Chapter 49 Tyrell
TYRELL
“Again. I want… I want to play again.” Cyrus grins at me, his smile adorable and… exhausting.
I’ve been hanging out with my brother for days on end. With the summer break, he’s only got a few classes of summer school to keep him entertained, and the rest is up to us.
My dad has started working again, and Mom is continuing her extra shifts, so it all falls to me and Lacey.
Well, mostly me.
Lacey’s too busy being a socialite, and she’s scored herself a summer boyfriend, which we’re all keeping a careful eye on. That girl’s got a little wild in her, and who knows what she’ll get up to with that putz.
From the moment I met him, I knew he wasn’t good enough for her. And last time, because Dad wasn’t here, I told him exactly how things would go down if he crossed any lines he shouldn’t.
It wasn’t my place, and it’s not my usual style. Lacey hasn’t spoken to me since I did it, but I was pissed off. How is it that my nearly seventeen-year-old sister is in a relationship and I’m not?
Even Cyrus has a big crush on one of his classmates, and they went out on a little movie date the other night.
I went with them to help them buy tickets and stuff.
Her parents weren’t happy about their sweet girl (who also has Down syndrome) going out with someone, so I offered to chaperone.
I know her father from my summer job, and he was cool with me doing that.
I tried to take a back seat as much as I could.
Cyrus bought the tickets and popcorn like a pro.
I was so proud of him. I snapped some pictures and sent them to her parents, which they seemed to appreciate.
I sat a few rows back, so I wasn’t encroaching on them. Although, when she reached for his hand in the middle of the movie, he nearly died of excitement and ended up leaving her to come and tell me what she’d done.
“That’s awesome, man. Now get back there so you can keep holding her hand,” I whispered.
“Okay.” He grinned at me before rushing back down to sit beside her again.
After we dropped her home, I had to spend what felt like three hours dissecting every detail of the date.
And now he’s sitting here texting her, telling Abigail all about how he just beat his big brother at a game of Uno.
“Tell her you destroyed me, brah.”
Cyrus giggles. “O-okay.” Pressing the little microphone icon, he speaks into the phone, “Hi, Abigail. I just… I was playing Ty at cards, and I won. I de—”
“Destroyed,” I whisper.
“I destroyed him.” He laughs. “I destroyed him, and I’m gonna play again. And I miss you. And I hope… are you…? Is your day good?”
He glances at me, and I nod in approval, giving him a smile.
“Okay. I’m gonna go. But you can text me back.” He goes to click the microphone icon again, then changes his mind and keeps going. “If you want to. You can text me back if you want to. I’m… I’m here. I’ll text you back if you text me back.”
I spin my finger, encouraging him to wrap it up. “Finish strong.”
“O-okay. I… bye. Bye, Abigail!” He raises his voice to an enthusiastic yell before pressing Send.
“Did you read it first?” I lean forward.
“Oh, uh… no.”
“Probably a good idea to do that next time. Speech to text doesn’t always catch your words clearly.”
“Oh no.” Cyrus’s eyebrows buckle.
“Hey, it’s okay. Why don’t you read it back now and just see how it sounds? If there’s a bad mistake, you can correct it.”
I show him how to edit the text, and he changes one word, then slumps back with relief. “Phew.”
“Yeah.” I smile. “You really like this girl, huh?”
“Yeah. She’s Abigail. She’s my friend.”
“Do you think you’ll become more than friends?” I keep my voice casual, my insides tossing and turning as thoughts of Dani hit me hard.
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “I liked it when she held my hand.”
“That was exciting, right?” I grin at him.
“I don’t want to have the sex, though.” He shakes his head. “That’s your job.”
I snicker. “Why don’t you want to have sex?”
“It sounds yucky.”
I nod, suddenly deciding I don’t want to go there.
“But I know you… that you have sex and you like it.” He grins. “So you should… you do it.”
My laughter is dry as I shake my head, gathering up the Uno cards and shuffling them. “I need to find myself a woman for that.”
“What about Dani?”
I purse my lips. “We’re not together anymore, brah. You know that.”
“Yeah, but you still… you think about her all the time. I know you miss her. Just like… just… I missed you when you were away.”
“I know,” I have to admit.
