Page 68 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

He turned his head to Rossi, who was still leaning over, touching every cheesy bun to find the best-looking one, and Wally’s face went white.

“He has a gun!” Wally shouted. He leaped up from his seat and pointed at Rossi.

Tyler’s heart leaped in his chest, and he leaned back as if Rossi were actively shooting. When the words registered with his family, chaos erupted.

Hailey yelped and grabbed onto Wally in terror. His mother gasped and clutched her chest. Brad said, “Oh, shit.”

“What the fuck?” Cece rushed around the table to her children and looked at Rossi in horror. “Why would you bring him here?” she accused Julien, pointing a finger at him.

Kelsey started crying, though Tyler was pretty sure she didn’t understand. God, he fucking hoped she didn’t. The therapy bills would be huge at this rate.

“A lot of people have guns,” Dad said in an odd, calm tone, holding his hands up. “For self-defense.”

Rossi leaned back and sighed. He pulled the gun from his pants and placed it on the table. “Everyone, please, calm thefuck down, alright? It’s just a gun.” But he clicked the safety off and held onto the piece, which did not instill confidence in anyone.

“Rossi, take it easy,” Julien said.

Tyler stared at the gun next to Rossi’s wine glass. He couldn’t even remember if he’d ever been this close to a weapon that wasn’t meant for skeet shooting.

“You got what you wanted. You don’t have to do this,” Julien continued.

“I think I do,” Rossi said. “Unless you give me more money.”

“Can someone please explain what is going on?” Mom asked. Her usual even tone was replaced by a shrill pitch, which betrayed all of her concern.

“Yeah, how about I explain,” Rossi said. “About ten years ago, Julien borrowed a substantial sum from my uncle and had a deadline to pay it back. But the deadline passed, and now I need another fifteen thousand dollars from him, or I’m going to start shooting people.” He lifted the gun andpointed it directly at Tyler. “I guess we can make this a family discussion. Right, Jules?”

Tyler didn’t know what he felt, staring down the barrel of a gun, with a man’s finger hovering so close to it that a sneeze would make it go off. It didn’t feel real. He didn’t want to die, but he also didn’t feel like this was actually happening to him.

He barely registered his mother shrieking, Hailey sobbing, and his father yelling about how he would call the police.

“If anyone so much as fucking moves from this spot, I’ll shoot him,” Rossi said.

Tyler squeezed harder on Julien’s thigh. “You’ll actually kill someone over fifteen thousand dollars?” he heard himself ask.Oh my god, why did I say that? Why the fuck did I speak?

“I’d rather not spoil my appetite, but if I have to, I will,” Rossi told him. “Now, about my money.”

“We don’t have that! Are you crazy?” Cece yelled. “We don’t have it. Take the wine or something if you want. Wedon’t have it!”

“Not my wine,” Dad said, and Tyler moved his eyes away from the gun to look at his father in shock.

His dad was pale and clearly not thinking right, butreally?

“Dad!” Hailey shouted. “Dad, just let him take the wine.”

“I don’t want the wine!” Rossi shouted. He slammed his left hand on the table. “I want my goddamn money.”

A hush fell over the room, aside from Kelsey’s quiet sobs.

“I’ll get it,” Julien said. “I don’t have it today, but I’ll get it to you tomorrow, Tony. Just leave them alone. They have nothing to do with this. I’ll go with you, and we can get it together.”

Tyler knew all too well that Julien didn’t have that money. If he needed to pretend to be Tyler’s boyfriend to get five thousand, he definitely didn’t just have fifteen thousand sitting around somewhere.

Rossi moved the gun from Tyler, pointing it now at Julien. “Don’t be a fucking idiot, Jules. I know you don’t have shit.”

Whatever Tyler hadn’t felt when the gun was pointed at him rushed to his mind when he saw Rossi aim at Julien. He felt nausea bubble up in his stomach, and his hand shook as cold fear poured over him.

“Don’t! Please. Stop. I’ll get you the money when the bank is open. I can get it for you,” Tyler’s words stuttered out of his throat as he thought about what would happen if Julien got shot. He couldn’t see that. He wouldn’t be able to handle it and would rather fucking die.

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