Chasing Lyrics (Music & Lyrics #1) (17 page)

Chapter
34

‘Never
did I believe you’d shatter my heart into a million pieces’

Lyrics –

     Three days until he gets
home. I drove home last night from Mom’s house and just knowing Tanner will be
here soon has made my apartment feel way less empty. There is nothing in my
fridge and it looks as if I haven’t lived here for ages. I’m going to clean up,
and have it nice and fresh for when he walks through my door. As I look around
the living room, everything is he and I. This fourteen-year-old boy in this
picture with me is going to be my husband! Instantly a smile forms on my face. I
grab my phone, take a pic of this picture we took when we were fourteen years
old, and send it in a text to Tanner. I text, “That boy is going to grow up and
marry that girl.”

     A knock at the door and I
check the time, it’s 8:30 in the morning, who could this be? For a moment, I
thought he might have come in early to surprise me. I look through the peephole
and it’s Tyler. I open up the door and he is standing there with a cute smile
on his face. I say, “What are you doing up so early?”

     He quickly says, “Don’t
know but I figured I’d see if you decided to stop by your own house for a bit.”
I laugh and motion for him to come inside. He comes in and plops down on the
couch. He looks around and says, “High school sweethearts getting married. Well,
if anybody will make it work it’s you two, I guess. Kind of cliché don’t you
think?”

      I laugh and ask him,
“Dude, are you on drugs?”

     He laughs and says, “Just
a few, but the doctor gave me them so I don’t know if that counts.”

      I ask him, “Are you
hungry? Wanna get a bite to eat?”

      He says with a smirk,
“Yes Dylan, I’ll go on a breakfast date with you.” I grab my purse and we walk
out to his car. He says, “Magnolia Café?”

      My stomach growls and I
say, “Perfect. Fucking perfect.” Magnolia Café is the place we would all go eat
at after playing gigs or drinking all night. They have the most incredible
comfort breakfast food.

     Tyler pulls up to the
restaurant and I quickly check my phone. No text yet. It isn’t like him not to
respond; maybe he’s in the middle of one of his last shoots, or maybe he’s
sleeping? I get out of the car and Tyler is staring at me almost as if he’s
annoyed. He sarcastically says, “Dylan, texting your fiancé is so rude to do on
our date.” I push his arm and he flings it gently around my neck as we walk
into the restaurant.

      When we walk inside, this
girl yells from across the restaurant, “Hey, Tyler, great show last night.”

      He smiles, gives a thumb
up, and says, “Thank you.”

      I roll my eyes and say,
“Damn, every man I’m with has girls fawning over them.”

     Tyler laughs and says, “Guess
you have good taste in musicians.”

     I confidently say, “Yes I
do!”

     Although Tyler is very
entertaining, it is really pissing me off that Tanner hasn’t texted me back. When
Tyler excuses himself to the restroom, I grab my phone and text Tanner. “Hey,
babe, you okay? Getting worried ‘cause I didn’t hear from you after you went
out with Chip. Hope some Aussie babe didn’t sweep you off your feet. Love you!”
I place my phone on the table and attempt to get my mind off it. Tyler comes
back right as the server is bringing our food. If anything can take my mind off
my phone, it is this food.

     Tyler coyly asks, “Still
no text?”

     I stare at him and ask,
“What makes you say that?”

     He says, “I saw you
checking your phone in the car and now it’s on the table, so I put two and two
together. I’m not just a pretty face.” He is a pretty face but it pisses me off
that he is so observant.

     “Nope, no text yet. Happy?”

     He says, “Are you gonna
leave him? If yes, then I’m happy.”

      I shake my head and say,
“Well, if you were this persistent last year, we may have had a run.”

     He takes a bite and says,
“Yep, I think about that all the time.”

     I glance up at him and
can’t tell if he’s fucking with me or serious. Quickly, I change the subject. “So
Tyler, who’s your chick of the week?”

     He cocks his eye at me and
says, “Dylan, you must have me confused with a different slut. That’s not how I
roll. If anybody should know that, it’s you.”

