forum •Favorite Liar• [one/one]

Started November 26, 2022 by @Dayzed forum

tune

What if he would’ve killed him? Andy stayed silent at first, unable to answer the question. It was hard to say what she would’ve done if it reached that point. She wanted to stay she would stand by him, support him. But something like murder just seemed so… extreme. So unnecessary.

She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. She did understand why Tamryn for angry, and she understood how the fight could end up in someone getting killed. She was just glad Alec was able to stop it when it did.

“Yes, I would. But I would also think that you needed serious help,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t matter because you didn’t kill him. Everything will be okay.”

Andy paused at something Tamryn said while he was speaking. Killer? He thought he was a killer? Something about Tamryn calling himself a killer made her feel incredibly uneasy, and for some reason, her mind flashed back to what she’d seen in the bathroom and bedroom of his house a few days before. No, he was probably just saying that because he had almost killed someone, not because he’d done it before. He was her Tamryn, and he wasn’t a killer.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” she said, replying to his second comment. “You look like you need some rest.”

She led him into the home before she took him to his bedroom and helped him up into the bed. He looked so drunk. Miserable. She felt bad for him, and she wasted to no time before she went down stairs to get a first aid kit, ice packs, a bucket, and a cup of water. She returned upstairs, and the first thing she did was place the bucket next to the bed in case he puked. She then took the ice and began to gently press it to the bruise on his face from where Josh had punched him.

“You can sleep in the bed tonight, Tam.” She smiled down at him. “You’ll need a good night’s rest.”

"Serious help". Something about that made Tamryn cringe. He didn't want help, he didn't need it, he just need for things to stop. He was perfectly fine. But he knew deep down that the nightmares wouldn't stop and the depression wouldn't stop, nothing would stop even if he was rescued from his situation. Maybe he didn't need rescuing. He wasn't some damsel in distress. He would deal with things himself and if worse came to worse, he'd continue to do this for the rest of his life. That last thought was tiring. Killing? For the rest of his life? Come on….

Tamryn laughed softly.
"Yeah, I guess I would need help" But something on his face looked like he didn't like the mention of that. He had heard horror stories from the psych ward where people were taken. They sounded less than pleasant.
"I didn't kill him…" He trailed off. Yeah, he hadn't, so then why did he feel like he had? It was the feeling that took over when he finished cleaning up a site he had used for his butchering of the human limbs. Anxiety. A lot of anxiety and guilt was starting to come on.

Once inside the house and in his room, he felt a little safer. He didn't know why but he didn't want to leave his house after that incident. It felt safe and comfortable like nothing bad could happen to him as long as he stayed put.
Watching Andy rush down to get things to fix him up made Tamryn feel some sort of way. Grateful? Yeah. Loved? Yeah. Happy? Yeah. It was a nice feeling that mixed with his anxiety to make a completely different emotion he didn't know what to call. He wanted to so badly enjoy this moment, but he couldn't. He was far too drunk and full of bottled-up emotions that threatened to spill out of his mouth.
The ice pack touching his face made him recoil. It hurt, but he knew that it would make him feel better so he leaned back into it, a grimace on his face now as the ache calmed down.

"Maybe we could both sleep on the bed tonight?" He asked, his question innocent, not meaning anything else by it as he felt bad that Andy would have to sleep on the floor. He also wasn't thinking straight so it came off as him asking to sleep together with Andy.

Andy raised an eyebrow. He had never been this forward before. Exactly how drunk was he? She decided to lay there with him until he fell asleep. Just to make him feel better.

“Tamryn, I’m not sure you know what you’re asking. You’re pretty drunk,” she said softly, stroking his hair. “You trying to hit on me isn’t going to work right now.”

She rested her head on his chest, listening to her heartbeat. Even though Tamryn was drunk, she still loved this moment she had with him. She loved the silence, the sound of the rain hitting the roof, and the feeling of his warmth. She was beginning to love Tamryn more and more these days, and part of her was starting to think that it was more than just being friends.

“I love you, Tamryn,” she whispered, lifting her head to look at him. “I love you more than anything.”

It was unlikely that he would take it the way she meant it. He would probably think she meant that she loved him as friends, but she knew deep down inside that she loved him in a different kind of way.

"Sorry" He shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that," He said, though his eyes were slowly starting to close. "Sorry…" He muttered again as if he hadn't said it the first time.
When Andy laid her head on him, his heart skipped a beat, even more, sensitive than he usually was. At the words, Tamryn relaxed.
"I love you too, so much it hurts" He admitted. He smiled and wrapped Andy in his arms for a while even though he felt like he would pass out at any moment.
"I'm just scared of loving you so much, it would hurt a lot if you got to know me even more than you already do" And there it was, he was starting to talk a little too much.
"We should sleep, the room is spinning" He spoke as he looked at everything, things melted into other things and his vision was shot. "Please at least sleep on the couch in the living room and not on the floor, it would hurt my soul if you had to sleep on the floor," He said finally before he got into bed.

After Andy left the room, Tamryn sat there in the darkness, thinking about things before laying down and passing out.
His dreams were the usual, though it was cut short this time as he woke up to birds chirping outside and the sun hitting the floor through the spaces in the blinds.
Tamryn laid there for a moment. When had they left the party? He was in his house so…. His eyes widened as she abruptly sat up. The motion of sitting up so suddenly made his head pound.
"Oh my god, oh shit," He said as everything dawned on him, holding the side of his head. "Fuck I need some Advil" He muttered and he scanned the room for his dresser.
Tamryn slowly got up and stumbled over to the dresser and grabbed the Advil bottle. He looked around again. No water bottles laying around. He had cleaned a lot the day Andy came so there was no clutter in his room anymore.
The door to his room slowly opened as Tamryn peeked down the hallway. Was Andy still sleeping? And why had he slept on the bed this time?? Everything confused him as some parts of last night were muddy and he couldn't quite piece everything together.
"Andy…?" He said too quietly for anyone to hear anything, so he opted to walk down the stairs to get some water.

