Saving Madison

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tyler's p.o.v »»

I stood at Emma's door, waiting as I heard footsteps nearing. I tried to not look as mad as I was, especially since I wasn't even sure what Madison had said was true. She didn't have a reason to lie, but everybody was innocent until proven guilty.

"Hey, Ty," I looked up when someone opened the door, slightly surprised to see Lily instead of Emma. She wore a dark pink bathing suit and a pair of sunglasses, moving them to the top of her head. She gave me a shining smile, one I didn't return. "Why so grumpy?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Where's Emma?" I asked, not interested in talking to her.

"She's in the pool," she said, stepping back to let me in. I gave her a nod of thanks as I walked through Emma's house and out through the back door. Emma laid on a Palm tree floatie, three other girls either in the pool or drinking smoothies on beach chairs. Emma looked up as I neared the side of the pool, a smile forming on her face.

"Hey, Ty," she said, sounding surprised. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you." I said quickly, putting my hands in my sweatshirt pockets and looking down at her.

"Well, come in, then." When I didn't move, she shrugged.

"I'm not getting out, and whatever you want to talk about sounds personal, so you better come here." Instead of arguing, I pulled my sweatshirt over my head, kicking off my shoes and socks before my pants followed.

"There we go." She smiled after I got in, nearing her.

"I need you to be honest with me about something." I started, looking at her seriously.

"Always,"

"Were you at the lake when Madison killed herself?" She didn't say anything for a minute, worrying me.

"Who told you that?" She asked aggressively.

"It doesn't matter."

"Did Madison tell you that? And you believe her?"

"Yeah, Em, I do. She could be lying, but you haven't answered me yet, so I believe her."

"What else did she say?"

"Why does it matter? Were you there or not?"

"Yes, I was." That was all I needed before I moved out of the pool, using a towel on the side to dry off before I started getting dressed again.

"Ty, just listen." She tried, sliding off the floatie, into the pool and over to me.

"I've heard all I needed, thanks."

"Ty," she called, trying to dry off and run after me back into her house. "Tyler!" I paused, turning around to her.

"Yes, I was there." She said quietly. "I didn't know she was there to do that, but even if I had, I probably wouldn't have stopped her," I held my breath, not knowing why she was admitting what she was admitting. "But I wasn't alone."

"Who else was there?" I questioned, but apart of me already knew the answer.

"I was there with Jake."

I laughed a cold laugh, not surprised. "You and my best friend snuck off to the lake during my baseball game, while the girl you both knew I liked killed herself." I summarized, my everything seemingly moving in slow motion.

"You were my boyfriend. You were the guy that I liked. I didn't care what Madison was doing because all I know is she stole you from me. It was stupid and it was bitchy, and..."

"And you cheating on me with my best friend was your way of making us even?"

"Hell no. I just needed somebody, and you weren't there."

"You let a girl die because I wouldn't give you attention!" I yelled angrily, making her jump.

"It's not my fault! She killed herself, Ty, and she would have just tried again if me and Jake had stopped her!" I stormed out, slamming the door heavily as I did so. I wasn't mad at Emma cheating on me; I couldn't say I didn't give her a reason to, but the fact that she had let Madison kill herself was too much to deal with. As for Jake, I would have to deal with him another time.

    When I walked back into my house, Will was sitting in the kitchen, looking through a comic book.
"Hey, has Madison been here?" I asked, going to the fridge for a pudding cup.
"Yeah, she left about two hours ago. You want to explain why she was staying here?"

"Bad stuff is going on at her house, so I told her she could stay here for a night or two. I haven't gotten around to asking mom yet, so don't bring it up if you see her." Our mom had only come in twice in the past two days; she was working long hours and was almost always asleep when we came home, and out again when we went to sleep for the night.
    "I won't. You guys okay?"
    "Me and mom?"
    "No, dumbass, you and Madison." He said snarky.

"I think I'm done trying to get there to be a 'me and Madison'. She's a lot of drama. I have too much of my own mess going on to keep her first priority."
"I think I agree with you. After Saturday, I won't force you two to be together anymore."

    "How nice of you. How are things going with Kate?" I asked, not wanting to bring up the Wilson family, but wanting to check up on my little brother.

"Good. She's awesome. I think she really likes me, for me, not because I'm your brother or just because I'm smart." I smiled, seeing how happy that talking about her made him.

"At least one of us if having luck in the field that is girls." I muttered, finishing the pudding and tossing it in the trash before I went to the fridge for another one.

"Do you ever wonder who my real parents could be?" He asked suddenly, taking me by surprise.
    "No, as far as I know, we have the same real parents because you're damn sure my brother."

"I know, but I was just thinking. In Biology we learned about traits and stuff, and I just really started wondering how me and you look alike, but we don't have the same parents." He was right about that. Even when Will was adopted, the resemblance between us was uncanny. We had the same grey eyes and nose shape, but I figured that was simply a coincidence.

"Are you going to ask mom about it?" He shook his head.
"She doesn't like talking about that kind of stuff. I don't want to make her upset."
"Making people upset is just something you have to risk in life, Will."