Page 53 of Fine, Dork

“What does your gut say?” Kinley appeared in the hallway and leaned against the wall.

Don’t think, just do. I blinked slowly. “That I should talk to him.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I furrowed my brow. The overwhelming feeling that I should talk to my brother made no logical sense. It wouldn’t end well. He just wanted to curse me out for ruining his engagement party.

Kinley pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. “I guess you better go then. You’re off the hook for dinner tonight.”

???

When I walked into the quiet sports bar, Tyson was already there. I purposely arrived ten minutes late to piss him off. He stood as I approached, with a strange, conflicted look in his eyes.

Tyson shoved his hands in his front pockets and nodded to the barstools in front of us. “Should we sit?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded slowly. “Uh, sure. Let’s sit.”

We ordered drinks and then sat in awkward silence, neither of us willing to be the first to speak. I was mildly sorry that I caused drama at his engagement party. I should have picked a less public time to curse out our parents. But he was the one that asked me here. He could start and tell me what this was about.

After a few more minutes of tense silence, Tyson let out a deep breath and said, “I’ve been thinking, Jaxon, or I guess Chandler made me stop and think.” Tyson ran his hand over the stubble on his chin. He was always clean-shaven. This was a weird look for him. “I wasn’t always fair to you growing up. Chandler pointed out to me that maybe I took part in some displaced aggression.” Tyson covered his face with both hands and let out a long slow breath. “You know, the whole thing where your boss yells at you, so you go home and kick the dog?”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I know what displaced aggression is.” Was I the dog in this scenario? Smug asshole.

Tyson met my gaze for a second. “Right.” A long, uncomfortable silence stretched on between us, punctuated by the clattering of dishes, clinking of silverware, and the laughs of other customers. Finally, Tyson said, “What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry.”

I blinked, in a state of mild shock. “I uh… wow.” I picked up my whiskey and tossed some back. I rubbed my neck and turned to look at my brother. Was he serious, or was this more toxic bullshit? Was a real relationship with my brother even possible, or were we too far gone for that?

“Jaxon, I didn’t treat you well, ever. I was pissed at how free you seemed. I was jealous as fuck that you had a social life, and you got away with so much.”

I watched my brother’s face for a moment and tried to consider what his life must have been like. Maybe he never wanted all the attention from our parents. Maybe their constant praise for him was just as damaging as their constant disappointment in me. “Shit, Tyson.” I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. “Mom and dad rode your ass twice as hard as mine, didn’t they? It always felt like my life was a front-row seat to the fucking Tyson Show, but maybe you never wanted to star in it in the first place.”

Tyson let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “Spot on, Jax.”

Kinley’s words ran through my head again. Some relationships are worth saving, and some need to be cut out of your life. I studied my brother’s face for a moment and tried to see him with different eyes. I tried to see the kid that lived his life with twice the pressure resting on his shoulders and the guy that wanted to hang with his friends and relax.

Tyson glanced up from his beer with exhaustion written all over his face. It mirrored my own. Maybe a relationship with my brother was worth saving. I decided right then and there that I wanted to try. “Truce?” I held out my hand to shake his.

Tyson narrowed his eyes. “You want to put the bullshit behind us?”

“I do.”

“Me too.” Tyson reached out and shook my hand. “I forgive you for being a dick your whole life.”

I grinned at my brother. “And I forgive you for being an asshole your whole life.”

Tyson gave me a rare smile and sipped his beer. “You know, I was a little bit jealous when you told mom off last night. I can’t even tell you how many times I wanted to do that when she’d make snide little comments about Chandler and her soft science degree.”

“There’s still time to tell mom to go fuck herself. It’s a little bit therapeutic.”

Tyson laughed this time. “Maybe I will.” He glanced around the bar and then took another drink. “You know, I think she participated in displaced aggression, as well.”

“You mean because dad never gave a shit about her?”

“You noticed that, too?”

“It was hard to miss.”

A large group of college kids entered the sports bar, laughing and shoving each other. Tyson’s eyes lingered on them for a moment before he turned back to me. “I don’t want to make excuses for her her, though. She was the adult, and we were the kids. She should have been better for us.” He cleared his throat. “And I should have been better for you.”

“Hey, man. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I kind of was a dick some of the time.” I stared down at my lap for a moment, then glanced back up at my brother. “I’m sorry we weren’t friends growing up.”

Tyson nodded. “Me too.”

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