Page 80 of There's No Us Without You
Something is up with him. The dullness in his eyes, and the effort it’s taking for him to smile, tells me he’s hiding a secret. I’m just not sure what it is, yet.
Tyler waves a hand dismissively, then grabs another slice of pizza and shoves it into his mouth, almost devouring the entirepiece in one go. At least he’s eating these days, a little more weight on him since the last time I saw him.
He looks . . . healthy.
Maybe he was telling the truth about being clean. Still doesn’t explain why he’s here, or why he wants to reconnect so badly. It can’t be because of my charming personality.
He may have these two wrapped around his little finger with his fake charm bullshit, but I know him better than anyone.
Christ. I’m becoming soft. Both Emerson and Eden are making me do things I don’t want to do. Like allowing my brother back into my life.
Or letting Eden practically dry hump my thigh earlier.
Although, I can’t say I didn’t want that. I just... wasn’t prepared.
Tyler frowns when his phone alerts him to a text message, and he pulls it out of his pocket. For a moment, he remains unmoving as he stares at the screen. What I wouldn’t give to snatch the thing out of his traitorous hands and find out what the fuck he’s up to.
More seconds pass before he clears his throat and shoves the phone back into his pants. “I should get going,” he says, giving Eden a tight smile. “Thanks for showing me how to make an awesome pizza from scratch.”
“What?” Eden grabs his arm, her big eyes searching his face. “Already? We haven’t had dessert yet.”
“There’s dessert?” Emerson’s eyebrows shoot up as he reaches over the table, grabs another slice of pizza, and folds it in half to shove the thing into his mouth.
He’s eaten an entire pizza to himself. How is he thinking about dessert?
All I can think about is not jumping over this table and punching my brother in the face.
Eden stands and puts her hands on either side of her waist. “There’s always dessert.” With a sway of her hips, she heads into the kitchen.
A low groan rumbles through my chest, so I cover it up by clearing my throat.
“Just stay the night, dude,” Emerson says, lifting a shoulder. “We have plenty of room.”
I whip my head in Emerson’s direction. What the actual fuck?
Now I’m tempted to punchhimin his big fat mouth because he never knows when to shut it.
Tyler flicks his gaze over to me for a second before he plasters a fake grin on his face and shakes his head. “Thanks man, appreciate it, but I promised some mates I’d catch up with them tonight.” He points at Eden as she busies herself doing god knows what. “I’ll text you.”
“You better.” She winks at him.
Fucking. Winks.
Unbelievable.
Although she isn’t looking at him like she wants to fuck him, she may as well be because ever since he stepped inside that front door, I’ve become invisible to her—except for our little moment in the kitchen earlier. If I had my way, she wouldn’t even know he exists.
When Tyler reaches the door, he hesitates, his hand on the handle. “I really needed this,” he says, giving me the same sad smile he did when he would ask why our father didn’t love us.
My chest tightens, and for a moment all I see is that scared little boy again, the one with the messy blond hair and blue eyes.
But he hasn’t changed. I know him. He wants something. I just need to figure out what that something is before he drags Eden into his mess.
“Maybe we can do it again soon?” It’s a question full of hope.
Ihope he can hold his breath for eternity because fuck that. There’s no way Eden is going anywhere with him, and I’ll make sure of that as long as she’s living under this roof.
“I’d love that,” Eden says, grinning.
