Page 94 of Until You

“I told you at lunch.”

“Why have you stayed away from your brothers, Tyler? You admitted you didn’t see them very much and now you’re seeing Eric three times in one week, which I think is wonderful. But there was some reason you stayed away.”

Part of him wanted to tell her. But he worried he’d sound pathetic.

“You know,” she said, pulling her foot free and sitting up. She crossed her legs, grabbed one of the throw pillows, and placed it on her lap. “Britt said some things to me yesterday that were hard to hear. But I’ve been thinking about them today.”

“Lanie.” He reached over and covered her hand with his own. “It sounds like Britt was out of line. Even Randy thinks so.”

“But she said something that I think is true.” She hesitated and searched his face. “She thinks I’m running from something, and I think she’s right.” Her gaze held his. “I think you stayed away from your brothers because you’re running from something too.”

She was right, but he knew what his demons were. “I know what I’m running from,” he said. “And building this relationship with Eric is the first step. Believe it or not, you’ve helped with that too.”

He sank back into the sofa. “I told you that my mother left us. What I didn’t tell you was that she was mentally ill. She did some horrible things before she left, and she was definitely no mother in the end. My father wasn’t much better. It’s hard for me to trust people. I keep expecting them to let me down and leave.”

And there it was. As much as he didn’t want Lanie to leave, he knew having an expiration date on their relationship was a good thing. At least this way, he knew when it was going to end.

So why wasn’t that as reassuring as he’d expected?

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