Page 15 of You Found Me in the Dark
It was definitely the alcohol. Or maybe the part of me that wanted to feel wanted, even if the hands doing the wanting belong to a person who used to make me feel so small.
He tilted his head, studying me like he was asking a question without words. I didn’t answer with words. Instead, I leaned forward, and our lips met.
The kiss was soft but familiar. It was messy in that way that first reconnections always are. His hand slid further up my leg, palm warm against my bare skin.
Something fluttered in my chest. It was either nerves, guilt, or doubt. So I kissed him harder, trying to drown out all the negative thoughts. But then the pressure shifted. His hand moved higher and pushed firmly. The kiss turned hungrier. Something I did not want. It was happening too fast.
I pulled back slightly, breathing hard. “Ty. No, I don’t want to go any further than this.”
He didn’t move away. His hand trailed up to my jaw and grabbed it firmly, not allowing me to pull away, and he started to kiss my neck.
“Fucking stop,” I started to panic, trying to squirm from his grasp. That’s when a new voice cut through the night like a thunderclap.
“Wren.”
Tyler jerked away so fast it was like I had burned him.
Reed stood at the edge of the fire pit, chest rising and falling, eyes locked onto Ty like he was deciding whether to swing or scream.
“Reed?” I said, confused, breathless. The fear of the momentshattered in an instant. He didn’t look at me. He was looking only at Ty.
He stood slowly, like he had something to prove.
“Well, if it isn’t Reed,” Ty said, coolly. “Didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
Reed spoke through clenched teeth. “Didn’t expect to need to be here.”
His voice was sharp, quiet, controlled. And that scared me more than if he’d come in yelling. I was worried he was about to knock Ty out. Well-deserved, but I didn’t want him to have to do it.
I blinked and began to sober up quickly. The warmth in my face faded into something else. Embarrassment? Shame? Confusion? Probably a mix of all three.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, my voice barely above a whisper.
He finally looked at me. His eyes weren’t angry.
They were worried. Or hurt?
“Harper texted me,” he said simply. “She saw who you were with.”
Ty scoffed, now looking at me. “Wow. Still keeping babysitters on speed dial, huh?”
I shrank, blinking through the burn of tears. This was the Tyler I knew. The manipulative, gaslighting asshole I swore I’d never fall for again. How the fuck did I forget?
Reed stepped around the fire pit, leaving an open path to Tyler. “You think I’d sit around knowing she was with your bitch ass? I only move like this when someone I fucking care about is in trouble.”
It cracked something open in my chest. Like he knew exactly what I needed to hear and didn’t hesitate to say it.
13
REED
Ty didn’t like that answer.
I stepped two steps closer. “You need to walk the fuck away. Now, Tyler.”
He let out a breathy laugh, then looked over my shoulder at where Wren had moved. “You really need a man to speak for you now, Wren? Finally learned your place, huh? If only you could’ve done this while we were together, maybe we would be married by now.”
I started to turn away from him, jaw tight, breath shaky out of pure rage. For a second, it looked like I might let it go. But then I pivoted on my heel, swung back hard, and my fist connected with his nose in one clean, vicious motion. I heard the crack of bones. Before I realized what I had done, I had landed another four good hits to his face and jaw before people were pulling me off of him.
