26. Archer
Chapter 26
Archer
I chased after Cyrus, who already had his keys out of his pocket. He was hell-bent on getting out of there, but no way was I going to let him throw a tantrum and bail.
“Cyrus, if you get in that car, this conversation is over. Forever. And you’ll be lucky if I talk to you at all.”
He spun around so fast his shoes scraped against the dirt on the parking lot. Fury still radiated out of him, but it had been a long time since Cyrus scared me.
“Why the hell are you so mad? Shane’s a good guy. I thought you’d be like happy, or something. Is it because he’s too good for me?” Cyrus’s reaction had shocked and angered me all at once. I didn’t think he’d do a happy dance, but I also hadn’t expected this emotional outburst from him.
Cyrus flinched like I’d slapped him. “Are you insane? You’re too good for him. You’ve been through too much to have someone just swoop in and take advantage,” he sneered.
“Excuse you?” Clenching my fists, I kept my hands by my sides because if I didn’t, I was going to punch him right in the mouth. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Clayton tore your life apart. Then Shane swoops in and makes it all better. And now he’s kissing you? How is that not taking advantage?” Cyrus’s hand cut through the air as he ranted .
“Do you even hear yourself? I get that seeing Shane and me might have been shocking, but you’re acting like a douche bag about it.”
“I’m trying to protect you!” Cyrus was so mad his hands shook. He folded his arms over his chest and glared at me. “Clayton just got done fucking you over, you’re finally getting back on your feet, and now Shane’s putting the moves on you. You need time to heal.”
I put my face in my hands and screamed, not as loud as I could, but enough to vent some of my frustration before I lost my temper.
“Cyrus, listen to me very carefully.” I sucked in a deep breath and stared him down. “Are you listening? Because we’re not having this conversation more than once.”
“I’m listening.” His facial expression was pissy and petty and I wanted to slap it off him, but at least he seemed to be paying attention now.
“The thing with Shane and me is not your business, but I’m going to tell you about it anyway. I’ve been seeing him since before he offered me the space above the bar. It started out casual, and now it’s not. It’s very not casual. And considering that I came into the relationship with fifty bucks in my savings account and a storage unit worth of baggage, it’s safe to say that if you’re worried about anyone taking advantage of anyone, you should be worried about me taking advantage of him. But that’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it? Because all I see is my little brother and my boss. Clayton—”
“Oh, for the love of God, Cyrus. Let it go. Clayton isn’t even fucking here. You can’t use that for an excuse to baby me and try to run my fucking life. Who I’m with and who I love, it’s not any of your business.”
Something like hurt flashed across Cyrus’s face, but as quick as it came, it was gone again .
“You’re being unreasonable,” I continued. “Shane’s not taking advantage of me and it’s a shitty thing for you to think.”
“Then what am I supposed to think?”
Right now it was hard to tell that Cyrus was my older brother for the way he was acting. It was like he was younger and more immature than me all of the sudden. Like the shit I’d been through recently had aged me and him watching me go through shit had spun him around somehow. Our perspectives had shifted and clearly we weren’t seeing eye to eye.
After another deep breath, I let the fight drain out of me. “You’re supposed to think that I’m your brother, not your kid. That I’m capable of making my own decisions and even if you don’t like them, you’re supposed to understand they’re not your decisions to make. They’re mine. And—” I sighed. “You’re supposed to be happy for me.”
“I’ve only ever wanted to help you, Archer.” Cyrus sounded dejected, still angry, but also sad. For as hot as his temper could run sometimes, it always did cool quickly.
“I know that. I know it was you who taught me to drive. It was you who didn’t miss my graduation. You were the one there when I broke my collarbone in the tenth grade. I know all of that was you. And yeah, you were there when Clayton fucked me over. You’ve been there for the good and the bad, but you can’t keep holding on to bad shit that happened to me, Cyrus. It happened to me, but you’re the one who can’t let it go. And it’s not fair. It’s to fair to me; it’s not fair to Shane. And it’s not fair to you. If you’d have let shit go for five minutes, we might have been having a whole different conversation right now.”
Cyrus stared at me like he wasn’t sure what to say. And, honestly, neither was I .
“I need to go home,” he said. He seemed calmer now, but he barely looked at me before turning and getting in his car. I’d hoped to talk him back inside to finish his shift. Hell, I wondered if this was the end of his friendship with Shane. I hated to think that I was somehow responsible for that.