She listened to his words, trying to convince herself that Tamryn didn’t love her in that way. She knew that every sign pointed to Tamryn having feeling for her, but she wanted to deny it. She had to deny it. Despite her growing affection for him, she knew that, if they started a relationship, it would end badly. They were both too broken, too troubled. If they went down that road, they would pull each other down, and she would end up breaking Tamryn’s heart.

Once she felt his breathing slow, she headed downstairs to the couch. She tried to get some shut eye, but her thoughts kept her awake. She hadn’t helped this situation at all. She knew their relationship wouldn’t work. She knew they couldn’t be together, but she would touch and flirt with him regardless. She tried her best to quiet her mind, but it ended up keeping her awake for the rest of the night.

————-————-————-————-————-————-————-————-————-————-

In the morning, she slept way past 10. The only thing that woke her up was the sound of Tamryn’s footsteps coming down the stairs. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, before she smiled faintly at him.

“Oh, crap, I should’ve set an alarm clock,” she said. “Sorry, I slept too long. I can fix breakfast for us if you’re hungry.”

Tamryn froze upon hearing Andy's voice. He slowly turned to her, a nervous smile on his face. Tamryn might have been heavily drunk last night but the memories were starting to come back to him and he was very embarrassed about the whole ordeal. Or well, what he could remember, he remembered clearly getting hit in the face as it was sore this morning, not to mention his knuckles were slightly bruised from throwing the first punch.
He swallowed.
"Uhm. No, no, you're fine! Really! I'm not that hungry anyways…" He muttered at the end. "You can go back to sleep if you'd like" He gave her a half smile, though it seemed uncertain about things. He remembered Andy telling him that she loved him, but it was the intention and feelings put into the words that left him confused. He knew Andy loved him, and he loved her, but like that? Possibly not. Yet it felt so genuine and honest when she said it, like there was more there. And he wanted there to be more, he wanted to be with Andy, and he wanted to ask if she meant it that way. But what if she didn't and he looked like a fool for assuming?

"Oh, and sorry about last night, I-" He paused, looking for the right words to say. "I shouldn't have done what I did. I don't think I should drink anymore after that if that's how I'm going to react to situations…" He said, thinking about the intense emotions that took him over, enough to try and kill someone in plain sight.
"By the way, I don't really kill," He said awkwardly, trying to clear up any misunderstandings in case Andy had any. After all, he wasn't sure what he had said after they came home, only bits and pieces that stuck out- made him feel things. Though, the way he worded it sounded suspicious.
"I wouldn't have anyways, I was just…being overprotective. Sorry. I know you can handle your own but I just" He ran his hand through his hair, feeling the stress of putting his thoughts into words.
"I think I love you too much" He resorted to saying as he made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He popped the painkillers into his mouth and drank.
"Anyways, we have school again tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it and seeing his face around. I might have to apologize." He shifted uncomfortably. "Not a fan of the idea…" He whispered to himself.

She watched him for a few moments, unsure of what to say or do. So much had gone down the night before. Tamryn had attacked Josh, and even though she understood why he did so, she knew what consequences it could have. However, even with this, she couldn’t bring herself to blame Tamryn for anything. After all, Josh’s behavior had scared her that night, and she wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if Tamryn didn’t step in.

She paused when Tamryn reassured her that he wasn’t a killer. Something about the way he worded it and the tone of his voice just sounded… off. Like there was more behind his words than she could catch onto. But her Tamryn? A killer? No. Never. She spent a few moments pondering on his words before she walked into the kitchen with him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not excited to see Josh’s face either. If anyone should be blamed for all the stuff that went down yesterday, it’s him.” She sighed, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. “I still don’t know what his intentions are, and it freaks me out to think about it.”

She hadn’t thought about last night much before now. Sure, the scene would run through her head constantly, but she never stopped to think about it on a deeper level. But now, more questions were coming to the surface. What were Josh’s intentions? She didn’t want to go to the police since she didn’t have any evidence that he was up to anything notorious, but she couldn’t help but wonder what the encounter could have led to. And what about Vixen?

“Tam, you remember Vixen? She was hanging out with Josh all night,” she said. “When we were helping you to the car, she was acting really… off. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Tamryn had a look of disgust on his face when Josh was mentioned once more. Should have snapped his neck. Tamryn thought but kept it to himself.
"Maybe his intentions weren't that bad, I reacted poorly, maybe he just really wanted to talk…" Tamryn tailed off, a frown on his face. Still, even if he had the best of intentions, that didn't explain Andy screaming bloody murder when Josh had tried to make her stay and listen. That was never a way to make someone listen to you, even Tamryn knew that.
Tamryn kept drinking his water as Andy kept talking.
When Vixen was brought up he simply shrugged.
"I'm not sure, I wasn't really paying attention to her" I was paying attention to you though. He blushed slightly at the thought that came into his mind. Fool.
"But what do you mean? As far as I was concerned she seemed pretty normal, except for the drinks first thing in the door. It's like she was expecting us" He shivered.
"Not that it's a bad thing, it's good hospitality but I mean, at least we got drinks right when we entered, nothing wrong with that," He said casually.

