Something is very wrong. And he doesn’t mean the mess with the asshole. No, that was resolved the night of the party. Whatever Vicky had said to him (he couldn’t get her to tell him) had worked and now he avoided them if he ever saw them. Lia had been beyond thrilled at that, practically glomping Vicky in a hug afterwards.

  Which was part of the problem. The rest of the night had went beyond a hitch and Lia had loved the paints he had gotten her. Therumoursaround it very minimal aside from the bewildered looks they sent Vicky sometimes. But…

  It was too calm. Vicky has been acting weird all week, and since they’re on a break from school, he’s not sure he’ll be able to see her before they’re finished. Which wouldn’t be such a problem if she hadn’t started avoiding them again.

  First it was subtle, responses a little slower. But as the week progressed, she seems to bnkly stare at the wall every so often. And he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Nina had sent him a concerned look when instead of correcting her on a story, she just hummed bnkly.

  Tyler was even more concerned when Ally had come over to ask him if she was eating enough. He hadn’t even noticed that was a problem. Sure enough, he noticed she’d just pick at her food, not taking more than a few bites. By Friday, it was hard to get her to to eat even that.

  Worst, when anyone asked if something was wrong she’d just wave it off and change the subject. No amount of pushing would get her to reveal what it was that had made her turn into a shell of herself. And he’d been horrified to learn from Brooke that it had started st week and not Monday.

  Just how oblivious were they? He had thought they’d gotten closer after the mess three weeks ago. So, why hadn’t any of them noticed? Sure, some of it could be put down to exam stress, but they should have still known she wasn’t being herself before it got this bad.

  Now lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling on a Saturday morning, his mind is turning over his every memory for signs. Anything that would give him even a hint of what the fuck happened? She would tell him if she was dying right?

  Panic seized him at the mere thought of that possibility. But what the hell else was he supposed to think? She wasn’t eating. She hadn’t returned any of his texts. And he didn’t need to check the pinging messages of their group chat that she hadn’t answered any of theirs either.

  Tyler felt blindsided. Everything was fine. It was like one day everything was fine and the next it had went to hell. Which he supposedwassort of what had happened. However, how the hell could any of them fix it if they didn’t know what the hell was wrong?

  Loud ringing brought him out of his thoughts. His brows furrowed, hand reaching for his phone to see who was calling him. He had every intention of ignoring it even still until he saw who it was. Eyes widening, he immediately swiped to pick up.

  “H…Ahem…Hello?”

  “Hello Tyler,” came Jade’s reply, “Sorry, did I wake you?”

  “Nah…Er, no. I was already awake. What’s up?” Tyler immediately cringes at the phrasing of the question, but it’s too te to take it back.

  “Good,” Jade says. He can practically hear the smile in it, “I’m calling because of something very important.”

  “Vicky?” Has to be. It’s the only reason he can think for her to call him near the crack of dawn. Although, his phone does say it’s nine, so maybe he’s been lying awake longer than he thought. Or did he take a nap? He can’t quite remember.

  “Yes, you could say that.” A pause. “Are you and your little group of friends free today?”

  “Yes,” He says hesitantly. Jade had met the girls when dropping Vicky off andZachnot long afterLia’sparty. They’d gone over a few times since then to sate their curiosity about thebabv, but it was evidently enough for Jade to form a good opinion.

  “Excellent,” Jade cps through the phone. “Then I’d like you to help me get V out of the house for a few hours.”

  Tyler frowns. He’s not opposed to the idea, but…“A few hours?”

  “Yes, to set up.”

  “Set up for what?”

  Silence. Then an hesitant, “she didn’t tell you?”

  He’s even more confused now, “Tell me what?”

  Jade goes quiet over the phone for moment before he hears her sigh. “I’m not sure whether she’ll like me telling you then, but you’ve probably noticed her withdrawing over the st few days. Haven’t you?”

  “I have,” he’s fully out of bed now, going to get changed. “We all have actually.”

  “Well, she’s refusing to come out of her room right now, but I think she’d come out if you were to pick her up.” Jade sighs again. When she speaks, it’s a little softer andcolouredwith worry. “I don’t like that she’s upset today.”

  “What is today,” Tyler feels the need to repeat the question. Since she never got around to answer it and all.

  “It’s her birthday.” He almost falls over. One leg still in the process of going through the pants. Static in his ears as he leans again the wall for support, clothes forgotten.

