Nathaniel
NATHANIEL
Stirring to life, tried to reach up and rub his face. A dull ache radiated from his shoulder, forcing him to hesitate. His eyes flashed open, his mind lurching into gear with the sudden remembrance of what happened. sat up, ignoring the pull in his back, looking around frantically.
Confused, he took in the softly lit room. It was incredibly familiar and yet strange. His eyes fell on the bookcase littered with books, mostly comics or action novels. The desk beside it had an empty backpack thrown on it, along with what looked like a few schoolbooks. A few plush animals, a pig in the corner, and a tipped-over octopus also lay on the barely used desk.
His eyes drifted around the room, catching the posters from low-grade action movies on the wall. An overflowing hamper sat against one of the two doors in the room. A dresser was in one corner, a couple of the drawers were half-hanging open, and the top was littered with what looked like bracelets, jewelry, deodorant, and other odds and ends.
He knew this room, or rather, he knew the decorations. The octopus had been won at a small fair he and Tyler had stumbled across when leaving school one day. had won the beanbag tossing game after Tyler had repeatedly tried and failed, burning through his money. Tyler had been over the moon when had handed over the goofy octopus with its dangly limbs and googly eyes.
One of the doors opened, revealing a bright shaft of light from the hallway, and Tyler appeared. He jerked to a stop when he found upright and staring at him.
“You’re awake,” Tyler said softly, closing the door.
took the opportunity to look Tyler over. He had changed out of the outfit he’d been wearing at the hotel. His arm still had a bandage, though it was fresh and clean. There were a few scrapes on the left side of his head, though they appeared minor. And as Tyler approached the bed, saw him favoring his right side.
“You were hurt,” said, voice cracked and scratchy.
Tyler pulled the chair from under the desk and set it beside the bed. He bent down to open the small fridge under the desk hadn’t seen earlier. From it, he drew a bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to him.
“Well, driving like an idiot for miles to get to you was bound to cause some bumps and bruises,” Tyler told him easily.
“Thank you,” said, taking the bottle of water.
“I figured you were thirsty,” Tyler said with a shrug.
tipped the bottle back, almost groaning as the water slid down his parched throat. “That as well, but I meant?—”
Tyler raised a brow. “If you’re about to thank me for coming after you, don’t.”
“I think, after what I said, you deserve every bit of thanks I can heap on you,” said softly.
“Even if you were being an ass, that doesn’t mean you deserved to be dragged off by a bunch of assholes,” Tyler told him. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised you remember anything.”
screwed up his features. “I remember...some things. I remember seeing the truck at the last second. Trying to warn the driver.”
Not that it had done much good. The truck had careened into the other side of the car and sent them flying. didn’t remember much, just the sensation of being thrown around, direction making no sense, and the feel of the seatbelt cutting into his shoulder.
looked up. “The driver?”
Tyler sighed. “Banged up apparently, but like you, he was buckled up and had airbags. From what we can tell, his arm is broken, but he’ll be okay. I had Clay look into it, just to be sure.”
“Well, that is good news,” said softly.
And he remembered hanging there, dangling helplessly as he fought to stay conscious and losing the battle. Everything he remembered after the crash was scattered and fragmented—the sound of a vehicle roaring close by and a crashing sound. There were voices he didn’t recognize, but he felt a faint ping of fear. Grunting and fast movement beside him.
Then, the only good part, he remembered Tyler’s voice, his face.
looked at the side Tyler had been favoring. “What happened to you?”
“I wasn’t in a car crash, so don’t start with me,” Tyler said with a frown.
looked up. “If you got hurt?—”
Tyler’s mouth twisted. “Look, you were hit by a truck and thrown into a ditch. I don’t care if you were in a car and wearing your seatbelt.”
“Tyler,” began, but Tyler cut him off.
The other man jabbed his finger at him. “No. Shut up. I shouldn’t say that to an injured man, but shut your mouth.”
’s eyes widened at Tyler's sudden vehement display of anger. Of all the things he’d been expecting while trying to figure out what was going on, being yelled at wasn’t one of them. However, he took Tyler seriously and gave him a silent nod.
Tyler leaned forward, hands clasped tightly before him. “Stop putting yourself second. It’s what you do all the time for your dad. You did it when you tried that crappy speech about us wanting two different things. When we both know that’s bullshit.”
made to open his mouth, but Tyler shot him a warning look.
