Tyler O'Neill.

While Brooke (for once), did as she was told and took shelter in the back of Jake’s truck, Quinn went to search for Jake as promised. The creepy decorations as soon as he entered, hardly made the man flinch as he focused on walking in a straight, stealth line. Quinn’s head was pounding from the knots his captors inflicted upon his skull. He endured and suffered an incredibly intense beating for days on end. He was fed one meal a day just to sustain him and keep him alive until the ransom came in. The Serpents needed visual video evidence of the kidnapping to persuade Quinn’s team into wiring them the fast cash. Of course, Sierra McCoy denied the orders and as a result, the beatings escalated. If it weren’t for Tyler swooping in and stealing him away to use him as bait for Brooke, he might not still be alive. Granted, that didn’t mean Quinn would give the bastard a lick of his gratitude. If anything, he’d still kill him.

In an effort to grab Jake and push him out of the warehouse, Quinn snuck up on his newly minted son in law. But, it appeared all of his training had come in handy. Deep down, Quinn was proud though, his expression and demeanor neglected to show that. “No,” Quinn corrected Jake, sternly. “Looking after Brooke was your job. And up until today when you brought her here, you succeeded. What the fuck were you thin—” Before Quinn could finish, he was knocked out cold by Tyler who hit him directly in the back of the neck with a rusty, old pipe. Quinn could still hear garbled voices but realized they were all in his head. He couldn’t physically move. Not until he felt someone nudging him five minutes later. Groaning, Quinn opened his eyes only to see Jake crouched over him trying to get him to wake up. Though, his voice couldn’t form words or sound (because his body was still waking up), his eyes widened as a figure appeared behind Jake. Instinctively, Quinn yanked the gun out of Jake’s hands and shot at the mask. The bullet pierced through a mirror and shattered it and Quinn realized it was either a reflection in the mirror around them or a figment of his imagination. He wasn’t sure which was worse. However, he knew they needed to get the hell out of there. That is, if they both ever wanted to see Brooke again. “Help me up,” Quinn demanded as he held Jake’s hand and was pulled up to his feet. He leaned against Jake’s shoulder as the two of them rushed to get out. Tyler was gone. And ghostface was like a phantom. It was hard to tell if he was really there or not.

Back at Jake’s truck, Brooke climbed into the backseat and was hiding on the floor, peeking out from the window when she saw her dad and Jake finally emerge. Filled with relief and excitement over seeing them both, she sprung up off the floor and spilled out of the Behemoth to run up and hug them. She started with Jake who she wrapped her arms and legs around as she jumped up into his arms. Quinn let go just in time so that Jake could catch her. “Don’t you ever do that to me again,” Brooke breathed rasply in his ear as she kissed his neck and cheeks and lips, not even caring that her father was right there.

“Fucking asshole, mother fuckers!” Tyler was seething as squeezed out of the warehouse only to find out that Brooke wasn’t waiting by his car. He didn’t think she’d be waiting for him, but he thought she might have been sticking around for Jake and Quinn where they left her. He didn’t understand how it could be over between them. Everything she told Jake was a lie. It wasn’t just the booze and drugs; there was something there since France. But, knowing they could never be together again because he ruined it, Tyler pulled out his cell to text the one girl who always accepted him back no matter what. (text to nina: that thing about mexico. Do you think you’d want to come with me?) as Tyler hovered over the send button, he held his breath and hit it without giving it another thought. He wasn’t sure he could handle losing another person right now, but he had to do something. He didn’t want to be alone and he didn’t want the Serpents. Seeing the way Brooke was with Jake changed something in him. They were both willing to give their life up for each other. He knew that wasn’t Nina, but maybe in time? (text to brooke: i don’t know where to start. You said your piece. I know you don’t believ me but) before Tyler could finish typing he felt a presence behind him. It was strong and eerie, like Eli. Slowly looking up, a face appeared in the reflection of the window.  Having a bit of Déjà vu from when Jake snuck up behind him, Tyler quickly dipped out of the way just in time for a hook to go through the hood of his Spyder. The masked assailant was having a difficult time pulling his weapon free when Tyler tackled him onto the ground and began pummeling every area of his body with bone-crunching punches.  

Tyler wasn’t sure if this guy was the real thing, but whoever it was, they followed him here. He had to know which one of his enemies had the balls to think they could kill him. Holding onto the ghost’s throat, Tyler grabbed onto the bottom of the mask and removed it. “You.—” dizzy with surprise, Tyler stood up and unlatched the hook from his car. Maybe this would be his redemption… “Should have stuck to the nerds.” Tyler raised the hook but hesitated in swinging it down. He wanted to be a killer. He should be a killer. But maybe he wasn’t, maybe breaking hearts and arms was the only thing he’d ever be truly good at? In that moment of wavering, a long blade was thrusted up into his gut. “Uggggh!” the hook fell as the energy drained from his body. The killer tossed Tyler off and put back on its mask. Raising its knife high in the air, it swept down to finish its prey but Tyler kicked it hard in the knee before rolling under his car and taking off on the other side.

Meanwhile; out front of the warehouse, Jake held onto Brooke as she locked her legs around his waist and showered him in affection. “I’m sorry, babe,” he breathed happily against her lips while his arms tightened around her waist; afraid she’d float away if he let her go. “Don’t you ever do that again.” Giving up her life wouldn’t have saved them. Both Quinn and Jake would lose their willingness to live. Instead of letting Brooke go, Jake put an arm out around Quinn and pulled him in for a group hug. “Tyler got out. Someone else was in there.” Jake breathed worriedly. “We should get out of here, like now.” On the other side of the warehouse, the sound of glass shattered, following a few screams. “That sounds like Tyler… Quinn, it’s a trap.” Jake assured him. Quinn looked like he was gearing up for payback but it wasn’t worth it, not when they were all safe at the moment. “Yo. You said protect Brooke and this is a part of that deal. You’re coming with me.” Jake latched a hand onto Quinn’s sleeve and pulled, “Let’s go.”

Tyler made it through some brush and stopped just before the highway. (text to nina: NINA THE KILELER IS) before he could finish that text the killer’s hook frisbee’d across the lot and went right through Tyler’s back with enough impact to make him spit blood. When his body dropped, he was wheezing but still alive. “Stop. You don’t have to do this.” Tyler wept as the assailant turned is body around to face the mask. “We could change.” Blood splattered across the front of the mask as the killer started stabbing Tyler over and over again until his eyes went black.

“I have to,” She cried in response to Jake as he pleaded for her not to. He knew what she would later come to realize if she went through with pulling the trigger, that it would have lasting effects on her psyche. She’d have to live with the fact that she took a life. But, wasn’t it worth it? They’d both be free! That’s what the devil on her shoulder kept reminding her. And pretty soon, Tyler was repeating the devil’s words out loud. ‘Do it’ he goaded her. And oh god, did she want to.  Brooke put the gun down… He’s baiting you!  She could hear Jake talking. She could hear the words he was saying to her out loud. But, her hands continued to shake as she held the gun. Jake, being so focused on her putting the gun down, lost focus of Tyler. And in Jake’s moment of distraction, Tyler flipped the switch. He started pounding on Jake again and Brooke was hit with flashbacks of that night at Pharm. Growing angrier and more protective over Jake, her finger hovered over the trigger. She could shoot Tyler in the back and was more than prepared to, yet stopped when Jake regained the upperhand. Tyler boasted about enjoying a challenge and shortly after, Jake shut him up with an elbow to the face.

