Page 213 of There's No Us Without You
“God, it’s so good to finally meet you,” Jenny says, taking his hand. “I’m just so...” She wipes away a tear as it slips down her cheek. “So happy to see you both here, together.”
Tyler shuffles his feet, his eyes darting around the worn-down place. “Yeah, it’s... nice to meet you too.” The tightest of smiles barely lifts his lips, and he shoves his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels.
This is fucking awkward. I don’t know what to do here.
Which is fine because Jenny seems to know, filling the weirdness with her calming presence. “Tea, boys? I just boiled the kettle.” Her warm smile has me relaxing, if only a little.
I clear my throat. “Yeah, thanks.”
Tyler nods. “Sure . . . that’d be great.”
Holding out an arm for Jenny and Tyler to lead the way, I glance down the hall towards my father’s room. Can the old man hear us? Does he know I’ve been visiting every week for almost two years?
He must know I haven’t forgiven him, and he’s lucky I haven’t smothered him with a pillow.
Why do I even care? He means nothing to me.
Tyler is quiet as we take a seat at the dining table.
I’m not sure what I expected.
This must suck for him because it’s fucking torture for me.
Jenny hands us each a teacup and sits at the end of the table, keeping her warm brown eyes on us. Tyler ignores her glances, though, his focus instead on the teacup he’s currently spinning in his hands. He hasn’t once lifted it to his lips.
I’ve never known my brother to be lost for words, but this situation is about as fucked up as they come, so I don’t blame him.
Jenny keeps her motherly gaze on him as though he is her child. It’s the kind of look he should have received growing up, not that dark, unfocused glare our father would give us when he couldn’t make up his mind which one he wanted to punish first.
Tyler clears his throat after a few minutes and stands abruptly, the chair scraping along the floorboards, almosttipping over onto its side. “I need some fresh air,” he says, before bolting for the front door, holding his stomach.
Jenny gives me a soft smile. “Go on, you go check on him. I’ll clear this away.”
I nod and make my way out the front door.
Tyler is sitting on the stairs out the front of the house, his elbows on his knees, his head hanging between his shoulders.
I take a seat next to him, the silence filling the space between us.
What the fuck do I say?
I’m not sure anything I can say would make him feel any better, so instead I say nothing.
After a few more minutes, Tyler sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I need to tell you something, bro.”
“Yeah,” I say, squinting into the sunlight above his head, “what’s that?”
For a moment, he chews his bottom lip, his left leg bouncing. “It’s about?—”
My phone rings, cutting off my brother.
Goddamn it. Every fucking time.
I hold up a finger when I realise it’s Eden. “Give me a sec.” I answer it, pressing the phone to my ear. “You good, Sunshine?”
“How’s Tyler?” she says, ignoring my question.
I frown, glancing at my brother out of the corner of my eye. “He’s... fine.”