  “What!?” Fucking hell. He hasn’t gotten her anything for it. His eyes go to the calendar on his wall to check the date. July 21st. “It’s her birthday?”

  “It is,” Jade says, sounding a little amused now. “I haven’t been able to get her to fully celebrate it, but I won’t budge on at least celebrating at home.”

  “I see.” Tyler’s mind is racing. What would be a good pce to take her? And what’s open this early?

  “So, will you get her out of the house for a while? Preferably within the next hour. ”

  “Of course,” he replies automatically. “I’ll see what I can do and be there asap.”

  “Excellent. Thank you. I’ll see you in a few.”

  “See you,” he manages to reply just before she hangs up. Then he leans against the wall further, hand with phone going up to cover his eyes. Shit. He supposes that present will just need to wait.

  Releasing a shuddering breath, he punches a message into the group chat, before finishing dressing. As expected, he’s bombarded with a bunch of messages almost immediately. Rolling his eyes, he tells them to get back on topic.

  After the expected questions and tangents, they manage to come up with a pn. Of course, they’re all on board. They won’t be able to arrive at the same time, but should be there within the hour. Nina suggests they go to Timezone, since there’s not many people there so early.

  Which is perfect. It’s close enough that they can get back back whenever. And it gives them a lot of options to spend the day. Unfortunately, they can’t get Ally or Brooke to come since they’re currently on trips with their families. Maybe they could do something else for her birthday when they get back?

  He doesn’t really know, but it’s certainly a thought. He’ll bring it up ter.

  Tyler pulls up outside their house and waits all of three seconds before getting out. He doesn’t get to finish knocking before the door swings open to reveal a smiling Jade.

  “Hi again,” he says for a ck of a better greeting.

  “Hi,” she repeats, still smiling. “Come in.”

  He doesn’t need to be told twice. “Does Vicky know I’m here?” Tyler hadn’t got the impression from the phone call and since he could see the door to her room was shut, he doubted she did.

  Jade confirms as much by the look on her face. “I wanted it to be a surprise. Can you please get her for me?” Something told him it was a little more than that, but he doesn’t think much more on it.

  Silence greets his knocks. Then, “I don’t want to come out Jade.”

  Tyler feels his face contort into a frown, lips thinning. “It’s me,” he calls through the door. “Are you okay? Why don’t you want to come out?”

  A beat of silence. Then he hears the muffled sound of shuffling and the door is swinging open to reveal a tired looking Vicky. His hand goes to wipe under her eyes before he consciously registers it, frown deepening.

  “Have you been crying?” They’re puffy and red, and…Why is she crying on her birthday?

  “Never mind that,” she says, voice sounding a little hoarse. “What are you doing here?” Ah crap. Tyler didn’t have an excuse.

  “Um. I. Er. I wanted to see you,” he settles on. “We’re going to Timezone today, do you want to come?” Silence. “Please?” Tyler makes his best pleading look when she hesitates. Shit. He doesn’t want to fail before he begins.

  Vicky blinks slowly after a moment, eyes narrowing on him. “Jade set you up to this, didn’t she?” She sighs. “No need to answer that, I know she did.” She mutters something under her breath he can’t quite make out. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really feel like-”

  “But it’s your birthday,” Tyler finds himself saying before he can think better of it. “Please? Please, please, please? It’ll be so much fun. We can use the bowling alleys since no one will be there? Or py ser tag? There’s so many other games too.”

  Okay, so he maybe ying it on a little thick. But in his defence, he wasn’t prepared for her to say no. Which is very stupid in hindsight, but there’s nothing to be done about it now. So pleading it is.

  Vicky snorts, lips curling into a small smile. She shakes her head. “Give me a few minutes.”

  Joy soars in his heart. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes.” The door shuts before she can see the grin spreading over his lips. Phew. For a minute there, he thought he might have fucked everything up.

  When she comes back out, she’s dressed in a long-sleeved white dress and denim jumpsuit. The puffiness under her eyes is less noticeable now. And she only sends Jade a small gre before following him out the door rather than tirade he was half expecting.

  They reach Timezone in no time, the car ride mostly quiet, apart from music on the radio. He doesn’t mind it too much. However, he is concerned when her steps are a little shaky as she steps out.

  “You okay?” Tyler immediately steps closer.