Frozen in place, Brooke’s hands kept shaking until Jake physically wobbled over to her and helped guide the gun back down. Taking her focus off of Tyler, Brooke looked up at Jake and nodded. She knew he was right and she trusted him. Thus, she let go and handed the gun off to him before wrapping her arms around him like he was a solider that had just returned home from battle. “Jake,” She breathed with a sob as she clung onto him. She didn’t want to let go. She was so afraid she might have lost him and vice versa. “What?!” Brooke inhaled sharply, panicked. Was Jake crazy?! No way was she going to leave him to handle Tyler by himself! He was ruthless. He had nothing to lose which made him incredibly dangerous. Not to mention, he was bloodthirsty. He would have gladly ripped Jake’s head off the first or next chance he got. “Jake no, please,” She cried. She shook her head and held onto the ends of his bloody t-shirt, “Please don’t leave me.” While closing her eyes, Brooke felt her lower lip tremble as Jake kissed her forehead. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want anything to happen to him. “I can’t lose you, please don’t do this. Please, please..” She continued shaking her head as her frazzled blonde hair fanned around her face and shoulders. She could feel Jake retracting while Quinn rolled around in the trunk. “Wait here,” Brooke demanded him as she stepped away to pop open the trunk. She used the knife Tyler left behind to cut apart the knots tying Quinn’s hands behind his back and feet together. She also removed the contraption around his mouth that had kept him quiet. “Thank god you’re okay sweetheart,” Quinn breathed a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around Brooke and held her tightly. He kissed her forehead and whispered that he loved her before he looked up to address his gratitude and other sentiments to Jake who was no longer there. “Where’d Jake go?” Quinn wondered. “God dammit!” Brooke cursed when she turned around to see for herself that Jake disappeared. “He went after Tyler,” Brooke cried to her dad. Quinn bit his lip and rolled his shoulders, “Go to the car and wait there, kitten. I’ll grab him and we’ll be right there.” Brooke immediately shook her head but not as if she was telling him no. She wanted Quinn to grab Jake before he did something royally dangerous. That was the only reason she even bothered to listen. Because she trusted her dad to bring her husband, her future, her forever, back to her. “Please don’t let him do anything stupid,” Brooke begged. Quinn nodded and took off into the warehouse with a limp in search of Jake.

Jake thought about not going into the warehouse, but the minute Brooke attended to Quinn, he knew she was safe. He had to find Tyler, not to kill him, but to keep him from hunting them down and slitting their throats when they weren’t looking. If this didn’t end now, Brooke would be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. The last time Jake let Tyler get away with beating him down, Brooke pushed him away. He knew that wasn’t going to happen this time, but that still stuck with him. Especially since Tyler used it against him by calling him a bitch. “This isn’t a game, Tyler! You wanted us out here! You got it!” Jake inched further into the darkness. Everything about this place was creepy. From the high-ceilings hung giant floats: the Grinch, Snoopy, and Mickey Mouse…All staring down at him with malice in their dark-eyes. And then there was the clowns, used for the carnival; standing there with their twisted grins. In the distance a couple of things were knocked over and a shadow passed through the Christmas decor. A reindeer was bumped into and lit up; its nose flashing red while it sung the classic children's’ song: ‘Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer.’ The pulsing red glow was the only light in the entire warehouse at the moment. Flickering off and on as the eerie voice continued to sing. In the reflection of a fun-house mirror, Jake saw him. Tyler was wearing the mask again. Jake pointed the gun directly at the mirror but then heard Tyler’s laughter from the other side of the building. When Jake turned, the ghost was gone. Did Tyler bring backup? Feeling Tyler creep up behind him, Jake spun around and placed the barrel of the gun right between his eyes. But it wasn’t Tyler, it was Quinn. Quickly, he lowered the pistol and sighed with relief. “Yo, not smart sneaking up on me, man. God, you’re supposed to be with Brooke!” Jake seethed under his breath, trying to remain quiet , despite the anger boiling beneath his skin.

The whole traumatic experience almost felt too surreal. Like Brooke was living someone else’s life. Like she was trapped inside some movie she couldn’t escape. Tyler had her right where he wanted her; behind the barrel of a gun. Brooke stared back at him with tears welling up in her eyes. She might have seemed fearless but truthfully, she was terrified and if Tyler looked close enough he’d see that in the trembling of her hands and knees. For a split second, Brooke actually believed he’d do it. He was unhinged enough. Granted, Jake didn’t give him the chance. When it dawned on him how serious this showdown actually was, he acted. He protected her the way he always did. Time and time again he proved himself her knight in shining armor. The sentiment didn’t last long. Brooke looked into Jake’s eyes as he pulled her face first against his chest. She looked up at him with so much love, sadness, and remorse. Her eyes said ‘I’m sorry’ while her lips breathed the words, “I love y–” Suddenly, Jake dropped before she could finish. She didn’t hear the gunshot. Maybe she had been too distracted. “Jake!” She cried, as he collapsed onto the ground and blood pooled from the side of his head. Tyler knocked him out with the handle of his weapon and then smiled darkly down at her once she noticed him standing there. She gasped and tried to bend down to check on Jake for a pulse or gunshot wound but Tyler grabbed her before she could and hauled her over to his Spyder. She kicked and screamed and cried ‘No!’ the whole way.

She couldn’t leave Jake. She wouldn’t. Not again. This wasn’t supposed to happen. They promised each other forever. Forever barely even begun. A week could not be all they get. Brooke wouldn’t accept that. She wouldn’t accept that this was how it ended. It couldn’t. “Dad!” Brooke cried, after Tyler shoved him back in the trunk and then hurled her around to face him. She stared death in the eyes only because he forced her to. “No,” she shook her head, sobbing. If Tyler truly loved her he would have let her go. He would have respected what made her happy and backed the hell off. But, Tyler couldn’t leave well enough alone. He was selfish and cruel and the whole time, Brooke couldn’t understand how she missed it. Usually, she was good at seeing right through people. She grew up in an adult world, learned to read between the hidden lies people told themselves and others. But with Tyler, he sincerely had her fooled. Right down to the very beginning. He took advantage of her in a weak, naive moment and he warped her image of him into something believable. He convinced her he was just troubled and misunderstood and so for the longest time, that’s how she saw him. The boy who was never given a real chance. But, maybe he was just rotten from birth. Maybe that’s why every family he’s ever had traded him in because they realized the child they took in was actually a demon and a monster. A wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing. “Stop it!” She growled. She wanted him to stop saying that. That he was doing all of this for her when he wasn’t. He was doing it for him. “Let me go!!” she screamed bloody murder. She just wanted someone, anyone to hear her.

Thankfully, someone did. They pulled Tyler off and slammed his head face first into the window. It shattered and then he was wrestled to the ground. Brooke had her eyes half closed, too afraid to look at what was happening. But, when she finally opened them to thank to person who came to her rescue, she noticed that person was her soulmate; Jake. He straddled Tyler on the ground and repaid the beating Tyler inflicted upon him. As horrified as Brooke was to watch the whole scene unfold and play out, she couldn’t seem to close her eyes or turn her head away. Even as Tyler cried for her to help but, then laughed in the same breath, Brooke stood frozen in place. She didn’t move a muscle to help him. And a part of her, a small sick and twisted part of her, hoped Jake would kill him. For everything he’s done to him, to her, to her dad, and all of their friends. It’s what Tyler deserved. To rot in hell for his sins. With trembling legs and hands, Brooke took a step closer to Tyler and Jake wrestling on the ground. Jake had the beast tamed, for now. But, it wasn’t enough. And like fate heard her or understood those thoughts, Brooke’s eyes drifted off to the side of them. A few feet away, was the gun. Tyler dropped it when Jake attacked and it was just laying there; abandoned. Unevenly, Brooke wobbled over to it and picked it up. She looked down at it and felt it’s surge of power. She could take it and end this once and for all. The only way for them to be free was if Tyler was dead. Otherwise, he’d always come after them. He’d never let her go. “Jake, stop,” Brooke demanded, as shaky hands raised the gun and she pointed it down at Tyler’s head. His face was bloodied and bruised but he was still smiling and laughing like some deranged psycho. “I should kill you. For everything you’ve done. To me, to Jake, to my dad, to my friends, to all those innocent people….” Brooke licked the salty tears from her wet lips and continued to try and hold the gun steady. She was so terrified her hands were still shaking. She didn’t want to do it. She wasn’t a killer. She’d never even hurt a fly. But, if she didn’t do it, if she didn’t take one for the team, they’d never be free. And she wanted to be free. She wanted Tyler to disappear. And death was the only way.

