It was the end of the school day and Tyler was walking to his car, wanting to hurry home and sit around, doing nothing. Sadly, his mom found out he took his phone back and put him back on pickup duty. He was about to put his hand on the door handle to open it, when he was cut off by a voice.

"Tyler!"

The brunette looked up towards the source of the voice and saw Josh walking towards him. "What's up?" he asked.

"Um, can we talk?"

"Sure," Tyler nodded. "I have to pick up my sister, we can get Patrick too."

"Uh... okay, sure."

The two got into his car and Tyler started it, looking out the back window and pulling out. "Are you still mad at us?"

"No, I talked with Dallon earlier."

"That's good," Tyler explained. "But what did you wanna talk to me about?"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry for lying. I'm sorry for being mad at you. I'm sorry for not telling you everything."

"Josh," Tyler sighed. "You didn't have to tell me. I get it. You've been friends with Dallon since preschool, that's gotta count for something. You've only known me for a couple months."

"I know, but still. I feel like I can trust you. We're friends."

"I'm honored," Tyler laughed. "To go from history partners to friends."

"Shut up," Josh laughed back.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"What exactly did you mean when you said Dallon doesn't have to deal with abusive parents?"

It instantly became dead quiet in the car. "Can you ask a different question?"

"Yeah, of course," Tyler's voice softened. "How long have you been in foster care?"

"I bounced around in a few different homes for about six months when I was first put into the system but I've been with my parents since I was eight."

"What about Patrick?"

"He came when I was twelve, he was only four at the time."

"Why the fuck did your parents decide to foster two kids if they're just gonna hurt you guys?" Tyler pulled into the school, but took a spot in the parking lot so they could continue their conversation.

Josh laughed dryly, no humor in the noise. "So they could get double the money to waste on things that didn't benefit us. Mostly cigarettes and alcohol."

Tyler instantly became guilty from the other day when he tricked Josh into drinking Vodka.

"Can I ask another question?"

"You can ask it. I might not answer it."

"How'd you end up in foster care?"

Josh sighed. "When I was seven, my family and I were all in our car, driving home from the zoo. We had an SUV and my little brother and sister, Jordan and Abbie, were sitting in the middle in their car seats. My other little sister, Ashley, and I were sitting in the very back. My mom of course was sitting next to my dad in the front. I remember my dad wanted to go see a baseball game instead that day, but my mom convinced him to take us to the zoo. Because of that, he was playing the game on the radio. Abbie was napping, I don't know what Jordan was doing, Ashley was reading her book. It always surprised me that she could do that without getting nauseous," Josh laughed sadly, nostalgia visible on his face. "I remember us passing a sign. It was one that had the different fast food restaurants on it and how far they were from us. I looked over to Ashley to ask her if she would ask our parents to stop somewhere to eat and that's when I noticed the car that was veering into our lane. It hit the left side of the car and crushed it. I was the only one that survived."

"Damn," Tyler replied. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No it's not," Tyler looked at Josh. "I understand where you're coming from."

"What do you mean?"

"That's how my dad died," he grabbed the pack of cigarettes out of his leather jacket. He couldn't ever tell this story without smoking. "He wasn't driving home from the zoo, but he was hit in a car accident when I was a freshman."

"I can't stand you anymore!" Kelly yelled. "You don't even love me!"

Tyler was sitting in his room, under the covers. He hated when his parents fought. The two people he cared about the most, arguing.

"I don't when you act like this!" Chris yelled back.

"See! You just admitted it! You probably don't love our kids either!"

"Don't you dare say that! I love them with all my heart, you know that," he shouted shakily.

"Just leave," Kelly said. "Get out of my house. I don't want to be around you tonight."

Tyler loved his mom, but he loved his dad more. His dad was his everything. From all the piggy back rides to bedtime stories when he was younger. To helping him study and taking him out for ice cream when he aced his first high school test. From helping him deal with the kids who picked on him to teasing Tyler himself.

The brunette quickly sprang out of bed and ran downstairs, not even trying to be quiet anymore. "Dad, don't leave."

Chris was grabbing his car keys and wallet. Tyler looked up at his father with tears in his eyes. "Bud, I gotta go. Your mom and I aren't on the best terms right now. I'll see you in the morning to take you to school, I promise."

"I love you."

"I love you too," and with that, the door closed quietly and he was gone. The last noise they heard was the sound of Jay crying.

"My parents were arguing one night and my mom told my dad to leave for the night, like to go stay in a hotel or something. He promised he would be back in the morning to take me to school, but I couldn't sleep until he got home. I heard my mom crying and came downstairs," Tyler explained emotionlessly. "The police were at the door. He was hit by a drunk driver. We got a ton of insurance money from it but that still doesn't replace the person who meant the most to me."

"Oh my God," Josh responded. "That's horrible."

"Tell me about it," Tyler laughed dryly, flicking the cigarette ash out of the window. "So, yeah, I understand."

"Guess we're in the same boat."

"I guess so," Tyler responded in a small voice, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Ty?" the mentioned boy looked up at his friend. "You okay?"

Tyler shook his head and felt tears fill his eyes. "I haven't talked about him in awhile. He was my everything, Josh. I loved him so much. That's why I am the way I am. I smoke weed to forget. I drink to forget. I block everyone out so I don't get attached again," he sobbed. "I miss him so much."

Instead of responding, Tyler felt himself get pulled into a hug. Granted, it was awkward because of the center console, but it was still genuine. The cigarette was long gone by now, it had fallen out the window. "It's okay," Josh rubbed his back as he cried. "You'll be okay."