Page 193 of There's No Us Without You
I nod, drumming my fingers on the side of the mug before taking another long sip. Last night I came here to confront him, but seeing him now, his face painted black and blue, I’m not sure he’s going to want to hear what I have to say.
Although, he needs to. Jenny warned me the old man might not be around for much longer and I’m not about to take Tyler’s chance to say goodbye away from him.
I clear my throat, and shift on the futon, the broken springs digging into my arse. “Listen, Ty,” I say, wincing. “We need to talk.”
Tyler runs a hand through his hair and nods. “Yeah, we do. Just not now.” He tilts his head to the side, motioning to the front door. “Gabby’s here.”
“You’re fucking joking, right?” The mug almost slips from my hand, spilling hot liquid over my knuckles. I shake it off. “Even after what she did to Emerson, you’re still on her side?”
“Come on, Will. You know she’s still my friend. I can’t just abandon her like—” He slams his mouth closed and runs a hand over his face.
I raise an eyebrow. “Like me, you mean?”
He closes his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s not—she’s just lonely, bro. You know Brady, he’s a piece of shit.”
“Jesus Christ, Tyler. When are you going to wake up and see she’s just using you?” I stand, shoving the mug into his chest. “I thought we could have a conversation, but I can’t even look at you right now. Thanks for the coffee.” Shaking my head, I shove a hand into my pocket to grab my keys...
Shit.
I pat each one of my pockets.Where the fuck are my keys?
“I took them,” Tyler says from his position on the deck. “I was worried you might try to drive last night.”
Great.
I hold out my hand. “Hand them over.”
Tyler shakes his head. “I’ve already called Eden to come pick you up.”
“You did what? For fuck’s sake, that’s the last thing she needs right now. You do realise Emerson is in the middle of detoxing, at the stage of puking his guts up and sweating through his sheets?” I clench my hands at my sides, my skin now burning all over.
“And what would she do if I let you drive home still half drunk?”
Fuck.
He’s right.
Motherfucker.
Moments later, Emerson’s black Jeep crawls up the dirt driveway, and the rocks crunching under the tyres send my brain screaming at me to turn down the noise.
It comes to a stop just to the left of mine before Eden jumps from the car and races over to me. “Oh my god. I was so worried,” she says, wrapping her arms around my waist, her cheek pressed against my chest.
All my muscles relax, and I breathe in her familiar scent. “Sorry, baby.”
I kiss the top of her head before she pulls back and scrunches up her nose. “How much did you drink? You smell like you poured a bottle of whiskey over yourself.”
I lift a shoulder, a small smirk raising one side of my mouth. “Not quite. Maybe half a bottle.”
With a slap to my chest, Eden narrows her eyes on me. “God, you’re an arse.” She holds out a hand. “Come on, I’ve left Emerson asleep.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Tyler says, jingling my keys in his hand. “I’ve been wanting to drive this thing since you bought it.”
I side-eye him when he steps up beside me. “You crash it, I’ll kill you.”
He grins at me, throwing the keys in the air before catching them. “Don’t doubt it.” Whistling, he practically skips over to my car and unlocks it, then settles into the driver’s seat.
I mean what I said. If he crashes it, I’ll kill him.