When Brooke demanded Jake stop, he looked up at her with tears in his eyes. He thought she was saving Tyler, just as he begged for her to do, through maniac laughter. Tyler reminded him of the Joker, laughing with a mouthful of blood, as if this was all some big game to him. However, something changed in his eyes when he saw the gun positioned between Brooke’s trembling hands. Would she really kill him? “Brooke, don’t.” Jake breathed, exhaustively. If she killed Tyler, it would affect her more than she realizes. “Don’t listen to him… Do it. You’d absorb me. I’d live inside you forever. In some, um, in some ancient tribes, it is believed that when you kill someone, they’re reincarnated through your blood. That means…when you have kids…my spirit would go into one of ‘em.” Tyler put his head back and laughed. It was all bullshit. He was making it up on the spot to scare her. However, Eli did tell him that when you take a life you absorb their power. It was how he was going to become King Cobra on the Southside, by killing Eli and taking his royalty. “Brooke put the gun down… He’s baiting you!” while Jake was busy facing Brooke, Tyler reached for his neck and reversed their position. Like pharm, the elder took the upper-hand and began punching Jake in the ribs. After a satisfying crack, he leaned his mouth closer to Jake’s ear, “she’s just going to keep coming back to me. My power turns her on,” his tongue slithered into the shell Jake’s ear and rolled around to violate him more than he already has. Filled with rage and disgust, but also remembering what he learned in MMA, Jake locked his legs around Tyler’s waist and torqued his hips to roll him over. When Tyler landed beneath Jake, he laughed again. “The meathead has been working out? Good! I like a challenge!” Jake punched him again in the mouth and then came down on him with a hard elbow over the nose.

Tyler seemed knocked-out when Jake dismounted his waist and staggered over to Brooke to lower the gun she’d been prepping herself to fire. “If you kill him, he wins.” taking the gun from her hand, Jake looked to the trunk, and then around for the knife. “Cut Quinn loose. Then get him out of here. I’ll take care of Tyler.” he placed the blade into her hands and sighed, “I love you.” he wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out but he knew as long as he was alive, he’d love her. And just as she was willing to die for him and Quinn, he was willing to kill or be killed for her. “Go, Brooke.” he placed his hand behind the back of her head and kissed her on the forehead. When their eyes opened, Jake turned back toward Tyler but he was gone; there was nothing there but his blood. Tyler had limped back into the warehouse, leaking from his broken nose. He wasn’t forfeiting the game but he was forfeiting Brooke. He was who he needed to be now. He was prepared to take a life. Whose didn’t matter, he’d kill them all.

“I can’t,” She shook her head. She couldn’t admit that he was worth it because it wasn’t the truth. And that’s what he wanted right? The cold, hard, bitter truth. He wanted the pill that was tough to swallow. A bullet to the heart. Or maybe, the brain considering he didn’t have a heart. At least not one capable of feeling any sort of real human emotion. Brooke wondered how bad Tyler’s childhood must’ve been to have had his ability to love stolen from him. Was his heart as empty as it seemed? Did it even beat? Or was it just there? Kind of like those fruit baskets some people keep in their houses for decoration. You couldn’t eat them, and they served no other purpose than to act as decor. “It was never about changing you!” Brooke fumed. “If anything, bailing you out was me giving you the chance to do something better for once in your life. The same chance I gave to Nina once upon a time and both of you blew it. I didn’t aim to change you into someone I could like or date. Even if you were a good guy, it wouldn’t change how I feel! I told you from the beginning that I loved Jake. You were a misguided detour along the way. Not the final destination. Don’t you get that? If I wanted you, I wouldn’t have left! The only time I could tolerate you, or I even gave you the time of day was when I was intoxicated or drugged! You want to keep living down memory lane? Then fine! Why don’t you ask yourself what a majority of those memories have in common? The answer? – I was wasted! Taken advantage of, manipulated by you, hurt, feeling destructive, incoherent and completely out of control!” Brooke would take full responsibility for the moments that were her fault. But, for the others, she wouldn’t accept full blame. Not when she served as a slave that he had to drug and manipulate just to keep her around. He was possessive over something that he knew belonged to someone else all along but he just wanted to have. Maybe it was a show of worth. Attain the unattainable and wave the trophy. She wasn’t his possession though. She wasn’t his car or his bike or any other material thing that he staked claim over. People were not objects.

As Jake stepped closer, Brooke accepted his loving embrace and even wrapped her arms back around him. She was glad he wasn’t mad at her and hadn’t pushed her away. She needed him more than he realized. And she loved him more than he realized, too. At that point, nothing could tear them apart. Granted, Tyler still tried. Despite, her heartfelt relief from Jake’s embrace, Brooke’s focus never left her dad and by association; Tyler because he was resting so close beside him.

“No-!” Brooke screamed. Her arms around Jake’s waist fell but didn’t untangle as she turned to face him while he aimed the gun at the back of her dad’s head again. “What are you doing–!” She shouted, full of panic. Her heart froze and her stomach dropped as the first shot went off. Brooke immediately snapped her eyes shut and buried her face against Jake’s chest because she couldn’t look. But, when there was no gasp or reaction out of Jake following the shot, and thus she took that as a sign to open her eyes. Her dad was still alive, thank god! Tyler had purposely missed his skull but declared that by firing the first shot, he meant business.

As Jake’s arms tightened around her, knowing full well she might consider sacrificing herself to save the both of them, Brooke clung to his jacket. She’d do anything to save them. Except go with Tyler. That wasn’t an option. Growing angrier, (again not for Tyler but for Jake, Quinn and herself), Brooke eventually let go of Jake to turn to face Tyler head on from the distance that still separated them. “The only person I wish to be free of is you,” she spat. To prove it, to prove that he meant nothing to her and that she would go to great lengths just to abort and fumigate him from her life and her system, Brooke hiked up her dress until she revealed the bandage on her thigh where her faded tattoo resided underneath. Without a word, she then peeled off the bandage so Tyler could see that there was nothing but his own memories and obsessions now tethering her to him. “You were a mistake. You have been since the very beginning. A few more trips to the doctor and you’ll be gone forever. It’s over, Tyler. You tried and you failed to break us. You want me to choose? Then fine. I choose love. So, kill me.” Going with Tyler would only kill those she left behind AKA; Jake and her dad. She wouldn’t make that same mistake again. The ultimate sacrifice was death. She’d rather die now than a live moment without either of them. Even if her death would hurt them, it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as her going with Tyler. At least, they’d know she never chose someone else over them or each other. That she would have died for the both of them because that’s how strong her love was for both. This wasn’t like Carlos. Tyler had turned into Carlos and instead of Brooke choosing to go with him to set Jake and Quinn free, she was choosing death. A bigger, and more fatal sacrifice. One that raised the bar. She was choosing love over everything. Even safety. “Kill me!” She screamed. “You think you’re such a man, right? Consider it your last practice. The finale leading up to the even bigger finale! I’d rather die now than go anywhere with you. Your beef isn’t with them, it’s with me. So stop being a coward and just do it already!”

Tyler was starting to feel that familiar rage boiling deep from within. Brooke had to be lying. But she begged the question and since he’d been wanting for this meeting for weeks now, he really put everything she cried-out into consideration.  Tyler took himself all the way back to France when he was sitting at that bar, watching Nina fool around with locals. He was so mad and he needed someone else to feel that mad with him. Brooke was an easy target because she had just called things off with Jake and Jake was pissed. The whole first night, all Jake kept talking about was getting her back so they could share some romantic tryst in the cabin and enjoy the ski lifts. He wanted that trip to prove something but Tyler manipulated it by bringing him to a strip joint and then lying to Brooke about what he saw in the nightclub. Jake was looking for Brooke when Nina latched onto him. It was just so easy to turn the whole thing around in his favor with a little bit of alcohol and some unburdening. Brooke was a girl who liked trust and so Tyler told her things about his past and learned things about hers. But really the only thing they shared for the remainder of the trip was reckless nights with booze, pills, and sex.

After France when she broke things off and got together with Mr. Branson, he was jealous and mad but he didn’t freak out because he already got what he wanted. Things with Nina eventually turned around and Tyler got sucked back into her games until things went south and then he realized Brooke was easier to please. So when he got picked as her fantasy boy, he wasn’t going to give her up again that easily again. Sure she was with Jake now, but that just meant he had blackmail on her. Jake had no idea about France; that they were fucking in the same cabin he was sleeping in every night. If he knew it would have ripped out his heart. Brooke knew this. And she reminded Tyler every night that she was in love with Jake but the timing was off. She was scared. Scared of disappointing Jake and losing her forever with him. The entire time, Tyler knew he was temporary; it was the same feeling he always got in foster homes. And that was why he came in her and made her get a tattoo. He was proving it to himself that he could take her eternity with Jake. And when she drew away, he got obsessive because he was comparing her to every other person who has ever used him for something.