To be truthful Tamryn also hadn't thought much about Vixen, only Josh. That's where his main focus was and how he dared to do anything to Andy, but that rage had simmered down since then and was feeling a little foolish for reacting the way he did. Part of Tamryn was scared that if he got inebriated again he would actually snap on someone and choke them out. He was sure that others could fight him off when intoxicated, but what if they couldn't? It's not like he was completely drunk off the rails, part of him was still there and he knew what he was doing, and some twisted part of Tamryn wanted to see Josh six feet under.
"I think she was acting a little off, but that's Vixen, she's always been one to be all over people. She's very attentive, though only with people who she's really smitten with" Tamryn said finishing his water.

Andy looked down at her wrist, noticing the large purple bruise forming under her skin. She didn’t know Josh’s true intentions; she had no idea whether he truly wished to simply talk to her or if he had something more malicious in mind. But, even if he just wanted to speak to Andy, she knew that Josh had handled the whole situation wrong. Part of her wanted to blame herself for the entire incident. After all, she had been the one to wander off alone from the party instead of taking someone with her. But, despite these doubts, she knew deep down that Josh was the primary one at fault.

“Well, I can still see why you got so upset.” She lifted her arm out from under the table and showed him the dark bruises covering her wrist. “But even if he wanted to talk, the way Josh handled it wasn’t great.”

Andy watched Tamryn as he spoke about Vixen, and she noticed the slight blush on his cheeks. Even though Tamryn was actually thinking about her, she thought he was flustered over Vixen, and the very thought of it brought a sinking feeling to Andy’s stomach. She tried her best to keep her voice steady as she continued to speak.

“She seemed to give drinks only to us, none of the other partygoers. It’s a little… odd.” Andy paused as she looked down at her hands and sighed. “I mean, I dunno. It’s just speculation. I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.”

She began to pick at her nails— a nervous habit. She never had any sort of problem with Vixen before, but now that she knew that Tamryn possibly liked her, Andy’s dislike for her grew. She felt stupid, feeling so jealous over a girl who had a crush on her best friend. After all, Andy had tried convincing herself the night before that her and Tamryn wouldn’t work, but deep inside, she knew she still wanted to be with him.

“Oh. Smitten with.” Andy paused for a moment. “Do you think she still likes you?”

Andy tried to keep a straight face and show that the conversation didn’t bother her, but as she spoke, she could feel herself begin to scowl.

Tamryn looked at Andy's wrist when she lifted it up. He took her wrist into his hand and examined it. He frowned. Why had he grabbed her so hard if he only wanted to talk? That was a red flag. The guy was a red flag all around, but Tamryn couldn't really be talking. He was one as well, even though he tried his best to be a good human being. It felt like he was faking it at times, but that's because he was confused if he really was one despite the whole 'killer' thing and being on the news all the time. He didn't believe it, even though he wouldn't hurt anyone unnecessarily by his own means.
"Maybe you should ice this? Does it hurt?" He asked though he was pretty sure it was at the very least sore. He looked up at Andy when she spoke and nodded, more than agreeing with her statement. He let go of her hand gently and went over to the fridge.
"I agree, I only wish I would have kept an eye on you instead of going to get drinks all the time…I didn't exactly have my own entertainment and I just wanted to take the edge off" He tried to explain, though the guilt of having Andy get hurt when he could have prevented it didn't exactly go down.

Tamryn seemed to stop at that. He hadn't really been paying attention to Vixen the entire night, but the fact that Andy noticed it meant that she had suspicions about Vixen since they entered the door. And she was right, now that Tamryn was thinking about it, it was a little off that only they had gotten drinks.
"Hmmm…" He made a small sound. "That is a little odd, though not surprising. Vixen only caters to those she likes-" With Andy's question Tamryn turned to Andy and crossed his arms, leaning on the counter.
"Probably" He shrugged. "I haven't talked to her in a while until last night. She used to be a little pushy with me back in the beginning of high school, she was very much the stalker type" Tamryn motioned with his hands. "I even went out with her for some time because I thought she really liked me, and she does…I think." He seemed unsure of that.
"Anyways, I'm sure she does, she was eyeing me the whole time we were there, I just tried to ignore it" Tamryn went back to opening the fridge and taking out some ice cubes. He then put them in a bag, zipped them, and put it on the counter. He took out a meat mallet and started crushing it, careful not to tear the bag.
"There, now you can put this on your wrist, and maybe the bruising will go down a little" He went over to Andy and carefully placed the bag over her wrist.

Tamryn picked up on the scowl and smiled. Maybe he was misinterpreting things, but did Andy seem…jealous? Maybe she was just pondering over the night's events and Vixen. It was weird that they had been the only ones to get drinks.
"But I have no plans to go out with her anymore, one time was enough, though I have nothing against her if that's what you're thinking. I still think of her as a friend, though we're not as close as we used to be and that's fine with me. Besides, I only have eyes for you" He gave Andy a sweet smile before sitting down with her.
"Since we haven't eaten, would you maybe like to go out somewhere? I know you're still a little paranoid about the other day we did, but maybe we could give this another shot? Though if it's too jarring, we don't have to, we have more than enough ingredients here to make breakfast"

As Andy watched Tamryn prepare the bag of ice and place it on her wrist, she could feel her cheeks growing slightly hot. This was one of the things she loved about Tamryn; he was always concerned for her, and he always went out of his way to take care of her. It was one of the reasons she had fallen for him in the first place.

At his comment about him only having eyes for her, Andy’s heart beat sped up. By his tone, he probably meant it innocently enough, and it likely didn’t mean that he had feelings for her. However, the context told a different story, and Andy couldn’t resist the temptation to comment on what he’d said.

“You only have eyes for me, huh?” Andy smirked faintly and took his hand, intertwining their fingers. “You do realize what that means, right?”

