Twisted Devil by Ivy Blake

Chapter Twenty One

Ruby

I turned on the kettle and set about making coffee for me and Bella. Dad and Zoe had left only moments ago after an awkward conversation between all of us. Understandably, neither me nor Bella were in the mood to talk much considering the fact that our minds were racing with possible ways to deal with this Coach situation.

Once I’d finished making our drinks, I brought them to the kitchen counter and took a seat opposite Bella. I pushed her cup towards her, my favourite one that I’d made in a pottery class a few years ago and took a long sip from mine.

When Bella had first arrived at my house, I’d spoken a bit about Tyler. I didn’t repeat exactly what he’d said to me, but as far as Bella knew, the fact that he had been so defensive about Coach and it had led to us not talking all weekend was enough for her to wince. I didn’t want to focus on my situation though, because even if it sucked, it was nowhere near as bad as Bella’s.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her gently. I was trying my best not to push her while also trying not to avoid the massive elephant in the room, too.

“I feel weird, like… I don’t know how to describe it,” Bella began as she picked the nail polish off her nails. “One minute I feel really numb and empty and there’s just nothing there. Like I don’t feel mad or happy or sad or anything, really.” She looked up at me as if she was expecting a response, but I nodded at her to continue, giving her the space to voice her feeling without judgment.

“From the stuff I’ve seen online, apparently that’s normal, so I’m not too worried about that, I guess,” she added. “But then sometimes I feel really gross, you know? Like it was my fault somehow…”

“It was not your fault at all!” I jumped in because I hated to see Bella blaming herself. It was that asshole’s fault for preying on her in the first place. Coach Jenkins was meant to be a trustworthy adult, but instead, he’d turned out to be a fucking creep.

“My logical brain knows that,” Bella chuckled, “but I can’t help but think if I could have done anything to avoid this. Like what if I smiled too much? Or maybe I shouldn’t have accepted that lift. That kind of stuff.”

I nodded because I could see how she would get to that conclusion, even though the responsibility wasn’t hers at all. I reached across the table and held her hand in mine.

“You’ve smiled at plenty of people and I’m sure you’ve accepted lifts from friends and family and gotten in taxis and those people have never assaulted you, have they?” I asked gently.

Bella shook her head and looked me in my eyes. I could see how tired she was and imagined her staying up late at night, unable to sleep because of all the confusing feelings that were circling through her mind and body.

“Coach is the one that needs to be feeling guilty, not you. Hopefully, we can get him to pay for what he’s done to you and make sure that it never happens again to anyone else. But only if you’re comfortable with that.” Bella nodded quickly and wiped away at her face as tears started falling down her cheek.

“I’m definitely not letting that bastard get away with this. I know the other teachers might not believe me, but I’m going to try. I have to.” Her eyes dropped to her hands once again as she collected her thoughts.

“For all I know, this could have happened to someone else and they’ve been scared into staying quiet,” Bella said after a moment.

“You’re doing the right thing, even if it is really hard,” I said in an attempt to reassure her of her decision to confront the truth about Coach to people that could actually change shit.

“I’ll need to tell my parents first. I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it.”

“They’re just going to want to protect you and do right by you,” I said gently. Bella nodded and fiddled with the crystals around her neck absentmindedly.

I put myself in Bella’s shoes and imagined how terrified I’d be to tell Dad as well if the same thing had happened to me. But I knew that telling someone was the best route to take.

There was a sudden knock on the door, which made me and Bella give each other confused looks. Dad and Zoe weren’t due back until the evening and I wasn’t expecting any visitors or post.

“Do you mind if I check it out?” I asked politely, gesturing towards the front door with my thumb.

“Yeah, no worries.”

I walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway, wracking my brains as to who it could be. After the way that we’d left things, there was no way it could be Tyler, unless he was back to deliver another killer blow. I opened the door and nearly slammed it shut straight away. That agonisingly sexy bed hair and icy blue eyes were waiting for me on my doorstep and made me freeze still.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped at Tyler as I struggled to make eye contact with him.

I already had knots in my stomach and seeing his face after our last conversation was not helping at all. His sweet scent filled my nostrils, and I had to try my best to ignore it and not fall into it like usual.

“You didn’t answer my text, and I really wanted to talk to you…” he began urgently, but I didn’t want to hear his excuses.

“I think you’ve done enough talking,” I said coldly. “You should probably leave before you make things worse.”

I cast Tyler a horrible look even though my heart was breaking in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to shake him into understanding Bella’s situation and believing her. How could I even look at him the same after he’d rejected everything I’d told him?

I stepped aside, and he followed me into the kitchen where Bella looked up at the both of us, clearly trying to suss out the situation between us.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you!” Tyler exclaimed, his eyes full of shame as he flitted his gaze between me and Bella. “I was too stupid and afraid to think about it being true. It’s scary to think that someone you’ve known for so long could turn out to be a monster.”

