Static Reflections: Book 1 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 27 - Tyler: Retrospection

Chapter 27 - Tyler: "Retrospection"

Tyler stayed in the shower for far too long. At first, he just got in to wash himself of the blood and the previous day. Then, one thought led to another, and he ended up sitting down, resting his head between his bare legs.

The hot water fell against him and moved through his dark fur as memories of his grandfather, Hugh, played out. Have there been any happy memories? Was it all just bruises and yelling? Was there anything?

Tyler didn't understand in the slightest. Why did he, an orphan, get pawned off to someone who didn't care about him? And why did his own flesh and blood treat him that way? And in the end, why did he feel sad now, of all times, and not when it happened?

Tyler was just as confused as back when he woke up to Boris having kidnapped him—seeing the otter covered in crimson and being terrified. That was only two days ago.

Boris. His feelings on the entire matter were incredibly complicated. It was so sick and wrong what Boris was doing, and Tyler sure as hell didn't want to be a part of that mess. Then, on the other hand, he cared about Boris more than he initially thought.

Before all of this, he and the otter would constantly get into kerfuffles about this and that, always spurred on by Tyler making a joke that went too far or doing something that bothered Boris and the mustelid's incessant need to open his mouth to respond to it.

And yet, Tyler never realized that even someone who had it all could be going through the wringer. He came to understand that Boris was a very troubled animal inside who wasn't happy with himself, and, though Tyler had been harsh in his words, Boris took them to heart when Tyler told him to change.

After that, there were fewer spats between them, and Boris even began messaging Tyler on the side. They had started building up a close bond, and then the German shepherd had felt it shatter when he woke up in that car.

Boris was a stranger. But he was still an animal Tyler cared about. Then, the animal murdered his grandfather, the most significant thing he was dreading in life, to the point of risking sleeping over at Nick's only to come home to a beatdown. But it was worth it just for a little longer time away. So why did he feel like a sandcastle on a beach at high tide? Was it because he had nowhere to go and, despite saying he wanted to have agency in this situation, felt like he had none? Or was it because he always felt that way?

Whatever the case, he felt low now. Looking at the white floor of this fancy bathtub that he didn't belong in, watching the water flow between his legs toward the drain, exhausted from the day prior, Tyler felt utterly defeated.

And speaking of Boris, why the hell had he wanted to come back? What was here for him that could help them? He sure was acting strange, and when Tyler touched him, he'd been cold. Now he wondered if that had been Boris that made that decision.

Then, there was everything that happened with Amaranthe. His mind pictured cop cars pulling up to the scene and finding those bodies, the wolf with an entire eye missing, the bloody footprints Tyler had worked to clean up. Shit.

Would they do DNA tests and find Boris connected to the entire thing? Would Absalom pull some insane trick that kept them safe? Not only was he in a rush, but the German shepherd had been freaking out so he wasn't as thorough in covering up their tracks as he would have liked to be.

After stewing in the hot water for as long as he could, Tyler stood up and fiddled with the controls, figuring out how to turn off the diverter valve, and a few seconds later, before the water coming from the faucet burned his feet, he shut the water off entirely. Pulling back the curtain, Tyler snatched a fancy white towel off the bar against the wall. It was soft to the touch, and the German shepherd wondered just how much this towel alone cost.