Part of her hated herself for doing this. She had told herself multiple times to stop flirting with him, to stop encouraging him to fall for her. Their relationship would never work out, and she didn’t want to crush Tamryn. However, no matter how many times she tried to convince herself that she didn’t love him, she always found herself back by his side, flirting with and fawning over him.

“And yes, I would love to go out to eat with you, Tam.” She smiled up at him. “Your choice on the restaurant.”

Tamryn smiled at her when he placed the bag on her hand, though, at her comment, it turned into something a bit more knowing, like he was edging her on. With her fingers laced between his, his face also seemed to grow hot but he seemed satisfied, looking like he was melting on the inside.
"I know exactly what that means" He breathed, his eyes focused on their hands. He soon tore his eyes away from their hands looking Andy in the eyes.
"I'm not sure what it is but when I look at you, everything seems more colorful. Everything's bright when I'm with you" He said, his eyes growing soft as he explained. Maybe Tamryn might have been a little tipsy from yesterday as they got home a little bit later, but Tamryn wouldn't blame yesterday for anything, he knew that this growing feeling in his chest was love and there was no denying it. If Andy shot him down, at least he could go on knowing that he had tried and not wondering what could have been.
Part of him was absolutely terrified shitless at the thought of him confessing like he had done now…kind of. He wondered if their friendship would be ruined if Andy didn't see him like that, but if Tamryn could kill people, then he could conquer human emotions too.
"I've told you I love you so many times, but I don't think you realize how many of those times I meant it a little more than casually" He smiled like an idiot.
He smiled caused the feeling inside of him was hard to contain and because it felt so nice to finally get things off of his chest. If Andy didn't pick up on what he was saying, he'd have to be a bit more direct with her, but that was the least of his worries.
At the mention of food and Andy's smile, he nodded, seemingly out of words to say at that moment.
"Okay, I can drive this time since you take me everywhere most of the time, it's only fair" He gave a small chuckle.

Ever since she was young, Andy had always been good at understand other’s emotions. The way she could easily pick up on nonverbal cues was an impressive skill, and it served her well in her training to become a police officer. However, despite this skill, she found her own emotions to be a lot more complicated. Especially when it came to what she felt towards Tamryn.

As he spoke, Andy noticed the way he looked at her, the gentleness in his eyes, and her heart immediately began to flutter. While part of her hated feeling so weak and vulnerable around Tamryn, another part of her craved the feeling. She could never get enough of it.

“You know how long I’ve loved you?” She could feel her cheeks heat up as she her gaze traveled back down to their interlocked fingers. “For years, Tamryn. Years.”

Andy rested her head on his shoulder for a few moments, allowing herself to take it in. This is what she’d been wanting ever since high school. Tamryn had confessed his feelings to her. Andy felt an intense joy welling up in her chest, but at the same time, she felt a strong sensation of dread. She could hear the doubts in the back of her mind, the warnings that told her not to get into a relationship with Tamryn. After all, she had been in several relationships with guys through high school, and every single one of them had ended in failure. Every single one of them ended up leaving her.

Andy could feel herself began to tense up as she rested in Tamryn’s arms. She felt sick to the stomach, but she stayed there for a little longer before she eventually stood up. “We’ll finish talking about this later.” She forced a small smile. “I’m starving.”

Tamryn searched Andy's face for any clue on what she might have been thinking in those few moments before she answered, but he wasn't as nearly as a good reader of emotions as Andy was.
When her answer came though, his eyes widened slightly, though his expression turned into something sad, something defeated. He leaned a little to the left to try and see her face, but couldn't. He wanted to see her.
"Andy…how in the world would you hurt me? And even if you did end up hurting me, it's you…" He trailed off. "I don't mind if it's you, for as long as I've known, all I've wanted to do was make you happy, and if you want to be with me" He hesitated. "If that makes you happy, then I want to make you happy." He looked over Andy's figure.
"Of course, if you really don't want to be with me, then I can definitely respect that, I won't push but…I do love you and I wanted you to know that. It's been on my mind for the longest time and I wasn't sure if I should have said it sooner or not."
Tamryn wasn't sure if it was a good idea to be saying it now even. He was a killer and if they ended up dating, the heartbreak would be even worse for Andy, knowing that she dated the type of person she hated the most in the world. That single thought alone made him stop in his tracks. If Andy has reservations about dating him, then it had to be for some reason, maybe not a reason of his own, instead turmoil inside her, but he would take that as a sign. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to shut his feelings down once and for all, and he would. The sooner Andy rejected him, the better, but the fact that she loved him stuck in his mind in a never-ending loop.

Tamryn fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, not sure what else to say. He wanted to say so much more, try and convince her to be with him, as that was something he yearned for, it hurt him a lot to know that he couldn't have her, but he knew to respect other people's choices, it's how he had been raised. But it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to Andy to be with someone like him, especially when he kept so many secrets.
"Uhm…" Tamryn seemed a little nervous now that everything had been said and done. "I know this is a lot but, as I said I love you" His cheeks darkened. How many times was he going to say that?? Could he even say it from now on, now that Andy knew the true meaning? Probably not, it would make her uncomfortable.
"And no matter what I'll always be here for you, that much I can promise, we can still be friends, I won't change a thing if you don't want me to, though I hope me saying these things don't cause you any more problems" He gave her a tight-lipped smile. Truth be told the words hadn't fully sunk into Tamryn yet and he was having trouble processing them in his mind. Andy loved him, but not enough to want to be with him, it hurt, but it also gave him bliss. It tore him up a little on the inside, but he wouldn't cry, no matter how much of a sensitive guy he was. He wouldn't put Andy in that position.

