A/N: Just writing this chapter made my head hurt. Seriously, I was trying to play all the characters and feel their emotions, and it gave me a literal headache. Yikes! So, I hope that it comes through correctly for you all. I put a lot of thought in to how this would pan out.

Also, I was skimming through some songs and I have two that would work really well for this story and this chapter. One is where the title comes from Blood on Blood by Bon Jovi and the other is Crash and Burn by Savage Garden (you should listen to the songs).

Chapter 14
…held tight to a promise, only brothers understand…

The entire drive back to the dorms Tyler's head was spinning. He was feeling the effects of the withdrawal a hundred times worse because of his anxiety. He would be facing the hardest thing he'd ever have to do.

He would have to tell his best friends that he had been lying to them—for over two years.

He parked his truck in his normal spot and noticed the silver Mustang parked near the front doors of the dorms. He groaned inwardly.

"Fuck," He muttered. He knew he'd have to tell Caleb and Pogue as well, but he hadn't expected he'd do it all at the same time.

He sat in his Hummer with a million and one thoughts raging a war inside of his head. He had to get his mind right before facing them. He had to get his thoughts in order. He had to think of how to explain this to them. He had to work up the gall to step foot in to that dorm room.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door to the Humvee and closed it slowly. He kept one hand on the trucks door, looking up at the building that seemed to be looming over him. Pressing his lips together he pushed himself away from the truck, his thumb skimmed over the lock button on his keychain.

He stood in the middle of the parking lot, staring up at the building taking a few more deep breaths. He had to get his shit together. He pushed himself to the stairs, and took them one at a time, where as he would normally take them two at a time. His eyes focused in front of him, it was the slowest he had ever gotten to the front doors of Spenser Dormitory.

He tried to push the thought in his head way, but it wasn't easy. Between his thoughts of Max, his feelings for her, and the shit that was about to go down any minute, he couldn't find his focal point.

He walked in to the dark lobby and waited a few beats before scaling the stairs up to the third floor. It was worse than the walk of shame he realized. This was the walk of death. This was going to be like walking in to a room of rabid pit bulls or walking in to the most uncomfortable silence of your life.

He didn't know which would be better at this point.

He stopped in front of his dorm room; the door was closed—thankfully. He still didn't know if he had the balls to open the door, knowing what was waiting on the other side.

Taking one more calming breath he gripped the handle of the door and pushed it open. He stood in the doorway, his eyes trying to find the first face. He found it with Caleb.

Silence filled the room as he slowly shut the door behind him, not breaking his gaze on the eldest Son of Ipswich.

"Tyler what is this about? What is this doing in your room?" Caleb was sitting on his bed, a small plastic baggy dangling between his fingers. His voice was even, almost calm.

Tyler's gaze moved around the room, looking for another face. He found it when he noticed Reid was sitting on his own bed, head in his hands. Upon hearing Tyler's name his head snapped up; long, bony fingers clinging to his wild blonde hair. His icy gaze tore through his best friend.

Tyler turned away from the soul-piercing glare and noticed Pogue for the first time, pacing. Pacing like he would have expected to see Caleb. Pogue's usually calm demeanor was gone, his face was red, his hair disshelved; he didn't look happy.

"Where do you want me to—uh—start?" Tyler stuttered nervously over his words. As if he wasn't fidgeting enough from his withdrawal, he was feeling the anxiety in the pit of his stomach deepen.

Reid stood up, "The beginning would be nice." He barked angrily, his eyes blazing.

Tyler winced at his tone; he had never in his seventeen years seen Reid this upset before. He knew he had a lot to explain. Shaking he grabbed his desk chair and fell in to it.

"It all started a couple years ago," He began looking down at the floor.

"You've been doing coke for a couple of years?" Pogue shouted his voice cracking as he spoke for the first time.

Tyler looked up and caught his fiery gaze, "No." He replied. "You wanted it from the beginning… so I'm starting from the beginning."

Pogue's eyes narrowed and he took a step back as if telling Tyler to continue. The brunette boy took a steady breath and looked up to see Reid staring at him, anticipating his next words.

"It all kind of started about three years ago. I met Ryan, the guy from the house party in Andover, in Vermont when we were snowboarding…" He scratched the back of his head. "I was kind of in a bad mood of sorts because you guys were all doing stuff on your own and I wasn't, I was stuck with the family…"

"Is that the summer we went on that cruise, and your mom wouldn't let you?" Caleb asked calmly.

