𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟

Chapter 15 : Brother

"If she signs those papers, you're moving out," Tyler warns, standing up and walking out of the living room. He heads up the stairs to Ivy's room.

When he knocks on her door, Tyler doesn’t expect Ivy to let him in. To his surprise, she opens the door and walks back inside without sparing him a glance.

He’s lucky she doesn’t lock him out, so Tyler stays quiet as he steps inside and shuts the door behind him.

Ivy is sitting at the foot of her bed, legs crossed, her head hanging low. But when Tyler sits next to her, she lifts her head with a frustrated huff and stares at the wall, silently letting him know she’s listening.

"Talk to me, Ivy."

She doesn’t react, but Tyler notices the quiver in her bottom lip.

"I should’ve told you about him knowing. I’ll give you that. But I supported Luca’s decision to tell him. And yes, we should’ve handled it differently. Should’ve included you. But it needed to be done."

Ivy whips her head to face him, her eyes red and filled with tears. "How the fuck can you say that to me? This was my story to tell, not yours, not Luca’s, or anyone else’s!"

"Again, I get that, but you weren’t going to tell it, so I had to," Tyler explains, his voice calm but firm.

"It wasn’t your decision to make!" Ivy snaps.

Tyler laughs dryly at that. "You’re my sister, and he’s my best friend. He’s been with me through a lot of shit. Can you blame me for wanting my two favorite people to like each other? I told you, you could trust him."

"Yeah," Ivy scoffs, "we saw how that turned out the last time you said that."

A heavy silence falls between them as Tyler absorbs her words.

He looks down at the ground, a shiver running down his spine as he recalls a moment from years ago when he said the exact same thing to her.

"This time is different," he murmurs. "I wanted you to feel safe around him. This was the only way."

"Sure," Ivy sniffs, "cut the bullshit, Ty. You did it for yourself," she spits.

"I did it for you," Tyler insists, but Ivy just shakes her head.

"You’re so selfish. All you wanted was for your precious friend to feel part of this family, without ever thinking about how I feel!" Ivy yells, her voice cracking at the end.

"That’s all I fucking think about!" Tyler bites back, throwing his hands in the air. "You think I don’t know how hard this is for you? Do you have any idea how much guilt I carry? I remember what happened the last time I told you to make friends with someone, and I hate myself for it."

Tyler’s voice falters, and Ivy notices, frowning when she looks at him again.

"I agreed with Luca for the same reason I fought with Rosa to keep you, for the same reason I drafted the contract, for the same reason I went to that trial with you, and for the same reason I was opposed to Michael coming here!" Tyler’s voice cracks. "I did it for the same reason I do everything, Ivy! To protect you!"

His tears blur his vision, but he feels her hand on his sleeve, Ivy gripping it gently.

"I know," she whispers, her voice soft. "Please. Please, Ty, stop crying, and we’ll talk. But please."

Ivy places her chin on his shoulder, and Tyler takes a minute to compose himself. Once he does, he presses a hand to her cheek.

When Ivy pulls away to look at him, she gives him a sad smile.