Andy could feel his eyes on her, his gaze as gentle and as loving as ever. She didn’t deserve him. She didn’t deserve someone as sweet and kind as Tamryn, and yet, she wanted him to be with her more than anything.

“No, Tamryn, that’s the thing. I do want to be with you. I want to be with you so much it hurts.” She took her hands away from her face, daring to look at him. “But I’ll hurt you. I’ll hurt you, and you’ll hate me, and I’ll ruin our relationship. It’s what always ends up happening.”

Part of her didn’t even understand why she was so scared to be in a relationship. It a
was something she’d always wanted ever since she was a little girl. But, despite this desire, she had seen many times what trauma these sorts of relationships could lead to. Her dad and mom, who had been childhood sweethearts, divorced when she was small. Her uncle, after the love of his life died, went into depression and was never the same. All she could see was the devastation that came from relationships, and she didn’t want the same to happen to them.

When he told her he loved her, Andy gave him a small smile, finally look up at him. “I love you too, Tamryn.”

He had told her that so many times, and despite how awkward it likely made him feel, Andy still loved hearing him say it. She may have been terrified about being this close with him, but couldn’t help the feelings she had towards him.

“And thank you, Tam.” She gently hugged him, resting her cheek against his chest. “I’m glad you told me.”

Tamryn was confused at this point, she wanted him but…couldn't? What exactly what she afraid of? Afraid of hurting him? How?
"Andy…I don't think you could hurt me unless you decide to go out with me and then dump me" He laughed nervously. That however was a what-if situation, he couldn't think of any way that she could hurt him.
He listened to her and her struggle to be with him. But in a way he understood, maybe she had demons of her own that he couldn't begin to understand, maybe she had a secret too. That only made him curious as to what it could be.
"But I understand" He sat up a little straighter and gave her a warm smile, the previous moment of warmness that filled his chest slowly started to dissipate. He didn't mind it though, he loved the feeling, but the sooner he got over how he felt, maybe the better it would be.
Tamryn squished Andy into a hug when she did the same. He loved physical contact, he didn't have it very often, only when he was fighting someone, but that was something different.
"I'm glad I did too, at least now we can figure some things out if we need to" He gave a side smile, pulling away from ANdy after the moment was over.
"I think we should get going though, I'm thinking omelets and pancakes" Tamryn got up and bounced slightly. He seemed excited, maybe it was the confession that had him in a good mood, it wasn't like Andy had completely rejected him and he held onto that hope of one day being with her, even if it took years. And even if they didn't end up together he was glad that this wasn't something that would end their relationship with each other.

(okay okay, so i know i haven't been on too much, but i was thinking of moving the events on a little bit more so the story picks up. would you like to skip to the next day maybe when they go to school? or did you have something else in mind? cause we were supposed to do the thing with Andy and the mysterious guy but we didn't, rip lmao but would you like to do that now? Maybe Tamryn goes out for work after school and something happens while he's out?)

((Sure! I was thinking about doing something to connect the events with Josh and the mysterious guy— maybe it has something to do with Andy’s uncle, who is a detective— but we’ll see where that goes))

If there was one thing Andy hated more than anything, it was walking alone in her college campus. On a normal weekday, getting from classes to her car wasn’t an issue; the sidewalks were always filled with students, heading to and from classes. But on that day, Andy had stayed late after school. So late, in fact, that most of the students had left to go home, and Andy was stuck making the long walk to her car alone.

As she went, she tried to calm her jitters by telling herself there was nothing to worry about. Her mind often reflected on what had happened with the mysterious man just a few days ago, but she had to remind herself that that was likely a one-off incident. It was probably just a violent man high on drugs, wanting to take his anger out on someone. That was all, and Andy had nothing to worry about.

Feeling the slightest bit more confident, Andy continued the sidewalk, and soon, she was able to see the parking lot. She was so close now; soon, she would be on her way home. Tamryn would probably be getting off of work soon. Maybe she could stop at a Chinese restaurant, get them some food, and—

Andy stopped, and her heart seemed to stop with her. She could feel her lungs begin to tighten. Behind her, in the near distance, she heard voices. Andy wrapped her arms around herself and stole a glance back, but there was no one there. There were night college classes going on right now, she reminded herself. Maybe one of the students decided to leave early. But, no matter the reason, Andy still felt uneasy, so she picked up her pace as she headed towards the parking lot. She glanced over her shoulder a few times, making sure that no one was there. However, during her third glance back, something changed. Someone was there. And now she made eye contact with him, he was running right for her.

Her flight response immediately kicked in to this oncoming threat, and Andy took off running. Her heart pounded against the walls of her chest, and she was running so fast that it felt like her feet were barely touching the ground. She felt like she was getting ahead of the man when, suddenly, she saw something appear in the corner of her eye. Before she could react, another man dashed out of the shadows and slammed against her. She lost her balance and collapsed onto the sidewalk, the rough concrete skinning her arm. Blood began to run down her arm, but she ignoring the burning sensation as the man— the one who had just pushed her down— jumped on her. He tried pinning Andy to the ground, but he couldn’t do so before she thrusted her knee up into his gut. He recoiled for only a moment, but that was all the time Andy needed to get him off of her and make a mad dash for one of the nearby buildings.

She was no longer eager to get to her car. Sure, that strategy had worked before, but now there were two men. Not just one. Her best bet was to get into one of the buildings and alert one of the college staff. Hopefully they wouldn’t attack her in front of other people, and the staff would get a chance to call the police.

Andy ran around one of the buildings and tried the door, only for it to throw a wrench in her plans. It was locked. Bolted shut, with no way for her to get inside. Crap. She didn’t have time to get to another building, and there was no way she would be able to make it to her car. So, without another choice, she sent an automatic emergency message to Tamryn and dialed the police. As she held the phone up to her ear, she could hear a voice come out from behind her.

