Page 35 of Never Too Late

“Ha Ha. Hilarious. Didn’t realise you were the jokester. Actually, none of those. I’m ever so sorry to disappoint Your Lordship. But there’s something else I need to talk about. Not something actually, someone.” His voice turns more serious.

“You’ve finally met someone?” I smile. It’s about time.

“I mean, I guess you could say that.”

“So out with it, who is she?”

“Not she, he.” His voice is now quiet, almost a whisper.

I don’t know how to respond to Tyler’s confession, apart from bursting out laughing. If this is Tyler’s coming out speech, I am not buying it. If there’s one thing I’m certain of on this entire planet, it’s that Tyler is not gay.

Still raising my brow at him, he opens his mouth to speak again.

“Someone came into the shop, D… Remember when I told you I helped Idah and Cee out with a guy in the coffee shop when it was thunder storming, it turns out he knows us.” He lets out a deep breath. “You in particular. He knows you very well.”

At first, I looked at him with confusion and then, with sadness.

There is only one name I automatically think it could be, but at the same time, it shouldn’t be that person.

I avoid everyone else. I don’t let anyone know who I really am.

My mouth goes dry. Sweat starts to form on the back of my neck. My heart beats start to rapidly speed up.

“He’s here, Dax. He came by to say thank you for helping in Cee’s the other night. Idah had mentioned the record store was owned by two brothers and that I worked there. He’s new in town, I wanted him to feel welcome. I wanted him to know there were people around in case he ever wanted a chat or if he needed a friend. As soon as he spotted your photo, his face went pale. He lost all colour in his cheeks. He didn’t know what to do. His reaction was enough for me to know what I needed to know.” He shifts closer towards me. He never sits this close to me. He knows it makes me feel uncomfortable.

And that’s how I know he’s being serious.

“Jae… he’s here?” My voice breaks.

“Yeah, bro. He’s here.”

Time seems to stand still, and I no longer know what to do with myself. I don’t know if I should laugh and cheer and be thankful for this moment, or if I should pause and cry.

I choose the second option.

“How did you know it was Jae? You’ve not seen him before. You don’t know who he is. It might not be him. It shouldn’t, be him.” I shake my head uncontrollably

“The reaction to him seeing the photo of us was all I needed to know it was him, D. That and the fact he told me the guy in the photo broke his heart, obviously he wasn’t talking about me.”

I feel sick and my body becomes limp. If I hadn’t already sat down on the edge of the bed, I’d have fallen to the floor.

Tyler takes a seat next to me.

“It’s him, D. It can’t be anyone else”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

A million thoughts run through my head, playing over and over again. Our relationship is playing on a loop going round and round in circles.

“Why is he here? He shouldn’t be here,” I say sheepishly.

“That’s not my story to tell, bro. You need to speak to him yourself to find that out.”

Hearing that alone sends my mind racing straight into panic. The last time I said anything to him was when I told him I wasn’t going to send any more letters, and I pleaded for him to not send me a reply. The last thing he is going to want to do is talk to me. I don’t deserve a conversation from him. He probably hates me, and I don’t blame him… I would hate me too if I were him.

I already do.

I stare blankly at the slight bump in the wall, remembering how I punched it after sending the last letter knowing that would be the end of us.

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