Tyler continued, still glaring. “And you’re doing it now. You were in a car crash, Nate, a fucking car crash brought about by some guys who still want to get their hands on you, and we don’t even know what they’d do if they did. So stop worrying about me when I have two trained people to know if I’m okay or not, and worry about yourself, laying in my bed, bruised and lucky not to be injured enough to be in the hospital. Just stop.”
sighed. “Look, Tyler?—”
“I’m not finished.”
“Right.”
Tyler reached out, taking hold of ’s hand firmly. “You are honestly one of the most giving, self-sacrificing people I know, probably the most. And I can’t help but love that about you, but when you do stupid shit all in the name of someone else when you don’t have to, it pisses me off. You’re a good man, Nate, and you deserve to see that and take care of yourself once in a while. You get to choose for yourself. Do you get me?”
stared, at a loss for words, but managed to nod slowly to show he was listening. He’d never considered himself selfless, especially since everything he did seemed to make everyone else’s life more difficult.
“Love that about me, do you?” he heard himself ask.
Tyler squeezed his fingers, smiling. “I love you, Nate, have for years. You were my best friend for a long time, and that sort of love doesn’t just go away.”
“That so?” he asked, voice shaking.
“Don’t worry. Given the chance, I think that love could be...you know,” Tyler said, shrugging lightly. “The other kind of love.”
“Sounds like a lot of trouble to invite into your life,” said.
Tyler laughed softly. “I’d give you shit for saying you’re trouble, but after the past twenty-four hours, you might be a little right.”
“More than a little.”
“Okay, maybe. But it’s worth it.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of such simplicity.”
“Look, Mr. Fancy,” Tyler said, eyes glittering playfully. “Put it however you want. Dress your words up as pretty as you want. But the fact is, it is that simple.”
nodded, not sure if he was ready to believe that. He certainly wanted to. Anyone who had Tyler willing to devote himself to them was lucky beyond belief. The man was warm, caring, and fiercely loyal to those few he had in his life. It felt like a grand sin for someone like Tyler’s ex to have treated him so poorly.
Then again, he knew he hadn’t been doing much better lately.
cleared his throat. “Where are we? It looks like your room, but?—”
“Clay and Elliot’s house. After Mom...passed, I couldn’t stay in the house anymore. I was going to try to find an apartment, but Clay and Elliot threatened to beat my ass if I did that and had me stay here,” Tyler explained with a low chuckle.
That explained why the room looked so familiar and yet so different. “I continue to find myself wondering just what sort of people you have in your life.”
“Eh, I can’t seem to have normal people in my life, and they’re all pains in the ass, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world,” Tyler said, staring pointedly at .
“And, not to complain,” said, pushing himself upright. “But why here, instead of the hospital?”
“Funny you bring that up because I asked the same thing...after we got here,” Tyler winced apologetically.
snorted. “Well, you did have a few things on your mind. Namely, pulling my butt out of the fire.”
Tyler gave him a strained smile. “Elliot looked you over, and so did Clay, but they said something about how Elliot had more experience getting smacked around while Clay was better at avoiding it.”
“Comforting, I suppose,” said slowly.
“Yeah, don’t ask me. Elliot said he had to deal with enough corpsmen that he picked up the finer points, according to him, anyway. He said you were banged up, but you should be fine,” Tyler told him.
“Admittedly, I do feel as though I should be in more pain than I am,” said.
Tyler winked. “That would be the painkillers we apparently have in the house.”
“I do not recall waking up and taking any medication.”
“Naw. You were asleep. We managed to get it in your mouth and rub your throat like a dog until you swallowed it.”
narrowed his eyes, not sure if that was a joke. “I see.”
Tyler sighed. “And Clay said it might not be a good idea to take you to a hospital. All it would take is a few minutes of someone not paying attention, and you could have been dragged out of the hospital before anyone knew what was happening.”
raised a brow. “Has he no faith in security?”
Tyler laughed. “He said the only security he has any faith in is Elliot. That earned him one of those sappy looks Elliot gets on his face sometimes, and Clay chased him out of the kitchen.”
Well, that certainly covered most of the bases he had to deal with. There were, however, a few other details, and as much as he hated to bring them up, he knew he had to.