  “I’m fine,” she says in a voice that isn’t very convincing at all. “Let’s just go in.”

  “Hmm. Okay.” Later then. “The others will join us ter. What do you want to do first?”

  “Maybe the arcade games?” Her eyes flick to them and she smiles. “Definitely the arcade games. Bet I could shoot more baskets than you.”

  Tyler shakes his head, narrowing his eyes on her pyfully. “Game on.”

  It’s a close call, but he wins the first game. She gives him a slight gre and demands a rematch on the spot. She wins the next round, but it sets up a competitive streak in them both that has them pying the game over and over again.

  Which is how the others find them, tied since they keep winning a game each. Best out of three turned into best out of 20, and no clear window. Vicky gres at him as he distracts her, making her miss a shot. Of course he wins after that and the gre turns a little more menacing.

  At which pointLiaintervenes and directs them all to the mini golf course. She doesn’t say anything, but the judgment in her look conveys it anyway. Nina andZachfollow along with a ugh. Vicky’s annoyance turns into ughter when they keep missing the hole.

  “You know,” Nina notes onLia’sfourth attempt at the first hole, “at this point, it might just be a competition to see who gets worst score without completely losing.” Tyler snorts, not being able to deny it when they somehow take ten minutes to get past the first point.

  “That’s not such a bad idea,” Vicky says, getting the others attention. “Sounds interesting enough.” She grins. “What do you say?”

  “Anything for the birthday girl,”Zachanswers with a shrug. Then grins. “I’m already winning with my six.”

  “You dorealisethat’s nothing to brag about,” Tyler shoots back with a eye roll. Evidently, it does nothing to deter him.

  Liathrows them a gnce over her shoulder, deliberately holding eye contact as she putts the ball in the completely wrong direction. “You’re on.”

  And so the game begins. By the st point, they’ve ughed more than they imagined. His stomach hurts. The ball has gone into the fake bushes. And somehow Nina manages to get it in first shot without trying, which takes her out of the running.

  She huffs, but moves to the side without protest.Zachmanages to reach four before the ball rebounds and goes in the hole by accident. He shrugs it off with a ugh, clearly having forgotten the whole point of the competition. Tyler can’t really bme him. They’re having far too much fun with it.

  To no one’s surprise,Lia ends up winning the losing game competition. Which would be sad in any case. She pettily pokes her tongue out at him when he mentions as much. It makes Vicky burst out ughing again, so he just rolls with it.

  Their gaming is cut short soon after since Nina’s stomach starts grumbling. A checking of his phone tells him it’s close to lunch time now. There are a lot more people around them now, so they decide to head to the cafe before busy.

  Luckily, they’re able to secure table for five. And soon there’s two rge pizzas, fries and milkshakes in front of them. From which the pizzas don’t st long since they’ve wracked up an appetite. Tyler didn’trealisehow hungry he’d gotten until then.

  “Almost forgot,” Nina says, already having finished eating. She pulls out a small bag from her purse. “Happy birthday.”

  “Thank you,” Vicky replies with a smile, “Should I open this now, or wait till ter?”

  Nina shrugs. “Either is fine.”

  “Good.” Vicky tucks it into her purse. “Usually I’m too impatient to wait, but I want to wait until I’m in the right mood to open this.” Tyler frowns, but doesn’t get to say anything beforeZachinterrupts.

  “When did you get the chance to get that?”

  “I already had it,” Nina answers with a shrug. “It’s sort of been in my closet for a while, collecting dust. I…” She hesitates, eyes flickering to Vicky. “I saw it while cleaning it out and…I don’t know. It just reminded me of you.”

  Vicky blinks, going still. “Why do you even have it if you don’t use it,”Zachasks, pointing at her with a chip.

  “Hey, I buy a lot of stuff. It’s not…” Tyler sort of tunes them out, his attention focused on Vicky who…was looking a little to pale.

  “Are you alright?” ApparentlyLiahas decided to ignore them as well. “Why isn’t it a good time?” Ah right. He’d almost forgotten about that.

  “Yeah,” Vicky croaks, “Just a little tired.” She smiles. “You mind if I take a little nap?”

  “Not at all,”Liasays, “those two are going to be a while anyway.”

  The problem, Tyler quietly decides, is that neither her first smile nor the one she is giving her now look genuine. They look strained at best. But she also looks very tired, so Tyler decides to leave it be.

