Shock registers on Tyler's face—before soon, it quickly followed by a fiery anger. His jaw clenches with unexplainable bewilderment–and without hesitation, he strides rushfully towards them, ignoring Lucy's shriek of success in sinking the remaining balls on the billiard table!

Luke and Scott's alert gaze immediately follows the path of his stride—but once they take notice of the matter, it's too late. Their shouts already drowned by the fire burning within him.

As he arrives, in one swift motion, Tyler grabs Dominic by the collar and yanks him to his feet—causing the girl on his lap to stumble back in surprise with a loud shriek! Noticing who it is—Dominic lets out a devilish smirk.

"Oooh if it isn't the boyfriend—"

Ignoring the comment, Tyler throws Dominic down onto the sand. "I told you not to do something stupid, Dominic." he exclaims, his voice sharp with rage. Dominic, drunk and unfazed, laughs and scoffs beneath him,

"Just like what you did behind my back. Right, bro?"

Tyler pauses. His face contorts in pained frustration. Torn between his conflicting emotions, Tyler's grip on Dom's collar tightens as it almost trembles.

"You can get angry with me all you want–as long as it takes–I can endure! But you don't. hurt. her Hunt!"

Dominic pushes Tyler away with a fierce shove, sending him sprawling backwards. "Funny how you always act like the boyfriend–"

"Well if I'm her boyfriend maybe I'll take care of her more than you do!"

The crowd falls in a stunned silence. Luke, Scott, Wyatt, and Eve arrive on the scene, their eyes widening at the unfolding chaos. Lucy Burns, who had been watching the scene—quickly turns and leaves with irritation on her face. Dominic goes quiet.. before fury ignites within him–and he lunges forward!

He's about to punch Tyler straight in the face–but not until Luke, Scott, and Wyatt step in, trying to restrain him! Luke and Wyatt pull Dominic back with all their strength—all while he goes berserk against their hold! Meanwhile, Scott and Eve work to restrain Tyler—creating as much distance between him and Dominic as possible.

Noticing Eve, Tyler turns swiftly. "Where's Em?"

Eve holds his arm in caution, observing Tyler. Seemingly to have regained control of his emotions, she reluctantly releases. Sensing the cool air around the troublemaker, Scott also follows suit. A few meters away, Wyatt urgently whispers to Dominic while Luke struggles in holding him back—looking distressed. With concern etched on her face, Reed responds with a huff, "I don't know.. she hasn't answered any of my messages or calls–"

"Too bad you're just the bestfriend, Cavill!"

Tyler's initially calm demeanor shifts as he snaps his head back to Dominic—meeting his deathly glare head-on.

"You're not her boyfriend. Remember your place as her bestfriend, Cavill. That's the role you will always be."

Tyler's face hardens—intense fatigue and frustration mixed in one. His glare intensifies into a stern gaze before he finally speaks again.

"Say you won't pull something like this again, Hunt."

Silence falls over the scene, everyone on the beach transfixed, waiting for Dominic's response. However.. his initial demeanor shifts into eerie calmness as Dominic smirks, tilting his head.

"Why the hell shouldn't I?"

Feeling anger starts flaring inside of him again, Tyler growls, "You don't deserve her, asshole–" and he charges towards Dominic! Seething air through his teeth, Scott attempts to catch Tyler's arm like he's about to catch a football—but fails as he falls head first into the sand with an 'ow..' while Eve hesitates to chase after him—afraid.

Luke—with a tense expression, tries to restrain Dominic as he seethes, "You know nothing, asshole–" while Wyatt rushes to hold Tyler from the side—but ending up being dragged along as Cavill grabs Hunt by the neck and frustratingly shouts,

"So you're going to keep acting like this, Hunt?! You're gonna keep betraying her?!"

"Like how the two of you betray me!"

"It was a mistake, Hunt! I told you I'm sorry—!"

"Bullshit!"