"That's the one." His blue eyes darkened. "I was too young to go, though I'm only six months younger than the lot of you…" His voice showed he was unhappy with this, he had always been 'too young' or 'too small' to do half of the things the others had.

"I remember that," Caleb nodded.

"Well, I met Ryan Samuels there. His family was on vacation too, and we met on the slopes…." He shook his head. "It all kinda went down hill after that…" He shrugged his shoulder. "At first it was just partying, girls and alcohol."

Tyler held the bridge up his nose and dared to look up to meet the infuriated gaze of one, Reid Garwin. He quickly looked back down, "Then it was just weed, more girls and more alcohol…" He shrugged his shoulders. "It felt nice, you know…" He pressed his lips together. "They didn't look at me like the young kid that hung out with the other Sons of Ipswich…" He felt his voice deepen. "I wasn't just a Son… I was me."

"What are you trying to say?" Reid hissed. "That we hold you back? That we don't care about you? That we don't love you like our own flesh and blood?"

Tyler shook his head, running a shaky hand through his hair, "No. I know you guys care about me. I know that you love me like a brother. But it felt nice to step out of this world that we're in. To be able to be carefree and not give a fuck what happens next."

He glanced up to meet Reid's eyes again and he could see the pain in them. He could feel his insides wrenching at the thought of keeping this from his best friend, but he knew they wouldn't understand. They never would.

"Ryan introduced me to Max, a little while after that." All eyes turned to him again, he was shaking. "Ryan started getting in to harder shit." He paused. "And you don't say not to Ryan, you just don't." He hung his head and bit his bottom lip. "So, then it was pills for awhile and then finally the coke…" He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "More girls and more booze…"

"How long?" Pogue's voice cut in to him deeper than he had expected. He looked up and noticed the long haired boy's jaw set tightly.

"How long, what?"

"How long have you been doing this?" He snatched the baggy out of Caleb's hand, angrily.

Tyler looked at him a little shocked; Caleb had an almost mirroring look on his. He closed his eyes and thought about the first time he, Max and Ryan had taken a hit. Gnawing on his bottom lip he met Pogue's gaze.

"About a year,"

"How didn't I see this?" Reid muttered more to himself than to anyone else. He was off of his bed and pacing around the room, much like Pogue had been doing earlier. "My own best friend…" He grumbled angrily.

Pogue stared at Reid and shook his head; he sharply turned back to Tyler and Caleb and looked to the leader of their group, "Why aren't you as pissed off about this as we are?" He asked his tone sharp.

Caleb looked up at him and shook his head, "I don't know." Tyler sighed heavily. He wasn't used to this kind of behavior from Pogue, and it scared him just a little. "I'm kind of at a loss for words, honestly…" Caleb continued.

"Well, I'm not." Pogue stood in front of Tyler and looked about ready to wail on the younger boy. "How could you be so stupid and irresponsible, Tyler?" His voice rose. "You of all people, I would never except to do something like this." His voice showed his distress. "Do you realize what this shit can do to your life?" Reid stood behind him, his arms crossed over his chest, nodding his head in agreement to his words. "I could probably handle this if it were, Reid. I expect this kind of thing out of him. This crazy fucked up bullshit, and how careless and reckless he is with using… but you? No… I can't even begin to comprehend—"

"Pogue," Caleb cut his eyes up to the younger Son. He shook his head. "We can't do this…" He pressed quietly.

"The hell we can't…" Pogue clenched his fists. "If it were Reid I'd just beat the crap out of him and tell him to stop being so stupid…" He yelled.

Tyler's jaw tensed. He would have expected, and taken, this from Caleb, but Pogue. He never thought.

"All because of what? Some unwarranted attention? TO play on some fantasy that you have?" Pogue continued his angry rant.

"No. I liked it." Tyler stood up, his knees a little weak, but he wanted to get his point across. He wanted them to see what he saw. He wanted them to understand. "Just like you said, if it was Reid you'd beat his ass, but because it's me you won't. Why the hell not?"

"You want me to beat your ass?" Pogue asked, his voice confused, by his expression still showed anger.

"That's not the point because it's me; it's different." Tyler pointed out. "With them it wasn't like that. I was just another one of the guys. I didn't have to care what everyone thought about me, I didn't get treated differently because I was younger or because I was smaller…" His lips pursed together. "I could be me and not be judged for it." Tyler breathed heavily.

Reid side-stepped Pogue and glared at him, "You don't think you can be yourself around us?" Reid spat out hurt.

