Tyed

chapter thirty five

Tyler doesn't sleep great that night. He has flashbacks to Sandys' house on fire and struggles to find something to cling onto that will give him a certain future.

A certain future is something he never had. It's still not something he has. It feels better to have Colby, to have someone to trust and hold onto who keeps his promises, but is it really going to last that much longer?

The next morning is a Monday and Tyler decides to skip uni the moment his eyes open. He just cuddles in close to Colby's chest. His restless sleep meant the sun woke him up, but at least he slept. He often spends nights alone without sleeping at all.

Colby's hands absentmindedly run over Tyler's back in his sleep. Tyler's eyes aren't open, but he leans into the touch. He's found a warm place where it feels like he belongs, and he wouldn't give that up or leave it for the world.

It's not long before Colby's phone starts to buzz, though. He begins to stir, and Tyler issued a soft moan of complaint, nuzzling into his neck.

"Mmm," Colby mutters, shuffling Tyler to the side and reaching out to look at his phone. Tyler refuses to move more than is necessary. "Oh, doll, come on. Time to wake up, baby. I've gotta go to work."

Tyler pressed a gentle kiss to his neck. "No you don't," he mutters, trying not to grin.

"You're awake," Colby says, and Tyler can't control his grin. "Come on. I gotta get up."

Tyler finally slides slightly to the side, so that Colby can shuffle out and get out of bed. Tyler cracks an eye open, watching as Colby turns around for a quick moment and locks eyes with Tyler, grinning a little, before walking into the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him.

Tyler considers following him. He doesn't consider it long before deciding to do it.

Tyler almost gets into the shower with his collar on, only just remembering to take it off when Colby stares at it, saying nothing. Tyler rests it on the counter and looks at Colby for an invitation.

"You're tempting me to be late for work," Colby remarks as he opens the shower door.

Tyler steps on under the water. "Really? You'll put off going to work for me?"

"Well, no," Colby says, and eyebrow raised, "unless you can make it really worth my time."

"Oh," Tyler says, sinking to his knees, "I can."

They don't talk about Scarlett, not yet. They put off the darkness in Colby's past as much as they put off the darkness in Tyler's. It's good to leave that darkness behind, but Tyler knows he won't be able to hide from it forever.

Colby fucked up, and the whole reason he divorced his ex-wife was wrong. He says he doesn't want her back, even in that scenario, but Tyler finds it hard to believe. And he still hasn't told his whole truth.

It doesn't mean nothing, though, that he told Colby that he was the one who burned down Sandys' house and Colby didn't reject him for it. In fact, Colby had done exactly the same thing. While Tyler doubted that his other secrets were also true of Colby, at least he was beginning to see a chance. A chance for Colby to know the truth and still be fine.

Tyler thought about all of this while sucking Colby's dick, and the truth is he preferred the kinky stuff because it meant he didn't have to think a lot.

Sometimes, turning your brain off is the best thing you can do. It was a medicine Tyler needed, and didn't always get.

He goes home later that day, and can't make himself be productive. He stares at a laptop screen with a single answer filled in out of thirty questions, and nearly bashes his head against the screen. It's too early to consider dropping the fuck out of uni, especially with all the wrenches thrown in potential plans. Yet, he kind of wants to. He feels like a tool that's lost its purpose, and that's the awful truth; he was molded for a specific want, a specific need. Born for it and shaped with it for his entire life. It's not what he wants, per se, but how he wants to spend his life is a blurred, mirror-image reflection of the same damn thing, almost. Is this bad for him? Because he can't see a way out.