55. Tyler
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
TYLER
“Your names were in the paper for underage drinking only last week. Now I come home and find the place trashed from a party you two have thrown. Explain yourselves.”
Wow. One of those rare occasions when my father is home. I hear him scolding Killian and Dan before I’ve even stepped through the front door.
As soon as I enter and see the state of the penthouse, I understand my father’s anger. The floor is scattered with red plastic cups. Furniture is out of place. Chairs have been knocked over. The glass coffee table is shattered.
Dan shrugs, perched on the armrest of a couch with an amused look. “We wanted to have fun. Why else would we host a party?”
Killian tries to keep a straight face, but a snort bursts from him.
“Go to your room!” Dad shouts. “Right now. Both of you.”
Once they’ve cleared out of the living room, my father slumps into the couch, groaning and covering his eyes with the heels of his palms .
“Dad.” His hands lower from his face the moment I announce myself. “I can see this isn’t a great time, but we need to talk.”
“Tyler, not now.”
“It’s urgent. I’ll be in my room when you’re ready.”
He sits tall, concern crinkling his eyes. “Is it about Felix? The Fergusons?”
Dad told me to move on with my life and stop worrying that the Fergusons could have something on us. I haven’t stopped worrying for the last six weeks. I don’t think the fear will ever leave me. But as more time passes, the more I wonder if we’re in the clear.
“No. It’s not about either of them,” I say.
“Thank God. I cannot deal with?—”
“I got Harper pregnant.”
His face pales. “ Jesus , Tyler. How could you be so careless?”
“I wasn’t careless,” I answer, keeping a level tone. I won’t let this escalate into an argument. “Accidents happen.”
He covers his eyes again and groans. “You boys are going to be the death of me.”
Dad sinks back against the cushions, remaining silent.
When it becomes clear I won’t receive a further response, I walk to my bedroom with broken glass crunching beneath my shoes from the shattered coffee table.
If my father were home more and not off with so many women, my brothers would have less opportunity to wreck the place.
But now isn’t the time to share my opinions.
“Tyler, wait. Sit down.”
I turn back, finding Dad sitting upright again, scrubbing both hands over his face. He doesn’t sound pleased, but at least he’s calm, so I place my bags on the ground and make my way to the couch opposite him.
“How are you handling the news?” he asks. “How is Harper?”
“She’s not good. Thomas is furious with her. With us. As for me… The news is a shock but I’m going to support Harper in whatever way she needs. She only found out today. She’s scared. But she wants to keep the baby.”
Dad sighs, looking me dead in the eyes. “Son, this is not easy for me to say, but you and Harper are both so young. You have your whole lives ahead of you. There’s plenty of time to have children in the future. This baby… Don’t do it. Make a life for yourself first. Then have kids.”
“That was the original plan. Life happens. Plans change. You know that better than anyone. I’m sure you never imagined yourself as a single parent with four boys.
This is Harper’s body. It’s her choice and I want her to do whatever she feels is right.
I did this to Harper and I’m not going to abandon her.
Dad, I love her. I’ve asked her to marry me, if it’s what she wants and needs. ”
“Should I even ask how Felix fits into this? The three of you…”
“I don’t know, Dad. I’m just trying to give Harper what she needs.”
My father rubs his temples, comprehending all that I’ve said.
He’s quiet for a long moment before he finally nods.
“You’re a good person, Tyler. While I don’t agree this is the right path for you and Harper, I’ll support it.
You’re acting like a man, and it makes me proud.
I’m exceptionally proud of how you’ve handled yourself ever since Felix left.
You’re doing the right thing, protecting Felix, Harper, and your brothers. I know it hasn’t been easy on you.”
His words hit a raw nerve. I’ve had mixed feelings toward my father lately, wishing he’d never sent Felix to Westbridge, frustrated with him for involving me in the cover-up of Paul’s death, and asking me to conceal the truth from Harper and my brothers.
Then the complete opposite—sheer gratitude that he’s keeping Felix from jail.
Now, he tells me he’s proud of me. They’re words I’ve wanted to hear from him for so long.
Now that I have those words, his approval doesn’t feel as I expected.
I’d worked up some fantasy that if my father were proud of me, all would be fixed between us.
That I’d see him more. That I’d feel fulfilled and his absence in the past would no longer matter.
But nothing has been fixed and all I’m filled with is a strange melancholy.
“Has Harper accepted your marriage proposal?”
“Not yet. She needs time to think. I would be with her right now, but Thomas asked me to leave. Please don’t say anything about this to anyone.”
“You have my word. You’re not in this alone, son. I’ll be here for you in whatever way you need.”
My father has never been around, we don’t have the kind of relationship I want, perhaps we never will, but he’s made one thing clear. He said it on the night Felix was taken away. It’s only truly sinking in now that I’m the one in need.
No matter how much trouble and stress you boys cause me, you are all my sons and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.
“Thank you,” I tell him.
“I suppose you’re wanting your mother’s engagement ring?”
If Harper and I are to marry, I can’t think of anything more appropriate than my mother’s ring on her finger. “The deal was I’d only get her ring if I’m accepted into Columbia.”
He laughs softly. “Your situation with Harper calls for an exception. Don’t you think? Besides, a large envelope from Columbia recently arrived with your name on it. They don’t send large envelopes with rejections.”
My smile is bittersweet. What’s bound to be an acceptance letter from Columbia should make me happy, yet all I can think of are my plans with Felix to open our speakeasy.
I don’t see how any of those plans can happen now.
What I wish, more than anything, is a chance to speak with Felix so I can explain everything—that just because I got Harper pregnant and have proposed to her doesn’t mean I want the three of us to end.
I’m not trying to take her from him. Harper is his entire world too.
She belongs to both of us. She always will, even if she becomes my wife.
But I doubt Felix will accept this new dynamic when he returns.
All three of us are supposed to be equals in this relationship.
As much as I can try to include him, and as much as Felix may try to be supportive, there’s no ignoring that the baby will be my child.
Harper will be my wife. Not his. He’ll feel the disconnect.
Harper asked me how I’d feel if the roles were reversed between me and Felix. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t let it ruin anything. I want to believe I would be understanding and supportive. But I know I’d feel resentment toward my brother. Without a doubt, I’d be jealous.
I’m going to lose Felix and it fucking kills me.
I love him as much as Harper. I’ve been trying so hard to keep us all together.
But now that Harper is pregnant, my priorities must change so that she is supported in every way she needs.
I hate doing this to Felix, but I have to accept that when he returns, there’s a very large likelihood the three of us will no longer be together.