Page 88 of Tied

“I need my books…” My voice is childlike, even to me. Maybe I was better off locked in the basement with nothing but books, TV, and Poppy. Maybe real life is just too hard for me.

“You don’t, Holly. You’re free now. You can let the books go. Those stories are over now.” He grabs my hand in his and lifts it to his lips, closing his eyes as he kisses it. “We have each other, right? We have our own story.”

I nod. “Yes, we do.”I hope.

“Then we’ll be okay. Nothing else matters.”

I can see right through him, trying to be strong for me. But I know deep down, he’s petrified, and so fragile with guilt and self-hatred he could crack at any moment.

We hold each other, kissing softly, until our hearts and minds calm down. We whisper promises to each other under ourblanket, and as his clock ticks away the night on his mantel, I start to believe that he’s right. We’ll be okay.

Suddenly, Boomer’s and Poppy’s heads both shoot up from their sleeping positions, their ears twisting around like little antennas. A car door slams in the driveway.

“Is someone here?” I ask. “It’s four a.m.”

Ty kisses my forehead before rising from the couch. “Stay here.” I pull the blanket over my lap as he crosses the small room and opens the front door, and a man steps inside, his heavy boots clomping against the wooden floor.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ty asks. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Lighten up, scarface. I had a huge fucking fight with Darcy. I had to leave.”

“She kicked you out?”

“Not really. It was just better for me to give her some space.” He finally notices me. “Shit, I didn’t know you had company, man.”

Ty runs his hand through his hair and looks from me to the man. “Tanner, this is my girlfriend, Holly.” I smile at the termgirlfriend. “Holly, this is my brother Tanner.”

A brother! I never would have guessed this person was a relative. They look nothing alike.

“Sorry to barge in,” he says, fingering his beard. “Nice to meet you, though.”

“It’s okay,” I reply, wondering if I should leave them alone since Tanner is clearly going through something. Ty’s brother is a bear of a man, a few inches taller than Ty, and even more muscular. He’s wide like a wrestler, taking up a huge amount of space in the tiny room. His brown hair is shaved on the sides, but thecenter part is braided and hangs well past his inked shoulders. He reminds me of a Viking I saw on TV.

He’s dark and intimidating in comparison to Tyler’s light hair and eyes, and boyish smile.

“I should go…,” I say. “So you two can talk.”

“No,” Tyler barks. “You’re staying.”

Tanner puts his hands up. “I’m gonna go, man. I’m sorry… you’re always alone, so I thought I could crash here.”

Ty grabs his arm. “Fuck you. And you’re not leaving either.” He coughs. “Do you need to talk or do you just need somewhere to sleep?”

His brother picks up Boomer and throws him over his shoulder like a ragdoll, stroking his hand down his back. Boomer starts to chew on his hair. “I don’t wanna talk, Ty, but I gotta say it’s good to hear you talking so much. My brain’s just too exhausted right now. I need to sleep, and I’ll be out of here tomorrow.”

“All right. We were just about to go up to the loft, anyway.” Our eyes meet across the room and I nod as my heart does a little trot. “You can try to squeeze your ass on the couch.”

Tanner shrugs. “I’ve slept in much worse places than this.”

I stand and shyly offer him the blanket. “If you sleep with this, you’ll feel better. It’s magic.”

Smiling with charm I didn’t think such a towering, brooding man could have, he takes the blanket from me. “Thanks, sweetheart. I need all the help I can get right now.”

Don’t we all?

CHAPTER 28

Tyler

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