“So… this… whole time…” every word carried a weight; breathy and full of infliction. Tyler’s eyebrows pulled together with a hot glimmer over his sight, he didn’t even have to ask – he knew. This whole time, he never meant anything to her. It was the drugs talking? The euphoria of the alcohol… everything she said and everything she did wasn’t influenced by him, it was influenced by the synthetic enchantment of alcoholism. It was in her genes. She was an alcoholic and it was that alcohol that put her on cloud-9, not him. Though he didn’t need the answer, Brooke gave it to him by hiking up her dress and pulling off a bloodied bandage. Beneath it was scarred tissue, hiding an almost washed-out tattoo. Tyler’s eyes now had tears in them, “I might have loved you…” he confessed, feeling his heart pitter-patter. Maybe he should kill her. It’s what she wanted and then he wouldn’t have to think of her living some happily-ever-after with Jake. The gun was raised as she begged him for it. “I kill you…Jake kills me…and then we meet up in the afterlife.” His hand shook, holding the gun pointed at Brooke. Tyler cocked the gun and placed his finger on the trigger, but Jake quickly latched onto Brooke like a tornado sweeping her up off her feet and blocked her with the shield of his back facing the gun. Tyler kept his finger on the trigger; all he has to do is squeeze down and Jake would be gone. In time and after some self-medicating Brooke would be back. He’d be the only one for her to turn to. In a split-second decision Tyler acted and Jake’s body fell to the floor like a dead-weight; blood pooling from the side of his head where Tyler smacked him with the gun. He couldn’t kill Jake, Brooke would never forgive him, and he knew that.  

Tyler was deranged. Everything he said and did only proved that. If he truly wished to earn Brooke’s gratitude or thanks, he would have let Quinn go, no exchanges necessary. Trunk and rope free. But instead, he held onto him. Used him as bait and then tried to play it off like he did her a favor. But really, the person he was still doing favors for was himself. “It wasn’t for me,” Brooke shot back. If Tyler wanted to call her out on her transgressions, then she was going to do the same to him. “It was all for you,” As she said it, she pointed to Ty. “Don’t tell me I’m pretending to be someone I’m not when you’re the one who’s pretending. You pretend you did me a favor and I should be grateful. But, look at where we are,” Brooke stopped to gesture to their surroundings. “We’re here. And you’re trying to manipulate me into believing you did something nice for me. I’m not that naive anymore.”  With his nickname for her, came another cringe from Brooke. She used to like it; the nickname. The idea of being special. Not just to him but to everyone. Jake wasn’t the only attention whore amongst them. Brooke loved attention too, she just refused to admit it. But now, she didn’t need it. She didn’t need Tyler or Branson of their classmates and friends to validate that she was special. All she needed or wanted was to be special to Jake. The ring on her finger, along with the vows they swore to one another, was enough to make her feel special. Even if Jake decided he made a mistake. Even if Jake changed his mind after today, that day and the moments that led up to it and followed after were enough to make her feel special always. To be married to Jake for however long he wished to call her his wife. It was enough. “Stop it,” Brooke growled as Tyler continued. She never doubted whether or not Jake had balls, as Tyler so vulgarly put it. He was more of a man than Tyler would ever be. And wasn’t that the kicker? Tyler liked to think he was a man because he felt like he was control and he had the upperhand. But charting around weapons to exercise his false sense of strength while bullying other people into doing or saying what he wanted didn’t make him a man. It didn’t even make him strong or a decent human being. It made him weak. He had something to prove. While, Jake didn’t have to prove anything. He only acted violently out of love. He was protecting her, avenging her. That’s what made him a man. He didn’t care what other people thought about them, or their relationship or how he looked being committed to her after everything. At least, he didn’t an hour ago. Brooke wasn’t sure he still felt the same but she hoped so. And anyway, that inner strength, that loyalty and honor made him a man. Not muscles, not brains, not appearances. Though, he was a man on the outside too.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Brooke piped up. Tyler could insult her all he wanted. But, how dare he say that Jake was no better? Jake was better than the both of them combined. He didn’t deserve anything she did to him. He deserved the world and that’s why Brooke was devoted to giving it to him. To hell with herself. All she cared about was that he lived and he was happy. Whether that was with her or not. “He is better. I know that’s difficult for you to wrap your head around but, it’s the truth. And I’ve always known it.” Brooke turned her chin away from the both of them because she didn’t want them to see the few tears that rolled down her cheeks. She dipped her head and then spoke softly, “It’s why this happened in the first place. I didn’t deserve him. And at pharm, I saw that.” Pharm was a tough memory to recall and talk about. Primarily because that’s where it all started with Tyler and with the downspiral of hers and Jake’s relationship.

Looking up, Brooke caught the end of Tyler’s address to Jake. That’s when Tyler pointed the knife at her and declared that this whole thing would end when she got real. She’d do that with Jake if he were the one asking. Because, she’d do anything for Jake. But, this was Tyler. Yet, it wasn’t like Brooke had a choice. Because Tyler only further pushed her by toying with the two lives that mattered most to her. Brooke stepped forward again when Tyler hurled Quinn’s body over the bumper of his sports car so he was hanging halfway out. Then she gasped and held her breath as he jammed the gun against the back of her dad’s head. She was traumatized. This wasn’t a game. It was life or death. And everything Tyler was doing and saying only proved that he never gave a flying fuck about her and he still didn’t. Because threatening her like this would leave her with eternal hemorrhaging and even more PTSD than what she started with. It would haunt her for the rest of her life. Everytime she closed her eyes, she’d see the gun pointed at her dad and Jake. It was hard to focus and do what Tyler was asking because she was so distracted by wanting to protect them both. On top of that, it was awkward and uncomfortable talking about that night in front of Jake and Quinn. Quinn, especially. No father wants to hear about how some sick bastard fucked his daughter. Inside, he was stewing. He wanted to bash Tyler’s skull against the pavement he was forced to look down on until the boy’s features were indistinguishable. Even as Tyler talked to both kids about Brooke’s actions, all Quinn could picture was Monica. His bipolar, co-dependent hophead of a wife. Sure, Monica wasn’t always amped up. But, when she was, she checked out. She still knew she was married and had a child she should have been looking after. But, addicts didn’t care about anything else except getting high on their drug of choice. Because drugs, those substances of abuse, were all that mattered. They filled voids. And that’s exactly how it was for Brooke. She was void of color and emotion and morals. That’s why Tyler wanted that version of her back. Because it was the only version that could sustain him.

“Why are you doing this?” Brooke cried. To which, Tyler simply never flinched. If anything, her crying only made him more agitated. “Jake,” Brooke turned to her newlywed and noticed that he didn’t look back at her right away. It was like he was thinking too hard about everything. But, when she met his gaze, she could see that he wanted answers too. That maybe he was starting to believe everything that Tyler was saying. Like he couldn’t believe she did this to him all over again, even though they already discussed it. “Fine,” she rolled her shoulders. “This is what he wants,” Brooke mumbled to Jake. Not quietly because she didn’t care if Tyler heard her. It was the truth. He wanted to break them apart so Jake would dump her and they could pick up where they left off. However, Brooke meant what she said to Jake. If he left her, there would be no one else. She wouldn’t run back to Tyler. Or anyone. She’d just die. Jake leaving her would no doubt feel like dying. And nobody could ever love or be with a dead girl. And who knows? Maybe, Brooke would even invite Tyler to shoot her instead. “A conversation’s what you want right?” Brooke turned to Tyler, “Well here it goes…. After pharm, I thought it was you,” Pausing, Brooke pointed to Tyler, “The one I had sex with in the pool. But it wasn’t you. It was Jake.” Next to him, Brooke could see her dad’s tied up hands, twitch and curl. “I didn’t know that until I left you after finding out you blackmailed me. I got my memories back that night. And you can paint whatever pictures you want about us, Ty but Jake already knows everything. He knows what I did. And what you did. And despite that, we worked it out. You can’t break us.” Turning her attention over to Jake, Brooke looked at him with that look. That helpless, ‘I’ll love you forever’ look. “I was blinded by the person I thought you were, the person I wanted and needed you to be.” Brooke was talking to Tyler again. “That’s why I bailed you out of Jail. For the same reasons my dad helped me even though he hates your guts now. You know, as much as I hate to admit it, you really had me fooled. The only person who didn’t believe you were a good guy or knew you weren’t was Jake. And he tried to warn me. He told me after I got off the phone with my dad trying to help you that I should have let you rot. Not only for what you did to him but for what deep down he knew you’d do to me, and to everyone else so long as you walked free. You’re a monster,” Brooke said this with fear and disgust. “And i should have listened to him. But, instead I helped you. Because I thought you were looking out for me in France. And maybe I held onto the hope that you could be redeemed or seen as a good guy and maybe I wanted to be the person to do that. Because I wanted your attention. The same way I want everybody’s. It’s like I needed it to feel like I was worth something. Or to feel like I was worthy of all the love you had and gave to me,” Now Brooke turned to address Jake, with tears in her eyes. “You’ve always loved me unconditionally even when I didn’t deserve it and I’m so sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you.” Wiping at a tear, Brooke forced herself to continue. If it meant this would all be over, it was worth the pain and discomfort she felt inside opening up about it. “I was wasted at that practice before I got into your car. And yes, I was the one who asked for a ride and yes, I knew that I was wrong. By that point, I had already thought that I had fucked up. That he would never love me or look at me the same knowing I hooked up with you at pharm despite that fact that I had been roofie’d.” Quinn stirred again, groaning. “Those are my mistakes and I’m accepting full responsibility for them. I was looking to feel something other than self loathing and hatred when I approached you. The booze I had in my system just wasn’t enough. And I may have been there, and my mind may have been awake but Ty, I didn’t want that.” She was referring to the sex. “I wanted the adrenaline rush and anyone else would have stopped me but I knew that you wouldn’t. And the only way to goad you into going full speed was to bribe you and considering you and I had only ever shared one thing it common, I used my body as incentive.” Brooke didn’t like talking about it and she knew Jake didn’t like hearing about it. And she knew there was the high possibility Jake would pull away from her after this but she had no choice. They wanted the truth. Both of them. No matter how much it hurt to hear. “I’m so sorry,” Brooke cried, shaking her head while talking to Jake even though she couldn’t bring herself to look at his face because she was scared to. “I was high off that adrenaline rush. And like an addict, like my….” Brooke swallowed harshly, “my mother… I would have done anything to get it. I would have cut off my own arm if it meant I didn’t have to live with the pain and the guilt that I endured ever since pharm. And if you were a true friend, you would have told me no. You would have helped me snap out of it but instead you took advantage of me. You drugged me, fed me booze, AND trapped me while having sex. You did it all so you would still have someone to play with the way you did with Nina. I only liked you when I was high, when I wasn’t myself. So, it wasn’t even real. It was me on a bender, destroying myself. While you watched and even worse, you pushed me closer and closer to death. And you enjoyed doing it. You still do. The girl you want, the girl you were with, was dead inside. I never loved you.” The words were harsh, but entirely blunt and truthful, “And honestly, being with you would be my worst nightmare.”

