Tyed

chapter sixty two

Colby feels cold. Tyler takes his arm walking up the door, but it's stiff. He looks up at him, really just searching for an explanation- as if he doesn't already know it- and instead seeing Colby forcefully soften, to let him take his arm. Tyler's not sure he intended the puppy dog eyes, but he's not going to complain about getting what he wanted. He's going to complain about everything else, though. He's pretty sure that's the first and last mercy he's going to get today.

Tyler knocks on the door and considers faking a heart attack. Wouldn't be too hard. If he just stops trying to calm his breathing, the panic attack would come on its own, and from there's an easy way out of this.

But not forever. And Colby already heard about Scarlett.

So Tyler knocks on the fucking door.

He immediately opens his mouth and stumbles over the words. "I hope I didn't tell you that just for her not to be here," he laughs, like it's funny, and it might be if Tyler didn't look at Colby to see him looking down at the ground, almost wide-eyed, expression just blank enough that Tyler isn't certain it's fear. His best guess would be apprehension. Because Tyler's just turned this from his battle that Colby's here to support into a fight that concerns both of them.

Not that it's a fight. It's not. It's going to be just a family discussion that Tyler would rather die than deal with. He'd prefer a fight.

Tyler's mother opens the door, and immediately Tyler knows that something is sure as hell fucking odd. She's put effort in to try and look like she hadn't put effort in; she's got a button up shirt and a white sweater that's tucked into carefully pressed brown pants in such a way that's meant to look like it was done without much thought, but is clearly far too even to be accidental. Her hair is in a neat ponytail with a fringe swooped out and neatly tucked away, and her light makeup is still obvious to someone who's used to seeing her wear none. Tyler has this sinking feeling that he was absolutely right and Scarlett is here as he expects her to be.

Carol looks at Colby. "Oh, uh, hello." She swallows thickly. "It's good to see you again, Colby. Will you two bear with me for just one-"

"Scarlett's here, isn't she?" Tyler has no time for bullshitting around. "You told me she'd be here."

And that cuts Carol's bullshit short too. "You didn't tell me you'd invite her husband, now didya?"

"Ex-husband," Colby corrects tersely.

Carol nods to that. "I'm sorry, you're right. Look, this is- this is all very awkward, isn't it?"

"We don't exactly know what's going on," Tyler says, a half-truth. He doesn't know. He's just fairly certain that his educated guess is in fact exactly correct. "So why would it be awkward?"

"Just wait here," she mutters and closes the door on them.

"Real subtle, you are," Colby sighs. "You can't really approach any situation with tact, can you?"

"What tact does this situation deserve?"

"Tact that would've prevented everyone from getting pissed off immediately. I'd tell you to shut up and let me talk for us, but I think you know exactly what's going on and I'd just make an ass of myself. Why did you invite me here? What are we even doing, Tyler?"

"Trust me, I don't wanna fucking be here either. I- it's selfish."

"What?"

"It's selfish."

"I heard that. I fucking know it's selfish. I just want to hear what exactly you mean."

"I mean, I invited you here 'cause I'm fucking selfish. I knew- or thought, I'm not so certain anymore- that Scarlett was trying to get you back, and- and when I knew she was involved with someone else I needed you to see it to believe it."