Tyler shook his head and I could tell how uncomfortable he felt in this whole situation. I cast a glance at Bella and she shrugged her shoulders at me, unsure of what to say too.

“Tyler-” I began.

“No,” he cut me off. “I’m not here for pity. I realise that I was being a jerk. All of this is so much worse for Bella and I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now,” Tyler looked at Bella and gave her a genuinely apologetic look.

“I’m genuinely sorry, and I want to try and help as much as I can. If you’ll let me,” he said sincerely.

I watched as Bella cleared her throat and wriggled in her seat. I hadn’t really seen her and Tyler have any positive interactions, so it was quite weird to see them both in my kitchen during such a heated and emotional discussion.

“You were being a dick, but I get it. Who wants to think that their coach could do something like that?” Bella looked at the floor before dragging her eyes up to meet Tyler’s. “I don’t blame you for not believing me. I’m not surprised either, but I appreciate your apology.”

“I do believe you, and I just want to say I’m stupid for thinking otherwise. I’m genuinely so sorry,” Tyler’s voice wobbled at the end of the sentence and Bella nodded in response.

“It’s fine,” she said after a while. She looked between me and Tyler before getting up from her seat. “You guys probably need to talk alone, so I’ll leave you to it.”

“Are you sure? You can stay here if you want,” I said quickly, unsure if I was really ready to be alone with Tyler just yet. Even though he had apologised and seemed to see how wrong he’d been, I was still hesitant to forgive him whole-heartedly.

“Yeah, I need to finally tell my parents and prepare for tomorrow,” Bella said in a quiet voice. She stretched out her arms and I pulled her into a tight hug.

“You can do this and I’m here with you all the way,” I whispered into her thick curls. “He’s not going to get away with this shit.” I rubbed her back and held onto her for a second longer before pulling away.

“I hope not,” Bella replied bitterly.

“I- I’m here for you too, if you need someone to speak up for you,” Tyler added awkwardly as he glanced between the two of us.

“Thanks, guys,” Bella said with a sad smile before waving us goodbye and leaving out the front door.

My heart still hurt so much for her and I was feeling anxious as to how her parents would react and what would happen next. It was all out of my hands though and there was nothing that I could do but wait on the sidelines and hope that some sort of justice would be served.

When the door shut behind Bella, I finally looked up at Tyler, unable to hide anymore from his intense gaze. He crossed the kitchen and came close to me, and I tensed up as he took my hand in his.

“I’m so, so sorry, Ruby,” Tyler’s voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears. “Please forgive me. I can’t believe I was so stupid and risked losing you, losing us.”

“Why did you say that, though? Surely you believe Bella’s lying,” I spat, trying my best not to look at his chiselled cheekbones for too long. Tyler’s words hadn’t just come from nowhere. I wanted to trust him, but what if he fucked up again and it was even worse? I’d feel like even more of an idiot if or when that happened.

“I was scared that it could be true, I didn’t even want to think of the possibility that Coach could do that!” Tyler burst out. “But being scared of the truth doesn’t make it any less real. And I believe Bella, I really do,” his voice cracked, and I looked on at the guy who’d hurt me and my friend as he tried to make things right.

I took a deep breath and long exhale. Everything had gotten so fucked up so quickly, but it didn’t have to stay that way. I hated fighting with Tyler. Not being able to talk to him had sucked and I didn’t want this to go on any longer than it needed to. He’d apologised, and coming from Tyler, that was a big thing. I was willing to give him a chance because there hadn’t been anyone who’d been able to make me feel the way that he did.

“How do I know you actually mean what you say?” I said after a moment. Even though Tyler had thoroughly melted my heart with his sincere words, I thought it would be fun to make him grovel. Tyler’s eyes lit up instantly, and he ran a nervous hand through his sexy bed hair.

“I promise, if you give me one more chance, I won’t let you down, Ruby. I swear. I promise, I’m here to stand by you and Bella all the way, whatever you need. If you need me to vouch for you, I’m there. We can’t let him get away with this.”

I smiled at Tyler’s use of the word ‘we’ and walked into his open arms. I allowed myself to relax into his scent, let him wrap his arms tightly around me as I burrowed deep within his chest. I’d missed being this close to him, and hated the fact that when things had just started to get good between us, they’d started to crumble away.

“I forgive you,” I whispered into Tyler’s chest, allowing my tears to run down my cheeks silently. I didn’t realise how much he meant to me and how badly I wanted him by my side until it had felt like I was about to lose him.

Tyler cupped my face in his hand and wiped away my tears with his thumb. He held me with his sapphire pools, which threatened to overflow, and a small smile spread across his lips before he brought them to mine. The familiar heat that I’d been missing flowed through me once again as Tyler’s tongue sent electricity coursing through my veins as he tattooed his name on my tongue and claimed me as his once again.