Tyler felt let down by Brooke, like a balloon losing its air, and thus its value. He thought grabbing Quinn for her before he got a bullet between the eyes would have scored major points. Instead, she labeled it as a selfish-act. Crippled with anxiety, Tyler’s fingers twitched around the pistol’s handle. This was supposed to be easier. She was supposed to realize he was a stand-up guy again. That he cared about her. If he didn’t, why would he be here? Why would he want her? The more he thought about it, the more he realized she was right… This was a selfish-act. He didn’t give two shits about Quinn or Brooke. He just wanted to tear them apart. Why? Because Brooke made him think he was getting out from under Nina. He thought he found someone who accepted him, but Brooke stole the rug from under his feet. She trashed him just like all those other assholes did. After getting what they wanted, they dropped him off at someone else’s doorstep. This was Tyler getting the answers that have haunted him for a lifetime. Why didn’t people want him? How was he defective? “—Yes! A conversation, Brooke, keep up!” Tyler exclaimed venomously. If she would stop whining and start talking then maybe she’d save a life…or two.

As Brooke started, Tyler got comfortable with his back pressed up against the Spyder and listened. It already wasn’t making any sense. She thought she fucked him at Pharm and so to amend for the sin, she fucked him again and again and again? “That’s it, Brooke! You thought I was a good guy and so it was okay for you to fuck me. Then I blackmailed you and you backed out. But I’m still that same guy. I’ve done nothing differently now than I have before you bailed me out of jail. I was blackmailing you before pharm… I kicked your boyfriend’s ass at pharm…and still you came to me after. You saw the snake on my back, you knew I wasn’t perfect and yet you let me into your world. You knew what it would cost you… But I was worth it. Admit it.”

When France was brought up, Tyler rolled his head back with a roaring laugh. Did Jake know about this, too? She left Jake for him – maybe not essentially, but instead of learning how to fuck with Jake, she learned how to fuck by riding his cock and mouth for days on end. Everything Jake wanted, he took. Brooke didn’t seem to grasp onto that, that she traded Jake for him more than once. He was special and she couldn’t take that away from him now with her lies. “Say you did change me? What would that accomplish? You’d make me boyfriend material? For who, if not you?” to show a sign of good faith, Tyler placed the gun and knife down onto the hood of the car. He honestly wanted to know. Did she think they were going to be friends after? That she’d get back together with Jake and still be friends with the guy she was fucking for weeks? When Jake eventually found out about France he’d never let them be friends. Tyler betrayed him. They both did. He wasn’t the monster, they were both the monster.

While waiting for more, Jake did something Tyler didn’t see coming, he put his arms around Brooke. Tyler couldn’t believe it. He would have never forgave someone who fucked him over like that. He was sure this little meeting would have torn them apart. “Okay, Brooke,” Tyler grabbed the gun from the hood and walked over to Quinn. “How about this? You come with me and I’ll leave Quinn and Jake here. Unharmed. Or,” Tyler pointed the gun at the back of Quinn’s head and shot... smoke spiraled out from the pistol as it heated up in his hand and left a massive hole...in his bumper. “I never miss twice.” Jake’s arms tightened around Brooke as he shook his head, “do not go with him, Brooke.” Tyler dug into his pocket and put a packet of pills on the hood by the knife. “Pop a few X, get some drinks... You can be free again. Quinn and Jake would be better off. You’d be saving their lives...not only by the monster you claim me to be, but by the monster you know you are deep down.”

She heard him call out to her before she saw him, immediately spinning around and grinning at the sight of her ridiculously sexy boyfriend. That jacket? Totally drove her crazy, not that she’d let him know it. He didn’t need to know anything he could hold over her from then on. As they met up, Nina’s eyes glanced over him in a ravenous manner, flashes of their reunion in her bedroom appearing in her mind. The shower, the dresser, the bed, it was all coming back to her and she just wanted to get tonight over with as soon as possible she could have him again. Snapping out of it as Tyler asked her about Jake and Brooke, Nina rolled her eyes. She was still reeling knowing that Brooke could have been pregnant with Tyler’s baby, but she was keeping that fact from Tyler, who apparently was none-the-wiser to the whole situation. Honestly, Nina was afraid she’d lose him if he knew the truth and she wasn’t ready to give him up when she’d just gotten him back. “They’re delusional if they think it’s going to last. No marriage in this town ever does, least of all one in high school,” Nina stated, her words evincing pure distaste at the newfound marriage. “The ring looks fucking cheap, too. I bet you could have gotten something better.” Not that she wanted Tyler to go off and marry Brooke. “I didn’t get that much alone time with her before the wannabe firefighter broke down the door and came to her rescue. Just show me the surprise. And it better be good, baby.”

“They’re delusional in more ways than that. Brooke doesn’t even really want Jake. He’s just her safe zone. The real Brooke can be seen in her mother. She just hides it for Jake’s sake. If he wasn’t so judgey, she’d be herself with him.” Tyler was walking her over to his Spyder when she described the tacky ring and he laughed. “Marriage isn’t really my thing. I don’t trust the commitment of others,” Tyler looked to her with a wide-eyed smile. Brooke wasn’t the only maneater in town. Nina was the OG. “What do you mean about firefighter?” Tyler tried to imagine it but all he could see is Jake running in with a hose to melt the wicked witch. “—Oh it’s good…” Tyler popped the trunk and inside was the mayor: Brooke’s father, hogtied and gagged. “Don’t be jealous,” he smirked, insinuating she was jealous of the B&D. “Serpents had him. I’m going to end this once and for all. Brooke doesn’t deserve this fairytale Jake keeps trying to put her in. And, if it takes a monster to show them that. Then I’ll step up. I’m no stranger to being the villain.” he slammed the trunk shut and leaned against the car. “If things go south you’ll find me in Mexico.” he thought about inviting her but knew she’d say no. Although they patched up their relationship, he knew it was a temporary fix. She’d never settle down with him no matter how much he wanted her to. 

