Page 95 of Trick or Treat Nurse at My Feet
"I've tried that."
"Try harder." His voice softens slightly. "Look, for what it's worth, he does care about you. A lot. I haven't seen him this hung up on someone in... well, ever."
I glare at him, feeling betrayed despite knowing he's right.
"But," Sylas continues, still looking directly at me, "he's also stubborn and has this thing about not being a burden. So if you want this to work, you need to convince him that his problems aren't a burden to you."
"They're not," Tyler says immediately.
The speed and certainty of his response makes my heart clench.
"I know that. You know that. Ethan... needs convincing." Sylas glances at his watch. "I have to go. I've already said more than I should have."
"Wait," Gavin interjects. "One more question. Do you think they can work this out?"
Sylas looks at me for a long moment. The air feels trapped in my chest while I wait
"Yes," he says finally. "I do. But it will take more than grand gestures or pretty words." He hesitates, then adds, "Be patient with him, Tyler. He's worth it."
He hangs up and tosses his phone onto the coffee table.
"What the hell, Sylas?" my voice bursts out somewhere between anger and panic.
"Your boyfriend's frat brothers just held an intervention for your relationship," he says, studying my reaction. "Can you believe that? A bunch of frat boys calling me, of all people, to figure out how to help Tyler win you back."
My heart does a strange little flip.
"You heard it all. They're having some kind of brotherhood council right now, trying to figure out how to make you talk to Tyler." He shakes his head, but there's a smile playing at his lips. "Those overgrown idiots might actually be decent humans after all. They're cheering for your relationship to work."
He leans forward, suddenly serious. "Ethan, they genuinely care. About Tyler, yes, but also about you two as a couple."
Something warm blooms in my chest despite my attempts to smother it. “What do you think?”
"That you're being stupid."
His words hit like an unexpected lab result, making me blink in confusion. "Excuse me?
"You're being stupid," he repeats firmly.
"But you're the one who warned me about fraternity guys in the first place!"
"And you were stupid for pulling awaywithout talking to Tyler." He raises an eyebrow. "But now you're being stupid in a completely different way."
"How exactly am I stupid now?" I demand, Thursday night, instead of talking to a guy who has his entire fraternity strategizing how to win you back." He picks up his phone, scrolling through it. "The big one, Gavin, literally said, and I quote, 'Tyler's confused and sad without him.' They called me because they're trying to help him figure out what's wrong."
"Oh." The word comes out small, inadequate for the feelings swirling inside me.
"Yeah, oh." Sylas's expression softens. "Look, I was skeptical about Tyler, about all of them, but the way they were talking tonight... It wasn't what I expected. They respect your relationship."
My eyes fix on the textbook diagrams, but my brain is busy processing this completely different kind of information. "I've been so worried that I'm just some experiment to him. He'll go back to dating women at the first sign of trouble."
"I know. And maybe that fear was reasonable at the beginning." Sylas sighs. "But Ethan, that guy is crazy about you. Even I can see that now."
"He is?" It comes out sounding far more hopeful than I intended.
"Don't make me repeat it." Sylas rolls his eyes, but his smile is genuine. "Yes, you idiot. And instead of enjoying that, you're hiding in our apartment because you're afraid of getting hurt."
I start laughing as it dawns on me. "You know, you just said 'Tyler' like three times in this conversation."
