Jaded and Tyed

“And that’s gotten me into a lot of trouble lately. I’m done getting involved—even accidentally—with people who are taken. And I most certainly am not going to end up getting hurt by someone who still has feelings for another person. I don’t want another Justin and Amelia situation. I won’t be able to survive it. She even looks like Amelia. It drives me nuts.”

Damien walked into the room. “Who’s Amelia?”

We both turned at the same time to find him looking at us suspiciously. His hair was wet from the shower.

“No one,” I quickly said.

“How was your shower?” Chelsea asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

“Well, I was nice and relaxed until I overheard my brother’s name.”

She tried to play dumb. “What do you mean?”

“Are you forgetting about my supersonic hearing?”

My sister sighed. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know that Tyler’s about to get his ass beat.”

Shit!

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” I insisted.

“Yet,” Damien said.

“This is exactly why we never said anything about connecting online. We knew you’d misunderstand.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly clearly. My brother has wanted to fuck you from the moment he first saw you. End of story. And as much as I believe that the two of you may even be compatible, I just don’t trust his intentions right now.”

“This isn’t his fault. I was the one who contacted him. I…accidentally friended him on Facebook, and that’s sort of how this all started.”

Damien chuckled, “How do you accidentally friend someone?”

Chelsea placed her hand on Damien’s arm. “Okay, I think we’ve done enough prodding for one night. Jade and Tyler are adults. I think it’s best if we stay out of it.”

He must have realized how upset this conversation was making me, because his expression suddenly turned serious. “I didn’t mean to stress you out even more, Jade. It’s hard for me to not slip into the big brother role when it comes to Ty, and now when it comes to you. You’re both very important to me. In the end, it’s none of my fucking business, and as long as he doesn’t hurt you, he’ll keep his nuts.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Thank you, Damien.”Late that night, as I sat up in bed in the guest room, my Messenger notification chimed.Tyler: Hey…you awake?Jade: I am. Hi.Tyler: Hi. :-)When I didn’t write anything else, he typed again.Tyler: I’m sorry if tonight was awkward.Jade: Not at all.Tyler: …she says with sarcasm.I’d been pondering the situation all night. The words were in the pit of my stomach. I needed to let them out.Jade: I think it’s best if we stop talking to each other. It just really hit me tonight that it’s wrong to be keeping things from the people we love. You love Nicole. You shouldn’t be talking to me every day if she doesn’t know about it. I haven’t been thinking straight lately and have been acting against my better judgment. So, again, I think it’s best if we stop our messaging.There.

I said it.

Tears were pouring down my cheeks.

It wasn’t what I really wanted. I didn’t want to stop communicating with him. In fact, I felt like I needed him more than ever. But I knew this was the right thing to do. Tonight was proof that I was getting way too attached, and I needed to just rip the Band-Aid off.

It was taking him forever to respond.Tyler: I don’t know what to say, except that it’s your decision. Just know that if you ever need to talk, I’m here.TYLERThe rottweilers jumped all over me after I let myself in. Their barking echoed throughout the otherwise quiet space.

“Hey, Dudley. Down, boy. Hey, Drewfus. Okay…okay. I love you guys, too.”

As Chelsea approached carrying my nephew, Little D pointed his index finger at me. “Dick!”

I rustled his curly, blond hair. “That’s right. How’s it going, buddy?”

I’d decided to stop by Damien’s place since it was on my way home from rehearsal. I hadn’t been there since the night of the Jade encounter.

“Where’s Damien?”

Chelsea adjusted her grip on Damien Jr. “There’s a leak at one of the apartments. He went to go take a look at it.”

My brother owned the building where he and Chelsea lived. Occasionally, something would go wrong, and he’d always try his best to fix it himself before hiring outside help.

“I’m just going to put him down for his nap,” she said. “Be right back.”

As Chelsea walked my nephew to his bedroom, I took the opportunity to scope out the place. The room Jade would have been staying in was empty. She wasn’t home. My pulse slowed after realizing I wouldn’t be seeing her.

When my sister-in-law returned, I asked, “Where’s Jade?”

“She’s spent the last couple of days with my parents in Sausalito. Mom is doing worse, so it’s best that one of us is there.”

“I’m sorry, Chels.”

She nodded silently then asked, “Everything okay with you and Nicole?”