“I need to contact Sonia,” told him. “She’ll want to know I’m alright.”
Tyler smiled, reaching onto the desk for ’s phone. “Unbelievable as it is, your phone made it through the crash without a scratch. I contacted Sonia for you. Let her know you’re safe and will be hiding out somewhere while the cops get things figured out.”
tensed. “Oh, I hadn’t even considered that. Surely, the police have to be involved.”
“Well, I’m not quite sure how it worked because I wasn’t there when the call was made. But I guess Clay made a call, and whoever he called did something . Because the police don’t seem to care that we fled the scene of a crime and didn’t go to the hospital. They said that when you’re back on your feet and ready, they’ll need to take a statement from us both,” Tyler told him, frowning in thought.
“I can imagine that will be… quite the story for you to tell,” admitted.
“Yeah, not sure how I’m going to explain stealing some guy’s bike and then dragging a victim away from the scene of the crime. Kind of hoping Clay can have one of those phone calls of his, but I’m not gonna rely on it.”
“Probably for the best,” said, trying not to let his worry show.
Tyler watched him for a moment, then snorted. “Go ahead.”
“What?” asked.
“I know you want to ask about your dad, so go ahead.”
cleared his throat. “Well, I imagine he would like to be updated on current events.”
“Yeah,” Tyler said. “That’s what he wanted.”
’s eyes widened. “He called?”
“Yeah.”
“And you spoke to him.”
“Yep.”
gestured for Tyler to continue. “And?”
Tyler scowled. “And I told him what happened and that you were safe. For that matter, I told him that you would be kept somewhere safe until you decided to leave.”
“I…” began. “I cannot begin to imagine that conversation went well.”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “I was nice . I wanted to tell him that worrying more about his goddamn reputation than his own son’s wellbeing made him an absolute bastard, but I didn’t. And I didn’t even argue when...well, I didn’t argue. I told him what I told him and ended the call.”
tensed. “Tyler...what did my father say to you?”
Tyler’s eye twitched. “It doesn’t matter what he said. I couldn’t give a shit about what that heartless asshole has to say.”
“Tyler.”
“.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What did he say?”
Tyler sucked in a deep breath and let it out, looking away. “What do you think he said, Nate? He called me a lowlife piece of trash who was trying to drag his son and family down with me. Said that if I ever wanted to do something with my miserable life, then I would tell him where you were.”
sucked in a sharp breath. It was all the right things to say that would have hit Tyler hard. Born from nothing, plagued by a criminal father, extreme poverty, and danger around every corner where he lived. Nate’s father had cleanly ripped through every hard and ugly aspect of Tyler’s life.
“Tyler,” began, feeling a tremor in his fingers.
“Don’t,” Tyler said, flashing a smile and standing up. “It doesn’t matter, you know that. But pretty sure you’re hungry. You’ve been out for a few hours.”
reached for him. “Don’t let him get to you. Not you.”
Tyler shook his head. “I told you, it’s fine. He doesn’t know me, and I won’t let him get to me.”
But it had got to him. could see it in the tight expression on Tyler’s face. He was helpless to stop him from leaving the room, flashing him another strained smile. stared at the doorway, at a loss for words, feeling a tightness in his chest and a twisting in his gut.
He jerked when his phone buzzed in his hand, giving the shrill tone he knew all too well. looked at the device, lips thinning as he saw his father’s number on the screen.
Suddenly, he knew what the tightness in his chest was and why his gut felt like it was in knots. He was furious with his father and might even feel the first real stirrings of hate. It had been one thing to deal with his father all his life and face the problems that came with being a Carter.
But Tyler deserved so much better than life had given him, who, despite all the hardships in life, had become a wonderful, caring man. Tyler was so much more than just a statistic from poorer and more crime-ridden parts of the city. He had found a way to rise above it all and become someone was proud to call his friend.
And maybe, if he had the courage, if he had the right still, he could call him more.
Staring at the phone, he considered what he would say to his father. Maybe everything he had just thought to himself, and maybe so many other things. Like how his father had been unfair all along and that there was more to all of them than their names and backgrounds. Maybe when he answered, as he always did when his father called, he would tell his father just what kind of heartless bastard he really could be.
Snorting, he shoved his finger against the deny call button. A moment later, Nate turned his phone off, setting it on the bedside table without fanfare.