Page 9 of Turning Tides
“No one says no toSpaceballs.”
I didn’t bother telling him that Cyrus would’ve said no. The movie started and saved me from having to talk. A small fucking blessing that was. I didn’t want to talk because every conversation lately was about how to help me. What did I need? What could they do?
If I had the answers to those questions, that would be great. But all I had was anger and broken dreams. It was hard to be here, an interloper in Cyrus’s perfect life. His dream job with his dream boss, his perfect husband and his knitting in their little, one bedroom house. Because they were it. They weren’t going to have kids and had no need for a home office. They’d never planned on having guests overnight. They didn’t even have a pull-out couch.
Something had to give. I couldn’t sit around and brood all the time. I was wasting my time doing nothing. Pouting. Drawing stupid squirrels and resisting the urge to unblock my old partner so I could send him not-so-vaguely-threatening messages. But he was exactly the kind of asshole who would go crying to the cops. And then if he did end up dead, I’d be suspect number one. No, thank you. Orange wasn’t my color.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’d find a solution to my problem. Something. Even if I took a shitty job that I’d hate, it was better than doing nothing. I was vaguely aware that sleep was pulling me under, but I wrestled against it. I tried to wait until everyone else had gone to bed before turning in, but the early mornings were catching up with me.
The movie was still playing when Marshall took the popcorn bowl from me and told me to lie down. I shot him a look, but didn’t have the strength to argue. By the time my head it the pillow, Marshall was covering me with a blanket and I was passing out.
When I woke, for a second I didn’t understand where I was. All I knew was that my bladder was full to bursting. I tossed the blanket off me and stood. The house was dark and mostly quiet. slipping into the bathroom I shut the door quietly and took a piss.
Coming out of the room, I almost ran straight into Cyrus. Startled, I jumped and grabbed at my chest. “Jesus, Cy.”
Cyrus’s mouth twitched in amusement. “I wanted to say thanks for coming for dinner. If you come again, I promise not to be an asshole.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Did you just apologize to me?”
Even in the dim light, I could see Cyrus roll his eyes. “You wish.”
That was as good as it was going to get. Cyrus hated being in the wrong.
“I’ll take it.”
“You know I just want what’s best for you, right?”
Groaning, I pushed past him and went back to the living room. Cyrus followed me—he couldn’t help himself. Too tired to stand there and argue, I dropped down onto the couch. Putting my back to Cyrus, I covered myself in the blanket and shut my eyes.
Cyrus sighed and retreated back to his bedroom. He’d done so well too, with his almost-apology. I should cut him a break, and I knew it. But it was the middle of the night and the only talking I wanted to do was in my sleep.
Tomorrow, come hell or high water, I was going to find a way to fix my mess of a life.
Chapter 5
Shane
Seeing Archer dart acrossthe street in front of me was enough of a cosmic sign that I knew I should pull over and go talk to him. I’d been thinking about him for days. Ever since he stopped in at The Anchor to see Cyrus, he’d been on my mind. So had Cyrus, but in a different way. Cyrus, I worried about. He was still brooding about his brother, and even though his mood had evened out, I could tell it was still weighing on him.
Archer had been on my mind because… well, I was a man and he was my type and it had been a while. I didn’t often bring people home that I met at work, because shitting where you ate was always a recipe for disaster.
But Archer’s blue eyes and the way he held himself apart from everything made me want to break down his walls. I pulled into a parking spot and watched Archer grab a seat in the park under a tree. He pulled out his sketchbook, indicating that he’d be there for a while and giving me time to pop into a convenience store on the corner for a couple Slurpees.
Did I know what I was doing? Absolutely the fuck not. All I knew was that Archer had the look of a person who needed a friend. And if it got Cyrus to stop moping and brooding, that was a bonus.
Archer saw me approaching and closed his sketchbook. Pity, I’d have loved a peek. Whatever he had going on in those pages had mecurious. Maybe another time I could get him to show me. Some people weren’t too fond of sharing their work, but a boy could dream.
“Here,” I said as I folded myself down and sat on the grass next to him. I handed him a slushie.
“What’s in it?” Archer eyed the cup suspiciously.
“A little of everything.” That was the only real way to have a slushie. Everyone knew that.
“Thanks.” Archer took a drink and I tried not to watch the way his lips wrapped around the straw. Instead I focused on not looking at him.
“Did Cyrus put you up to this?” Archer sipped his drink.
“I saw you come into the park and I thought I’d stop and say hi.”
