Tyed

chapter nine

Tyler's laying in bed, flipping his phone over and over again, occasionally looking at it to see if there's any new notifications. New likes on Instagram, new uploads on YouTube, Nancy's tagged him in something on Facebook. No texts from Colby. For a while, Tyler's worried that Colby doesn't actually have his number, but even if he didn't get it from Tyler's phone- which Tyler assumes he must've- Tyler called him before, and it's not like any phones these days don't have call history.

Lachlen messages him, and Tyler takes time to respond and tell him about what happened. Lachlen seems happy for him, although he's one of those people that texts without much emotion behind his words, which makes it difficult to tell for sure. Tyler's more just happy to be talking to Lachlen again; he was a lovely person and a great friend, incredibly understanding and thoughtful. It's just that he's too good for Tyler, personality-wise. The gap was bridged by Tyler's attractiveness, because he became far less attractive when one learned everything about him.

That's the issue: how much does he tell Colby? He can get away with saying nothing for a while, assuming Colby never does a thorough search for his name and never meets his family. Or, at least, never meets his father. But these things come up sometimes, and Tyler may have to lie if he can't find a way to avoid the question. If lying is the right thing to do.

What if Colby finds out where he came from and decides he doesn't want someone so damaged? It sounds cruel, but it happens all the time. A lot of Tyler's partners left after the PTSD-induced nightmares, the minor things that could easily make Tyler lose it, or simply upon finding out about his past and being freaked out by it. He's got secrets that nobody yet knows, that would surely drive away any decent person. The circumstances of his birth and youth are horrifying, and he spends every day hating them. Anyone else would too.

He figures he won't be able to get away with any lies. There are things that can't be explained by anything but the truth, as much as it sucks.

He jumps as soon as he gets a text, and his heart leaps as soon as he realises it's from Colby. He scrambles to open it immediately.

Colby: How quickly can you put on a nice suit and meet me at Richmond station?

As Tyler's looking at it, another text dings through a moment later.

Colby: That's where my car is, I'm not sure I have time to go and get it to pick you up. Can you get there in half an hour?

Tyler takes a moment to head to his closet and shuffle through it, confused but too excited to ask questions. He has a suit that he wore to his oldest cousin's wedding, and a few nice collared shirts he could wear with it.

Tyler: I'll be there. I hope "nice" means nice for me, not for you, lmao

Colby answers back almost immediately.

Colby: Ideally I would get you something. Sorry for the short notice.

Tyler doesn't answer, because he's too busy hurrying to get changed. The shirt he chooses is a little creased around the arms, but when he throws the suit jacket on, it's unnoticeable. He only has two ties, one of which is black, and so he throws that one on to be safe. It's a miracle he remembers how to tie a tie, considering he hasn't done it since high school formal. He realises it might be a little bit strange, hopping on the train like he's going to a wedding, but it's not like nobody's done that before.

As soon as he's dressed, he texts Colby quickly:

Tyler: I'm on my way.

He quickly sprays himself with deodorant and checks his hair, although there's not much he can do about it. With long, curly hair, it's going to sit however it's going to sit.