“Run into a problem, Andromeda?” the voice said. “Let me guess, the door is locked. We took care of that before you arrived.”

Andy swung her head around to face the man who had appeared beside her. It was the younger man— the one who had jumped her— and he wasn’t moving. He just stood there, grinning ear to ear, before he slowly began to approach. Andy, still holding her phone, turned to go around the other side of the building. Only to be met with the older man, blocking her only way of escape. The man standing behind her tackled her, and while she tried to fight him off, he eventually managed to subdue her and drag into a nearby vacant building.

(Sounds good to me! :))

As soon as school had ended, Tamryn dismissed himself from Andy and went on his way to his…work. It was probably the least favorite part of his days, but for some reason, it didn't seem to get any harder, sure it was at first, those first few times he had taken someone's life, but now, it had gotten easier. Easier to kill, easier to outsmart his prey, and easier to carry out his job. Tamryn wasn't sure what it was due to, but it scared him slightly, how there had been a shift recently. The last time he had carried someone else's body out to scatter them about, it had filled him with annoyance and dread, now it just felt like any old regular job and he was tired of doing this. He would be lying though if a small part of him said he didn't enjoy this. All the killings could change a man and Tamryn was no different. There was a sort of power one would feel when holding someone's life in your hands, Tamryn had noticed that much and didn't quite dislike it.

Course, it's not like he would go out murdering left and right out of his own will, but he didn't mind his job now, there was still anxiety in his gut when he finished a job, but overall he felt…satisfied? Like he had done a good job.
Tamryn dragged the body to the door. This time it was someone who lived somewhere secluded in the woods, which made his job easier. He even found himself smiling at the fact that he would get to play god. That had been hours ago and something sick twisted in his stomach as he learned that he relished the screams of horror and how the other would cry and beg- well. It was safe to say he was turning into a monster and Tamryn tried to fight it, but the more he did, the more desperate he became, and the more he felt like he was losing himself. He was going crazy at the thought of finding any type of amusement in this type of work, and another part of him just wanted to give in. Why was it so…bad? He shook his head. No. This was bad, killing people for work, even if they had done some heinous crime? No one had the right to take someone's life. No one.

After Tamryn was done digging the hole and throwing the body in, he dusted the dirt off his clothes the best he could and gave a sigh. He really was getting used to this. Not a good sign, but what else was he supposed to do? He loved his parents greatly, he'd do anything for them and the thought of them dying made him feel so tired like he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep going if they were killed.
"We can make it look like an accident. Don't cross us." Came their words. It was enough to make Tamryn follow their orders like an obedient dog. He knew what these people were capable of, after they killed his parents, they'd come for him.

Tamryn was just finishing loading up some of his stuff into the car when he received a message, he thought about answering when he was on the road, finish his job here, go home, get cleaned up, and relax a little. How he was able to relax nowadays with everything he did was beyond him, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to answer now, maybe it was the organization wanting to know if he had done the job, and the sooner he answered the better. They didn't like to wait. Tamryn reluctantly took a look at his phone to see who it was and if he had been right, but when he saw the emergency message from Andy, his blood froze over. Every fiber in his body screamed at him as he kept staring at the message. What? Tamryn seemed to space out, not really comprehending what the text meant even though it was right there. He wasn't sure what would have triggered Andy to send him this type of message, but his mind immediately went to the worst. Andy had never sent an emergency message in all his time of knowing her, not even as a joke or an accident.

Tamryn slammed down the hatch to the trunk of the car and nearly tripped on himself as he flung himself to the other side. He ripped open the driver's door and quickly got it, turning the engine on. Tamryn still had several things to do, like get the cleaning supplies and clean what was left of the mess, and burn his clothes along with the body- he hadn't covered it yet. He always brought an extra set of clothes for when the job was done, but the fact that he would be going directly to Andy with no way to clean himself up set an alarm off in his mind, but he wouldn't stop at his house. This was urgent and he'd be damned if something happened to Andy.

Andy could feel the panic rising in her chest as they forced her up the stairs of the empty college building. She tried to fight them off the best she could, but she didn’t stand much of a chance against two full grown men. What were they going to do to her? Torture her? Kill her?

The men led her down a few halls before they reached one of the classrooms. Andy had never been in this building before. Not only because she had no classes here, but because this building had actually been scheduled to be torn down later that year. For the time being, it sat abandoned away from the rest of the campus, meaning that there was likely no one there. No one to help her.

One of the men— the younger one— pulled a chair to the middle of the classroom and forced Andy to sit down in it. While he did so, the other man took a rope and tightly bound her hands to the chair. Once they finished, the older man pulled out another chair and sat down across from Andy.

Since there was no way to escape with her kidnappers in the room, Andy took her time examining the faces of the men. It was hard to see most of their faces because of their masks, but this gave Andy some hope that they would let her go. After all, why would they cover their faces if they were simply planning to kill her? Andy couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.

The older one— the one sitting across from her— was definitely the same man that she had attacked them at the restaurant just a few days before. That proved her suspicions correct; he was most likely targeting Andy. But why? The younger one, on the other hand, was a man she’d never seen before. He looked around her age, and something about him sparked a sense of familiarity. He stood behind the older man, brandishing a gun.

“Miss Archer, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.” The older man leaned forward, his eyes boring into hers. “This is how this is going to go. I’m going to ask you questions, and you’re going to answer them to the best of your ability. Got it?”

“What is this, some sort of interrogation?” Andromeda snapped. “What do you want from me?”