     Things are getting
uncomfortable. I awkwardly blurt out, “We picked a date for the wedding. April
25, 2017.”

     Tyler smiles and says,
“Congratulations. Am I going to be one of your bridesmaids?”

     I ask, “Really? Would you
actually want to be?”

     He laughs and says, “Ugh,
hell no. I was just kidding, dang.” Tyler asks, “Do you happen to have an extra
pedal for a guitar?”

      I say, “Tanner has a few
in my apartment. I’m sure he won’t mind if you borrow one. You can grab it when
you take me home. When are you playing next? God, I miss being there.”

     Tyler says, “Why don’t you
come tonight? Tanner won’t be home for a few more days, come out, and hang out
with us. We all miss you.”

     That really does sound
perfect. I miss the heck out of writing and watching Tanner up on stage. I
check my phone again and then say, “I’d love to hang out tonight.”

     Tyler flashes a bit of an
evil smile and says, “Nice.” The server brings the bill; Tyler grabs it up, and
hands the server his card.

     I say, “Thank you.”

      He jerks his head and
says, “Like I’d have some chick pay for me, yeah sure!” We both laugh.

     On the ride back to my
apartment, Tyler keeps me entertained with club drama that I’ve missed. I check
my phone and it is now 9:45 a.m. When we walk into my apartment, Tyler sits on
the couch and I go into the room to grab the pedal for him. A bang at the door scares
both of us. I open the door. It’s the mailwoman.

      She says, “Dylan Brooks?”

      I say, “Yes, I am she.”

      She hands me a box and
says, “I need you to sign right here.” I sign where she tells me and she leaves
with a very small smile.

     I yell, “Thank you.” She
nods her head as she walks away.

      Tyler says, “An early
wedding gift?”

      I say, “I have no idea
what this is; there’s no name on the box. It is from Australia though, so I’m
guessing from Tanner.”

     Tyler says, “Oh, so
romantic.”

     I stare at him in a joking
way. I say, “You got a knife?”

     He laughs and says, “This
is Texas, Ma’am, of course, I have a knife.” He flips his knife open and hands
it to me. I eagerly plunge it through the double tape on the box, excited to
see what my man has sent me. Tyler is watching my every move. I reach in and
pull out an envelope and a thumb drive. I place the thumb drive on the table
and open the envelope. I open up the note and pictures slip out. Tyler reaches
to pick the pictures up and says, “What the fuck is this? What the holy fuck is
this?”

      My hands begin to shake
uncontrollably as I’m reading the letter. I can’t breathe. She is lying. I know
she is lying. I say, “Tyler, hand me the pictures.”

      He shakes his head and
says, “No. Dylan, you don’t need to see this.”

     I yell, “Give me the
fucking pictures, God dammit, just give them to me.” He refuses. Tears are
rolling down my face and I am ready to tear Tyler up if he doesn’t give them to
me. “Tyler, please just give them to me. I need to see them.” He must have seen
something in me because he reluctantly hands them to me.

     I know what I am looking
at but I don’t believe it. Tanner would never do this to me. I throw the pictures,
grab the lamp on the end table next to the couch, and hurl it across the room. As
it shatters into a million pieces, I scream, “I’m gonna kill that fucking whore.”

     Tyler pulls me in tight
and says, “I’m so sorry.” I try to break free because I feel like I’m going to
throw up. He holds me close to him and says, “Dylan, breathe.” I fall to the
ground and pick up one of the pictures. She is naked and fucking my fiancé. Tears
are falling like a leaky faucet. I crumble the picture and scream, “Where the
fuck is Tanner? This is bullshit, Tyler, he’d never do this. He hates her. That’s
my Tanner, I know him. There is something so wrong.” I reach for another lamp
but Tyler pulls me back.

      My phone rings and I jump
to get it. It’s Mom. I answer but cannot speak through the crying.

     She says, “Oh, honey, I
guess you already saw?”

     I mutter out the words,
“Saw what? Mom, saw what?”

     She quietly asks, “Why are
you crying then?”

      I feel embarrassed to
tell her. She repeats the question. I say, “That fucking bitch Jennifer sent me
pictures in the mail. Disgusting pictures with her and Tanner.”

