Page 90 of Trick or Treat Nurse at My Feet
After three rings, a suspicious voice answers. "Who is this?"
"Sylas! It's Gavin Robins, from Delta Psi Omega."
A pause. "Why do you have my number, and why are you calling me at 9 PM on a Thursday?"
"Emergency fraternity business," Gavin says solemnly.
"I'm not in your frat," Sylas replies dryly.
"It's about Tyler and Ethan," Gavin clarifies. "We need your expertise."
Another pause. "Is Ethan okay?"
"He's fine," The words come out quickly as I lean towards the phone. "This is Tyler."
"Oh." Sylas's tone cools noticeably. "What do you want?"
"Your advice," I say honestly. "Ethan's pulling away, and I don't know how to fix it."
"Maybe there's nothing to fix," Sylas suggests. "Maybe he realized?—"
"It's not that," Gavin interrupts. "He wants to be with Tyler. He said so. But he's scared, and something else is going on that he won't talk about."
I raise my eyebrows at Gavin, surprised by his insight.
"What makes you think I know what's going on?" Sylas asks, but a shift in his tone suggests he does.
"Because you're his best friend," I say. "And I'm worried about him. Not just because of us, but because he seems... off. Even when we text, it's like he's only half there."
A long silence follows. I can almost hear Sylas weighing his loyalty to Ethan against his concern for him.
"I'm on speaker," he finally says. "Who else is there?"
"Just some frat brothers," Drew replies. "We're trying to help Tyler figure this out."
"A frat-boy relationship council," Sylas says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Fascinating."
"Look," I'm growing impatient, but I try to bite it back, "if you don't want to help, just say so."
"I didn't say that." Sylas sighs. "It's not my place to tell you what's going on with Ethan. That's for him to share if he wants to."
"But something is going on?"
"Yes." His reluctant admission confirms my suspicions. "But it's not what you think. It's not about your mother or Cher, though they didn't help."
"Then what is it? How can I help him if I don't know what's wrong?"
"That's the problem, isn't it?" Sylas suddenly sounds tired. "Ethan doesn't want you to 'help.' He wants to handle it himself."
"Handle what?"
"Ask him," Sylas says firmly. "And don't let him off the hook when he says it's nothing. Make him talk to you."
"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."
The admission surprises me, and a flicker of hope ignites in my chest.