"Sometimes, honestly… I don't." Tyler bit his bottom lip. "Everyone,everyone thinks I'm the quiet, shy guy that doesn't get any action…" he laughed bitterly at that. "But that's not who I am. That's just how everyone has labeled me."

He fell back in to the chair and stared up at the three confused faces. He had never told anyone of them this before. He had always kept it to himself. Maybe that was why he was labeled this way. He sighed and pressed his lips together.

"I don't know if you can accept me for who I really am—at least who I am now…" Tyler stressed. "I'm not that little chubby kid that follows your coattails anymore…" He looked down sadly at the thought. "I'm my own person…'

Pogue's angry gaze fell; he put a hand on Tyler's shoulder and squeezed, "You're our brother, Tyler.' He sighed. "We'd love you and accept you if you were purple, grew horns and a tail…."

Tyler cracked a small smile, "Yeah?"

"Of course," Pogue nodded and glanced to Caleb opening his palm.

Caleb grabbed the baggy from him and shook his head, "But this," He licked his lips. "We seriously have to talk about this Tyler…"

Tyler nodded, "I know… Max and I just talked about this."

"And?" Reid moved forward.

"I want to stop, trust me I do… I just don't know how I'm going to do it…"

"We'll help you, Tyler… all you have to do is ask for help." Pogue sat down next to Caleb.

"Asking for help meant telling you the truth," Tyler rolled his neck, it cracked in the process.

"Were you ever going to tell us the truth?" Caleb wondered out loud.

"I don't know." Tyler pursed his lips together. "Honestly, I don't know if I would have ever been put in this situation if Chase hadn't shown up out of nowhere." He shrugged his shoulders. "I had no intentions of doing it."

Reid stepped back, they had all momentarily forgotten about Chase and his hand in this. The blonde pushed a hand through his hair, which was sticking up every which way.

"Is that who was here, is that the person Max was talking about?" He asked.

Tyler bit his bottom lip and met his icy blue gaze, "Yes."

"Why the fuck was he here Ty?" Reid wanted to know. "What the hell did that fucker say to you?"

"He was just threatening me again, saying that if I didn't tell you he would. He would watch my world fall apart…" He shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea why he's coming after me. I don't ascend for another five months…"

Caleb swallowed and looked to Pogue and then to Reid, "He's not after you…" He rubbed his lips together.

"Then why bother me?" Tyler asked his brow furrowing.

"He knows what you're doing, yes?" Pogue caught on to what Caleb was thinking.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded his head sadly.

"He knows you're weaker than you would be at 100%. If he threatened to tell us, you would stop… and you'd be weaker."

"So, what does that matter if he doesn't ascend for five more months?" Reid asked getting angry with this conversation. He didn't want to talk about Chase right now, what he wanted to do was ream Tyler for not telling him. He wanted to yell and scream and cry if he had to, to let it all out.

"Don't you see it?" Caleb asked looking to the blonde.

"No, I don't. So why don't you explain it to me Oh Fearless Leader!" Reid cried out, on his last nerve.

"He using Tyler to get to you…" Pogue finished cutting Reid a look that said to knock his shit off.

"Me? Why would he use Tyler to get to me?" Reid asked baffled.

"You're the closest to him, just like my final warning was when he put Pogue in the hospital…" Caleb narrowed his eyes to the blonde.

"Or I was…" Reid glared in Tyler's direction. The younger brunette sighed heavily and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth.

"I'm really sorry, guys…" He looked sincere, but Reid wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

"Look, we'll figure something out tomorrow ok?" Caleb asked getting up from his spot on Tyler's bed. "Tyler needs to get some rest, and we need to figure out what we're going to do about this Chase situation."

Tyler sat awkwardly waiting for Caleb and Pogue to leave. The two older Sons both gave their friend's shoulder a tight squeeze before leaving Reid and Tyler alone.

Reid fell on to his bed and stared at the ceiling. Things were strangely silent between the two best friends. Too silent for Tyler's liking. He didn't know what to except right now. He would rather Reid beat the hell out of him than sit in this eye-gauging silence.

"Say something," Tyler growled lowly, hating the irking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What would you like me to say, Tyler Simms?' Reid asked through clenched teeth.

"Tell me you hate me and that you want a new roommate or that you never want to see me again or something just as awful…"

Reid was quiet for a second and then stood up from his spot on the bed, "You know what I am going to say something to you now…" He pressed his lips together and clasped his hands tightly together in hopes to control his temper.

"Good," Tyler whispered.

Reid smirked for a second and shook his head, "I don't get it."