     Mom says, “That’s what I
just saw on the news. It showed a picture of them kissing, calling them the new
‘it’ couple.”

     I double over and ask,
“Mom, do you think it’s true?”
    She quickly says, “No I don’t. He loves you too much and would never do
anything to hurt you. I didn’t raise him to be an asshole. This isn’t Tanner. Something
is not right.” Tyler is uncomfortably sitting on the couch, glancing at me.

     I tell Mom, “I have been
texting him all morning and he hasn’t responded yet. Have you spoken to him?”

     She quickly says, “No, I
haven’t, honey.”

     I say, “I’m going to call
Chip right now. I’ll call you back.”

     Tyler softly says, “Dylan,
do you think it’s a great idea to call people trying to chase him down? The
pictures are right in front of you, and God only knows what’s on that thumb
drive.”

     My heart sinks. “Where is
that thumb drive?” He shrugs. I frantically search for it around the table and
don’t see it anywhere. I lift up the couch and it is right there on the carpet.
I look at Tyler and say, “I need you to leave, please.”

     He steps toward me and
says, “Dylan, you shouldn’t be alone right now. I suggest you don’t fucking
watch whatever is on that thumb drive. It’s not going to be something you can
un-see once you see it. I can stay here with you.”

      Those images keep popping
into my head and I feel like crumbling onto the floor in a ball. I say, “Thanks,
Tyler, I want to be alone right now. I’ll call you later.”

     He gives me a hug and
says, “You deserve better.” He can’t say those words to me. Tanner is the best.
I know what I’m looking at but in my gut, I am certain something is not right.

     I wipe the tears away from
my face and place the thumb drive into my computer. Tanner is lying on some bed
and Jennifer is sucking him off. I run to the bathroom and throw up. My whole
world is crumbling before me. Almost like it’s a mission for me, I stumble back
to the computer and continue watching. Through my tears, I notice that Tanner
hasn’t moved even one inch. I rewind it and watch it again. Fear instantly
overwhelms me. Oh my God, he’s dead. She killed him because of me. I will kill
that bitch. I will fucking kill her if she hurt him.

     I fumble through my wallet
and find Chip’s number. I call him and he answers right away, “Dylan, I was
just going to call you. Something is wrong with Tanner. Jennifer text me this
morning that Tanner told her that he is sick of this shit and he was leaving. She
said he went to the airport. Then I saw the news that showed pictures of them
and how they are a couple. He fucking hates her. Dylan, we need to find him. I’ve
been calling Jennifer all day and she hasn’t returned my call yet. I’m telling
you, hun, this is not true. I’ve never seen a man as in love as he is with you.
Jennifer did something. I mean she’s been a horrible bitch for the past four months,
threatening to get even with you.”

     My head is in a fog. I say,
“What? He told me she was being decent and not starting anything with him.”

      Chip quickly blurts out,
“He lied. Probably didn’t want to worry you.” My heart feels like a vice grip
is around it. I knew he wouldn’t do this to me. I tell Chip to call the local
police and I will find a flight and be there tomorrow.

     I pull myself together and
call mom to fill her in on what Chip told me. She immediately says, “I’m going
too. Find two tickets.” A relief comes over me knowing that Mom will be there
with me. I pull up the airlines on my phone and use Tanner’s card to book two
flights. I gather the pictures and put them with the thumb drive into an
envelope. I want to burn them but something tells me we’re going to need them
as evidence.

     I text Mom the flight
information and she replies, “I’m on my way to your house right now.” God, I
adore this woman. I text Chip and tell him the time we will be there.

      He texts back, “That’s
good, I’ll have a car there for you. I called the police and put a missing
person report out for Tanner. What worries me is that when I was walking
through the hotel, I swear I saw two big guys carrying Jennifer’s luggage out. I
tried to stop them but they got in their car and left before I could reach them.
She’s a sneaky evil bitch. We’ll find him. Don’t worry. I promise. I knew I
shouldn’t have left him alone last night at that damn club. I’m so sorry.”