Beginnings never truly mattered, did they? What mattered was how their story ended. Brooke had a feeling that when this was over, she’d lose someone. Either Quinn, or Jake, or Tyler, or all three. Not that Brooke wanted a relationship or even friendship with Tyler that cared about keeping but, he was a person who helped shape her life. He played his part and role in it and now it was his time to exit the scene. The only problem was, he didn’t want to. He couldn’t walk away from her without closure. But, who was to say if he got it or she gave it to him, he still would leave? Brooke wasn’t sure or even really confident that Tyler would walk away once the conversation was over. Would whatever that came out be enough to satisfy him? Would he say, ‘oh okay’ and just leave? Was it even really worth it? Had it not been for her dad, Brooke would have answered no. She wouldn’t have come back all this way and would have happily left Tyler hanging because as far as she was concerned, he didn’t deserve an explanation. Not after everything he’s ever done to her. What happened between them, ontop of what Jake filled in (and she trusted his version of the story more than Tyler’s because he wouldn’t lie to her), Brooke now knew what kind of person Tyler really was. And she didn’t like that person. She liked the mask, the skin he wore but then often shed. She had been addicted to what could be, not what was. And that didn’t really have anything to do with Tyler per say. Anyone could have been filled Tyler’s shoes and the same distorted desires would remain. It just so happened that Tyler was there. He was familiar. Sure, that didn’t really explain a whole lot yet or why Brooke bailed him out of jail. But, they’d get to that once she saw that her father was okay. And maybe they’d get to all of it then, too. There was no telling what would happen. They’d just have to wait and see.

“Given all that’s happened, it should come as no surprise to you that I wouldn’t trust you or your word.” Brooke wouldn’t cooperate until she saw that her father was okay. Because that was part of the deal. She just needed to know. “Yeah?” Brooke fired back. Not angrily because she knew better than to test Tyler’s limits right now. Truthfully, she meant it almost as a ‘so what?‘ “Most people would take that as a hint,” Tyler wasn’t dumb. They all knew that. “I didn’t want to see you, or talk to you or be with you.” It was a little harsh but, Tyler still didn’t seem to buy it. Thus, he wrote the whole argument off as Brooke merely living in denial and acting delusional for Jake. But, Tyler didn’t get that this was Brooke. The real Brooke. The Brooke he pursued in France BEFORE he manipulated her to get one over on Nina, should he ever decide to throw that in the red-haired queen’s face. Next time she fucked one of his teammates or friends, he could throw back that it was fine because he slept with Brooke,  the heir to her mean girl throne. The girl he knew Nina was deep down jealous of because everybody would love and follow her without needing to be feared or respected. To Brooke, it all came naturally and Nina detested that. That’s why she put her second and kept Brooke sheltered from reaching her full potential. A queen can’t rise if she doesn’t even know she’s royalty. While, Tyler voiced he wasn’t the killer, Brooke remained unconvinced. Why lure them out to an unmarked location if he wasn’t planning to cut their throats and hang them up to dry? Maybe he planned to carve out Jake’s heart and hand it back to Brooke while he said something psychotic like, ‘here, you already did this once already. keep it.’

“Maybe so,” Brooke shrugged, while gritting her teeth. Her body language conveyed both; annoyance and distaste. She wasn’t exactly angry because being angry meant that she cared and she really didn’t care about Tyler. She cared more about Jake and what he thought of her which is why she looked to him for a reaction after Tyler described their sex as ‘making love.’ When it was never that. She looked to see if Jake believed him and she couldn’t tell. It was like he was straining to listen. They both were. “You’re crazy,” Brooke shook her head, while taking a frightful step back after catching sight of the gun. She wanted to laugh at Tyler too because what else was there to do? Did Tyler actually think they’d be together? Did he actually want that? Because she told him from the beginning that her love had always been reserved for Jake and Jake only. She’d never give her heart to anyone else. She’s had countless chances to do so and she never took them. She’d never settle down with anyone who wasn’t Jake. She couldn’t even imagine a future like that. Not for real.

At the mention of the tattoo, Brooke’s legs tightened. It was like bringing it up had reminded her of the pain she felt and would feel every session it took to remove it. Going through all of that, was her proof of it being a mistake and how much she hated Tyler. Even more now as he explained his version of the story in discolored detail. The dinner had nothing to do with Tyler. That show was her being spiteful towards her dad. And she regretted it. Because since that night, they haven’t patched anything up and now Brooke didn’t know if they’d be given the chance. The more Tyler depicted an alternate reality where she chose him over her dad, Brooke grew angry. Not for Tyler but for her dad. Why? Because she cared. “But, it’s not though!” Brooke shouted, as her hands touched her blonde hair and faked like she was going to pull it out whilst growling. “Oh my god, are you even listening to yourself right now?! You’ve completely lost it if you think me leaving with you had anything to do with me choosing you over my dad. And how dare you even warp that while you took him to get to me. The only reason you did that was because you knew he was a sure fire way to get me back! It’s also why you went after Jake. God! It’s no secret that they’re the only two people in this world that I could truly never live without. It’s why you wanted to push both out of the picture, okay!“ As Jake disengaged, Brooke instinctively reached out for his hand to pull him back but she missed. Yet thankfully, neither lunged at each other. It wasn’t smart. Tyler had a gun and even with a crash course in MMA, Jake couldn’t ward off a bullet unless he was bulletproof and he wasn’t.

“Please,” Brooke begged Jake, after Tyler urged them to follow him to get to Quinn. She really needed Jake to hang onto her, to not let go. She was afraid that he was pulling away or was going to, or was regretting getting back with her in his head and it killed her to think that because she didn’t regret it. Not one moment of it. Following Tyler, Brooke kept a safe distance between them. If Tyler wasn’t the killer then why did he need a gun? If he truly came here to talk, what were the weapons for? If anything, hanging onto them, just further cemented that he was the psychopath killing people left and right. He had the costume, the mask, and the serial killer personality. He even had the obsession. Tyler was clearly unhinged.

His words, the same ones he beckoned her with before all hell broke loose, made her cringe. Her skin crawled just hearing them and seeing the spyder again. He had it that night. And he only brought it with him now because he was trying to get Brooke to remember. Alas, it wasn’t necessary. She remembered and she wished she didn’t. She wanted to forget. But, she’d carry that regret for the rest of her life. Still waiting, Brooke held her breath as Tyler bent down to pop the trunk. She closed her eyes for a moment and braced herself for the worst. Thankfully, Quinn was alive. Though, his tall, bulky frame was squished into the small cubby of Tyler’s trunk. Brooke didn’t care that Tyler was standing closer to Quinn than she and Jake were. She lunged for Quinn but felt Jake’s arms wrap around her stomach, holding her back. He must’ve caught the pleading look in Quinn’s eyes, begging him to save Brooke and himself. Quinn didn’t trust Tyler not to grab Brooke and hold her at gunpoint until Jake took back Quinn and he sprinted off with his prize. “Daddy,” Brooke whimpered as tears welled up in her eyes and she struggled to break free of Jake’s grasp. Not because she wanted out but because she wanted to make sure her dad was okay. Yet, Jake knew better than to let her get close enough for Tyler to reach. Snakes coiled themselves around their prey before they devoured it whole and then fed on and digested it for weeks. Snakes could live off the same prey for months.  They were built to sustain any one thing for a long period of time. Especially right before hibernation.  “You’re one to talk about being polite!” Brooke spat. “How’s torturing my dad, my husband and my friends polite? You only care about yourself! And I mean, I guess you have to because if you didn’t, then who else would?” Brooke wasn’t conscious of the insults and harsh words that came spewing out of her mouth like the blood Tyler wished to inflict. She wasn’t aware of much but her flight or fight response. “Or maybe that’s just what you want us to think,” Brooke considered. “That there still is another killer out there. If you didn’t intend to hurt anybody, you would let my dad, Jake, and all of my friends go. You wouldn’t have killed all of those people and then tried to convince us that it’s not you. That you’re just dressing up to pin the blame on someone else who doesn’t exist. How do we know it’s not you killing all those people?? You have a gun, Ty! And a knife!” Just stating the observation out loud, was enough to strike Brooke with fear all over again. She stopped fighting in Jake’s arms and relaxed as she watched the glint of the knife flicker in Tyler’s grasp. “If you’re not the killer, why did you bring weapons? Were you planning to kill us if we didn’t follow your rules? What is it you want?” Because, if it was a conversation, she don’t see how the weapons were necessary. “Whatever you want, fine. But, please don’t hurt them.” Brooke didn’t think she needed to say their names. She was obviously talking about Quinn and Jake.

