When the sound of someone knocking on the front door reached my ears, my heart seemed to skip a beat. The rational part of me tried to convince the fear coursing through my system that it was Tyra and Sebastian, but the possibility of meeting Tobias on the other side of that door fed the mindless panic until I heard Tyra's voice.

"Dylan, you home?" Her voice was faint but more comforting than any other voice could have been right then.

"Yeah," I called out and made my way toward the door, reaching out for walls, door posts and furniture to keep me steady.

I opened, and Tyra stood ready on the other side, looking like she was about to say something until the words fled. Sebastian peeked at me from behind her. His eyebrows twitched as our gazes met.

"What the hell happened?" Tyra asked after another few seconds of silence.

Instead of answering, I stepped back to let them inside. Tyra seemed ready to attack me with another question before entering the house, but Sebastian reached out with his hand and placed it on her shoulder. She turned around briefly, and I could see how they exchanged a look to speak without words.

None of us spoke until we were all seated in the living room. Tyra leaned forward while Sebastian fell back against the cushions.

"Can you please tell us what's wrong?" Tyra asked, trying with a gentler approach.

I took a deep breath, letting it settle me as much as possible. "Tobias, the guy you met, is a guy from my past."

Sebastian leaned forward. "The teacher taking over for Mr. Simpson this semester?"

"Yes," Tyra said.

They both waited for me to continue, one more anxious than the other. Tyra kept fidgeting, not able to sit still even for a second.

I told them as much as I dared, starting from where Tobias and I had first started stealing kisses in empty classrooms. I told them about secret dates, and how he gradually started to control me more and more. I left out the full extent of what he put me through, but from their concerned facial expressions, I could tell that they could read between the lines. Last of all, I told them that Tobias was the reason we moved across the state.

Sebastian rose from his seat and cuddled up at my side, lacing an arm around my back for comfort.

"Do you think he came here for you?" Seb asked.

"I'm sure of it."

Tyra didn't say a word, instead she was looking at a fixed point somewhere, her gaze empty while her thoughts worked.

Another knock sounded on the door, and both Sebastian and I tensed where we sat.

"Expecting someone?" Tyra asked, staring at the door as if she could see who was beyond if she just looked hard enough.

"No," I replied. "No one that would knock."

"I'll get it then," Tyra said, and I felt how Sebastian's hold on me tightened in worry.

"He's not violent," I said, trying to reassure them both. Perhaps it was selfish of me to accept Tyra's offer to open the door, but if it was Tobias, Tyra could handle him without my help. Instead, I sat there, grateful that I had friends looking out for me.

Tyra approached the door with confident steps and opened it as soon as she arrived without an ounce of hesitation.

"Zach?" Tyra's voice was raised in surprise, and I instantly shot up from the sofa to dash through the room.

I could hear murmurs exchanged between them by the door, but in my hurry to get there, I couldn't make out a single word.

Zach's eyes found mine, and Tyra swiveled around in mild shock at my sudden appearance.

"Hi," I said, not even hiding the fact that I bounded for the door.

Zach grinned. "Thought I'd come by and say hi."

A million thoughts danced around in my head. Firstly, he was brave to come here. Secondly, he obviously remembered where I lived after sneaking out from my house after that party incident. Thirdly, there was no way he came to only say hi. Okay, so maybe not a million thoughts, but still. It took enough time to process for the other two to raise their eyebrows at my sudden silence.

When I failed to say anything, Tyra offered, "Do you want to come inside for a bit?"

Zach looked at me. "I don't know." There was a hint of a question there, and I nodded in an attempt to say yes.

"Come in," I said when my tongue started to work.

Zach flashed an uncertain smile and breezed past Tyra.

It was weird to have both of them in the house together after what she'd said about him, but I didn't want to add to the tension by acknowledging anything. They could ignore each other if they wanted to; I in turn would ignore their ignoring.

Sebastian rose from the sofa as we entered the living room. He wasn't the most comfortable person around new people, but he squeaked out a soft 'hi'.

Zach gave him a nod and a 'hi' before turning to me. "Can I get you something?" I asked. "Water, juice, anything?"

"I'll come with you," he replied, and I could tell he wanted some time alone with me. The problem was that it was open between the kitchen and the living room, which left us with no privacy whatsoever.

I chewed on my lip and changed my mind. "I have some sodas upstairs. Let's go." Zach smiled and followed me as I walked up the stairs to my room. I did have sodas in there, luckily.

As we reached my room, I heard a soft click behind me as Zach closed the door. It was such a simple thing—a door closing—but the possibilities of what could happen between us made me stop mid-step.

Turning around, I met Zach's eyes—eyes that used to be cold and unforgiving. This time, I saw something else in them, something that resembled a question.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Again, something simple that in the midst of it all ceased to be simple. An innocent question that opened up a myriad of new questions in my confused mind. He wanted to hear that I was okay, but he took the time to come here and ask me. He was concerned, but what did that mean?

"I'm fine."

"Is that so?" he challenged.

All of a sudden, my mouth opened, my tongue started working and words simply poured out, seemingly uncontrolled. "My ex has followed me across the state and he's going to work at our school. He was the reason we moved, and now he's here. I can't get away and I shouldn't even be saying this to you." I hid my face behind my hands and regretted how much I let slip. Backing away, I slumped down on the bed as my legs hit the soft, familiar piece of furniture.

The bed creaked as he sat down beside me. "Why shouldn't you tell me?"

I wanted to have a good answer to that question, but I didn't—none that made sense when voiced inside my head, at least.

"Dylan. Tell me. Why shouldn't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want you to know."

"Well, tough! Now I know, and to be honest, I'd be angry if you kept something like this a secret."

"Why? It doesn't affect you." That was a lie, of course, since it might very much affect him that Tobias was here, but I was determined to keep Tobias away from him. So no, I didn't want him affected. He shouldn't have to worry about Tobias. No one should worry about him.

"Like hell it doesn't. It affects you, which means that it will affect me."

I looked up, almost afraid to meet his eyes but compelled to do so. "What do you mean?"

Zach shook his head. "It will. Trust me. But enough about that. Has he contacted you, threatened you?"

I had no intention of answering that question, so I rose from the bed, angry that he was pushing me. Before I could take a step forward, he grabbed around my arm and pulled me down. "Not so fast."

"What the fuck," I snapped, squirming to get out of his firm hold.

Zach ignored me. "So he has. What did he say?"

I tried to get up again, but I didn't stand a chance. Gritting my teeth, I tried to relax, thinking that he might let me go if he thought I had calmed down. It worked, and as soon as I felt his fingers soften their hold, I flew out of the bed and dashed downstairs.

Tyra and Sebastian watched me from the living room sofa, arching their eyebrows in perfect unison.

"What happened?" Sebastian asked, his voice concerned.

The question stopped me. What happened? I freaked out and left the guy I had a major crush on. I freaked out and refused to answer important questions. I freaked out and ruined every chance of something more. How stupid could I be?

I turned without offering a reply and walked up the stairs again. I stood outside my door for a bit, trying to calm my nerves to avoid additional frustration. However, I shouldn't have paused. When I entered my room, a chilly wind tousled my hair. The window was wide open and Zach was nowhere to be seen.

Fuck, I thought, and stalked over to the window to see if he had left the garden yet. It was empty. Just like I was.