I smiled and manoeuvred myself into Ian’s arms. He gave me a warm hug, then pulled me up so he could massage my shoulders.
I moaned my appreciation. “Thanks, Ian. You’ve always been a true friend.”
“A true friend who is determined to get into your knickers by the time we reach thirty.”
I chuckled at his running joke, but I wasn’t really in the joking mood tonight. “I’m sorry about the Bolognaise, Ian. Maybe we could get takeout instead?” He rubbed some more, showing me his support.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Just sit back, relax, drink some wine, and we’ll order something once you’ve calmed a little. Your shoulders are so tense.”
I shut my eyes, murmuring “Thank you” as I let him carry on rubbing my shoulders. I was beginning to relax. Today was still coursing through me, but it was easing a little bit now that I had Ian here to support me. Even though I never had Dean, Ian was the one true friend I counted on through thick and thin. He had always been there for me as much as I hoped I had been there for him.
“I can’t believe he blamed your parents for all of this.”
I immediately tensed and snapped my eyes open. Noticing my change, Ian stopped rubbing my shoulders. “I didn’t tell you the part about my parents.” I breathed a little heavily and felt my heart thump with adrenaline.
I heard him sigh and felt his arms drop down from my shoulders. I turned towards him for an explanation, but all I could see was a man who had been caught. For what, I didn’t know, but I was about to find out.
“Ian, what are you not telling me?”
He stared at me for a moment, his eyes unblinking. In the end, he knew he had to say something. “For years, we had been together and, for years, you had always picked him over me.”
Shaking my head, I shot out of my seat, tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe where this was heading. Was Ian playing me this whole time as much as Dean was?
Ian held out his hand in a calming gesture. “Please, hear me out. You need to know how I feel, Tyler. You must have known. You must have sensed how much I’ve loved you all this time.”
I shook my head again, wanting so much for all of this to go away. I needed to know, but my head and heart screamed in agony at the loss of my two best friends. The ones who had been betraying me all these years, not the other way around. This feeling, above all, sent my heart into a tailspin. If I thought I was broken before, I was wrong. Now I’m completely crushed into little pieces. How could anyone recover from this?
“I knew Dean’s parents were trouble. I knew that, eventually, Dean would be embroiled in that trouble. I had to save you from that, Tyler. I had to save you from him.”
“You sent the letter, didn’t you?” I asked, dumbfounded.
Ian’s eyes went wide with shock as he realised I knew, then he dipped his head down with a nod. “Yes, but I only did it so that they would have to flee. I knew once I got the word out that someone was after them, Dean’s mum and dad would be off. I just thought they would go and we would never see them again.”
“But why does Dean think my parents are involved? Why does he think I’m somehow involved?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess because they were involved in their case.”
I shook my head. “That’s bullshit and you and I both know it. What did the letter say, Ian?” Shaking his head, Ian dipped his eyes to the floor momentarily, trying to open his mouth. I was quick to stop him, though. “Ian, don’t you dare fucking bullshit me. Just tell me the truth!”
Ian sighed and stared up at me. His friendly eyes I came to love dearly were not there anyone. They were lost forever. “I wrote a letter pretending to be your parents. I wanted to make sure it got into the wrong hands. Or, let’s just say, the right hands.”
Tears pooled my eyes. “I can’t believe you would do that to me, Ian. And why does he think I had something to do with it?”
Ian gritted his teeth. “I had to make sure Dean would never come back.”
Closing my eyes, I tried in vain to keep my anger in check. “Why, Ian? Tell me!”
“Because it said in the letter that you told them everything about Dean’s family. It said they were worried about you and didn’t want you mixing in with them. I was only speaking the truth. I was doing your parents a favour.”
I shook my head, unable to comprehend how he could have done this. “By implicating them and putting them in danger? By implicating me?” I suddenly started pacing the room. It was quickly caving in on me and I needed to feel I had space to move.
“You and your family were never in danger, Tyler. I knew Dean would never hurt you, no matter what he found out.”