“I’m the one who should be asking the questions here. Not you,” the man replied. “If you cooperate, you get out of here alive and unharmed. Understood?”

Andromeda began trying to move her arms inside of the ropes. She could feel panic rising in her chest, but she tried her hardest not to go into a mental breakdown. In order to get out of this situation, she needed to be calm. Give them whatever they wanted. “Yeah, yeah. Understood.”

The man began asking her question after question, some about her currently status and other about her family history. However, as the interrogation went on, Andy began to notice a similar pattern between all of these questions. Many of them involved her uncle. She was asked all sorts of things about him; what their relationship was, the details of his current cases, etc. As the questioning went on, it became abundantly clear that this had nothing to do with Andy and everything to do with her uncle.

As they questioned more and more, she began to think back to the last time she’d seen her uncle. He was a detective— one of the top detectives in his district— and he was away on a work trip. When she’d asked about it, he wouldn’t tell her what the trip was about, claiming it was classified. She was beginning to think that there was more to this trip than he was letting on.

To her surprise, the men stayed true to their promise about Andy getting out alive. At the end of the interrogation, they brought to her car and sat her down, but they didn’t leave her without a final warning.

“You’re getting out this time, but don’t think you’re out of the woods yet,” the older man had said to her. “I need you to go to your apartment and gather all of your files. Get everything you can and bring it to this spot tomorrow at 6. If you tell anyone about what happened today— the man you live with, your friends, your family— we will come after you and your family. Don’t get the police involved in this.”

Andy nodded, and the two men left, leaving Andy alone in her car. After a few moments, she picked up her phone and called Tamryn.

Tamryn was on the road on the way to the school campus, having briefly stopped at his house to see if Andy had texted him from there, she wasn't of course and this gave him a chance to change out of his clothes quickly. Had Andy been there, there would have been no explaining why he looked the way he did, with red splotches on his clothes, some parts completely soaked in the red stuff.
As he looked around he saw Andy's car, but no Andy. He parked his car a little further away from Andy's and turned the engine off. He got out and looked around, it was just in time to see Andy walking out with two guys. He panicked and hid himself beside the building where he could see them, but not vice versa. He couldn't make out what they were talking about, but it was clear that they were bad news. What confused Tamryn though was that Andy was unharmed. Sure, he should have been thanking the gods that she wasn't but what exactly had they wanted from her?

As the men left Andy, his immediate instinct was to follow them, see where they had come from, maybe pay them a little visit with his gun- he blinked. Never in his life had he felt so bloodthirsty. They had forced Andy into a situation where she felt the need to send him an emergency text, he would not let that slide.
Tamryn moved quietly to his car as he watched the two guys. He got in and waited for them to be out of sight before he thought of turning his car back on, but before he could do that his phone rang and he nearly jumped out of his skin with how loud it was. Tamryn sat there with his heart pounding out of his chest as it rang. It was Andy. He snatched the darn thing from the cup holder where he had it and answered it.

"Andy are you okay?!" Was his immediate response, his voice sounding desperate and out of breath. He stared at Andy's car, waiting to see if the men came back and when they didn't he looked around to see where they had gone, he caught them walking in a certain direction, so he would go that way and investigate, but not until he knew that Andy was safe.
"I'm a few blocks to your right, I came as soon as I could," He said, not saying that he had seen anything. He would track these fuckers down if it was the last thing he did, and he wouldn't say anything. He would do it quietly. He didn't need anyone to know what he was up to.

While she was overjoyed to see Tamryn’s car parked just a few blocks away from her own, she began to feel a lump form in the back of her throat. Tamryn hadn’t been there before the men left, right? He didn’t say he’d seen the men, and while part of her wanted to tell him everything, she knew that it could get Tamryn and the rest of her family killed. That was the same man from a few days ago, after all. He knew her schedule. He knew where she went to school. Heck, he probably even knew where she lived.

Andy could feel herself starting to panic, but she pushed the feeling down. She could handle this. She would give the files to the men, but she made it her own personal mission to find out what they were after. She wouldn’t alert the police about the incident, and neither would she tell Tamryn. They would kill him if he knew.

Even though Andy decided not to tell him, she had a hard time pushing back her emotions as she walked over to Tamryn’s car. He knew he would hate that she was hiding things from him, but she didn’t have much other choice. So, with a heavy heart, Andy climbed into the passenger seat beside Tamryn and gently pulled him into an embrace.

“I’m okay, Tam. I swear. I was walking through the college campus, and I thought someone was following me, so…” She buried her face in his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Tamryn watched as Andy got out of her car and headed toward his. Panic instantly ripped through his body. He looked alright…right? He quickly pulled down the visor to look at himself in the mirror, there were faint spots of red on his face and he quickly rubbed them away, it didn't make much of a difference, but at least in the dark, it wouldn't be too noticeable. Hopefully.
When Andy got into the car and hugged him he stiffened. He felt the blood run to his cheeks as they grew hot. Oh god, he was filthy from all the digging, and- he stopped himself. This wasn't about him though. Even if he was dirty, if Andy wanted to hug him, he would just have to put up with it. Especially after going through something terrifying like getting approached by two men with god knows what intentions.

"Andy what-" His jaw locked as Andy began talking.
Yeah, there was no way he was believing that bullshit. If Andy wanted to lie to him, that was alright, but he would find out the truth sooner or later and this time, she had been caught in a lie. Who knew how many other times she had lied to him, but it's not like he was in any position to be mad at her for it. Besides, the men were shady, and if they had threatened Andy with something-
Tamryn felt his blood boil. That's probably exactly what had happened and for Andy's sake, he'd play along with it.
"Are you sure?" He asked as if implying that he knew something but not saying it out loud. Not for the fear that anything would happen to him, but mainly to put Andy at ease.
When Andy seemed set on not telling him anything, Tamryn stayed quiet for a minute before he leaned against her in an effort to comfort her, but also by not full-on hugging her.

