“Probably,” Rita said, sighing. “One day you'll know what it's like to be like this, always worrying.”
Mel smiled softly, then said goodbye. It didn't seem fair that Johnny got to spend all this time with Tyler when she was denied the same thing with Todd.
Then, she heard her mom call her name from downstairs. Mel hopped out of bed and opened the door, only to see a disheveled and distraught Johnny running up the stairs. His clothes were in tatters and his face and hands had scrapes over them. His cheeks were flushed a deep red, and his hair was matted to his face by sweat.
“What the hell happened?” Mel asked, welcoming him i
n to her room. Her mother quickly followed up the stairs with some basic first aid supplies. Mel tended to his wounds, which seemed to be mostly superficial.
“I got hit by a car on my way back from Tyler's,” he panted, still catching his breath.
“Shouldn't you be in the hospital? Your mom just called by the way, she's worried about you, and I see that she has a right to be. I'm surprised you didn't just stay over Tyler's for the night since it's getting dark.”
“I couldn't do that either,” Johnny said. There was an edge to his words, and from the expression on his face Mel knew that something was drastically wrong. Suddenly she felt guilty about the thoughts she had entertained. She wasn't usually a petty person, and she was happy that Johnny had finally found someone that made him so wonderfully content. She wasn't sure where these negative thoughts were coming from, and it unnerved her to think they weren't truly part of her own mind.
“I saw something Mel. Something that affects us both,” he added.
“What did you see?” Mel asked as she dabbed at the wounds on his face.
“I saw Todd and Tyler together. They were kissing.”
Mel hardly registered the words as he said them. They seemed so unbelievable that they weren't worth bothering with. It was only when Mel looked at Johnny that she saw he was being serious. She sighed, and pulled back her hand.
“Well obviously you were mistaken,” Mel said.
“I wish I was Mel, but I know what I saw. I went there to talk to Tyler about the letter and I saw the two of them standing outside the house. They were kissing, and it wasn't just a peck, it was a full-blown kiss. I don't know how long this has been going on for, but I knew I had to talk to you. What do we do? Should we confront them?”
“I don't know about you, but I really don't think I have anything to worry about.”
“What are you talking about?” Johnny snapped, looking at her with disbelief. Mel shrugged.
“I just know that Todd would never do such a thing. He's not like other men. I'm sure that you saw something like this, but how can you be sure it was Todd? It could have been someone that looked just like him.”
“Are you serious? Mel, I know what I saw. It was Todd, kissing Tyler, now what the hell are we going to do about it?”
“I'm not going to do anything. I know you don't like him, but there's no need to start inventing stories like these just to jeopardize my relationship with him.”
“Stories? Mel, what I'm saying is serious. Would I lie to you?”
She stared at Johnny. All their friendship seemed to come down to this moment. He was accusing Todd of betraying her trust, but she knew that it couldn't be possible. Todd wasn't like that.
What about this special project? A voice whispered at the back of her mind. She told it to be quiet, but it grew more incessant and doubts spiraled through her mind. It was only silenced when she forced it away and thought of the time she and Todd had spent together. It was simply inconceivable to her that Todd would treat her in this manner and break her heart, not after everything he had pledged toward her.
“I'm sure you believe that you're telling the truth, but I'm not convinced about what you say you saw. I think that you might be seeing what you want to see, and you're trying to drag me down with you. Me and Todd are good Johnny. I'm sorry that you've come into this problem with Tyler. I'll do everything I can to help you as a friend, but I'm not just going to ignore what I know to be true. Todd wouldn't do this. He loves me.
Johnny stared at her open-mouthed. She knew he wouldn't understand, but it was always hard for people who hadn't experienced the power of true love to understand the trust it elicited from the two people involved. Her heart and soul were Todd's, and he wouldn't do anything to wound them. In truth, she pitied Johnny, for he had searched so long for happiness and it had been thrown back into his face. In time he would come to see that it would do no good to try and tarnish the relationship of others, but she wouldn't allow him to speak against Todd again.
Chapter Twelve
Johnny couldn't quite believe Mel's reaction. There was something wrong. She wasn't herself. The Mel he knew wouldn't have brushed away his concerns so easily, or defended Todd against everything. There was something going on here, something strange, but right now Johnny didn't have the capacity to worry about it. He was still hurting inside from Tyler's betrayal, and all he wanted was a little comfort.