As Brooke lunged for the safety of Quinn and Jake held her back, Tyler started laughing with a burst of ‘see, see!’ energy. “There goes that possessive side! Jake holds you back and you let him. If he wasn’t in the picture… you’d be free.” Tyler raised the pistol and pointed it at Jake but only for a second and then he lowered it with a playfully deranged grin. “You’re the one who drugged her to keep up with your games!” Jake yelled over Brooke’s head. His games? Tyler snorted. Brooke was the one who asked him to race. She wanted him to drive fast and hard, the same way she wanted him to fuck her. Did he agree to it? Yes. Because like he said, if it wasn’t him it would have been someone else. Why should someone else get all the fun? He held no loyalty for the prince fitzgerald. As Brooke piped up beneath Jake’s chin, Tyler shook his head and paced back and forth, clearly agitated. “Not true. I got Quinn back for you. The serpents would have killed him. They asked Josie’s mother for a ransom and she declined. Your father had a bullet with his name on it. When I found out, I stole him back. I never planned on killing him. I didn’t beat those knots into his head, pretty eyes.” Tyler sighed, leaning up against the trunk with a weapon in each hand. “The knife and the gun are for my protection, sweetheart. I know you probably don’t think Jake has any balls… but he’s seething on the inside. He wants me dead. Hell, I don’t blame him. I’d want me dead too if the tables were turned. But seriously, bro, you’re blaming the wrong one! I was in jail for my wrongdoing. Your girlfriend bailed me out. I went to school to clear my locker, she wanted a ride and then she seduced me. At first I thought you two broke up. It’s not like the princess went into detail. She took care of herself and then pulled me out and took care of me. I thought it was wrong but I didn’t care. Nina fucks me over all the time, why shouldn’t you get fucked over too? You’re no better than me.” Jake didn’t know what he should believe. He couldn’t understand why Brooke would have done that to him after everything Tyler done to them beforehand.

“Look, this isn’t about me painting pretty little pictures for you, Jake. I came here for Brooke to talk. But she rather hide behind her blames. This ends when you start being real.” Tyler pointed the knife across the air to Brooke. “Turn around, face Jake, and tell him the truth. Because you never know, I might be a killer…and I might just shoot him. Maybe that’s what you want me to do.” Tyler grabbed the back of Quinn’s jacket with one hand and pulled him halfway out of the trunk so that he’d be dangling headfirst. Tyler placed the gun to the back of his skull and raised his eyebrows, “or I could make you choose. Jake or daddy? And if you didn’t choose, I could choose for you…. there’s so many ways this could go, pretty eyes.” Tyler removed the gun from the mayor’s lumped up head and crossed his tattooed arms, “or you could just talk. Tell us the truth… you knew you were cheating on Jake. When you climbed into my car and asked me how long has it been since we fucked… you knew we’d fuck again. The drugs didn’t matter, Brooke. You knew what you were doing stirring me up. I obviously never cared about Jake and that’s why I smashed his ribs while everyone recorded it. Why would I say no? Why would I deny the opportunity? The one who should have been saying ‘no’ was you. Instead you were saying, ‘yes.’ So whatever bullshit you fed Jake… I want to hear. Because the Jake I know, would never have married you if he knew the truth. What the hell do you even see in her, Jake? She told me she was going to continue seeing me, even after that night. After Cops and Robbers she came back. She gave me an alias so you wouldn’t find out. Everything was premeditated. Nobody was blacked out. Tell him about it Brooke. I’m sure your version is way better. Nothing crushes the soul more than hearing it come from the same mouth that whispers fake ‘i love yous’”

By the time they got through with Nina, Brooke was a mess. Not over anything Nina said but over the fact that she came all this way, dragged Jake out of bliss with her and for what? To get chewed out by Nina? To find out that no one was really happy or excited about their news except for the two of them? On top of that, there were still no signs of Quinn. There had been no more texts from ghostface and none from Quinn either. Jake was in the process of driving them both home (meaning; back to his parents house) when Brooke’s phone beeped and she read the texts out loud to Jake. He immediately turned around and headed to the location pinned on Brooke’s phone from her GPS. They arrived at the warehouse where the texts said to meet and were instantly greeted by creepy Halloween decorations, the pitch dark, and a life-sized statue of the Grinch. Not to mention, there were clowns EVERYWHERE. Lots of them. Which Brooke was terrified of. With their cannibalistic looking smiles and pale faces and eerie chuckles. Brooke hadn’t realized how tight her grip on Jake’s arm was until her nails accidentally dug into his skin and she heard him hiss a little. Not really at her, though. He was taking the pain because he knew she was scared. “Jake, I don’t like this,” Brooke cried softly as she clung to his jacket while he tucked her behind his back. The scene felt too much like a live-action horror movie. They were being lured to their deaths and had only gotten to enjoy married life for an estimated 96 hours. Meaning; 4 days, and a well rounded 5,760 minutes. Aka, not enough time.

When the shadow of Ghostface’s cloak appeared and then disappeared behind them, Brooke screamed and muffled her cries against Jake’s back as she hid her face against him and held onto him for dear life. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” she chanted in a whisper to Jake. She just wanted him to know in case this was the moment where one, or both of them were taken away from each other. Though, she prayed it was just another prank. She’d happily welcome Grayson back if it meant there’d be no harm or no foul done unto them.

“Jake, shh!” Brooke hissed when he called out to the kidnapper and demanded to see Quinn. She was beginning to have her doubts. This was a trap and instead of calling out to the psycho prancing around in all black, they should be running for their lives. Hell, they should have never left the safe house. Even if it wasn’t a trap, Quinn wouldn’t want either of them walking right into the lion’s mouth. “Oh my god!” Brooke shrieked, when a minute later, his question about Quinn was answered with the killer tossing something at his feet. “What is that?” With Jake drawing closer to get a better look, Brooke followed because she couldn’t find it in her to separate. The glass ceiling above their heads in the warehouse reflected a street light outside and the moon which cast enough of a glow onto the  expensive black lace. As a frequent customer of the Agent Provocateur line, Brooke recognized the brand and the memory attached to it before Tyler ever advanced from the shadows and lift the mask. Their original instincts had been proven right in that moment. It was Tyler baiting them all along. But, then what was he doing with the poncho and the mask? Was this his big reveal? Was he the killer? Were they next? And why go to all the trouble just to ruin them if he was only going to kill them in the end? What was the point?

“Jake,” Brooke swallowed. His name was a warning. If Tyler was the killer, then he was far worse than either of them had now thought or predicted. He was sick and twisted. He enjoyed carving people up. it wasn’t in either of their best interests to tick him off. Sliding her hand into Jake’s, Brooke stood by his side and looked at Tyler’s face. She hardly recognized him. His eyes were blacker than the nail polish she wore on her fingers. And his presence was colder than the skin of the reptile he now sported on his forearm, symbolizing his initiation. While Tyler proposed how the meeting would go, he attached an image of Quinn to his previous, anonymous conversations with Brooke under the ghostface alias. Brooke gasped as she saw the picture of her dad, tied up. His shirt was ripped up and his face was bruised and bloodied. “Where is he!!?” Brooke demanded. She didn’t care about Tyler’s stupid rules or agenda. She wouldn’t hatch out anything or bother speaking to him without knowing her father was safe. And Jake, too. “No,” Brooke shook her head, refusing to talk. At least, not the way Tyler wanted her to. “You were the one who sent me those blocked texts. I knew it was you!” With her free hand, (the one Jake wasn’t holding) Brooke balled it into a tiny, mighty fist. “You said if I came, you’d let him go.” – Well, not entirely. The texts said if she came, he wouldn’t kill Quinn. But, then after, she promised to show up so long as he didn’t hurt her dad. The implication was pretty clear and she hoped that meant he’d be let go. “Let him go. He’s not the one you want anyway. Neither is Jake. Or Ronnie, or Noah, or Riley, or whoever else you’ve paid visits to. You wanted me here and I’m here. You terrorized my friends just to get to me. And why? To talk?” Brooke questioned it all like she didn’t believe it. “About what? I have nothing to say to you. So why won’t you just let it go? Let him go. Please.” She hated begging Tyler for anything but, she’d do whatever it took to get her father back. And she knew Jake would too.