"Alright, I'm sure it was nothing" He played into her lie. "But if anything ever happens, do text me again, I'll be here as fast as I can" And that was the truth. Even if Andy lied or hurt him, he'd always be here for her.
"And don't be sorry, if anything scares you, I'm glad you can count on me" He gave her a half smile.
"You seem a bit shaken up though, so maybe we go home now? I'm sure the safety of our homes will help" He thought, though he wasn't sure. One thing was though. He had to get back to his excavation sight and finish his job. Leaving things uncovered like that just screamed jail time.

“Thank you, Tamryn. Thank you.” He hands shook as she pulled back from the hug, but she tried to hide them. She had to play this situation off, make it seem like it was nothing. “And yeah. Maybe… maybe we should just head home.”

Andy knew she needed to go back to her apartment tonight and get those files. She would give to the men, of course. She had no other choice. But she wanted to go through the files before hand and try to figure out what they were after. The problem was doing it without Tamryn noticing. It would be hard to do as they both lived in the same house, but if she could get Tamryn to leave…

“Tam, you know, I’m feeling a bit hungry,” she said. “You should go ahead to the house, and I’ll go get Chinese takeout and bring it back. Sound good?”

Dang. For a police officer in training, she wasn’t the best at formulating good plans. But hey, if Tamryn actually agreed to this, she could go out, get the Chinese food, and retrieve the files from her home without looking too suspicious. She would figure out how to study the files without him finding out later. Maybe she would go to work early the next day and make copies of the files before giving them to the men later.

Andy stayed silent for most of the way home, busy formulating her plan, but she couldn’t help but notice something. There was something different about Tamryn. Something was off about his demeanor, but she couldn’t place her finger on what it was.

“Hey, Tam.” She placed her hand on his arm. “You okay?”

Hungry? All of a sudden? Who would be hungry after a scare like that? It didn't matter. Tamryn was hungry too and if he didn't know any better, he'd say that Andy was up to something. He sighed. He really needed to stop with his suspicions, maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just him being paranoid.
"I can go-" But before he had a chance to say that he could go and order the food and bring it back to them, she hit him with the go home, I'll be back sentence. Tamryn sat there for a while, not budging. Now she was seriously starting to freak him out. Andy had been paranoid not just a few days ago when they had run out of the house because she had a nightmare about someone breaking in.
If Andy was that shaken up by events like this and suddenly did a one-eighty, Tamryn was going to notice. But she was alright after the emergency text? He guessed that's all that mattered, but the combination of her not being the slightest bit shaken up and the men that escorted her out of the building, really brought an uneasy feeling inside of Tamryn. Course, not only did he know that she was lying to him, but now doing things without him knowing?

Well…it's not like it was any of his business, but if Andy was in danger, then he would make it his business.
"Uhm, yeah, of course, that sounds good. I have to get cleaned up anyways, I'm still covered in dirt" He spoke. With all the panic of getting to Andy quickly and thinking about how he was going to track these people down, he had forgotten about the dead body. Fuck. Of course. The dead body. But it was too late for tonight to go back, it was a much longer drive than he had anticipated and he wanted to be with Andy, to make sure the guys didn't come back. He was stuck. He just prayed to the gods above that no one found them yet. He'd get to it tomorrow.
As Tamryn drove he kept his eyes on the road, but now and again he would glance over at Andy to see how she was doing. Nothing seemed off, except how calm she was.
When the silence was interrupted by Andy's question, Tamryn's grip tightened on the wheel. He wondered. Did he look like a killer? With his expression serious and his brow slightly furrowed. With his spiky demeanor and the way he was tense? Did he look like he would hurt her?

That probably wasn't it, but the intrusive thought had passed Tamryn's head. It appalled him to know he was capable of such thoughts, but it was to be expected. The killings would poison everything about him sooner or later and this was just the beginning.
Andy giving him affection and showing that she cared made him the tiniest bit queasy. Why care about me? He thought to himself, though he knew why and the sort of information Andy lacked about him that would change everything.
"I'm…" Tamryn started. Worried, panicking, absolutely pushing my luck, and terrified. "…okay." He stated, though, it sounded forced.
"Don't worry, I'm just a little concerned about you" He said smiling yet focusing on the road, though it wasn't a pretty smile. It was something mixed with anxiety and excitement. The smile belonged to a murderer and it showed. Because at that very moment, Tamryn was plotting the different ways he would tear apart those who had scared Andy, limb from limb.

She watched him for a few moments, her eyes searching his face, before she turned away and looked out the window. She knew, without a single doubt, that something was bothering Tamryn. Something other than him just being a bit concerned. She had known him for years, after all, and she knew that his demeanor was anything but normal.

Maybe he knew she was lying. Maybe he knew something was up, and he was upset that she wouldn’t tell him. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to tell him what had happened; in fact, she wanted to do nothing more than spill everything out to him before allowing him to hold her and tell her that it would be okay. But, despite this desire, she knew things weren’t that easy. She knew that Tamryn would try to go after the men. After all, she’d seen how he’d acted when Jack had hurt her, and she didn’t want the same event to repeat itself with the men. They would hurt Tamryn… or worse.

When they finally arrived at Tamryn’s home, she reached over and grabbed his hand, keeping him from getting out of the car. “Tamryn, if something’s bothering you, don’t be afraid to tell me, okay?” She smiled and gently squeezed his hand before she released it. “I know I can be annoying at times, but I’m still a good listener.”