  Instead, he helps move away the ptes so she can rest her head in her arms more easily. The conversation continues on around them, a quiet buzz around his thoughts. Looking around, there’s a lot of families bowling nearby. Something about it strikes at a residual memory.

  All day, ever since he saw the date…Tyler can’t shake the feeling he’s forgetting something. It was easier to ignore the lingering unease when they were having so much fun, but now it’s come back with a vengeance. Dread building and sinking its cws into his heart.

  He doesn’t know what or why, but something iswrong.Vicky’s eyes when he went to get her. The way she’s gotten quieter over the past two weeks. She didn’t want to come out…

  “This is just like the time you decided to watch the conjuring and Annabelle and mistook that sweet dy for a monster.”

  “Hey,” Nina protests, “In mydefence, I was seven. Also, how is that in any way reted to Hugo?”

  “Because you’re projecting what you’ve recently watched onto him,” Lia says. She goes ignored. And Tyler is just trying to figure what tangent he missed that led to this topic.

  “Being seven is not an excuse for you screaming and throwing your bag at her,”Zach says in a deadpan. “Poor Miss Tally.”

  “That wasn’t her name,” Nina says in a huff. “It was Miss Tabby.”

  “I don’t think that was her name either,”Liapoints out.

  “I agree,” Tyler gets in, “I don’t even think that is a name.”

  “Then what was it? Does anyone know,”Zachturns his head to the side, giving them all a questioning look. Which would make more sense if they hadn’t just established they did not. Honestly.

  “Don’t you think-”

  “Talbot.” They all grow quiet, turning to Vicky who’s now looking at them with her head resting in her hand. “It was Miss Talbot.” She sighs, long suffering and exhausted. “You all have terrible memories.” She probably didn’t mean for them to hear the st bit, but it’s not quiet enough not to be heard.

  That…sounds right. It’s just…He never told her about that?

  “How.” ’s eyes are wide, “How do you know that?”

  Vicky gives them all a silent look. Those eyes…She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter.” She sighs again, getting out of the chair, “I’m so tired.” Her hand goes down her face. “I think I’m just going to go.”

  “Wait!” Tyler’s on his feet the minute she goes for the door. Not that it’s any help with how fast she’s walking. She doesn’t stop. “Vicky!” He barely registers a gasp and chairs screeching behind him, eyes focused on her.

  “Wait, please!” Why is he following after her? Tyler can no longer say. Puzzle pieces of information float around his head as she stops at the end of the street. There’s no one else around.

  She turns, face bnk. “What is it?” But there areunshedtears in her eyes.

  “I…”How do you know?“Where are you going?” Blue eyes and ughter drift into his mind.

  “Home,” she says.

  Memories of ughter and tree houses. “Jade hasn’t called yet.”

  “I know,” she smiles, sad. “But I can’t stay here anymore.”

  “Why?” Tyler doesn’t really know what he’s asking her. Why do you need to leave or…Why do you remind me?

  A car crash. Parents that died over six years ago. Her hesitance in the car. The breakdown at the hospital. The puzzle pieces are slotting together now. He just doesn’t know what they mean. He needs to know what they mean.

  “Because I’m tired, Ty.” The tears fall. Even with his mind bnking with one word, he moves to wipe them away.

  Her voice, herealises. The way she says it is far too familiar. And another puzzle piece slots into pce. She knew what hisfavouritemovie was. She knows…

  “How do you know so much?”

  Her hand goes up to swat his away, even as tears stream down her face. “You know,” she tells him, “You know exactly how.” She smiles through the tears. “Or do you expect me to believe the memories mean nothing?”

  Memories. Tyler doesn’t say anything. He can’t. Because the memories he’d tried to keep at bay are swarming him. Ones he had thought were better left forgotten. He brushes them back once again. Not now.

  “I have to go,” she repeats again, sniffling. “I can’t stay here.” Her eyes meet his with a watery, self depreciating smile. “You know,” she says on a sniffle. “Never in all my pns did I think you wouldn’trecogniseme.”

  The words stab at his heart and he can no longer keep the memories at bay. The hit him with the force of a brick to the face. And the dread he’s been feeling wrenches through his body with a renewed force. She’s right. She’s always right.

  “Wait!” Tyler can’t make his feet move. “Tori…” The name is a whisper in the wind, but he hopes she hears it anyway. Please don’t go.