“I have him…” although Brooke was scared she didn’t need to be. Tyler had no plans to hurt her. At least not physically, he’d save that for Jake; which shouldn’t hurt her that much. It didn’t before. “He’s fine. I have it handled.” Truth was, he didn’t have it handled. He stole Quinn from the mayor’s original captors. If they were to find out Tyler was using their bargaining chip as some sort of pawn to get Brooke back, he’d be mauled alive. “Well, you blocked me everywhere else!” Tyler yelled in response to Brooke blaming him for the anon texts. She didn’t really leave him with that much of a choice. “I am going to let him go. I’m not a killer...” not yet at least. Tyler still had to prove to the serpents that he could take a life.

“I’m still the same Tyler you knew in France…the same Tyler you made love to under the moon.” Lifting his poncho to take it off, the silver gun glinted, tucked in his waist. Left in a black tank top, he showed off the orb of night on his arm that Brooke had picked out for him at the tattoo parlor. “The same guy you got tatted with and brought to the ballet.” Like, a snake watching its prey, his slitted-gaze shot over onto Jake, with a half-smile. “I know you’re mad at me Jake but you shouldn’t be. I did you a solid. If it wasn’t me it would have been someone else. She was never really yours. You were always hanging onto this ridiculous fantasy. The ring doesn’t make a difference. You were with her then, too. Commitment is something she lacks. To you, to me, and even to her dad. You should have seen her at the family dinner, Jake. Flashing that tight little body for Eli… The 55-year-old snake that adopted me.” Jake’s stomach tightened, unable to stop Tyler from getting beneath his dark skin. He didn’t want to imagine it. He didn’t want to see Brooke from Tyler’s eyes on that night. “Quinn tried to take her away from me…force her into his car. She hopped on my bike, drove away to a local beach and let me have her again.” Jake stepped forward, detaching from Brooke. He wanted to kill him. Maybe he needed to feel pain. Physical pain would be better than this feeling. His insides were being torn apart by the memories Tyler was sharing.

Anonymous text to Brooke: @ LAKE LANE. WAREHOUSE: WHERE THEY KEEP THE PARADE SUPPLIES.

Anonymous text to Brooke: BRING COPS AND DADDY GETS GUTTED LIKE A FISH

Tyler parked his Porsche 918 Spyder behind the old building. He left Daddy in the trunk with a rose drawn across his forehead to symbolize where this all started. He didn’t think he was a psycho for wanting answers. The heart is the most vulnerable organ in ones’ body and Brooke toyed with his. It wasn’t a one nightstand. People don’t typically get their one nightstand tattooed on their inner thigh. It was a night neither of them would ever forget. And if he could go back, he would do it all the same, and more. She would too, she just didn’t want to admit it. Jake wasn’t her soulmate or her forever… you don’t cheat on a forever. When you seriously know someone is your forever, you want to hold onto them, not ruin them. He basically taught her how to fuck and if Jake knew that, he’d never fuck her again because every single way she satisfies him was first practiced on Tyler’s mouth and cock.

The warehouse was creepy. The decorations dated back 100-years and was mixed in with some Christmas and Halloween shit, too. Tyler took his time dressing in his Ghostface attire: a long black poncho, boots, and that creepy mangled ghost mask. In one hand he held a knife, in the other was a gift enclosed into a leather clad fist.

When Brooke slowly pushed the creaky door open with Jake in tow, Tyler smirked from behind the mask and weaved in and out of Halloween decorations: including clowns in which he knew Brooke loathed. But probably not as much as she loathed herself. The deeper they entered into this darkness, the giddier Tyler got until finally the door slammed shut behind them and was locked. When the blonde and her meathead boyfriend whipped around, Ghostface raised his blade. Glinting in the light filtering in through the old walls, he slowly moved closer. Jake being the hero-type slid Brooke behind his back, guarding her from an attack. “Where’s Quinn?!” Jake hollered; panic clear as crystal in his voice and stance.

Instead of his usual bike, Tyler was riding around his Porsche 918 Spyder, which was the same car he banged Brooke in and out of. The memory wasn’t for Nina, but for Brooke, whom he would see later tonight. That was the car he drove up onto the beach where Nina asked him to meet her. When he spotted her flow of red hair and pale skin, he climbed out of his car and checked the trunk to make sure his delivery was still breathing. “Nina!” Tyler called out; fixing his leather jacket as the wind blew dark, messy hair. When he reached her, he sucked roughly on his lip and eyed her in a way that was scarily seductive. “So the moron and the bitch really got married?” he should have thought of that one himself but he never would have considered it. He wasn’t the married type. But he knew Brooke would have married him if he asked. There wasn’t a thing she said no to that night. She could blame it on the alcohol but she was able to say no Carlos, why couldn’t she say no to him, too? It’s because she wanted it. She wanted him over Jake and she still does. He just had her trapped out of guilt and it was disgusting. “Tell me everything. And then I have a surprise for you in my car. You’re gonna love it.”

When Tyler wasn’t at his bike, Stavo was more confused than anything. It seemed like things weren’t on his side tonight. He glanced around, seeing if the boy had hidden behind a tree or something, and when he didn’t catch any sight of him he tried texting him. [ where the hell did you go? ] Once it was off and sent he slipped the mask from his head, shoving that and the cloak into the bag. Now the wait-ee became the wait-er, but this time he had no idea where Tyler had run off to. Really, he couldn’t care less about it, but he had a lock of Betty Cooper’s hair in the palm of his hand per Tyler’s request. He wasn’t leaving until he showed Tyler the proof that he had done what Tyler had asked.

Tyler had chloroform in his hand, prepared to put Betty back out when he heard her screaming. But then he received a text from Stavo and quickly exited the house before anyone saw him. [ no where the fuck are you? ] he wrote back before seeing Stavo standing by his bike. “Snip, snip. Simple. What were you doing in there?” Tyler didn’t want him to abuse her or hurt her and he hoped that he hadn’t. Despite the torment, he wouldn’t physically abuse a girl. Children and women were his no’s. “Did you get the hair?” seeing the blonde locks being waved proudly, Tyler snatched it from his hand and sighed. “Give me details of what happened back there. I saw the scuffle by the window. What were you doing?”  

Nina: I saw the ugly ring with my own two eyes.

Tyler: I'll be there in like an hour tops.

Tyler: Are you mistaking me for someone who was sung nursery rhymes ?

Nina: They're fucking /married/.

Tyler: You're lying

Nina: Brooke and Jake sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Nina: You know the rest.

Nina: What kind of delivery?

Tyler: Serpent business.

Nina: Get to Noel's party, ASAP. I've got some news for you.

Tyler: Oh I wouldn't miss it.

Tyler: Just gotta make a delivery first

“ I did not pick a side- I’m just confused - you’re both of my friends and it’s hard ! Okay ?” 

Riley breathed out and she listened to his words- it didn’t make sense, she knew Brooke better than she knew herself and she couldn’t come to think that what he was saying was actually true. She always forgot that everyone had faults, especially Tyler. 

“ I don’t know nothing from a source- I just heard some rumours and all of them were bad. Saying you played her and I..I don’t know what to believe because everything you told me now it’s about what she did to you, but you’re not telling me anything about you doing something to her. Even I know that you wouldn’t be naive enough to believe she’d let Jake for you. Maybe I should go…if you’re just going to sell me donuts and blame it all on me.”

“Why don’t you ask Brooke yourself and then you’ll feel really stupid for doubting me. She came to me. All her little cheerleader friends saw it. She got tatted with me and spent an entire night with me and even went to a family dinner with me. When she realized she didn’t want to continue, she bailed. I’m pretty sure I was the one who was played. Of course I thought she left Jake, she was cheating on him. I’ll spare you’re the details. I’ll let her fill those in for you…” Tyler was walking away now, “Oh and... Just so it’s clear. I’m making this decision easy on you. Be Brooke’s friend. Because we’re done. We’re not friends anymore Riley. Telling me I’m selling you bullshit? Saying that you believe some of the bad rumors about me? Assuming I did something bad to her? You’re not a friend. You are, to her…but not to me. A friend stands by you and believes in you…trusts you. You’ve done nothing but judge me. And now you’re just like everyone else in this town. The parent-less kid…is a criminal, a crook…he can’t be trusted…he’s a bastard. Well, guess what, Riley. They were right. You are right. I knew Brooke was vulnerable and drunk and when she flashed her panties to me I took what she was throwing out. I could have said no… but why would I? Because I’m a good friend? Obviously you all know I’m not. I’ll never be! So walk away, Riley.” Tyler didn’t wait for her to do so, he walked away himself. He didn’t need her. he didn’t need anyone.