"What?" Tyler asked confused.

"I don't get why you felt like you couldn't tell me this?" He lulled his head around and focused his gaze on the blue-eyed brunette. "I can't believe that you wouldn't come to me with this. That you would keep a secret from ME!" Reid could feel himself losing a handle on his temper. There was no way he would make it through this conversation level headed.

"I'm sorry Reid, really I am…" Tyler looked up and met his burning gaze.

"Sorry? You could be sorry if you I don't know, crashed my Corvette or something…." Reid shook his head angrily. "But no, no you lied to me Tyler Simms. You. Lied. To. Me!" He let go of his hands, and they hung by his sides, clenched in tight balls. "You NEVER used to lie to me before."

"I know," Tyler started to apologize again and Reid held up a hand.

"No, I don't want to hear it Tyler. I am so angry." He pressed his lips together; his usually pale face was red, his eyes glazed and his hair a mess. "Tyler I trust you with everything that I have…" He laughed bitterly. "You're there for me no matter what stupid shit I pull, why would you think that I wouldn't be there to back you up? Don't you think I'd want to know that my best friend likes fucking around and having a good time like I do?" He paced the wooden floor and shoved everything off of his desk violently.

"Reid, I—"

"I'm not finished yet!" Reid yelled angrily, slamming his fist down on the now empty desk. Tyler could see the tears forming in his eyes as his face got redder and the vein in the middle of his forehead began to protrude.

"I tell you everything! Every. Damn. Thing." He screamed pushing the chair over. He could feel the power asking to be used. Asking to make it known, but he couldn't lose control like that. He just couldn't. "I would expect that you would do the same." His teeth grinded together.

Tyler stared at Reid in shock. This was worse than he could have ever imagined.

He was at a loss for words, all he could do was apologize and that wasn't doing him any good. He knew Reid better than anyone. He knew that once the blonde got worked up it was hard for him to unwind.

Reid angrily wiped at his eyes and grabbed the doorknob. Tyler watched him and got up to protest but Reid turned around his eyes as black as night. Tyler froze in his spot and without thinking Reid's hand moved forward pushing the brunette harshly on to his bed.

"Leave me alone Tyler, I need to be by myself right now…" He growled before slamming the door shut behind him.

Tyler swallowed hard. He held on to the edges of his bed, staring at the closed door in front of him. He hadn't expected this kind of reaction from Reid. Caleb, maybe, but Reid and Pogue; he had never anticipated this sort of outcome.

He curled up in to the fetal position, his arms wrapped around his body tightly. Forcing his eyes closed, he drifted in to a restless slumber.

--

Waking up the next morning was like torture. He felt like someone was drilling in his head. He could feel his brain pulsing and every inch of him ached. On top of that, the room was bloody cold as hell.

"Ugh," He moved and it hurt. He groaned and rolled on to his side to see if Reid was in the room.

He wasn't.

Sighing to himself, he felt a wave of nausea hit him. Oh, this wasn't going to be good. He was sure of it. He took a few short breaths and tried to calm himself.

This was definitely not good, he thought.

He heard the door open and someone gasped, warm fingers wrapped around his arm and a pair of ice blue eyes stared back at him, "Ty, man… what's wrong?"

Tyler held a hand over his mouth, his eyes still have closed. With the help of his roommate and best friend, he lurched himself towards the bathroom. Reid, terrified, helped him to the bathroom.

Tyler lunged for the toilet and Reid took a safe step backwards. Tyler's head was in the toilet and all Reid could hear was the sound of him retching and coughing in to the porcelain God. After a few seconds Tyler rested his head on the rim of the toilet seat and looked up to see the bloodshot red eyes of Reid Garwin.

"Stupid question," Reid mumbled grabbing the glass by the sink and filling it with water. He squatted down and handed the glass to Tyler.

Tyler didn't ask questions, he appreciatively took the glass and took a long, slow swallow. He felt like utter shit. He wanted to curl up in to a ball and die.

"We should probably take you somewhere else, somewhere safe…" Reid muttered rubbing Tyler's back a little to comfort him.

Tyler's sullen blue eyes turned to look at Reid. He knew that Reid was still upset, but that didn't mean he was going to just let Tyler suffer and Tyler knew that. Reid was working out of the love he had in his heart for his best friend, and that hit Tyler hard.

No matter how angry they were at one another they were always there to back the other up when they needed it. It was the bond that held them together. The love, the loyalty—it was their glue.

I love Reid. Seriously. His concern is so endearing. *sigh* Thoughts?