Kelly frowned. "You know we had to do this, honey. For your own safety."

"My own safety?" Tyler scoffed. "God, do you even know what happened to me? I was kidnapped, beaten up and thrown into a random apartment with a strange guy. How could you do this?"

"We had to," Chris said, taking a step forward. "Tyler, we both love you, but it was the only way. You're the only one that's old enough. Our lives depend on this."

Tyler blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes. "And you don't care that it could cost mine?"

Kelly was beginning to cry. "Honey, no. We wish there was another way, it's just..."

"Just what?" Tyler asked. "Why? What did you do?"

Kelly looked at Chris, who cast his eyes to the floor. "When we were younger, we were... troubled," she explained. "We did stupid things, and, one day, we did something really stupid. We didn't have the money to repay it. We still don't. We worked, trying to repay the debt. We did everything that they asked, and we tried to put it behind us. Then, they told us that you had to- had to marry Joshua, or they'd kill us all."

Tyler'a lip trembled. "I hate you," he muttered. "Because you- you did this. It was your mistake. Your debt to pay off. And here I am, dealing with the consequences of your actions. And I've been doing it my whole life, haven't I? I'm always the one that ends up getting hurt."

Chris tried to speak, but Tyler raised a hand, cutting him off. "Don't," he mumbled through gritted teeth. "Don't even try."

Tyler took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sick of it. No, no I've been sick of it for my entire life. God, I tried- I tried to fucking kill myself because of this shit! Or do you just conveniently not remember that? I- I've always kept my mouth shut. I've always just dealt with it when your 'friends' come around. But I'm done, okay?" He shook his head, ignoring the cool tears running down his lava-hot face. "And the worst part is that I- I can't be done. I can't escape. I can't be here, I can't be on my own. I can't run away. The only place that I can go to is Josh's. He's a complete stranger, and he's all I'm allowed to have."

He looked parents in the eye and lowered his voice. "I hate you."

With that, he tightened his grip on his bag and spun on his heel. He opened the door and forcefully slammed it behind him before jogging to the car. He sat down without a word and immediately crossed his arms.

"Are you alright?" Josh asked.

Tyler wiped his eyes. "I'm fine."

Nobody looked convinced, but they didn't say anything about it. Brendon pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the road that Tyler knew so well. The road that he grew up on.

Tyler turned to the window. He looked at the passing trees, blurred from both the fast pace of the car and his teary eyes. He could tell that Josh was looking at him, probably wondering if he was okay, but he didn't acknowledge it.

When they finally made it to Josh's apartment, Tyler went to his room without a word. He immediately broke down, sitting down on his bed and sobbing into his hands. He stood up and threw his bag at the wall. He began trashing his room, throwing anything that he could find to the floor.

Tyler sat down amidst the mess he has made. He tugged at his hair, his choked cries growing louder and louder with every moment that passed.

The door slowly opened, revealing Josh. Tyler barely looked at him. He just continued crying. He was twisting his hoodie in his hands, probably stretching it but unable to care.

Josh sat down across from him. "Hey."

Tyler hiccuped. He choked down a sob, trying to calm himself.

Josh reached forward and gingerly placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder. Surprisingly, the younger boy didn't flinch. Josh pulled him into a hug and Tyler collapsed into it, his shoulder's shaking.

"Everything's gonna be okay," Josh whispered. "I promise."