“So, you should… go see her.” His face lights up, like he’s just come up with the best idea. “You go see her and she’ll see you, and you… you can have all the sex.”
I wince. “It doesn’t work like that. I can’t just…” I shake my head, my sigh deep and heavy. “She has to want me too, you know? That’s how it works. You both want each other. You both love each other, and then you can be together.”
Cyrus thinks about this, then nods and leans back in his chair, staring at me like I’m overcomplicating things or something, but I’m seriously not.
“Hey, uh…” I check my watch and rise from my chair. “I don’t have time to play another round. I need to go and pick up that stuff for Mama, and then I have to get ready for work.”
Dad hooked me up with a job at the construction company he works for.
It’s just some manual labor stuff to see me through the summer.
I had my interview with his boss, and the guy is keen to take me on, train me up as a project manager…
after the summer. So, I’ve been digging ditches and sweating up a storm on various construction sites.
The heat has been brutal, which is why the foreman at this week’s job has been running early morning and evening shifts.
I’ll be working through until after 3 a.m., but I don’t mind so much.
“Okay, Ty.” Cyrus watches me walk out of the room as I call my dad, who tells me he’ll be home in an hour, so I don’t have to take Cyrus with me.
I’m kind of relieved. I love my brother so much, but I’m done for the day. And now it means I can collect Mama’s stuff from the store across town and have dinner out that way. I won’t need to come back home before my shift. I’ll just grab myself a burger and eat it in the car.
Cyrus will be okay on his own, but I text Mama to let her know as well. She’ll no doubt call him in twenty minutes or so to make sure he’s still in one piece.
Lacey’s at a sleepover tonight, so at least that’s one less person to think about.
Stepping into my room, I spot Rook curled up on a sunny patch of my bed.
“Hey, boy,” I greet him, kissing his head and giving him a little pet before getting changed into my work clothes. I pause by my mirror, gazing at the ticket shoved into the frame.
“Dani,” I whisper, wondering if she’s going to be at the concert.
Tobin texted me last week, reminding me about it, making sure I’d booked a flight.
I gave him an ambivalent answer, not wanting to commit to anything.
If I do go, I’ll drive up. Yes, it takes about twelve and a half hours, but I need the time to prepare myself.
And I wouldn’t mind the peace and quiet of driving all by myself with no one to take care of but me.
I just want to hit the road, get some space. I’ll stop the night somewhere, probably sleep in the back of my car at a truck stop or something, I don’t know.
I’ve been meaning to do a road trip. I had grand plans of visiting both Zander and Wily, but they haven’t come together. Family commitments and work have taken over, and I’m trying to scrape together every penny I can.
Because I need to get on a plane. Get out of this country.
Now that Dad’s back to work and pretty much recovered, I’m not needed as much as I was. Mama even told me the other night that I seemed restless and I should figure out what I really want to do.
I couldn’t admit it then, but I’m going to have to at some point, right?
I can’t stay here forever. And I can’t keep missing Dani Hill.
She made it clear she wasn’t ready for a relationship.
She wasn’t ready then. She might be now!
That familiar hope flutters inside of me, but… I haven’t heard from her in over two months. Not one text. I’ve even sent her the odd one, just to let her know I’m thinking about her, and she’s sent nothing back.
If she’s at the concert, then I really shouldn’t be.
I want her to enjoy it. I want her to have fun with her friends. I’ll no doubt put a damper on things.
I should stay here.
Maybe work an extra shift or two.
My boss has already approved my time off. I requested it in a moment of weakness. And now, in my moment of strength, I can tell him I don’t need it anymore.
I just have to keep my head down and focus on saving.
Then find the courage to tell my family that I need to get on a plane and see the world, because the longer I stay here… the more I feel myself shriveling up.
With a sigh, I pull the ticket off my mirror and drop it toward my trash can. It flutters through the air and ends up on the floor beside it.
Shaking my head, I finish getting ready, refusing to look back at that ticket. Refusing to acknowledge how much my choice hurts.
But I can’t go.
The whole getting-over-Dani thing won’t be done any faster by seeing her again. It’ll be like throwing myself into a fire and expecting not to get burned.
I have to stay in Dallas next weekend.
That’s the only thing I can handle right now.