Where We Left Off - Romeo Alexander Page 0,46

to you?”

“I wasn’t in a car crash, so don’t start with me,” Tyler said with a frown.

Nathaniel looked up. “If you got hurt…”

Tyler’s mouth twisted. “Look, you were hit by a truck and thrown into a ditch. I don’t care if you were in another car and were wearing your seatbelt.”

“Tyler,” Nathaniel began, but Tyler cut him off.

The other man jabbed his finger at him. “No. Shut up. I know I shouldn’t say that to an injured man, but shut your mouth.”

Nathaniel’s eyes widened at the sudden vehement display of anger from Tyler. Of all the things he’d been expecting while trying to figure out what was going on, being yelled at wasn’t one of them. He did, however, take Tyler seriously and gave him a silent nod.

Tyler leaned forward, hands clasped tightly before him. “Stop putting yourself second every time. It’s what you do all the time for your dad. You did it when you tried that crappy speech about us wanting two different things. When we both know that’s bullshit.”

Nathaniel made to open his mouth, but Tyler shot him a warning look.

Tyler continued, still glaring. “And you’re doing it now. You were in a car crash, Nate, a fucking car crash brought about by some guys who still want to get their hands on you, and we don’t even know what they’d do if they did. So stop worrying about me when I have two decently trained people to know if I’m okay or not, and worry about yourself, laying in my bed, bruised and lucky not to be injured enough to be in the hospital. Just stop.”

Nathaniel sighed. “Look, Tyler…”

“I’m not finished.”

“Right.”

Tyler reached out, taking hold of Nathaniel’s hand and holding him firmly. “You are honestly one of the most giving, self-sacrificing people I know, probably the most. And I can’t help but love that about you, but when you do stupid shit all in the name of someone else when you don’t have to, it pisses me off. You’re a good man Nate, and you deserve to see that and take care of yourself once in a while. You get to choose for yourself, do you get me?”

Nathaniel stared, at a loss for words but managing to nod slowly to show he was listening. He’d never considered himself a selfless person, especially since everything he did seemed to make everyone else’s life more difficult.

“Love that about me, do you?” he heard himself ask.

Tyler gave his fingers a squeeze, smiling. “I do love you, Nate, have for years. You were my best friend for a long time, and that sort of love doesn’t just go away.”

“That so?” he asked, voice shaking.

“Don’t worry. Given the chance, I think that love could be...you know,” Tyler said, shrugging lightly. “The other kind of love too.”

“Sounds like a lot of trouble to invite into your life,” Nathaniel said.

Tyler laughed softly. “I’d give you shit for saying you’re trouble, but after the past twenty-four hours, you might be a little right.”

“More than a little.”

“Okay, maybe. But it’s worth it.”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of such simplicity.”

“Look, Mr. Fancy,” Tyler said, eyes glittering playfully. “Put it however you want, dress your words up as pretty as you want. But the fact is, it is that simple.”

Nathaniel nodded, not quite sure if he was ready to believe that or not. He certainly wanted to. Anyone who had Tyler willing to devote himself to them was lucky beyond belief. The man was warm, caring, and fiercely loyal to those few he had in his life. It felt like a grand sin for someone like Tyler’s ex to have treated him so poorly.

Then again, he knew he hadn’t been doing much better lately.

Nathaniel cleared his throat. “Where are we? It looks like your room, but…”

“Clay and Elliot’s house. After Mom...passed, I couldn’t stay in the house anymore. I was going to try to find an apartment, but Clay and Elliot threatened to beat my ass if I did that and had me stay here,” Tyler explained with a low chuckle.

That explained why the room looked so familiar and yet so different. “I continue to find myself wondering just what sort of people you have in your life.”

“Eh, I can’t seem to have normal people in my life, and they’re all pains in the ass, but I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world,” Tyler said, staring pointedly at Nathaniel.

“And, not to complain,” Nathaniel said, pushing himself upright. “But why here, instead of the hospital?”

“Funny