When it became clear that Mel wasn't going to join him in indignant rage he took his leave of her and returned home. Rita ran up to him and flung her arms around him, saying how worried she had been. It was only in that moment that Johnny realized how long he had gone without calling her. He mumbled an apology and said that he wouldn't do it again. That's when she noticed his wounds, and he had to explain about the accident as he was making his way home.
“Did you get the license plate? We should call the police. People like this have to be taught a lesson or they're never going to learn. You're lucky, you could have been killed! The next person might not be so fortunate,” she said. Johnny sighed and sank down on the couch.
“It all happened so quickly mom, and it was dark. I didn't have a chance to get a look at what was happening. Besides, I had other things on my mind.”
“Like what?”
Johnny leaned back and wondered if he should tell his mother what happened. Rita had always made it clear that she was there for him no matter what, and when he reflected on the way he had kept secrets from her over the years he wondered if there had actually been a real need to do so. Rita had always proved herself to be understanding, and while usually he relied on Mel for emotional support she had made it clear that she wasn't going to be able to provide that role for him in this instance. He needed to confide in someone, and it made sense that that someone was his mom.
“Something happened with Tyler,” he said. Rita joined him on the couch.
“I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?” she asked softly.
“I'm not sure exactly. Right now I'm not even sure that what I saw was entirely real.”
“I think sometimes we like to tell ourselves we're mistaken when we see something that we don't like the look of,” Rita said.
“I guess you're right. What do you do when you like someone, but then you realize that they might not be the person you thought they were?”
Rita pressed her lips together as she thought of her response. “You know, in life people always change, even as they grow older. It's not like you get to 18 and suddenly you're the person you're going to be for the rest of your life. Things happen to change people, but it's important to be honest about those changes. As you get closer to people you start to see what they're really like in every mood. Some people are only nice when they're calm. Some people have a good handle on their anger. Some people are really awful and are able to wear the mask of a good person, but eventually the facade always slips. When something that like that happens you have to ask yourself if this is really them, or could it be there's another explanation? And if it is really them, then it's important to remember that the person you started to like was just an illusion, even though it seems powerful enough.”
“But what am I supposed to do? Do I talk to him? Do I just let it go?”
“Well, that depends on you. Some people are able to just let these things go and not let it bother them, but if you're anything like me it's going to fester and you're not going to be able to concentrate on anything until you get closure. And then you have to decide if things are actually dead and buried, or if you're able to retrieve the relationship.
“Now, I don't want to patronize you because I know that what you're feeling is intense, and I don't want to diminish your emotions, but this is your first relationship, and things are always different with them. As you get more experience you'll be able to be a better judge of character, so it's best to just chalk something like this up as a learning experience. You'll be graduating high school soon, then it's off to college, and this whole thing
will just seem like a memory, even though the pain is intense right now.”
“I'm not sure I want it to be just a memory,” Johnny said. He knew that what he and Tyler shared was something special, which made it all the more strange that Tyler would shatter it as he did.
“Then perhaps it's best that you talk to Tyler and try to understand the truth of the matter. Sometimes these things are not as they seem. Obviously we don't know Tyler too well, but he's struck me as a reasonable young man, and I know Christopher had a good heart. He never would have raised anyone to be a spiteful, vindictive person. But, in saying that, Tyler has experienced a great deal of grief during his life. He's a troubled young man, trying to find out his place in the world and who he is. Try and keep that in mind, but of course, if he has hurt you then he'll have me to answer to.”
Johnny smiled and thanked his mom for her kind words. It certainly gave him a sense of clarity. He knew that he wasn't ready to just let this lie. He wanted to fight for what he had with Tyler, because it was too important to let fade into the ether.
Something his mom had said struck him as particularly pertinent as well. What if there was some other explanation? It didn't seem right that Tyler and Mel were both acting so out of character. Granted, he hadn't known Tyler long, but they had spent enough time together now for Johnny to have certain insights into his personality. And Mel, well, the longer he thought about it the more he was convinced that something had happened to her. The Mel he knew would never have dismissed his concerns so easily.
The only thing they had in common was Todd. Somehow, that man lay at the heart of this, and Johnny was going to find out the role he was playing. Johnny's instincts had always been on alert whenever Todd had been around, and he only wished that he had listened to them sooner. The question was, how was he going to go about finding out the truth, and how much damage would be caused before Johnny convinced Mel and Tyler that Todd was the one causing all this trouble?