Page 22 of Embers in Our Souls
“Do what?” He looks at me quizzically.
“Be nice. Don’t be nice to me.” I can hear the disdain dripping off me.
“You want me to be an asshole?” he asks as if it’s hard for him.
“Yes, you seemed to be good at it when you wrote me that final letter. Just project that each time you see me. It’s better that way, Ty,” I tell him then turn around, looking back at Noah, reminding myself why I’m here.
Tyler needs to walk away. Instead, he inches closer to me. “I would love to grab a coffee, Indy.”
“That’s not you being an asshole,” I tell him, keeping my eyes forward, watching Noah interact with the firefighters.
“The person I was in that letter wasn’t who I wanted to be,” he says.
“Yet, it was the version of you I remember most,” I bite back.
That’s the version that stuck and the person that broke my heart. I fell in love with him before that. I know that’s what I felt for him and in one single correspondence, he torched my feelings for him.
He takes a deep inhale. “Indy, come on. What do you want from me?”
“I wanted everything. Today, I want nothing. I just want Noah to be happy, and I want to leave. We came here to thank your crew for what you did for Noah.” I look over at him. “That’s all. I honestly hoped you wouldn’t be here.”
My words are harsh and from the way he’s looking at me, I can see I’ve hurt him. This isn’t who I used to be. But I’ve built a barrier, especially when it comes to Tyler Hunter. He broke me, so I picked up my pieces and glued them back together the best way I knew how. The way they pieced back together, with the cracks and all, is just how I am now.
“Listen, we should just?—”
“Hey, what did I miss?” Kalli comes strolling up, not a care in the world.
“Hey,” I say, lacking her enthusiasm.
“Hi, I’m Tyler?—”
“Oh. My. Fucking. God!” Kalli says. Luckily, she isn’t loud enough to draw attention from the group at the truck. “You’re @huntsamillion, aren’t you?” She covers her mouth, but I can tell she’d scream if she could.
What am I missing?
I look from my best friend to Tyler. He has a smirk on his face and Kalli looks like she might wet her pants. Is she hopping in place like my kindergartner?
“You look like a fool. What are you doing, Kalli?” I say through gritted teeth.
“This is why you should have social media, Indy!” She smacks my arm. Then she looks at Tyler. “Can you believe she doesn’t have any accounts? I mean, who doesn’t have an online presence these days?” She rolls her eyes and huffs.
Tyler looks at me, then brings his attention back to my best friend. “I appreciate meeting my fans. Thanks for following.”
“Are you kidding? I love your content. That last one where you did that run, then immediately followed with a workout. Oh my gosh, then there’s that time where you did a half-marathon and raised money for a little girl battling leukemia? I cried.” Kalli looks at Tyler completely enamored.
Seriously, what is happening right now? I’m standing in front of the two of them, mouth agape.
“Look at her; she’s lost.” Kalli points at me.
“I have a social media page. It’s garnered some attention.” Tyler shrugs.
“Some attention? No. It’s more than that. He has a shit-ton of followers. Don’t let him fool you,” Kalli says. “I’m a Prowler, you know.”
“What the hell is a Prowler?” I can’t help the look of disgust on my face.
“It’s a SpaceBook group. You wouldn’t get it.” She waves me off and smiles at Tyler.
Am I in another dimension?