Furious, Dominic shoves Luke and Wyatt away and pushes Tyler down beneath him—then punches him! Luke and Scott are about to rush to break it up, but Wyatt puts his hand in front of Luke and gestures to Scott across from him to stay put—knowing they won't be able to stop them.

Hunt's about to throw another punch–when Cavill pins him down! His eyes narrowed into slits of rage, voice sharp and demanding as he roars,

"Say you won't do this again and I'll stay away for good, Hunt!"

Tyler's patience wears thin as he waits for a response, his grip tightening with each passing moment—needing the assurance, anything, to make sure you won't get hurt. But Dominic remains silent, holding his ground.

"You don't tell me what to do. Do not cross the line, Cavill."

Taken aback, his grip tightens on Dominic's collar, his expression shifting from disbelief to disappointment. Tyler's eyes narrow with controlled fury, and yet, a glint of determination flickering within them. Giving a devilish smirk, he leans in—voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as he says,

"Considering how trash you are right now," Tyler licks the blood emerging on the corner of his lips—and his smirk grows as he snarls,

"There's no line I can't cross, Hunt."

In a corner of the room, Lucy is staring at a dark blue iPhone.

The phone rings three times.. four times..

She doesn't pick up.

Finally, the screen goes dark.. and she exhales a sigh of relief—when suddenly, a hand snatches the phone away. It's Tyler. Frustration etched all over his face, the moment he taps the screen—and finds two missed calls from you.

"The hell are you doing?! I told you to tell me if there's anything important!" he demands, his tone furious.

"You were fighting–!" the short-haired girl stammers, caught off guard as she pauses, trying to find an excuse. Rolling his head back and furrowing his eyebrows, Tyler shoots her a piercing glare like a dagger—when Lucy feels a building frustration and snaps, "There's nothing important anyway–"

"SHE'S IMPORTANT!"

Tyler's voice echoes through the room, and everything goes silent. People stop dancing, all activities cease—even the DJ halts the music. His glare still pierces through Lucy like a lightning bolt—but seeing her about to cry starts to send guilt through his veins, causing him to cringe and look away.. and he leaves.

Ignoring the stares from those around him, Tyler strides through the crowd—eyes glued to his phone screen. He also notices an alarming number of missed calls from both his mom and dad—but it's the eight missed calls from his mom that send a jolt of panic through him.

With trembling fingers, he punches fervently through his phone screen–until your name pops up on the screen. Bringing the phone to his ear, he hears a few rings—until the line connects.

"Em, where are you?"

But all he meets is a dead silence from the other end. Furrowing his already tightly knit brows, he lifts the phone to check whether the line's connected. Slightly tilting his head at this strange encounter, he brings the phone to his ear again and clarifies, "Hello? Em, you there? ..Hello?"

But now.. all he hears is bated breath. Sensing something bad, he stops in his tracks. He narrows his eyes, his worry grows as he makes out the sounds in the background—and dread washes over him as he hears crying in the background.

"Is—is that crying—? Em—where are you—"

"Ty."

His heart rate quickens at the sound of your voice, panic starting to set in as he waits. He waits.. and he waits.. until finally.. he hears your confused tone.

"They said he only has a year left—I don't.. I don't understand—he was just fine—"

With eyes widened, Tyler retracts his head in bewilderment—until his confusion turns to comprehension.. as he mutters under his breath,

"Mr. Winters—"

Like a lightning bolt, he darts from Wyatt's wide front porch to his Panigale. His hands tremble with panic as he struggles to insert the key into the starter. When he manages to turn it, he switches the phone to his other ear before preparing to take off.

"Em—tell me where you are—tell me what happened—"

"I.. don't know–they—they're saying his lungs are already drowned in water."

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Cecylia Costania @rcpcswrites

You can elevate your experience by also listening to songs I added to this story's playlist! Full Playlist on bio💖

The song that matches this Chapter's vibe:

https://youtu.be/OXubtoqRs78