Guilt was a stupid, useless emotion. Especially when I knew we’d done nothing wrong. Nothing to warrant Cyrus’s wrath. He backed out of his parking space and drove away. He didn’t roar out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell, but still my legs quaked as the adrenaline wore off.
I pulled my phone out and texted Marshall, warning him that Cyrus was on his way home. I didn’t say why. Cyrus would want to fill him in. Turning back toward the bar, I saw Shane had gone inside. I didn’t feel like going around the front so I sent a text telling him to let me in.
Slipping through the door, I found the kitchen in a state of… well, disaster was a good word for whatever was going on.
“Who?” I motioned to the middle-aged guy who was rummaging around in the kitchen. Seeing someone who wasn’t Cyrus bashing around back here struck me as inherently wrong. This space belonged to Cyrus and watching some other guy mess it up irked me. But Cyrus had done it to himself.
“Archer, I’d like you to meet Ethan Bennett.”
“Like the diner?”
Ethan turned at the sound of my voice and shot me a smile. Now I recognized him. “It’s been a few years since I had to do any of this stuff and I’m a bit rusty. But, with any luck, I can get these orders out without burning the place down.”
Shane draped his arm around me and tugged me close. Out of nowhere, my sketchbook appeared and I took it from him. He told Ethan he’d be right back and he whisked me around the corner where the walk-in fridge was. It wasn’t any more private here, but it felt like it.
“I’m going to stick around and help Ethan. We’re shutting the kitchen early if you want to wait here, or upstairs. Or out front. Are you okay?” Shane cupped my face in his hands. His brows pinched together and he looked at me with the softest eyes I’d ever seen. He looked at me like I was important, and so was my happiness. Despite the fight I’d had with Cyrus, I found that… yeah, I was okay.
Unable to find words to express myself, I nodded. “I’m fine. Cyrus will come around. I’m not worried about it.”
“I am. He had no right talking to you like that.”
“He’s my brother.” I shrugged.
“I have two of those myself, and we’re giant pains in each other’s ass sometimes—especially Kieran in mine—but family doesn’t get a free pass to be an asshole to you.”
“Cyrus practically raised me. Did you know that?”
Shane glanced at the kitchen, but Ethan seemed to have things in hand. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah. Our parents weren’t planning on my arrival and though Cyrus isn’t that much older than me, they were done with kids, you know. But they didn’t believe in abortion, so… baby number two came along. I don’t remember a lot from my childhood, like not about being really little, but what I do remember is Cyrus. Cyrus walking me to the bus. Cyrus helping with my homework. Taking me to the ER when I broke my collarbone. And then the shit with Clayton went down and again it was Cyrus to the rescue.”
“It doesn’t sound like any of that is your fault.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but I couldn’t because Shane was right. None of those things had been my fault. Maybe Clayton, in some ways, but even then I hadn’t known about his gambling problem when I’d agreed to go into business with him or I never would have done it.
“When things aren’t your fault, you shouldn’t be treated like they are.”
“He’s protective.”
Shane looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. Could he tell that I’d had more than I could take for the day? I wanted to go home, but home was standing right in front of me.
“I’m going to check in with Ethan and touch base with Vivian and Mickey, and then I’ll take you home, okay?”
Nodding weakly, I leaned against the cold door of the walk-in and let out a sigh. Shane was worth every last shred of angst and tension between Cyrus and me. It was a shame that it was necessary at all. Cyrus could have taken the news better, and maybe he would have if we’d have told him about us from the beginning instead of sneaking around. No matter which way I looked at it, Cyrus was pissed at me and I hated it. But not enough to let go of Shane.
For as long as I could remember, I’d been jealous of Cyrus. He was the kid our parents wanted. He found Marshall when they were both young. Barely out of high school, they’d been together ever since. He had a job he loved, and he owned his own house.
And I was a nobody tattoo artist who was starting all over again. I still only had a few bucks to my name. But now I had Shane. I had someone who looked at me the way Marshall looked at Cyrus. Someone who wanted me. Someone who loved me.
If Cyrus wasn’t going to be happy for me, I decided that I had nothing to say to him. My heart fractured at that thought, and I sucked down a shaky breath. All I wanted now was to get the fuck away from here with Shane and curl up in his arms. I wanted him to look at me with his soft, soupy eyes and tell me everything would be okay. And I wanted to believe him.