“Fuck!” He stormed away from us, facing the wall, panting like he’d run a marathon.
I grabbed his shirt, tried to make him look at me. “Tyler, what? What did he do?”
Liam pulled me away just as Tyler punched the wall with a sickening crack. I couldn’t tell if it was the sound of the wall breaking or his knuckles. Maybe both. Or maybe my heart.
Liam pushed me behind him and stood in front of Tyler, hands loose at his sides, but I felt the tension in his muscles. “Tyler, I know this is hard, but that’s not helping Jenna. Take a minute and cool off.”
Tyler looked toward the door, breathing hard.
“Nope, not out there,” Liam said evenly. “He’s not there anyway.”
We all stood in tense silence for a long moment, my mom’s sniffles the only sound. For all the power they exudedprofessionally, my parents were just standing there uselessly now.
Tyler sighed. “I’m sorry, Jen Jen.”
I slid around Liam to get to Ty. Liam didn’t stop me, but he kept his hand on me. “It’s okay,” I said. “Please, tell me. Did he do things to you too?”
“No! Why would you think he did?” He sounded shocked I’d even asked, thank God.
Relief flooded me, loosening the pressure in my chest. “Just making sure. What did he do, then?”
Ty looked away, cradling his busted hand. “He talked about things he did with girls.Bragged.Said he’d tell me everything I needed to know so I could get some whenever I wanted, like him. If he was talking about you…” Tyler clenched his good fist, and Liam yanked me back.
“Sorry, I’m fine,” Ty said, looking at Liam, then back at me. “I avoided him when he was like that. He never said anything obviously bad, but it felt wrong the way he talked about it. But I never told him that. Never told him he was a sick fuck, never defended...you.” His voice faltered.
I pried Liam’s hand off my shoulder and wrapped my arms around my baby brother. He held me with his good hand. “It’s okay, Ty. You couldn’t have known. He was manipulating you. That’s what he does, and it’s not your fault. I’m so happy that’s all it was.”
Tyler stiffened. “Why did you think he did things to me too?”
My stomach dropped. I thought I’d gotten away without having to tell him anything else. “Just because of who he is,” I hedged. “You were around him too, so I just thought maybe it was possible.”
He pushed me back, holding me at arm’s length. “Jenna, you’re a shitty liar. Tell me.”
“Tyler,” Liam warned.
Dang it! I’d opened my big mouth, and now I couldn’t leave him wondering. What if he imagined things even worse than they were? “As far as I know, he never did anything to you,” I reassured him, in case he thought I knew something he’d somehow forgotten. “He threatened to, but I don’t think he ever did.”
I saw the gears turning behind his eyes, and I held my breath. Liam gripped my hip, grounding me.
“What did he threaten? Why didn’t he carry through?”
I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out. Not the ugly, true words. Instead, I said, “I don’t know. We didn’t sit around and talk about it.”
“Tell me.”
“Enough,” Liam demanded. “Let’s go to the kitchen and take care of that hand.”
“It’s fine.”
“I didn’t ask. Go.”
Tyler trudged to the kitchen. Liam followed, pulling me with him and gently pressing me against the wall just inside the doorway. I glanced from Ty to my parents, and I was glad I was here instead of with them.
Liam inspected Tyler’s hand. “Are there any bandages here?”
“There used to be a few in the linen closet with the medicine. They’re probably still there,” Tyler said.
“Firefly? Can you get them?”